Le Fromton, Alfred Burger - Paris, France

Three days in Paris could only mean one thing: three days of burgers. Embarking on a Disney Land adventure means theme park goodness, paired with typically average theme park food. This was evident with my visits to Disney Village’s ‘Planet Hollywood’ and Disneyland Park’s ‘Cowboy Cookout’. However, staying in the commune of Chessy, a short journey from the parks, meant I could venture to other eating establishments outside the realm of Mickey.

I did my research on Alfred Burger, and with it being rated the number one place to eat in Chessy on TripAdvisor, this made it an absolute must on my Paris agenda. To my joy, my hotel was also a short walk away, making it the perfect headline act in my Paris burger voyage, after two disappointing support acts in the parks.

Sitting at the heart of a beautiful little village square, Alfred Burger exuded taste before I had even tried the burger. With a bold and effective exterior, teamed with a genuine but simplistic interior, it was refreshing to be in a restaurant that shied away from faux-American or imitation themes.

The staff, well versed in English, were also fantastic and friendly. My typical approach to ordering a burger is to find out what the signature is, and I had no difficulties in finding recommendations from my server.

With only six burgers on the menu and one special, I wanted to be sure I was experiencing the best Alfred Burger had to offer. Notably the restaurant featured a salmon burger, 'Le Poiscaille', which on a braver day I would have attempted. However, the answer had to be beef on this occasion, to which my server recommended 'Le Fromton'.

Here's a burger with character: Tomme de Savoie cheese, Fourme d'Ambert blue cheese, caramelised onions, rocket and Espelette pepper mayonnaise. Each patty is locally sourced from Aubrac cattle and sits inside a fresh brioche bun. With so much quality in this list of ingredients, expectations were above and beyond and I was ready to tuck in.

The grand unwrapping revealed a burger large in surface diameter, but small in height. The contents of the burger were concealed by the large bun, somewhat diminishing the overall presentation. Any unease was put aside when picking it up, however, as the freshness of the ingredients became apparent.

After a first bite, I was hugely impressed with the quality of this burger. To reiterate, this was one of the freshest burgers I had ever tasted, completely free of any manufactured feel. I had requested a medium patty, and received medium-well, but fortunately this did not detract from the flavour. The meat was beautifully succulent stealing some of the flavour back from the two cheeses.

However, when ordering a burger with blue cheese on, it is always difficult to strike the perfect balance. The Fourme d'Ambert was a delicious flavour, but there was a little too much of it between the buns. This somewhat drowned the flavour from the other areas of the burger, particularly the onions, rocket and mayonnaise.

Alfred Burger does so much right and very little wrong. The burgers are amidst the freshest you will ever eat and the flavours going on within them will exceed expectations. My only drawback, which may be more relevant to my menu choice than the overall restaurant, is that the blue cheese was too dominant. Next time I may try that salmon burger...

Patty Master Musings:

• I can't help but feel that had I ordered a different burger, this place would have hit a 9 out of 10.
• Fries were a little plain. They did have an option to upgrade to cheesy fries, but I feel given my burger choice, that would have been cheese overload and I'd have had extremely vivid Disney dreams.
• Great value for money this place, though when you are next door to Disney, that isn't so hard...
• The ordering set-up was similar to Five Guys, but they used a bell to let you know your food was ready. I enjoyed that.
• Did I Dip It? Goodness, no! This was blue cheese mayhem.

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Premium Angus Burger, Cowboy Cookout Barbecue - Paris, France

Intrigued by the possibility of dining with Woody and Jessie (mainly Woody) during my Disney getaway, I found 'Cowboy Cookout Barbecue'; a cheaper alternative to character dining. Unfortunately, there were no characters present at all during my visit to this restaurant. In-fact, the only interaction we had was being told to move table by a cleaner because they were closing off that particular section of the restaurant -- magical.

Cowboy Cookout Barbecue is a Wild West country-themed restaurant situated in Frontierland in Disneyland Park. As you would expect, it specialises in barbecue bites, but at a more affordable price. Utilising Disney's 'quick service', you queue, pay and collect your food all in one fell-swoop, before seating yourself to tuck in.

The menu was as expected listing ribs, chicken strips and a reasonably alluring 'Premium Angus Burger'. The list of components for the burger included cheddar cheese, rocket salad, onions rings, tomato and sauce. Nothing to shout home about, though I am a fan of onion rings, so I remained open-minded.


The burger was served in a small plastic tray with wedges. The components were held together by a brioche bun and the general appearance was enticing, though certainly not overwhelming. Cutting this burger in half revealed a more underwhelming sight, with a high salad ratio and a worryingly thin and well-done patty.

Biting in, it became immediately noticeable that this was a below average burger. The most flavour came through the onion ring which speaks volumes in itself. Nothing particularly stood out and unfortunately the taste of salad was too prominent. If there was sauce on there, there was too little to establish flavour and the thin slice of processed cheese need not be mentioned.

