honest burgers launch taster pop-ups ahead of opening

We told you before that one of our favourite burger joints  Honest Burger is landing at 8 Duke Street (Pascere’s old site) early this year. But they now have a date Monday 25th February and those pop-ups we mentioned? They’re a go!

The burger boys will be holding two pop-ups ahead of their restaurant opening, as well as a creating a bespoke beer, woohoo! They’ll be appearing first at the West Hill Tavern (Buckingham Place) from 7th to 10th February, giving Brightonians a first taste of the delicious patties and famous rosemary-salted chips they’ll be serving up from their permanent home.

“We’re super-excited to be hosting the Honest Burgers crew at the Westie. A great British burger in a great British pub – I’d say that sounds like a great weekend. Bring it on,” said West Hill Tavern owner Ben Pistor.

Later in the month, from 14th to 16th February (a nice Valentine’s treat!), the Honest Burgers Field Kitchen – aka a converted Land Rover Defender – will be parked up outside the Holler Tap Room (Elder Place).

Plus, excitingly, Honest are also collaborating with Holler to create a bespoke beer, that they’ll be serving up at their Duke Street restaurant. Punters can get a first taste of the new brew at the Holler Tap Room pop-up.

“We had a great morning at the brewery with the Honest team who got stuck in helping us develop ‘The Duke’, a really smooth oatmeal pale ale, brewed with both British and US hops,” says Holler founder Steve Keegan, who moved their brewery from Uckfield to Brighton last September. “We’re really excited to join up with Honest. Burgers and beer – is there a tastier collaboration?”

honest-burgers-brighton

The Duke Street restaurant is actually something of a homecoming for Honest Burgers, which started in Brighton in 2010 when founders Tom Barton (pictured right above) and Philip Eeles (left) met while working at Riddle and Finns. “We made that classic mistake of thinking it’s easy to run a food business. After a few beers in the Bath Arms, we agreed to each put in £3,000 for a tent, a grill and a fryer and served our first burgers at the Brighton Food Festival,” they said.

“Turns out it was a lot harder than we thought. But we didn’t stop. We met some great people who helped us open a tiny restaurant in Brixton, and then a few more. Eight years later, we’re back here opening a restaurant in Brighton. To say we’re chuffed is an understatement.”

With their London menu already quite well-balanced in terms of its meat:plant ratio (there are five beef burgers, three vegetarian/vegan ones and one chicken), we can’t wait to see what they’ve got in mind for our rather demanding foodie city. Tom and Phil say we can look forward to high-quality meat and veggies, meat and plant-based menu options and friendly customer service. If you’re a new music fan you’ll be pleased to hear that they’re working with indie record shop Resident to bring you the juiciest of playlists for the restaurant, too. Bring on the burgers!

The West Hill Tavern pop-up:
Thursday 7th & Friday 8th February, 5.00pm – 10.00pm, Saturday 9th February, midday – 10.00pm; Sunday 10th February, midday – 5.00pm
67 Buckingham Place, Brighton BN1 3PQ
The West Hill Tavern

Holler Brewery pop-up:
Thursday 14th February, 5.00pm – 11.00pm, Friday 15th & Saturday 16th February, midday – 11.00pm
19-23 Elder Pl, Brighton BN1 4GF
hollerbrewery.com

The permanent Honest Burgers restaurant opens its doors at 8 Duke Street, Brighton on Monday 25th February.
honestburgers.co.uk