MEATliquor

Before MEATliquor became a small chain across London, it started life as a Marylebone burger joint with a deliberately grungy, dive bar aesthetic, dim lighting, graffiti covered walls and a menu built around wings, dogs and burgers that helped kick off London’s American style burger boom over a decade ago. The Welbeck Street original still carries that founding energy more than the newer branches.

The Dead Hippie is the burger most regulars order without needing to check the menu, and the wings, sticky and properly seasoned, hold up well against newer, more specialised wing spots that have opened since. Sides like crisp battered onion rings and chilli cheese fries lean deliberately indulgent rather than restrained, and that’s very much the point of eating here.

Cocktails and craft beer round out a drinks list that fits the dive bar mood, and the whole experience is loud, dark and unpretentious in a way that’s become harder to find as burger joints across London have generally smartened up their interiors and pricing over the years.

A burger, fries and a drink comes to around £20 to £25 a head, which places it toward the pricier end of casual burger dining despite the intentionally scruffy surroundings, a point some reviewers raise directly. It suits a rowdy dinner with friends, late night food after drinks elsewhere in Marylebone, and anyone who wants a proper American style burger without the polish of a more upmarket restaurant.

The honest note is that MEATliquor’s reputation was built partly on being a genuine discovery a decade or more ago, and for diners who’ve tried the many burger spots that have opened across London since, it can feel less distinctive than it once did, reliably good rather than exceptional. It’s still worth a visit for the atmosphere alone. No bookings for small groups on weekend evenings, so waits are common.