The last year has seen a flurry of burger joints come to Coventry, from 7Bone’s dirty burgers to Five Guys peanut-oil fries and elaborate thick shakes. But one of them run by local businessmen is representing Coventry by being shortlisted recently for a national award.

BRGR Lab on Stoney Stanton Road opened in November 2020, the midst of the pandemic, and hasn’t looked back since. Their reputation has grown so much they caught the attention of UberEats, which has shortlisted the takeaway for Restaurant of the Year award.

CoventryLive caught up with co-owner Hamzah Islam, who runs the business alongside his brother and a childhood friend, to discuss BRGR Lab and just what it means to them to be nominated. Hamzah said: “It was a tough time to launch a business during the pandemic, but we wanted to launch something Coventry didn’t have at that time which was a smash burger place.

“Business was booming because lots of people were eating takeaway. We used Just Eat and Deliveroo but it was Uber Eats which saw how well we were doing through metrics and reviews and then we got nominated for Uber Eats’ Restaurant of the Year award. To be recognised nationally is a massive achievement and to be honest it feels awesome.

“There’s massive competition for burgers in Coventry at the moment. Not long after we started some other places started doing smash burgers too but we were the first ones so we set a benchmark.”

For those who are unfamiliar with the term ‘smash burger,’ Hamzah explains: “A smash burger is like a gourmet burger. It’s a thick patty, you put it on the grill and you literally ‘smash’ the burger with a cast iron press, cook it on one side, turn it over, put some cheese on and you’re done.

“Our beef is prime, fresh beef. We don’t use frozen patties, so our burgers are juicy with a high meat content. But what sets us aside is the care we put into it. We don’t skimp on ingredients – premium cheese, premium brioche buns and premium patties.