We Tried Le Bun's Burger Residency At Rotate Shoreditch

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We Tried Le Bun's Burger Residency At Rotate Shoreditch

Le Bun, purveyors of French-American burgers, have a new residency within Rotate bar in Shoreditch. We popped down for a team lunch to try out some of the speciality burgers.

What is Le Bun?

A burger-focussed street food company, set up by Andy Taylor, which pops up at food festivals and in other people's kitchens. Notable residences include shifts at the Sebright Arms and The Zetter.

Where is Rotate?

It's a small but charming bar at 1 Bath Place, Shoreditch, EC2A 3DA. Basically, the western end of Rivington Street.

What are the burgers like?

The menu features seven very creative burgers. We tried four of them.

Le Truffle. Lack of tomato much appreciated.

Le Zinger (£9.50): Le Bun's take on the zinger burger is missing the chief component: chicken. It's a meatless equivalent, put together from a vegan protein called chick'n, with hash browns to aid the texture. And by cluck does it work. The pastiche poultry, fried in breadcrumbs, is among the most convincing slices of fake meat I've ever tried. With chipotle notes and vegan cheese, this is an impressive burger. (M@)

Le Truffle (£8): A really nicely balanced burger, this. The generous helping of truffle mayo is adequately oak-y without being overpowering, yet not so much that it saturates the (perfectly toasted) brioche bun. The aged beef patty itself is also tasty, though if I had to be picky I’d have it ever so slightly pinker. The lack of tomato (bane of so many a burger) makes Le Truffle a whole lot more texturally pleasant. (Maire)

The Zinger. That there is not real cheese.

Le Royale (£9.50): This is another aged-beef burger, but here infused with bone marrow sauce. The meat is soft, juicy and nice and pink, slathered with plenty of trashy cheese and pickles. To be honest the sauce and confit beef onions were not overly noticeable, but still a very satisfying burger. (Will)

CBD F*cking Vegans (£11): A weird taste, the name of which I can’t quite put my finger on — and I really hope never to put my tongue on again — lingered with this patty and let this burger down. It might have been the CBD, although I can’t really know for sure, considering I’ve no idea what CBD actually tastes like — does anybody know? It’s a shame considering that texturally this was an extremely meaty vegan burger, and the pickles, sauces and fake cheese crammed in there were of such high quality. Odd name, too. (Harry)

What else is on the menu?

Burgers we didn't try include a truffle honey bacon cheeseburger; a 'Double Double' with double-aged patty and double cheese; and something called the Hot Mess, which seems to be a bit of everything laced with "shit loads of pickled red and green chillies & jalapenos" (it is a very sweary menu).

As for sides, we had mixed feelings about the buffalo cauliflower wings, gobbled up the truffle mayo fries, and picked over a selection of house pickles. Also available are 'bone marrow loaded fries', 'wedge salad', and a headscratcher called XL Vegan Animal Fries. Answers on the back of a postcard for that one.

A wide selection of drinks are available through the Rotate bar.

The Verdict?

Some top-notch burger action here. All meals were enjoyed (caveats about the CBD thing notwithstanding), and the price points compare well with other gourmet burger outlets. Tres okay, as a French-American might say.

Le Bun is at Rotate Shoreditch for at least three months (Feb 2020), possibly longer if things work well.

Last Updated 06 December 2019