Here’s what to order at Black Bear Burger Westfield, and what to skip

Black Bear Burger has been sitting on my London burger list for years.

This year alone, I’ve happily eaten my way through some of the city’s best-known burger joints, ticking them off one by one, and Black Bear Burger has somehow remained the one that got away.

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Their website confidently describes themselves as serving the 2nd Best Burger in the World, they’re famous for brisket piled into burgers, and people love them.

So when a shopping trip takes us to Westfield White City, it finally feels like the right moment to find out what all the fuss is about.

As it turns out, Black Bear Burger does one thing exceptionally well.

It’s just not the thing I expected.

Quick info on Black Bear Burger

• Restaurant: Black Bear Burger
• Location: Westfield White City
• Must order: Double cheeseburger
• Also order: Chicken tenders, Cajun fries
• Skip: Brisket bear burger, millionaire potatoes
• Halal: Halal beef and chicken available at the Westfield branch

Find out more in the full Black Bear Burger restaurant review below.

The Black Bear Burger menu is more than just brisket

Ever since Black Bear Burger started life as a London street food stall back in 2016, brisket has become something of a calling card.

You’ll find it folded into burgers, scattered over sides and generally making its presence known across the Black Bear Burger menu. Considering founder Stew grew up on an organic beef farm in Devon, the restaurant’s obsession with great beef suddenly makes a lot more sense.

Naturally, I assume the famous Brisket Bear Burger will be the star of lunch.

Reader, I am wrong.

Can a great burger survive a move to westfield?

I’ll admit it: I’m always wary of restaurants in shopping centres.

It’s the same feeling I get about airport food. People aren’t really there for lunch –  they’re there because they’ve been shopping for four hours, their feet hurt, and they need feeding.

It’s not exactly an environment that encourages great food.

So I can’t help wondering whether Black Bear Burger has managed to hold onto the standards that made people rave about it in the first place, or whether they’ve succumbed to the mall experience.

By the end of lunch, I have my answer.

It’s just not quite the one I was expecting.

The Double Cheeseburger is the reason you’re here

If you’re skimming this Black Bear Burger review looking for the one thing you absolutely have to order, let me save you some time.

Get the double cheeseburger. It’s magnificent.

The glossy sesame bun arrives wrapped around two beautifully caramelised beef patties, molten American cheese, pickles, relish and their classic burger sauce. 

The patties aren’t aggressively smashed like the wafer-thin versions you’ll find elsewhere across London. Instead, they’re left just thick enough to stay wonderfully juicy while developing an extraordinary smoky crust that crackles gently with every bite.

That smoky crust is the hero here. It delivers a wonderfully savoury, deeply beefy flavour that makes you slow down between bites, to enjoy it more.

I’d also strongly recommend ordering the double rather than the single patty. The buns are substantial enough that the extra patty creates a much better bun-to-beef ratio, giving every bite the richness it deserves.

Even more impressively, it’s a fantastic cheeseburger served inside a shopping centre, where so many restaurant groups seem to lose a little of their magic.

Black Bear Burger hasn’t.

The famous brisket burger is surprisingly weak

Now here’s where things become awkward. Because Black Bear are arguably best known for their brisket.

The Brisket Bear Burger arrives topped with twelve-hour brisket, cheese, pink pickled onions and garlic sauce, and on paper it sounds like the sort of thing I’d love.

At first, I do. The beef patty still delivers that wonderful crust. The pickled onions add brightness. The garlic sauce works beautifully.

But the more I eat, the less convinced I become. The problem is texture.

The brisket is so mushy that, when combined with the burger patty, everything begins to merge into one mushy mass. There isn’t enough contrast or variation.

After a few bites, I realise I’m no longer particularly excited about the next bite.

Eventually, I leave more than half behind and move on to the fries.

For me, this is an easy skip.

If you’re visiting Black Bear Burger London, the cheeseburger is the better order, by far.

The chicken tenders are toddler approved 

We order the chicken tenders for my three-year-old.

They arrive golden and beautifully crisp, accompanied by red pepper hot sauce, hot honey ranch, spice seasoning and pickles, all served on the side at our request.

And they’re excellent, featuring thick chunks of juicy chicken wrapped in a coating that shatters satisfyingly when bitten.

Most importantly, my three-year-old absolutely demolishes them. Which is usually a fairly reliable endorsement.

The fries are a solid side order

The Cajun fries are exactly what you want from a burger side, being both crisp and fluffy.

Whether they’re double-cooked or not, they taste like they’ve had some extra attention paid to them. The Cajun spice adds warmth without overwhelming the potatoes, while the habanero honey mayo brings sweetness and heat in equal measure.

I’d order them again in a heartbeat.

The Millionaire Potatoes need less of everything

The Millionaire potatoes sound incredible on paper. On the menu, they’re described as double-cooked crispy potatoes with confit garlic butter, parmesan and truffle mayo. Woof woof. 

But the reality is less successful.

It’s all just too rich. The potatoes have already been fried aggressively, and the addition of garlic butter, parmesan and truffle mayo pushes the dish into overload.

The first bite is wonderful, but a few bites in and the richness overload hits home. Eating them feels exhausting.

Stick with the fries.

The wings are just alright

The buffalo and blue cheese wings are perfectly fine.

The flavour is pleasant enough, but they’re nowhere near crispy enough to become memorable.

When you’ve got chicken tenders this good sitting elsewhere on the menu, there’s really no reason to order the wings.

Is Black Bear Burger worth it?

Overall, our experience at Black Bear Burger Westfield is a tale of two burgers.

The cheeseburger is outstanding and deserves every bit of attention it gets.

The brisket burger is much less successful. I’d skip it entirely. 

Still, the fact that Black Bear can produce a cheeseburger this good inside a busy shopping centre is impressive.

So, if you’re heading to Black Bear Burger, ignore the brisket hype, order the double cheeseburger, add some Cajun fries and enjoy.

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Address – 1026 Ariel Way, London W12 7GA
Nearest Tube – Shepherds Bush