Gourmet Burger Kitchen for Sydenham

Trawlerman · Post by **Trawlerman** » 14 Dec 2009 15:47

Ulysses,
The 352 can get you to Beckenham from Sydenham Sainsbury's.
Not a bad little route.

I agree, London Bridge [Borough] food market is pretty good. But it is rather expensive and it can get very crowded, especially at this time of year. My advice is know what you want and get there early.

mikej · Post by **mikej** » 18 Dec 2009 20:35

Ulysses wrote

Unless you go everywhere by car (and I choose not to own one) Beckenham is not very convenient. There's no way of getting there by train and there is only the highly irregular 194 that goes there [?]. Otherwise it's a 45min walk each way...which I occasionally do.

Or in 15 minutes you're in L. Bridge and into the best foodie market in the UK, if not the world. Plus they do a bit more than just sausages...

No contest I'm afraid mikej.

Ulysses, I was responding to the subject of the thread, not attempting to promote Beckenham! My comments were purely factual.
Of course ONE sausage shop in a suburban place CANNOT compete with Borough Market - fairly obvious, I'd have thought.

But if we're trying to encourage GBK to open in Sydenham, my point about there being one relatively close by (via 194 or 352?) is not a bad one.
There is a good train service from Penge East, too, in case you hadn't noticed.
So that makes Beckenham a distinct possibility even if you don't choose to own a car.
Why not get a bike - quite quick from Sydders!

Willy · Post by **Willy** » 18 Dec 2009 23:49

While Borough Market is great, personally I think the sausages at Villagers are far superior and I always make the effort to go there during BBQ season (and evrey other season too! - the Carrigs are very special).

They have a solid customer base of South Africans who rate their biltong very highly and for good reason - not that I know what I'm talking about of course!

Ulysses · Post by **Ulysses** » 19 Dec 2009 08:07

I hadn't noticed mikej. I find the whole Penge East line utterly woeful. Not too long ago I tried to use Sydenham Hill for a commute to Victoria. The trains were religiously late and/or cancelled. On one famous occasion a few years ago they cancelled the 8.04 [?] and the next one 'up' was the 8.34 [?]. That of course was packed to the rafters so we all had to let it go without a hope of getting on it! 2 trains an hour...in rush hour!? If you're lucky. Things are a bit better now but not much.

Anyway, I could get a bike [is becoming a dangerous t*sser who ignores the rules of the road mandatory upon purchase of a bike?] but I like walking. Still, a bike would take 15-20 so the point about Borough market actually being 'closer' (as odd as that sounds) and more convenient still holds true.

That written can you tell me the name of this place and I'll check it out. What variety would you recommend or are they all good?

Thanks in advance for any pointers mikej.

Trawlerman · Post by **Trawlerman** » 19 Dec 2009 14:42

As I have said...Borough Market is good but pretty steep. I could hardly catch my breath when I saw the price of the Belgian beers on one of the stalls! There's a pretty good place that sells pork pies. Excellent pies, but ...I reckon you could get prime organic sirloin for the same price-per-kilo at other venues.

As for 'gourmet burgers' ... Not bad. But, do the words 'gourmet' and 'burger' really belong in the same sentence?
How about trying to create your own 'gourmet burgers' [It can be quite fun!]

mikej · Post by **mikej** » 19 Dec 2009 18:20

Dear Ulysses

Have a look at their website -

http://www.englishsausages.com/

they seem to have lots of recommendations. I seem to remember the Lincolnshires were pretty "ace" last time I was there.

Hope it is helpful.
They should open a Sydenham branch asap.

What do others think?

Trawlerman · Post by **Trawlerman** » 19 Dec 2009 22:31

Ok with the sausages.But how about the return of a proper wet fish shop first?

Sydenham was home to a proper wet fish vendor some years ago.

poulet · Post by **poulet** » 20 Dec 2009 10:24

Ulysses, have you seen the new timetable from Penge East? Services this week have been pretty poor with bad weather, but there are trains every 15 minutes on stopping service from Bromley South to Victoria now. Far from perfect, but improved!

Funny how Southeastern keep getting more trains and Southern cut them!

mikej · Post by **mikej** » 20 Dec 2009 18:49

TM said:
Ok with the sausages.But how about the return of a proper wet fish shop first?
Sydenham was home to a proper wet fish vendor some years ago.

Why can't we campaign for both?
I agree - I'd prefer a wet fish shop too.

