OK, last month my colleague reckoned ‘a fast-food burger is a fast-food burger, is a fast-food burger!’ But this month I have to disagree.

Intrigued at the almost cheek of a burger joint setting up in the heart of the island’s most established fine-dining district, I popped into Blaze Burgers alone at lunch time – after all a burger bar’s not exactly the place to take a hot date.

I honestly wasn’t expecting much but I have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised.

First you choose your pattie. From gourmet classic – 200 grammes of rib eye-based cuts ground daily – to old school – single, double, triple or quad (really, four burgers in one, does anyone actually eat this?) – grilled chicken breast or even something a little different for the non-meat eaters in the shape of a giant Portobello mushroom grilled to your liking.

I went for the Blaze Signature, 200 grammes of freshly-ground beef stuffed with red cheddar and marinated in Blaze special recipe sauce.

Then you pick your bun and what’s great is that they’re actually baked daily, proper crusty rolls. Go for white, whole wheat (my choice with delicious sesame seed topping) or pick the healthy option and have your burger wrapped in a lettuce leaf – I was tempted…not.

And next for the topping. There’s an incredible variety and someone has really done their homework coming up with a range of tastes that truly complement each other such as the mushroom and Swiss – sautéed mushrooms, Emmental cheese, thick mushroom sauce and mayonnaise – or Jalapeno fever – spicey jalapeno pesto, Monterey Jack cheese, lettuce, onion and Dijon mustard.

I opted for green runch (which might actually be green ranch but that’s what it says on the menu). Emmental, onion, tomato, rocca and Blaze runch dressing.

Altogether it made for one of the best burgers I’ve had outside of the US. Served a la British-pub style, in a plastic basket lined with fake newspaper, the pattie was cooked to perfection, slightly pink in the middle and melt-in-the-mouth tender.

The cheeses, oozing from the sides, had clearly actually been melted in place rather than just slapped on top as an afterthought and the combination of genuinely fresh rocca, raw onion and the oddly-named dressing made for the perfect tongue-popping accompaniment.

As part of a meal deal, including drink, I’d also picked Cajun fries with jalapeno mayo dip and, again, I couldn’t have asked for better. The fries were piping hot and crispy with a light dusting of southern seasoning and the dip made a pleasant change from the standard ketchup – next time though I’m going to try the nuclear mustard just to teach myself a lesson, it’s got four chillis on the menu so I’m guessing it could be a little spicey!

The bill (for one)
Signature combo BD4.800
Total BD4.800