IN RECENT years Hereford has garnered somewhat of a reputation for its burger restaurants.

The Burger Shop at the Yard in Aubrey Street has been making a lot of waves, being at the focal point of Hereford’s successful indie food festival, so I decided to check it out.

The first thing I was struck by was the ambiance, the music and interior design evoked a cool, modern atmosphere without being too cliche or hipster-ish.

Service was quick and polite. The open-style kitchen meant I could see that the food was being prepared in a clean, well-maintained environment.

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Being a lover of spicy food, I ordered a buffalo hot chicken burger and some bacon fries, my friend Phoebe got a buttermilk chicken burger with added bacon and some sweet potato fries.

After a challenging ten seconds in which I had to restrain my appetite long enough to take a few photos of the food, I tucked in.

Hereford Times: The burger shop sources many of its ingredients locallyThe burger shop sources many of its ingredients locally (Image: Joshua Dyer)

My burger was just as good as it looked. The hot sauce and blue cheese mayo meant the meal was full of flavour. The abundance of sauces made the eating experience a messy one, but that’s not a negative for me. The chicken was high-quality, crunchy but not greasy. The brioche bun brought it all together, literally and figuratively.

I was surprised by the bacon fries. While the typical French fries, baconnaise and bacon bits combo was present, the inclusion of bacon ketchup and chives made the Burger Shop’s spin on the dish quite distinctive.

Phoebe was equally impressed by her meal. She said: “I thought it was really well made and the ingredients were clearly of a high standard.

“The fact that the ingredients are sourced locally really adds to everything about this restaurant.”

I washed the whole thing down with a pint of Westons Caple Road which, despite being somewhat of a Herefordshire cider connoisseur, I had never tried before. I found it to be crisp and refreshing; it complimented the food well.

In the end I had to fork out £24 for the meal. Considering the consistent high-quality of it all, I thought that was a pretty reasonable price.

Safe to say, this one is worth a visit if you haven’t been already.