Intu Eldon Square - Grey's Quarter - Smashburger

I love a good burger and if there's one thing we have plenty of in Newcastle at the moment it's burger restaurants. From the best burgers in the land at Fat Hippo to the well known chains like Byron and Five Guys - we have it all! So when Smashburger opened in Eldon Square's Grey Quarter I was interested to give it a go and see if there's room for more burgers in the Toon!

Smashburger opened in America ten years ago and has arrived in the UK with five restaurants now open across the country, I have to say I do love the fact that Newcastle is one of the very first UK cities that Smashburger have chosen to open, they must have heard that Geordies love a burger!

The idea behind Smashburger is simple, they create their burgers by smashing them onto a hot buttered grill to seal the juices and flavours (anyone else now suffering from a rumbling tummy?) Using 100% British Beef their tagline "Burger Better" is a pretty bold promise to a city that already has so many burger restaurants.

So, are the burgers better?  I popped down to the new Eldon Square restaurant in Newcastle with the lovely Sarah to give them a go.

The menu at Smashburger is split into Signature Beef and Signature Chicken with plenty of sandwiches to choose from, in fact the burgers all sounded so good there were at least 4 I wanted to try and I struggled to make a decision. There are also two vegetarian options and, for the super healthy, four salad bowls (I'm not even going to pretend that we looked at those!)

After debating the menu and changing our minds a fair few times, we headed over to the counter to place our order before settling down at our table to wait for the food. We'd barely started gossiping before our meals had appeared in front of us. Smashburger know how to serve up a super speedy burger!

I had decided to focus on the Signature Beef Burger and chose the "Truffle Mushroom Swiss" - sautéed chestnut mushrooms with truffle mayo and aged Swiss on a Smash Bun. I also couldn't resit adding a fried egg for an extra £1.35, egg on a burger is one of my favourite things and I wish more places offered them as an addition.

When my food appeared in front of me I was a little disappointed with the presentation.  My burger looked pretty deflated and, being a slightly greedy person, I prefer my burgers so huge that they make my eyes pop out. I was starving and was expecting to be wowed by a mammoth sandwich stuffed with goodies.

At least, being so small, my burger was easy to handle but my second disappointment of the meal followed when I realised that my egg wasn't runny. I was expecting to bite in and then battle the yolk as it dribbled down my chin. The best burgers make a huge mess and my Smashburger sandwich wasn't nearly messy enough!

Sarah's meal was the real winner of the evening. She opted for a burger from the Signature Chicken Burger menu Avocado Club and it looked delicious.  Chunks of fresh avocado with applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing and mayo on a multi-grain bun, it arrived deconstructed so she built her own burger then tucked in.

It looked seriously delicious and judging by the huge smile on her face she was enjoying it. I was left feeling pretty jealous and vowing to myself that on my next visit I would definitely be opting for the Avocado Club!

My side of Smash Fries tossed in Italian olive oil, rosemary and garlic made up for my burger disappointment. I loved the seasoning and they really stood out compared to the fries that I've had in similar burger chains. They were so moreish I could have polished off another portion.

Sarah ordered her burger with a side of Haystack Onions which came with a pot of BBQ sauce for dipping. Our helpful waitress told us how popular they were with Smashburger customers and we could definitely see why.

The absolute star of the show for me actually ended up being my drink.

I'd heard great things about Smashburger's Hand-spun Shakes that are blended with Haagen Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream so knew that I had to order one and decided to go for the Oreo (fair to say I'm obsessed with Oreo!)

My Shake didn't disappoint, it was as thick as ice-cream, tasted so naughty and I loved the big chunky straw that was perfect for sucking up the chunks of Oreo.  Delicious!  It was also a really generous size with more than enough extra to top my glass up again.

Next time I'm in Newcastle shopping I'll probably be sneaking my way off to Smashburger just to get myself a cheeky Shake in the afternoon.

Despite the burgers not being the best in the Toon (sorry guys, Fat Hippo are always going to win!) We really enjoyed our evening at Smashburger, the service and atmosphere was brilliant, the Shake was epic and those sides are seriously delicious!

I will definitely be returning, probably with Simon my resident burger expert, and will look forward to trying something different from the menu.

We were invited to Smashburger to enjoy a complimentary meal for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.