It is fair to say some could regard me as being a bit of pedant (so unusual for me!) when it comes to the fast food staple that is the burger.

I am well over the smashed/smeared patty craze (rarely done well enough, in terms of actually getting a maillard crust, to justify the miniscule amount of beef usually provided), I am not keen on bioche buns (too sweet), I think lettuce with a burger in pointless and I detest a tomato anywhere near one.

I just like my burger nice and simple, rather than with every “whacky” topping under the sun shoved in it.

I don’t want pulled pork, chopped brisket, njuda, f’ffing hot honey, kimchi, prawns, beetroot  pineapple, frazzles or a bloody donut/cronut anywhere near my burger to be honest.

I also don’t want to have to unhinge my jaw to eat it.

What I do want is basically a cheese burger with really good beef, melted cheese (plastic American cheese on a burger is a guilty pleasure of mine, but as long as the cheese is properly melted I am good)) and a tangy burger sauce all encased in a potato bun (that is robust enough to last the course). Finally it should have pickles in it. Nothing more, ingredients wise, is required to make a good burger although I will concede that there is some merit in adding bacon (not a flabby arsed or a nuked rasher mind) and I am not adverse to raw white onions being in the mix.

You then need someone to cook it who knows what they are doing, with a proper sear, so as to treat those ingredients with the respect they deserve.

To me these are not unreasonable demands, but it is seemingly quite rare (which burgers rarely are, with me liking a bit of pink in my patty but understanding serving one as such risks the wrath of the H&S stormtroopers and the place being nuked from orbit with a 1 – death – star rating) these days to get a just simply nice burger. People raved, on my Istagramaaaaazing feed, about Hansbaaggasuketi’s shrimp kong burger, but I was left less than “obsessed” as to its alleged “to die for/it’s insane” allure (too much bloody sauce, not enough beef and I just didn’t get what the prawns actually added).

More recently (and closer to home) there has been much hype as to the burgers being served up by “Burgers on My Brain” at Dalton Yard of a weekend in the Cathays burb of Cardiff.

Reports (from reliable sources rather than Itsagramaaaaazing/Itsinsaneagram) suggest a burger very much in tune with my albeit rather simple (but hard to please) needs with an admirably concise menu.

With Mrs. SF house sitting for J and looking after her dogs, I was left (with Dick the Dog) home alone and we (well me as Dick had very little say in the matter) decided a burger Sunday lunch would be in order. When I say we I mean me as Dick declined the invite, preferring a kip.

So flying solo of a Sunday (with even Dick blowing me out) this place seemed to fit the bill quite nicely with a gloriously sunny October day (in marked contrast to this weekend) making semi outdoor dining a more than viable option.

I was slightly worried about the chances of getting a parking space in and around Dalton Yard with it being Studentville and they all seemingly having cars theses days (back in my day, when I was at Uni., very few students had horse drawn carriages), but I manage to find a space just around the corner.

The set up is close to fully enclosed from the elements, thus seems pretty weather proof,

but it was a nice sunny day in any event so its rigour was not tested.

Based on the menu and my keep it simple mantra, it was an easy choice of a cheese  burger (£12.50) and unloaded fries (£3.50).

As I waited from my burger the smell wafting off of the grill was full on beefy, with a smokey back note of caramelisation, which had me positively salivating in anticipation.

The wait was what I expect and hope for from a burger, with it taking a bit of time but not too long to get from the flat top grill to the table. These things should never be rushed, as a burger that arrives with only a brief wait is probably not worth even that wait.

What arrived was pretty close to my ideal burger,

with simplicity the theme.

A nicely bronzed potato bun

encased a reassuringly thick patty that had just a touch of pink in the interior and some pleasing gnarly bits to the caramelised crust.

The texture of the interior was nicely loose (ice hockey puck density is the bane of many a thick burger patty) which allowed for a pleasing bite from the caramelised crust giving way to a soft yielding interior.

Taste wise the patty was all the alluring smell coming off of the flat top had promised with that intense umaniness you get from quality dry aged beef (here from Oriel Jones). It had that sort after (by me) almost earthy butteriness and nutty funk on the palate. Top notch patty this, with a good fat to lean ratio making for free flowing burger juices.

