SmashCity Burgers food review: Takeaway serving burgers from a bus is an experience like no other

If you’re looking for a quick bite after work or even want to satisfy your late-night cravings, then look no further than SmashCity Burgers in Carbrook. Located in a car park opposite the Arena, the unassuming takeaway is actually operating out of an old, repurposed bus that is unnoticeable when driving past.

As soon as I arrived at around 9pm on a rainy Friday night, there were already a few cars parked in front of it but no one was queuing up or waiting for their order. When we were told that they would come to our car instead, I thought this was a unique dining experience that surely sets this place apart.

After waiting a few minutes, a member of staff named Ishi was very helpful and recommended a smashburger that we would enjoy - but he said if we had come earlier, he would have recommended the chicken burger, which was very popular but always sold out quickly.

I then opted for two meals of double patty Angus beef burgers, seasoned peri-peri chips on the side and a soft drink, jalapeños poppers and onion rings since there wasn’t much else available on the menu at the time.

Staff take your order from your car, tap your card on a wireless device if you don’t have cash, and then you just have to wait for your food to come – highly convenient, especially in the rain, and customer-friendly.

After around 20 minutes, the food arrived in a paper bag, with the burger wrapped in aluminium foil. If you don't want to eat it at home, you can always eat it in your car, which is what most customers do, but I decided to take it home.

The burger impressed me, with well toasted brioche buns and juicy Angus beef patties that were lightly grilled and properly seasoned. But the highlight was the house sauce, which was sweet and tangy and went perfectly with the burger.

The seasoned chips were another winner in my book. Fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside and the peri-peri seasoning was spot on. They provided a lovely chipotle style sauce to go with them.

Next up were the jalapeños poppers - they were cheesy but not enough to make a cheese pull. Taste wise, they were delicious. Although I could hardly taste the jalapeños, they had a great flavour and I would still order them again because for £2.50, they were really worth it.

The onion rings (£2.50) were just okay; just regular onion rings that you could get from a typical fast food restaurant.

My total bill came to £24.98, which I thought was a bit pricey for a takeaway with no dine-in option but it was definitely worth the experience.

SmashCity Burgers is open everyday from 5pm and also available on UberEats.