Bunkers Hill in Nottingham is one of those city centre pubs that is just far enough away from the main drag to feel like a local. Not too many of the gobshites bother to walk down the hill through Hockley to drink in this place, so you end up with a pretty relaxed but also vibrant feel. You get the guys out for a ‘decent pint’, the music lovers coming to see the bands and the singers, and when the Ice Hockey is on, well then you get the Panthers fans in.
The place has been done up a bit recently and a lot of the hockey memorabilia has gone which is a bit of a shame, they do have a big net up in the ceiling filled with Hockey shirts though which tickled me a bit.
They also have one of those big white boards now with all the beer listed as if they were the latest movie releases. I kind of liked that 🙂 I also like that they are doing tap takeovers, and promoting craft beer from all over. I know that is the ‘trend’ these days, but you get the feeling that these guys really are teaming up with the ‘guys who have the beer’
Last time I was down here they had this massive burger menu and I was like ‘come on now, how many burgers does one man need to think about?‘ These days though they have cleaned it up and you have a menu with most of the hits on it and just a couple of burgers to think about. My mind is less cluttered now and I was able to keep my choices simple, so thanks for that 🙂
Burger and Fries
We checked out the Bunkers Hill Menu and both ordered The Purist with chips which was billed as being “Two 3oz Beef Patties, Cheddar, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Homemade Burger Relish and Onion Rings”. The suggestion of adding smoked streaky bacon for £1 extra was heeded and the upgrade to a meal with chips took the pricepoint up to £8.75.
In the world of pub burgers this creation has a fair bit going for it. The actual flavour of the chargrilled burgers was very good, they were well seasoned and meaty. Sadly as they are so thin, they were a bit overcooked for my personal taste and they were somewhat on the solid side of well done.
The added crispy bacon was just as promised, a lovely bit of smoke, nice and salty, and some good crunch in the bite. You know what I wouldn’t mind just getting great big bacon cob filled with some more of this streaky perfection (put that on the menu 🙂 ).
I really liked that we had cheese on both the top and bottom bun, and the homemade burger sauce was fairly well received.
I would have preferred it if the onion rings were on the plate alongside the burger, instead of being deep within the tower. It seemed strange to have raw red onion and then deep fried battered onion in the same mouthful, that didn’t really work for me
Close-Up on the Purist
Construction wise we are looking at a dangerous game of burger Jenga! Even in this pre-munch close-up you can see that this stack is on shaky plate. Once the supporting wooden skewer was removed so that you could actually eat it, it was a toppling baby. This is one of those burgers that you almost end up needed a knife and fork for.
I like to be able to just pick my burger up in one hand and take a great big bite without the whole thing falling apart and tumbling back down onto my plate.
I did like that burger flavour as you felt that you could just eat the meat patty on it’s own, you didn’t to disguise it with lots of fancy toppings. Apparently the burgers come from Owen Taylor, one of our excellent local butchers from just over the border, and they are made from a mix of ‘rump cap, short rib, and chuck steak’. All they need to do now is cook them just a little more gently 🙂 or get thicker burgers. I like mine pink 🙂
If I am totally honest I would love a burger called the Purist to just be a simple affair of a good well cooked burger in a nice soft bun with perhaps just some cheese and maybe some bacon. Pure and Simple is what I really want, and that is not just hearsay 🙂
Some other stuff 🙂
Menu
I like that they have condensed the menu at Bunkers Hill, and I like that the prices are fair and reasonable.
I could imagine myself popping down for a Fish and Chips Friday to try out their “Cod and Chips” for just £8.50 the menu say that it has a ‘Guinness batter’.
Burger Sandwich Stuff
I kind of fancy trying the “Chilli Beef Burger” just to try the ‘smoked beef brisket chilli’ and the ‘chorizo relish’. If I do though I will ask them to take it a bit easier on my beef patties; just show them the grill and then put them in my bun 😉
That XXL Pork Belly Slider sounds good too, I can just imagine some crisp or maybe soft juicy pork belly coated with or dripping with ginger garlic, soy, chilli and honey. Damn I am really hungry now, why do I write about eating food?
So anyway Bunker’s Hill is located all the way down the hill from Hockley, just across from the Sneinton Market and pretty close to the Ice Stadium where those Panthers Play
Officially they are in the Lace Market at
36-38 HOCKLEY
LACE MARKET
NOTTINGHAM
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
NG1 1FP