The additions were minimal, with a nicely tangy burger sauce and diced raw white onions operating as a counterpoint to the richness of the beef. The potato bun held together heroically against the onslaught of burger sauce and fatty burger juice right up until the final bite

My only slight quibbles were the paucity of cheese (in what was after all billed as a cheese burger) and the lack of pickles (other than integrated into the burger sauce).

Having said that the patty was good enough that it didn’t really need either. 

In summary, this was simply a rather good burger. Better, in my view, than the overloaded and overegged one I had in the much lauded Hansbaaggasuketi.

The fries continued the simplicity theme,

with them being nicely crispy and subject to a liberal level of seasoning via a rather good chicken skin salt. Lots of scrappy bits in the mix of which I am a fan.

It was a good portion sized, which could easily be shared between two.

I would have liked a bit of free mayo (can add either a pot of BOMB burger sauce or a honey mustard BBQ sauce for an extra quid) to dip these in and some vinegar to splash on them, if was being picky.  I would definitely order a portion of the BOMB burger sauce next time to go with these fries.

Drinks wise, I was driving so no booze for me (not sure if they do any to be honest) and I defaulted to a soft drink in the form of a Karma Lemony lemonade.

Nice and tangy, this worked well to cut the richness of the food. For £3 ( retails at about a quid a can) a bigger can would have been nice. It, however, did its job of quenching my thirst.

If I was drinking booze, wine wise my view is you won’t go far wrong with a good quality sangiovese (decent quality chianti, say Ricascoli, or even a Brunello di Montalcino if you are inclined to push the boat out) and cheese burger combo. The natural high acidity of sangiovese works well in cutting the richness of the fatty beef and cheese. You could, of course, go the full Sideways with a 1961 Cheval Blanc, if you have a couple of grand you can fish out of the back of the sofa.

Beer is the other (probably to most more) obvious option and I favour a crisp pilsner (Wrexham Pilsner is a pretty easy drinking number, if a tad less grand than the Cheval) with a cheeseburger. I also think gose style beers (with their acidity and touch of saline) work pretty well against the fattiness of a cheeseburger.

The verdict

This was probably the nicest burger I have had in Cardiff since the sad demise of Ansh back in 2024 (no surprise that the beef comes from the same place).

I heartily approve of the return of the thicker style patty which is finally making a come back, after years of dominance from the ubiquitous (but often disappointing) smashed/smeared patty burger.

I do hope this is part of a wider trend that will see the thicker patty regain supremacy over the skinny minnie smashed interloper.

These burgers are all about the quality of the meat and the skill of the burger slinger. No whacky topping, comedy buns or unnecessary vegetation, just properly good beef cooked by someone who really knows what they are doing. I really wish more places took this back to basics approach rather than hiding the flavour of the patty behind bloody frazzles and f’ffing iced bun

Chatting to the chap running the place BOMB’s stint at Dalton Yard will end next weekend (winter weather would impinge on the practicalities of the site in terms of the cooking rather than eating area making it tricky to carry on there as the nights draw in and the weather inevitable worsens). He, however, said he was actively looking for a new pop up venue in the Cathays/Roath area so certainly intends to keep things going (said look to socials for an update soonish – he mentioned a specific place as a potentially strong option, but it is not for me to say where it is as negotiation are seemingly still at an early stage).

I, for one, very much hope he finds one as this was certainly one of the best burger I have had in Cardiff (and beyond) for a long while. As such, any pub with an underutilised kitchen should welcome the opportunity that hosting this chap would bring with open arms.

Details

Address:  Dalton Yard, Dalton Street, Cathy’s Cardiff

Website: only on Itsagramaaaaaazing at :

https://www.instagram.com/burgersonmy_brain?dlrf=cXA4czNoNnhsc29i

Opening hours:

Fri:17.00 – 20.00, Sat and Sun 13.00 – 20.00

Their last weekend at Dalton Yard is next weekend, so my advice is go now and then keep a beady eye on their Istagramaaaaazing feed for new venue details (which surely must happen).