As part of my journey to find the best burgers in Cambridgeshire, I am always keeping an eye out for new arrivals on the local food scene. Early last year, a new food van appeared that caught my eye – Smash & Grab.

Located at Thirsty on Chesterton Road, Smash & Grab is a smash burger food van from Saffron Walden. I managed to catch it here on a Wednesday evening, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled on the Thirsty social media page for updates.

Fun Fact:  Some of you may also know this food van as Tacoman. 

The menu is minute, with a single beef burger or vegetarian option… And that’s pretty much it!

I respect a place that has a streamlined menu that focuses on doing a few things really well, rather than spreading itself too thinly, but it didn’t offer much in choice. If you don’t like beef or a vegetarian patty in your burger, your finished.

There is a choice to add chips for an extra £2 and burgers are only a tenner, making prices here fairly competitive.

I ordered the beef burger. The beef from Smash & Grab is sourced from ‘B. Searle & Sons’ butchery in Sawston, a popular butcher that has been trading for well over 50 years. The hot sauce is also made by David Underwood, one of the great minds behind the popular burger vans, Steak & Honour, so there is a lot to get excited about.

Like with every food van that works with Thirsty, you are allowed to eat inside the bar. This was very welcome, as it was -1 this evening and bitterly cold 🥶

In my opinion, Thirsty is one of the best places to go for craft beer (don’t forget to check out our beer page). I helped myself to a can of IPA from Beak Brewery, a small brewery based near Brighton. This is one of my favourites and the perfect addition to my smash burger – cheers!

My first impression was that the burger and chip portions were both quite small, which might explain the price point.

With that said, the burger was one of the softest and gooiest burgers I have ever had, partly credited to its butcher quality beef and double helping of American cheese. This made it the perfect winter warmer burger and ideal comfort food, especially with the hot sauce. The gherkin and red onion also added a subtle crunch and some freshness to the bite that was very much welcome.

The chips were incredibly crispy with a nice salty skin without being overpowering. I credit this to the seaweed seasoning that appears to have created a fine balance.

The execution on both the burger and chips was perfect 👌

Conclusion

Smash & Grab does a quality burger while also offering great value. It is served by a friendly chap (Nick) who truly cares about his sourcing.

This may not be the sort of edgy burger joint with a gimmick that serves ginormous burgers that you can hardly get your jaw around, but instead offers a humble yet perfectly executed smash burger that won’t disappoint. The portion sizes will satisfy most people but it may fail to satisfy big chaps like me without any side options to pad it out, so for those bottomless pits out there, I would consider ordering two burgers.

Smash & Grab is definitely worth a visit, so keep an eye out on their social media page for their next visit

Thanks for reading!