MJ[/quote]

Ulysses · Post by **Ulysses** » 20 Dec 2009 19:49

@ Trawlerman:

I concur. I find it hard to reconcile 'gourmet' with burgers and sausages. But some of the stuff knocking around is high-grade and not exactly sausages as most know them. Didn't Tesco famously do a 19p sausage or something recently. It doesn't bear thinking about what went into them...I think there only needs to be a small percentage of 'meat' to be legally compliant.

@ Poulet:

I don't think anyone should hold up SouthEastern as any sort of example! I remember how they were looking for a Marketing Director to push the message that those new trains they were getting that had significantly reduced seating was a good thing! Plus they should have given much more consideration to local services once the Eurostar capacity was up for grabs upon termination of the Eurostar using the south Kent lines through Bromley.

More services there might be but they are still frustratingly late and poorly timetabled. Many a time I have been looking down the line waiting for a train only for a non-stopper to come crawling past. About ten minutes later the timetabled train decides to pull in. It's worse than laughable. They don't, in my opinion, give two hoots about anything before Orpington!

@ Mikej

Thank you. I rarely, if ever go to Beckenham but based on your glowing recommendation I'll be sure to check their Lincolnshires out.

Thanks again.

bag lady · Post by **bag lady** » 22 Dec 2009 13:47

I'd love a Greggs

http://www.greggs.co.uk/customer_care/c ... _code=GRTW

Trawlerman · Post by **Trawlerman** » 22 Dec 2009 15:51

How about a decent, proper pie and mash shop in Sydenham?

Trawlerman · Post by **Trawlerman** » 22 Dec 2009 23:34

Greggs...Not bad [but less salt, please]

scarpetta · Post by **scarpetta** » 31 Dec 2009 10:36

GBK in Sydenham would be a step in the right direction offering quality fastfood and providing us with alternative options. What do we have at the moment? ...Chicken shops and kebab shops. It might even encourage those who never use the highstreet to start using it!

Trawlerman · Post by **Trawlerman** » 31 Dec 2009 17:18

I still believe a proper, authentic pie and mash shop [original English 'fast food' ] would do the trick. Better than yer ubiquitous chicken shop, GBK,
'Subway' etc...

Any body out there of like mind?

Gaz · Post by **Gaz** » 2 Jan 2010 17:54

Trawlerman wrote:I still believe a proper, authentic pie and mash shop [original English 'fast food' ] would do the trick. Better than yer ubiquitous chicken shop, GBK,
'Subway' etc...

Any body out there of like mind?

I used to love going to the pie and mash (and liquer) shop at Borough Market - unfortunatlely this closed a couple of years back and I haven't seen one around since so it looks like the demand just isn't there.

There are some 'S&M' (Sausage and Mash) shops springing up in some up-and-coming areas of London. These are nice but a tad too expensive I feel.

Ooh, for a decent chippie in Upper Syd..!

Juwlz · Post by **Juwlz** » 2 Jan 2010 21:41

Gaz wrote:
Ooh, for a decent chippie in Upper Syd..!

Mermaid is a great chippie.

Gaz · Post by **Gaz** » 3 Jan 2010 02:51

Juwlz wrote:
Gaz wrote:
Ooh, for a decent chippie in Upper Syd..!
Mermaid is a great chippie.

Not on a Monday or Tuesday in my opinion - I have often had to throw half my chips away if I go in there on those particular days.

I usually stop off at Forest Hill on the way home nowadays if I want to pick up some freshly cooked chips.

pip · Post by **pip** » 3 Jan 2010 12:56

Bobs Pie and Mash shop was on Sydenham Road but had to close in 98 due to the beef scare. As regards fish and chips I have always had good fayre at the chippy next to Penge East station ( Newlands Park side )

Juwlz · Post by **Juwlz** » 3 Jan 2010 20:14

Gaz wrote:
Juwlz wrote:
Gaz wrote:
Ooh, for a decent chippie in Upper Syd..!
Mermaid is a great chippie.
Not on a Monday or Tuesday in my opinion - I have often had to throw half my chips away if I go in there on those particular days.

I usually stop off at Forest Hill on the way home nowadays if I want to pick up some freshly cooked chips.

I usually go to Mermaid on a Friday and its good. But you're right the Jolly Bee in Forest Hill is excellent.

Sydenham Town Forum

The Community Voice for London SE26 since 2004

Gourmet Burger Kitchen for Sydenham