For me, celebrating birthdays (or celebrating anything in fact) always involves some good food and this year was no exception. Having read so much about Byron and their burgers on The Londoner, I was really excited to see that one had opened in Liverpool recently, so I made the most of the occasion and went for an 'early birthday burger' on Friday. I don't think a 'birthday burger' is actually a thing, let alone an 'early birthday burger', but it definitely should be.
After much deliberation, I went for Le Smokey which is only on offer until the end of October so snap it up quick! It was your classic BBQ sauce-cheese-bacon combo and it has to be said, it hit the nail on the head. I went with their recommendation and had it cooked medium - any hint of pink in red meat usually grosses me out a bit, but I thought I'd throw caution to the wind and let them do what they know best! It was definitely the right decision.
My burger was really delicious - juicy and flavourful with a bit of a kick from the sauce, some crunch from the pickle and a really good bun. I definitely think the bread can make or break a burger so I was glad theirs lived up to my expectations as well. As a whole, it was nice that the burger wasn't swimming in cheese or dripping in fat and didn't leave me feeling like too much of a gluttonous pig, just comfortably satisfied.
Having said that, we also had chips, coleslaw and courgette fries on the side...yep, we went all out. You would think that by this age I would know me own limits, but unfortunately I still act like an 8 year old in an ice cream shop and have eyes 10 times bigger than my stomach. The sides almost pushed me over the edge, but I still couldn't stop eating them because they were so good! The courgette fries were especially nice - I'm going to continue to lie to myself and believe that they were healthy because you could still see the green peeking through the crispy, deep-fried coating, and green means vitamins in my book.
The service was very good and the food came quickly, but you could tell it was really nice quality and very freshly cooked. The interior was really interesting as well - it definitely looked like something you'd find on a Pinterest board! It had a kind of industrial, wrought iron, exposed brick thing going on but at the same time felt very relaxed and welcoming.
They do veggie burgers too so whether you're a meat eater or not, I'd definitely say you should check out Byron. I for one can guarantee that won't be my last visit, just next time I won't be able to use the birthday excuse...
