Marks & Spencer: not just a burger?
Marks & Spencer café, Covent Garden, WC2
Of all the things that M&S are renowned for, burgers wouldn’t feature particularly high up the list – but perhaps this shouldn’t be the case.
After waiting for less than a minute to order, and then another two for the food to be prepared, my burger arrived – fast food indeed. On first inspection, the meal was looking good: a foccacia bun encasing an amply sized meat patty, topped with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise and mozzarella. It wasn’t just a good looking sandwich either: the burger meat was well seasoned and gave a good impression of containing real meat. The salad and the bun were fresh, which prevented the sandwich from seeming soggy and stodgy; on the whole, a product that was much closer to the gourmet end of the spectrum than the fast-food end.
The highlight of the burger meal, which also included a soft drink, was undoubtedly the chips. They were chunky, in the chip-shop style, not over-salted and genuinely tasted of potato. The only negative for M&S, really, was the cafeteria style setting which, although clean, was uninspiring. I would probably suggest that take-out is the best option.
Overall, a decent sized burger with a generous portion of chips and a small drink came to £4.95. I think it is fair to say that this wasn’t just a burger, it was an M&S burger, and a very fine one too.