Plough Burger, The Plough - Birmingham, UK

I have been told on several occasions that the fact I haven't been to 'The Plough' in Harborne was ludicrous. Nowadays, pubs can and do offer some of the best food around, within top environments to boot. For this reason, on perhaps one of our last sunny days of the year, I ventured to Harborne for some grub following a delightful afternoon at Cannon Hill Park.

'The Plough' offers a vibrant and modern environment with a typical 'industrial chic' to it. Above all else, atmosphere is key to venues like this and 'The Plough' is almost unrivalled in Birmingham as a crowd-pleaser. The beer garden was in full-force upon arrival and included an outside bar too, perfect for the bank holiday sunshine.

This establishment is known for bringing outside vendors in to serve food including the likes of Original Patty Men and Andy's Low 'N' Slow. However, the standard daily menu is highly praised in itself, especially for the burgers and pizzas. A quick glance through the choices revealed a total of just four burgers, including a vegetarian number. I dismissed the chicken option, which left me with the 'Streaky Bacon and Avocado Burger' or the 'Plough Burger'. It had to be the latter given I'm a sucker for the signature and this one sounded irresistible; fried onion, Plough burger sauce, iceberg lettuce, melted cheddar and mustard pickle.


It was a beast. This was a slobbering tower of meaty goodness oozing cheese from all angles with the vibrant mustard pickle overspilling. The £14 price tag suddenly seemed a little more justified, though the cup of chips was underwhelming next to this monster.

The mustard pickle sauce was not something I had previously encountered and was without a doubt the most prominent flavour in the burger. The sauce in itself works tremendously well with the pickle offsetting the kick from the mustard. Whilst it was a delight on the tastebuds, I would have reduced the volume to bring out the flavours elsewhere, particularly the burger sauce which was considerably less noticeable as a result.

Whilst fresh and tasty, the bun struggled to hold together the contents of the burger. Whilst this is not a huge issue, I would have preferred it to have a slightly larger surface area to better enclose its components. I would then instead reduce the thickness of the bun, particularly at the bottom where it became a little 'bready'.

I enjoyed the cheese, which was perfectly balanced offering a relatively mild taste. Both the salad and lettuce gave the burger a welcome crunch too.


The patty was thick and well-seasoned, though cooked through to well-done. Despite this, it remained juicy with a satisfying chargrilled flavour pulling through.

The 'Plough Burger' is goodness on many levels, though not without a few drawbacks. The mustard pickle is a unique topping, though was a little overused. In addition, the bun could have been slightly better balanced. In spite of this, the burger worked incredibly well with each element driving great flavour. I would recommend this popular pub and its monster burgers to all.

Patty Master Musings:

  • This place is known for its unique events, including mini festivals (typically food-related) as well as special alcohol-based evenings for everything including ales, bourbons, whiskey and wines.
  • I will be returning to try the pizza. A table nearby was enjoying them and they looked fantastic.
  • The fries really were disappointing. Given the magic of the burger, I thought they would do more with them.
  • Did I Dip It? This was one of the sauciest (oi oi) burgers I've consumed, so no dipping required!

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