So what happens if you’re near Russell Square and you desperately need a burger but don’t want to travel into town and then queue for a few hours? Well, panic not little ones as Burger & Shake has opened and it’s just a short walk from Russell Square tube station.

It’s a small, simple but pretty restaurant with booth seating on the right and close packed tables for two on the left. It’s a bit like sitting in a posh pie and mash shop – in a good way. We arrived at about 8ish on a Monday night and got a seat no problemo.

The menu was simply presented on a small piece of paper. Hamburger, cheeseburger, house burger, beef and pork hot dog, chicken wings and a slightly more expensive lobster roll featured. Everything seemed to be in order here – very now, very on trend, just how I like it.

We started with the hot buffalo wings with blue cheese dip and celery (£4.95). Our waitress warned us that these were very spicy which slightly worried me but I was relieved to say I coped with the heat very well, it wasn’t overbearing at all. The chicken was a little tough and hard to pull off the bone; saying that I still enjoyed them. The blue cheese dip was very mild and could have been a bit stronger but it was a good companion for the spicy tomatoey sauce.

We opted for the cheeseburger (£7.75) which was a 6oz patty with shredded lettuce, tomato, pickle, house sauce and American cheese sandwiched between a soft brioche bun. It looked appetising and tasted great.

We were told the patty was cooked medium rare but it was a little grey for my liking. Unlike Westminster council who want to ban the sale of medium rare burgers, I like my burger to be really pink in the middle but this one had a more steamed rather than grilled appearance – it was very juicy though which made up for it. The house sauce was reminiscent of that found in a McDonald’s Big Mac and tasted delicious – totally moreish.

We shared the house fries (£2.95) and found the portion to be more than big enough. They were crunchy, salty and very enjoyable.

For £15 each we had a burger, a coke, shared some wings and fries and felt it was worth it. Burger & Shake is nothing new or particularly exciting and overall it’s not as good as Patty&Bun or Tommi’s Burger Joint but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. If you’re in the area and desperately need a burger then look no further.

6/10