The Two Sawyers, Canterbury.



Yeah, my photos are rubbish.


First, a disclaimer - the proprietor of this lovely little pub, Dougie, is a very good friend of mine. So good in fact, that a couple of summers ago, I spent the best part of 2 months in Canterbury helping him get the Two Sawyers up and running. I think it is only fair that I mention this before I write a review of the truly awesome burger I ate there.

With that caveat soundly in place, I can now tell you, honestly, that the Sawyers burger is up there with some of the best burgers I’ve had the pleasure to eat. It really is. And because I know the man responsible for its creation, I can tell you – a lot of work went into creating this burger.

First, the burger itself – made with lovely lean steak mince and lightly seasoned. Pure and simple, the way it should be.

Salad-y bits are kept to a respectful minimum. Finely shredded iceberg lettuce and fried onions. This is, in my humble opinion a very good thing as there is nothing more annoying than bits of extraneous cucumber squidging out of your bun as you sink your teeth in. If I wanted salad, I would have ordered salad. But I ordered a burger. So you know what I was after? Yup, that’s right – beef.

The cheese used- that luminous yellow burger cheese you get in little plastic wrappers - could be controversial. Now, personally I like fake-burger-cheese on a burger. I *cannot abide* cheddar on a burger, I just don’t think it works. Cheddar melted on toast – ace. Melted on a burger – blergh. It’s the wrong texture, too greasy, just...somehow not right. Having said that, I have been known to smother a burger with a combo of blue cheese and guacamole and happily dig in, so I am fully aware that my concept of yum / yuck may differ to that of most people. The Bear, for instance, will eat fake-burger-cheese on a burger (there aren’t many things he won’t eat to be honest) but would be much happier with a slab of mature cheddar on top. I guess this is a matter of personal taste.

The bun used is wholemeal. This makes me very happy, as it means I can legitimately categorise having a burger for dinner as ‘healthy.’ In fact, if you had the burger with extra salad instead of chips, that’s a positively virtuous supper right there. On the other hand, chips are mega-tasty so you should definitely have them with your burger. The bun is lightly toasted which gives the whole thing a pleasing crispness, and also helps keep the dreaded soggy-burger syndrome at bay.

And so, the final element...the fifth element if you will...the highly-guarded top-secret-recipe utterly-delicious SECRET BURGER SAUCE! I love this sauce. Most of the ingredients you could probably guess, but there is one slightly unusual ingredient. I know the secret ingredient, and it certainly surprised me when I found out (don’t worry it’s nothing dodgy, just something you wouldn’t necessarily think of as a natural pairing with beef).

Half-munched burger...I was hungry and forgot to take a photo before I started eating...oops.

So that’s it – the Sawyers burger. The rest of the menu is all good, honest pub grub, done well and cooked with love. And on top of that, it really is a charming little pub. If you’re in the area I would urge you to give it a go.