Between Buns is a food van I have had on my radar for some time. I have been keen to add them to my burger league table but it is a food van mostly located to the south of Cambridge, in places like Melbourn, Royston and Shepreth. This makes it hard for someone like myself (all the way out on the fens) to get to. For this reason, I have been keeping a close eye on their social media page for one of their monthly visits to Northstowe.

It just so happens that I was at the launch of a new local brewery, Pixie Brewery, at Northstowe Tap & Social on the exact same night they were at the Northstowe square. I knew this was my chance, so I decided to pop by and finally tick them off my list.

It was all action on arrival, with the smash burgers and buns cooking on the grill. The menu was small and concise, with four burgers options.

• The French Canadian (£11)

• The Nashville Chicken (£9.50)

• The Classic (£9)

• The Bhaji Burger (v) (£9)

The burgers are served alone, with the option to add fries (£3.50) and chicken goujons (£5.50) as a side portion.

The French Canadian

I opted for the French Canadian, a whopping burger that consists of two 3 oz smashed beef chuck patties, American cheese, maple glazed smoked bacon, melted brie, crispy onions, smoked mayonnaise and cranberry compote.

For me, this is a burger that has it all!

Beef chuck can be a tough cut of meat but it is full of flavour. The team at Between Buns not only made it nice and tender but gave it a satisfying crispiness that really came through on the bite.

The brie gave it an immensely gooey texture that worked well with the American cheese for a more complex cheesy flavour.

The maple glazed smokey bacon was incredible and added both a sweetness and a smoky pork flavour to the burger. This was complimented further by the delicious cranberry compote that provided an extra dimension of fruity sweetness while also giving a juicy texture.

The burger bun travelled well in our bag, even after a 15/20 minute drive. Speaking with one of the team, he explained that they picked their buns from a list of twenty, with this choice being his clear favourite. I can see why, as it was a particularly thick and spongy bun that held strong from start to finish, despite the burger being absolutely loaded.

The Nashville Chicken

The Nashville Chicken comes with southern coated buttermilk fried chicken breast, shredded lettuce, sweet buffalo hot sauce, pickles and chicken skin mayo.

My wife thought the chicken was really thick, juicy and succulent. The crispiness of the chicken failed to shine through the softness of the bun and the liberal portion of mayonnaise but she said that it was still “one of the best burgers I have ever had”.

The chips and chicken goujons.

The chips were served as thin cut fries. They were well seasoned and served their purpose well enough. The real stars of the show, however, were the sauces – a chilli and a smokey mayonnaise. These were served in decent sized pots that lasted the entirety of the portion of chips. How many times have you been given a measly pot of sauce with your takeaway? I have lost count.

The chicken goujons were thick and meaty with a nice crispy skin. I thought that they were a little dry on their own but this was nothing the sauces couldn’t solve. The portion was a good size and were versatile enough to add to a couple of burgers.(if you felt brave enough to add any more 🤣).

Final thoughts

Both my wife and I were thoroughly impressed with our visit to Between Buns and we were both in agreement that this might be one of the best burgers we have had in Cambridgeshire.

The French Canadian burger absolutely blew me away. It was everything, all at once…but doubled, for an unrivalled complexity of texture and flavour – Beef and pork, brie and American cheese, crispy patties covered in soft gooey cheese, sweet cranberry compote and maple glazed bacon in a savoury dish; all held together in a robust seeded bun that was able to contain it all without any trouble. It was just amazing!

Prices are fair and the team are really chatty, making me only want to visit them again and again.

Keep an eye on their social media page to see where you are next, as it’s worth the trek!

Thanks for reading