Review: How does Honest Burgers’ New York Deli Burger stack up?

Honest Burgers, whose Cambridge branch is located on Corn Exchange Street, next to the Cambridge Corn Exchange, has unveiled its latest burger - and I popped along to try it.

Paying homage to the late American chef and author, Anthony Bourdain, the chain has put its own spin on the chef’s favourite sandwich - the pastrami sandwich from famed New York delis such as Katz’s Deli and Pastrami Queen - reimagined in burger form.

Layered with grilled mortadella meat, smoked mozzarella, sweet onions, pickles and confit garlic dijonnaise, the New York Deli Burger has been made in collaboration with mustard company, Grey Poupon.

There are three options to try - the classic beef, the fried chicken, or the double smashed beef - and, as a huge fan of the pastrami on rye bread sandwich, I was keen to see whether it would ‘work’ as a burger.

I opted for the double smashed beef and I wasn’t disappointed.

The intense and varied flavours of the New York sandwich really come through, the pickles at the bottom perfectly complementing the deli meat and cheese, which I’d never tried before as part of a hamburger.

Indeed, the hot and tasty beef patty reminds you that this is a burger first and foremost - the other ingredients are there to recall the New York sandwich.

So if you prefer the New York sandwich in its cold, more traditional form, you may not enjoy it as much as part of a hamburger-eating experience. Personally, as someone who loves fusions, I very much enjoyed it.

The burgers come with rosemary chips, and whoever first had the idea to cover chips in rosemary seasoning was a genius!

I would definitely recommend trying this new special burger, which will be available at all Honest Burgers restaurants until 9 June.

For more on Honest Burgers, go to honestburgers.co.uk.