The patty was simply too thin and too dry to emit any real flavour. The burger itself was quite large, therefore requiring a thicker piece of meat to strike a balance between all components. Nonetheless, not much could have saved this burger and a bland patty accompanied a bland everything else.

Cowboy Cookout Barbecue enforces the theme park stereotype of distinctly average food. The 'Premium Angus Burger' unfortunately fell short of even average, delivering absolutely nothing that will stand out, in a burger of imbalance and blandness.

Patty Master Musings:

• My partner had the pork ribs which at least hit average status.
• I liked the wedges -- in a way that is worth mentioning in this part of the review, but not really anywhere else. They were just wedges.
• Where was Woody at?!
• Did I Dip It? Yes, and unfortunately that did not help a great deal either.

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BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, Planet Hollywood - Paris, France

I had to eat somewhere at Disney Village during my Paris escapades. The hope was that it would be cheaper, with more variety, similar to Disney Springs over in Florida. However, making any assumption the French parks will come close to Walt Disney World is fundamentally going to lead to disappointment.

Disney Village looked tired. Building exteriors were clearly both aged and outdated and nothing really stood out to me. The shops fell short in delivering anything original, with much better merch available within the parks. Aside from Earl of Sandwich (that place is awesome!), no restaurants greatly lured me in either. For this reason, we opted for Planet Hollywood.

I can imagine when this restaurant first opened, it radiated style and originality. Whilst the concept is still cool, I think, like the rest of the village, it just needs renovation. This statement can be applied to the interior too, which I would describe as a more in-your-face Hard Rock, but lacking the feel of authenticity -- coming across gimmicky instead.


This was my first time at a Planet Hollywood, so I was excited to see the menu. Upon being seated, I was handed something closer to a brochure than a menu, with pages and pages of dishes to choose from. With about eight burgers on the menu, most of which sounded very similar, I decided to go for the staple American classic 'BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger'; a beef patty, hickory smoked bacon, tangy sweet barbecue sauce, cheese and salad in a brioche bun.

It was a long wait -- in just about every aspect of the meal. Granted, it was a Saturday night, but we spent over two hours in the restaurant in the end and actually missed the fireworks in the park as a result. You would think they would be doing everything they can to get you out of there to free up space for more customers, but evidently they were simply too disorganised and perhaps understaffed. Never-the-less, when the burger finally arrived, I was impressed by the appearance; big, bold and very appetising.

This unfortunately was the highlight of the meal and proves appearance is not everything. I had requested a medium rare cook as I was adamant it would be overcooked anyway -- and I was right. It was well done. This does not bother me as much when the waiter does not pose the question in the first place. I realise in many restaurants cooking a burger well done is the norm and I do not have a problem with that. However, if the question is asked and I am served a well done from a medium rare request, you may as well be slapping me in the face. Still, had I sent it back, I would have likely been having my burger for breakfast, so I accepted this disappointment.

There were good layers going on in this burger; perhaps a little overdone on the salad, but otherwise nicely balanced throughout. The bun, whilst not the freshest I have tasted, did its job of holding everything together. The bacon was perhaps the highlight as it is often the ingredient within a burger that there is typically not enough of, especially with American burgers. It is also often too crispy to deliver much flavour. This was not the case here, as the hickory smoked taste shone through and enhanced the overall flavour. The tangy sweet barbecue sauce was also tasty, but lacking in quantity due to the size of the burger.

The patty boasted its origins through 'Elivia Professionnels and Bovendis', claiming it to be 100% fresh French beef, making it 'delicious' and 'succulent'. I did not agree. The size of the patty was spot on, but unfortunately it was dry and simply lacking in flavour. The fact it was cooked well-done certainly did not help it, but I think this meat would have been underwhelming regardless.

Planet Hollywood does nothing outstanding, which is evident with its burgers. This is not to say that I did not enjoy my meal; it was very much run-of-the-mill and uninspired. With an overcooked bland patty and a lack of sauce, this burger had to be salvaged by the tasty bacon and cheese. Give it a go, but do not expect to be blown away... by anything.

Patty Master Musings:

• Our photograph was taken whilst we were waiting. I am not sure why I would want to pay £15 for a picture of myself sitting at a table. I couldn't muster £15 for my picture on the Buzz Lightyear ride, so you have zero chance Planet Hollywood!
• Stick to Earl of Sandwich if you want a quick meal or lunch. If only this was a sandwich blog...
• Did I Dip It? I did towards the end of the burger. As much as I tried to convince myself that it was just to get through the remaining ketchup on my plate, I know I needed it.

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Burger Maison, Bistrot Pierre - Birmingham, UK

To the average outsider, Birmingham is far from a beautiful city, but there is absolutely no denying the canal-side is a stunning place to be in the heart of summer. Whether it be Brindley Place or the Mailbox, there is a restaurant to cater to every taste and sitting quite comfortably between the two of these locations is Bistrot Pierre.

Built within a Grade II listed building, Bistrot Pierre is a refreshing take on affordable quality dining mixing french cuisine with local favourites. The restaurant itself is stylish, cleverly renovated to retain the character of a Grade II listed building, but also exhibiting French flare through memorabilia, paintings and design.

