MEATmarket, The Deck, Jubilee Market Hall, Covent Garden

I decided on the Arc'teryx Spear 25l daypack in Black, with a wonderful hi-viz orange interior, fleece lined pocket in the "lid" compartment for phones and small 7" tablets, flared bottom section for increased airflow over the back and numerous other over-engineered features for my use. I waited far too long at the till and after thankfully answering the annoying Ellis Brigham "Did anyone help you with this purchase?" question with a resounding "No", I ventured round the corner to the above location through the 'you need to know that it's there' style entrance of the Jubilee Market Hall to the South of Covent Garden.

Annoyingly I got behind a slow moving couple on an early date on the way in and up the stairs. They were clearly new to the culinary delights that they were about to experience. Despite this early set-back I was able to quickly get to the order station as they vainly tried to find a table to themselves at this fast-food variant of the successful MEAT empire. Menu choices are fashionably limited, so I tried the Double Bubble burger for a change from either the superb Black Palace or Dead Hippie options. To accompany this I went for the always excellent Poppaz and a refillable soft drink a la Nandos rather than any of the alcoholic options, including milkshakes, on offer.

MEATmarket was the busiest I'd seen it, probably due to the rampant success of MEATliquor, had to share a table with seats for 10 and space for 6 with one other chap at the opposite corner. Ambiance is a retro-American diner, pseudo-ironic style that I believe is popular with the denizens of Hoxton and Shoreditch. I believe could be described as 'Hipster-esque'. I, like all good hipsters, prefer to hark back to an earlier era when this type of sub-culture was exemplified in the 'TV Go Home' listings as the late night recurring fly-on-the-wall documentary series entitled "C**t" (The censorship is mine), and eventually the actual series 'Nathan Barley'. To illustrate I was later to joined by two ridiculously young girls opposite me and was entertained by one of the party's tales of her tribulations as an unpaid intern in a Soho production company and her ability to secure a position working on a documentary to be potentially aired on one of the Discovery Channels on the 'Mysteries of the Universe'. Her most pressing issue is currently on coming up with ideas on how to visualise the Big Bang. I had a few suggestions, but decided to keep them to myself as my name was announced over the PA system indicating that my food order was now ready for collection at the stainless steel counter.

Poppaz, a mixture of cheese and cut up Jalapeno peppers in Panko breadcrumbs with a Ranch (not Blue Cheese) dressing, where the worst I have experienced there, but still amazing. It's a shame that this menu option is not at MEATliquor as a combination of Poppaz and the Deep Fried Pickles with Blue Cheese dressing would be a match made in Heaven. I do enjoy some quality French Fries, but would happily forego them for either of these two side orders.

On to the MEAT of the review. The Double Bubble was superb, the two meat patties are exemplary and cooked to medium-rare perfection. I normally shy away from burgers on the rare side, but the quality of the quite thin patty mince recipe would be ruined with a medium, I believe the fat content is on the lower end of the 25% - 30% ratio that is in vogue currently. This is a vanilla double cheese burger with minced white onions, sliced gherkins, Heinz tomato ketchup and French's yellow mustard. Hugely enjoyable, but a repeat visit would bring me back to either the Dead Hippie's take on Big Mac sauce or the Black Palace's substitution on minced raw onions for grilled onions. The bun I feel isn't up to Tommi's standards mentioned below, but is a great compliment. Unseeded, slightly sweet, reminiscent of a quality Maccy D's hamburger or cheeseburger bun, it doesn't shine as much as some of the sourdough and Brioche buns available at other establishments. The bottom half can struggle structurally with the amazing juices and other moister elements of the burger, resulting in an 'inverted' eating style occasionally being more appropriate.

All in all this was still a 4 out of 5 experience and well worth a small diversion if in need of a quick no-frills dining experience in the vicinity of Covent Garden and a good escape from the throngs of tourists loitering outside the nearby TGIFs and their ilk of dull consumer fodder.