Black Bear Burgers, whose first permanent sit down restaurant opened in Brixton Village in 2019, have won the “burger of the year” award.
They took the prize with their miso bacon burger which features two 45-day aged beef patties, cheese, smoked bacon, miso butter mayo, and onion, in a bespoke sesame seed bun.
Black Bear was up against15 other finalists.
“I was pretty surprised,” said proprietor and chef Stewart Down, who had competed twice before, coming third and winning the Bloggers’ Choice award.
“But this was the one we wanted. We’ve been going for over seven years and this is recognition, as we’ve been so focused on doing burgers the best we possibly can. To get something like this is pretty special.
“This changes things,” he said. “We’ve seen the past winners, and they are big, impressive names. To be up there with the likes of them is amazing.”
Black Bear use high welfare, high quality British meat and believe this is what makes their burgers taste special.
Stewart’s family run a small beef farm in Devon and he is passionate about animal welfare. “How animals are looked after and prepared is so important, and this makes a huge difference with how your meat tastes,” he says.
“This is why we source our meat from our award-winning butcher who has the same ethos as us.”
The beef comes from South West England from native breeds that are grass-fed and dry aged on the bone. Black Bear use a blend of cuts that is different to a typical burger, designed to be tender and full of flavour.
Their bacon – from outdoor-bred pigs in the East of England – is smoked with oak and chestnut and specially cut for them to a thickness optimising crispness.
Chicken is sourced from British farms with the highest standards of welfare.
“Unlike your typical burger joint, we do all our prep in house,” says Stewart. “We cut our own fries, make our own sauces, rubs, condiments, pickles and ferments and even make our own ice cream, because we believe it’s these details that make the difference.”
Black Bear started out small. Stewart and Liz Down got the idea while working ski-seasons in Whistler, Canada. They came back to the UK and “real” jobs (Liz as a specialist burns nurse and Stewart as an oil trading analyst) but would sell burgers at Hackney’s Broadway Market every Saturday. Each Friday lunchtime they cycled to the local butcher to pick up beef for the weekend.
Their first permanent location was at Boxpark, Shoreditch. In December 2019, they opened their first restaurant in Brixton Market.
Black Bear now has outlets in Brixton, Camden, Canary Wharf, Exmouth Market in Islington, Shoreditch and Victoria.
Black Bear Burgers
11, 13A Market Row
Monday: closed
Tuesday: 5–9pm
Wednesday: 5–10pm
Thursday–Saturday: Noon–10pm
Sunday: Noon–9pm
https://www.blackbearburger.com
020 7737 3444