In restaurants like these, I am always intrigued when I see a burger on the menu. It would be easy to assume it is there to appease the fussy eaters who will always be able to rely on what they are familiar with. Intrigue got the best of me and I would not be writing this post now had I not gone for the aptly named "Burger maison"; a 100% prime British beef patty topped with aged Gruyère cheese, relish, pickles, tomatoes and lettuce.

Upon arrival, I was impressed with the size and presentation of this burger as it stood intrepidly on its pretentious wooden board next door to its unnecessary giant knife. At a first glance, I thought the bread to meat ratio may have been off given how large the bun was, but on closer observation, the patty balanced it perfectly due to its thickness.

The patty was cooked medium well and was moderately juicy for its size. I was impressed with the quality of the meat, though it would have benefitted from a slightly higher fat content and a minute less on the grill.

The Gruyère cheese was a nice touch, but was lacking in quantity to drive the overall taste, being somewhat drowned out by the relish. I am usually a fan of relish on burgers too as it often complements the meat very well, but in this instance, it dominated the burger. Nevertheless, the overall taste worked and the burger felt fresh throughout.

I was also pleasantly surprised when the bill arrived to find out this burger had only cost me £11, including the chips. Not a bad place to spend a Sunday afternoon, especially with those prices.

Bistrot Pierre is a beautiful restaurant with an affordable and enticing menu. Whilst I cannot fault the ingredients of the burger, the issue came with the imbalance of toppings. Still, this is a solid burger throughout with a high quality feel to it; it just needs a few tweaks to its personality to stabilise the flavours.

Patty Master Musings:

• The restaurant felt a little cramped, so when one person ordered sea bass... Everyone was having sea bass.
• Service was friendly, but extremely slow. Spent longer in here than I did in the Sea Life Center. Probably saw more fish too... Pause for laughter.
• Every place should have a card machine that allows you to tip. I rarely carry cash nowadays, so when I use contactless and they do not give me an option to tip, I am in a world of trouble. I always aim to tip if deserved, but if I have nothing on me, I can only leave the contents of my backpack... I hope the waitress enjoyed two re-usable Tesco bags, a small box of plasters, a packet of tissues and a Lego Minifigure.
• Actually, I'm taking the Lego Minifigure back.
• Did I Dip It? I did not. I dipped my chips in to the burger relish instead.

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Buttermilk Chicken Burger, Wetherspoons - Birmingham, UK

Reviewing a Spoons is a recipe for disaster for a variety of reasons. With it essentially being a pub McDonald's, expecting any kind of quality is laughable. In-fact, I recall on a previous visit that my meal actually came out with sections of it still in the microwave bag. Awkwardly watching the waiter remove it upon realising was both enjoyable and saddening at the same time. I still ate it.

Jumping on the buttermilk hype comes Wetherspoons. When done well, I am a big fan of buttermilk chicken. Whilst the best I have tasted have been across the pond (as expected), there are an increasing number of joints in England getting on-board (Bill's being a great example)... Some good, some not-so-good.


In typical Spoons fashion, the time between ordering my food and it arriving was worryingly fast (have had <5 minutes in the past), which is fine when ordering a burger -- not so much when you order a full roast.

As the burger was placed before me (no microwave bags - huzzah!), I could sense this was not going to be the most fulfilling of meals. The glazed brioche bun seemed reasonably fresh, accompanied with lettuce, onion and tomatoes. The buttermilk chicken piece was sizeable, but reminded too much of what you would get in a packet of Birdseye Chicken Chargrills.

When biting into the burger, immediately noticeable was the lack of sauce. Serving a burger without sauce means you need to drive enough taste through the meat, which is near enough impossible in most instances. I guess with Spoons, however, there is a heavy element of condiment DIY required for any meal, hence why they have almost every kind of sauce on the planet on the premises. Unfortunately, it is normally on the other side of the restaurant, so you will need to embark on a Frodo Baggins adventure to find it.

This burger required excessive amounts of ketchup to cure it of blandness. The buttermilk flavour seemed almost non-existent, and whilst the chicken was crispy, there was simply no real flavour to it. Additional seasonings in the coating would have helped, though ultimately it would still feel like a mass-produced burger, which is normally the core problem with these kind of establishments.

Paying £5 for a meal, including the drink, means you cannot really expect the holy grail of burgers. With that in mind, I have certainly had better burgers at Spoons than this one and I will likely avoid purchasing it again. The burger was bland throughout lacking the buttermilk flavour and any real seasoning in the coating.

Patty Master Musings:

• Great range of condiments in Spoons. I miss sachets though. Much harder to steal an entire bottle of ketchup -- uh.
• Why on earth do they now serve meals on my nan's crockery? This never used to be the case in Spoons.
• Itbox. That is all.
• Did I Dip It? Not only dipped, but required bun lid removal and major ketchup addition to bring about about some taste. Ouch.

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