Inspired by travels to Hong Kong, China and a road trip across America, Hanbao is an East meets West collaboration of street food and style.

The lads behind the restaurants (there’s a second in Worcester), say that Hong Kong and China inspired the interior while LA and New York inspired the flavour.

Hanbao means burger in Mandarin which gave us some idea of what we were in for. Think fast food/street food vibes with attention to flavour detail on steroids. For instance, buffalo fried chicken bites – tender chunks of chicken with a buffalo sauce would have been fine, but at Hanbao the addition of blue cheese sauce added a winning hit of salty richness elevating it. Same with the BBC fries topped with baconnaise, bacon bits and mature cheddar. It sounded simple, but it was much more considered than chucking a few moreish bits on top of some average fries.

Onto the burgers. We went for the signature Hanbao which got a bit messy – you might need a bib. A nicely charred smashed patty added some smoke while oozing American cheese as well as cheddar brought some goo and richness. Crunch and freshness came from lettuce and fresh onion while a thwack of sticky, sweet, salty goodness was provided by a heady slice of char siu bacon all packed into a soft glazed bun with Hanbao’s special mayo. It was an absolute belter and probably the best burger we’ve eaten. We racked our brains to come up with better and we couldn’t.

We also dabbled with the ODB ‘Dirty’ burger which was almost as brilliant. We felt the char siu bacon swung it for the Hanbao, but if you like your burgers more classic American style, the ODB might be the one for you. In a genius move, the patty’s smashed with American mustard. That’s teamed with American cheese, pickles aplenty, crispy fried onions, more American mustard and burger sauce in a glazed soft bun – just classic flavour combos done beautifully. The cocktail menu was a bit of fun and worth a shout. We sampled some lurid looking drinks that tasted great. The Gin Soda was our winner.

We left the restaurant planning our next visit, listing dishes we wanted to try, and that tells you everything you need to know. If you like a relaxed vibe and delicious indulgent food at a reasonable price point, Hanbao’s the one.