The All In One Ultimate Restaurant List Interview: Patty & Bun

One of the litmus tests of a good burger is how many napkins you need to mop it up, and the towering burgers at Patty & Bun ooze so much sauce, bacon, caramelised onions and beef you'll require at least half a dozen. With three permanent branches, a food truck and frequent appearances at festivals, Patty & Bun are our Ultimate Restaurant List's highest rated burger joint this year, with their West End outpost shooting straight in to number 16. Head of development Luke Findlay tells us how to make the perfect burger and the secret behind their homemade mayo.

What does Patty & Bun do that nowhere else does?
So the one thing that Patty & Bun do that probably no one else does and that has become one of our signature dishes is the confit wings (Winger Winger Chicken Dinner). Whereas a lot of restaurants do wings, most will either smoke or just fry from raw. We take the time to brine them overnight then confit them in duck fat, before covering in breadcrumbs to give them a crunchy coating. It's a long process but the results are well worth it.

Which restaurants have excited you lately?
The Marksman in Hackney for their beef and barley buns and a decent pint, Bao for their classic pork bao and the bloodcake and cured egg yolk, Taberna do Mercado for their house tinned fish, Berber & Q for their cauliflower shawarma and a bottle of their Scammed in Marrakesh.

Which food trends will be coming in the next year?
Upcoming food trends which I’m really excited about are proper decent kebabs like at Berber & Q, and what I’m really excited about is Lee Tiernan's new gaff in Highbury (Black Axe Mangal) which is going to be a game changer.

What tips can you give to a novice cook to make the perfect burger?
Buy good meat, ask your butcher for well-aged different cuts of meat with a good fat content and not too fine a grind. Use Kosher salt and use liberally. You want a really good crust on the burger so sear at a really high temperature.

Do you have a signature recipe you can share with us?
Our house mayo which goes in all our cheese burgers is the P&B mayo, here is an adapted version of it, we can’t give all our secrets away!

Ingredients:
150g egg yolks
80g Dijon mustard
15g sugar
10g salt
50ml white wine vinegar
20g smoked paprika

Method:
Using a food processor add all the ingredients and blitz to a thick paste. Slowly add in the rapeseed oil until you get a thick mayo.