Honest Burgers will serve up a feast of burgers for visitors to the Polygon Shakedown on Seven Dials, on Sat 29 Aug. The event, which is the last of the summer for Polygon, will also see co-founders Philip Eeles and Tom Barton return to Brighton where they met in 2010, working at the Riddle & Finns restaurant in the South Lanes. They began selling burgers and chips from a marquee at events and festivals across Sussex, before moving to London to open the first Honest Burgers restaurant in a small unit in Brixton Village Market. “Our roots are in Brighton.” Said Philip Eeles. “It’s where we learned what our business was going to be about: simple menu, quality ingredients and friendly service. I remember how happy we were to get a pitch in front of the Jubilee Library for Brighton Food Festival in 2010. The reaction was so positive that it spurred us on to open our first restaurant. We’re really excited to be back in Brighton!”
The company has built a reputation for high-quality burgers made using dry aged beef from renowned Yorkshire farm, The Ginger Pig, as well as its signature homemade rosemary salted chips. It counts high profile reviewers such as Jay Raynor and Grace Dent among its many fans.
Currently, Honest Burgers has nine restaurants, with more set to open before the end of the year. The company, which is now estimated at being worth £20 million, employs over 220 staff and recently secured investment from Active Private Equity.
“What started over a pint (or six) in The Bath Arms and about £5,000 in savings has really escalated! It’s been an amazing few years,” said Tom Barton. ”Given how much we both love Brighton, we’d definitely like to open a restaurant here one day. Polygon is a great pop-up and the ideal opportunity for us to show the city what Honest Burgers is all about again.”
Honest Burgers will be joined on the night by mixologists from The Plotting Parlour, one of Brighton’s finest cocktail establishments. Led by Jake Goldstein, they will be offering some incredible beer cocktail creations, including Truth Serum, based on Honest’s own beer – ‘The Honest Pale’ brewed by Beavertown. “The Plotting Parlour’s beer cocktails are all about letting people experience something a bit out of the ordinary,” said Jake Goldstein.
In addition to Honest Burgers and The Plotting Parlour, Polygon Shakedown will also feature a bar hosted by beer expert Kenelm Lovell from Pigs Ears. Guests of the bar will have the chance to sample 18 different craft beers, gins and ciders.
For more information about the Polygon Shakedown, head here
