Invite – click here

I have been having a great time building my Cambridgeshire burger league table lately. It is hard to find a truly great burger in Cambridgeshire, so it is always worth shouting from the rooftops when a good one comes along. When it was invited by the team at Gorilla + Lamb I was keen to visit as soon as possible, as I have heard nothing but good things about what they are doing and I knew it would be a fine addition to the city.

Gorilla + Lamb is located inside the iconic Cambridge Blue pub on Gwydir Street. This not only means that you can get some great grub but also a beer from one of the best selections of beer in Cambridgeshire. This ranges from imported Belgian beer, craft beer locally made in Cambridgeshire, and a variety of ever changing real ales.

I was lucky enough to sample a wide variety of burgers from the Gorilla + Lamb menu, including their signature Gorilla Fries.

Gorilla + Lamb comes from the team at Tzatziki who currently do the Greek street food at the Royal Standard. It is no secret that I am a massive fan of Tzatziki, so anything they put their name behind is already going to get me excited. This is emphasised by head chef Lex who came to the UK from the United States with a diverse history of culinary experience. He told me that he was mortified at the standards of burgers in England when arriving, so was passionate about doing something to rectify this. With this reassuring background behind the Gorilla+ Lamb I was itching to see what they can do.

First up was their signature Smash Burger. The smash craze seems to be getting more and more prevalent in Cambridge and it is easy to see why. A smash burger is where they get a ball of mince and literally smash it on a flat surface grill which results in a crispy exterior and a juicy interior, adding a much more exciting texture to the bite.

The difference with Gorilla+ Lamb is that they put a large emphasis on sourcing their ingredients, with locally sourced organic food being one of the main staples. They will also go out of their way to find very particular ingredients to make sure they get exactly what they need for the burger that they have envisioned. This will become more apparent as we go through the burgers in this review.

The smash burger starts with grass-fed beef patties, jungle pickles, and American cheese. This was a perfect example of what a smash burger can be. It was crispy, juicy, and the house sauce was sublime. The real challenge here is holding the messy feast of indulgence together. With so many other burger joints offering an inferior roll that simply disintegrates in your hand, causing a greasy war crime on your plate…this is a real bugbear of mine.

This is where ‘Martin’s Famous Potato Rolls & Bread’ comes in. Another example of how the team at Gorilla+ Lamb goes out of their way to make sure they get exactly what they want in a burger dining experience. These rolls are strong enough to easily hold things together while you indulge, offering a crispy layer on the outside and a thick, soft, and fluffy texture on the inside. This coupled with the smash burger inside gives a wonderfully flavoursome texture on the bite that isn’t going to implode over your hands.

Next, was this stunning chicken burger. This is buttermilk fried chicken with pilpelchuma aioli, hot honey, jungle pickles, cabbage slaw and smoked streaky bacon in a potato bun. Not only was this delicious but a visual feast for the eyes. I particularly enjoyed the honey which gave it a really sweet taste.

The bacon also added extra crunch and an added dimension of flavour. The jungle pickles were very generously portioned in the bun and the cabbage slaw gave it a fresh crunch. Thanks to the Martins Famous buns they can be liberal with the sauce too, giving it not only a good flavour but zero worries about the burger being dry.

Next, was one I was particularly excited about, the brand new Korean burger. This bad boy was served in a ciabatta roll rather than a burger bun that came with pork shoulder, kimchi (obviously), and chilli aioli, and coriander.

I don’t think I have ever had kimchi in a burger but it really works. This is an acquired taste for anyone who has not tried it before but it is an exciting and refreshing choice not offered anywhere else (as far as I am aware) in the city.

My memory gets a little hazy at this point, which tends to happen when you are encouraged to eat four burgers in a row (I love my job!). This is the summer pork burger which was done in a smash style. Going back to my point above about the emphasis on locally sourced organic ingredients, the cherry tomatoes and carrots in this burger are sourced (depending on availability) from a Cambridgeshire allotment. Being an allotment owner myself, I understand how challenging it can be to keep this consistent but I also know the huge rewards in flavour too. This just goes to show the lengths that the team will go to for flavour and freshness.

To make sure that I was rolled out of the pub in a wheelbarrow, the team presented me with a portion of their signature Gorilla Fries. These are crinkly cut chips in parmesan cheese, pickles, and large chunks of pork scrap and fried herbs.

If you have any doubt about the size of the pork scraps then let me put this to bed right now. We are talking about mouth fulls worth of pork generously tossed in with the fries. The pickles give this a fresh spice flavour to accompany it. The chips were a little dry but this can be easily remedied with sauce.

Everything at Gorilla + Lamb was excellent. The more I learned about what went into the burgers the more I respected the team and what they are trying to achieve. They go to extraordinary lengths to source the best ingredients that I don’t think is matched anywhere else in the city. Prices are completely reasonable, with burgers hovering around a tenner, and service is prompt. Imagine, sitting in the Cambridge Blue beer garden with your favourite craft beer and putting away one of these burgers. Superb!

Where will it go in my burger league table? It’s hard to say but it’s gotta be near the top! Watch this space.

Thanks for reading!