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Pipe in the Calvin Haggis
For the second year running Byron restaurants in Scotland are serving up a special limited-edition burger to celebrate Burns Night (or should that be 'week'?), which of course features haggis! It's called, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Calvin Haggis burger! We missed last year's offering so now that their Glasgow restaurant has closed I made sure to visit the Edinburgh old town restaurant on North Bridge for a sneaky preview. It's handily located across the road from the Scotman Steps at the other end of the block, for anyone arriving from Edinburgh Waverley below, like me! There are plenty of bus stops on North Bridge a short walk away too.
Starter
Of course, it's not all burgers, so to start me off I had...
Six crispy little mac & cheese balls covered in cheese sauce, spring onions and really tasty crisp bacon. At first, I thought there was sriracha too though the menu says buffalo glaze but they had more of a Thai/Korean taste than typical mac & cheese bites. They had a good texture - some crunch to the exterior and not completely mush inside. I washed them down with a half pint of the Byron Pale Ale, brewed by Camden Town, but sadly it wasn't up to much and not a patch on the Byron Lager, which is also brewed by Camden. It's described as an American Pale Ale on the menu but is really a middle-of-the-road English pale ale which seem so pretty low on hops. They sell a decent selection of lagers and IPAs and I have my eyes on the more unusual Sierra Nevada IPAs for next time.
I first tried courgette fries in a Byron in Manchester years ago, I love them and this was a good helping but they could've been a little crispier on this occasion.
Have you heard the one about secret menu items? Well, I'd heard that Byron restaurants in Scotland have an off-menu Irn-Bru milkshake. I asked and one arrived! If you love Irn-Bru and milkshakes then it's a match made in heaven, surprisingly it does work. This is the smallest size available, sadly I've no idea how much it costs though.
The main course
The Calvin Haggis features a 6oz hamburger patty, haggis, bacon and onion relish, a tattie scone, American cheese, dry-cured bacon, a fried egg and blanched white onions, with a dollop of Byron sauce. Here's what's under the soft glazed bun bonnet...
I'm a fan of Byron's burgers and this was a huge juicy burger topped with ingredients, it's breakfasty in nature with the tattie scone and fried egg (which was cooked soft) in addition to the haggis, which works for me as I love breakfast anytime of the day! There's also a slice of pickled gherkin on the side should you want more food!
I ate too much actually so couldn't finish everything and had no room for pudding but took a doggy bag home.
The verdict
The Calvin Haggis is an exceptionally tasty burger. A meaty patty stacked with delicious haggis and Scottish fry up items it is quite a feed so you probably don't need to order chips with this one!
Service was quick and all staff were polite and helpful.
Toilets are individual cubicles and the one I used was clean but locking the door was a bit of a challenge as it opened fully both ways, i.e. went beyond the lock point (but maybe I just had a dodgy door!).
TL;DR+ Mac n cheese balls were great
+ Really filling haggis burger
+ Secret Irn-Bru shake was a pleasant surprise!
+ Convenient central locations for Aberdeen and Edinburgh
+ Staff were friendly and helpful
- Byron pale ale wasn't up to much
- Courgette fries lacked crispiness
Where
All Byron restaurants in Scotland. These are:
When
Only available for one week from today, 22nd until 28th Jan!
Social media and website
Disclaimer: Byron invited me in for a complimentary burger meal but Fred vouches that this dinner looks a lot more appealing than this week's cat grub and kitty kibbles.