Henry Burgers Southend RIP - ‘Goodbye Old Friend!’

March 16, 2016 by Rich - Foodie Reviewer

Henry Burgers Southend RIP - ‘Goodbye Old Friend!’

It’s been a roller coaster of emotions this past weekend. A sad announcement was made via social media last Friday morning. We all remember where we were when the news broke of the untimely death of Diana, or Michael Jackson. What about the emotional last flight of Concorde? Well, this sad announcement is up their with them all, and will be engraved in my memory for years to come. So what am I talking about? The closure of Henry Burgers Southend.

Oh boy, where do I start here? I think we all know Henry Burgers, and Im sure we all have fond memories of Henrys. Be it a quick pit stop lunch, or a full on epic night out, with some of Essex’s finest Dj’s on the wheels of steel. Yep, Henry certainly knew how to throw a party!

Henry starting grilling burgers in the old Sunrooms Bar a couple of years ago. Although gourmet burgers were already on the streets of London, I don’t think anywhere was doing the same in Southend. The closest we got to a gourmet burger was a flame grilled effort in Burger King! Clearly, Henry being the savvy businessman he is, realised the potential, and so Henry Burgers was born. To be honest, it’s the location that really added to its appeal. Ive spoken about the Market Place area of Southend in previous reviews. To me, it’s a pretty gritty underground part of town, not diss-similar to Shoreditch. It’s full of quirky shops and little independent restaurants. So to have an ‘on trend’ gourmet burger joint slap bang in the middle just worked so well.

When you run a restaurant serving up just one thing, you’ve got to do it well, and that’s exactly what they did. I clearly remember my first visit. I ordered my burger, and the waitress said ‘the burger is served pink, is that ok?’ Hallelujah I thought, at last we have a restaurant serving up a burger as it should be, and made from quality ingredients! I wouldn’t recommend buying some non-descript cheap mince from a butchers and cooking a medium burger; that’s a one-way ticket to a night in the dunny. BUT, if you use quality home ground steak, it’s not an issue. Nobody bats an eyelid if you have a pink steak, so why not a burger!

Over time the Burgers just got evermore inventive. Allsorts of different vegetables, chilli’s and chutneys were thrown in. The menu never stood still for too long, Henry and the team clearly worked hard in the burger development lab! However, I had a big issue with one invention; I was scarred for life when my brother in law (who likes all things sweet) devoured a donut burger! Yep you heard me right, in place of the usual roll, a donut was cut down the middle and sandwiched the beef patty. If my memory serves me right it had bacon and maple syrup included! I was shocked, but he thoroughly enjoyed it! But this just proves my point of Henrys creative nature!

It wasn’t just burgers, oh no. The bar was awesome. All those peculiar bottles on the shelf, it resembled some kind of chemist’s lab rather than a bar. Jalapeño infused Tequila, bacon infused Bourbon, Earl Grey Gin, and I’ll never forget rosemary infused Gin! Believe me, this tasted like roast lamb with rosemary in a bottle! Strange as all this sounds, these were ingredients for some bloody amazing cocktails, and probably….no not probably; they were the best cocktails in the area. I once had an old fashioned, garnished with candied bacon! Yep, bacon! Strange, but it was blooming lovely. Lou and I would often spend entire afternoons sitting at the bar working our way through the list!

One thing I will be ever thankful to Henry for, is bringing craft beer to Southend. I just bloody love craft beer. Im sure anyone who has read any of my previous reviews will be all too familiar with my passion for small batch beer which is brewed with love and care. Great Beaver could be had here too! Beaver? Beavertown of course. This is one of my favourite London craft brewers. I’d been drinking this stuff for years, but only in London. I remember the day; Henrys sent out a tweet, with a picture showing cases full of Beavertown beer! I was down there like a shot. This was probably the only bar outside London where you could grab yourself a cold can of ‘Bloody Ell IPA’ or ‘Gamma Ray’ its awesome stuff.

Well there you go, this really is the end of an era in Southend. It's not dis-similar to the closure of the Hacienda in Manchester; regulars to this iconic nightclub were distraught when it closed its doors. The building was eventually demolished and the club regulars were taking bricks from the pile of rubble that remained, so as always to have a piece of the venue with them! Ok, maybe this is not quite the same; I mean they're not demolishing the place! But as a foodie Henry's Southend exit is a big blow.

So, it's with a heavy heart and a tear in my eye that we bid farewell to Henry Burgers in Southend, it's like losing a faithful friend. Henry, I salute you sir for saving us from those bloody awful Golden Arches, and blessing us with proper burgers! But it's not all doom and gloom, the old Henry Burgers will not remain empty, a new venture is on the horizon, it's exciting times; who knows what they’ll bring? The word on street is fried chicken will be the next ‘on trend’ ‘dude food’ so you never know? But what ever it is, let's hope it's something equally as special as Henry's!

But, panic ye not burger fanciers; although this weeks review is like an obituary to an old friend (and in a way it is) please don’t write off Henry, he ain't finished by a long shot! Remember, we’ve still got Henry Burgers in Leigh, which is going from strength to strength. I popped in there last Saturday, just for a drink, and it was packed! So head on down there for your fix of damn fine burgers, cocktails and beer!

Read all of @foodierich's previous review's here https://www.leigh-on-sea.com/tag/listing/blog/restaurant-review