Have you herd?

herd. Burger and chips 

Herd, the new burger restaurant in Bedford opened its doors last week to muted fanfare. With a limited online presence and on-trend branding, interest around the new restaurant has been high. The basic premise seemed fool proof, a hipster-pleasing array of craft beers and a fine selection of burgers. This is just what Bedford has been waiting for, especially as gourmet burger restaurants are popping up all over the country.

With this in mind, our first visit to herd was rather disappointing. With customer service skills lacking we were abruptly told there was a waiting list and it would be a 45 minute wait until we could be seated (no bookings taken). The wait is to be expected in a new restaurant. We got some drinks (disappointingly some of the beers were out of stock) and sat in one of the stylish back rooms. We were finally invited through to the restaurant area and seated on stools facing a wall which is hardly conducive to good conversation over a meal! This highlights a bigger problem, the restaurant area, however stylish, is very small. Considering the two back rooms are sparsely populated by drinkers it would make sense to extend the dining area into one of these two rooms. This would reduce the wait during busy periods and allow for a more thoughtful seating arrangement in the dining area.  

For my taste the burger was overdone, cooked through rather than medium. We were not asked how we would like our burgers cooked. The relish and other accompaniments were all fresh and very good. One of the drinks we asked for failed to materialise apart from being listed on our bill and there was a hair nestled smugly amongst the chips. The chips (minus the hair) were the unsurpassed success of the evening, hand cut with rosemary and garlic seasoning - very tasty. The buns were fine but when we noticed one of the staff tearing open a four pack of bread rolls behind the counter it immediately left a bad taste in our mouths. We’d much rather imagine they were being prepared fresh in the kitchen or delivered fresh from a bakery!

The Park - burger

If you’re a fan of burgers then I suggest you try the Park’s mouth-watering patty (pictured) or the Smoke Shack for another perfectly cooked burger. We're sure herd will only get better as they find their feet. There's certainly room for this type of restaurant in Bedford and we will certainly be returning! 

Why not tweet us and let us know your favourite Bedford burger.

Smoke Shack Bedford - Opening night impressions

Smoke Shack threw open its door to the grateful, meat hungry denizens of Bedford on Thursday 4th June. Their second venue following a highly successful and well-reviewed start in Stony Stratford, the sequel to Smoke Shack has taken on the site of the defunct BBQ Bob’s on Mill Street. We were invited to attend the launch night along with some lucky winners of a ‘golden ticket’ competition and our first impressions are that, expected teething problems aside, Bedford could soon have a top class BBQ joint on its hands.


When you arrive at a brand new restaurant and walk down a red carpet to be greeted by the wrinkled brow of Gordon Ramsay, your tastebuds prepare themselves for a special culinary experience. Ramsay turned out to be a lookalike (there was also a Mr T, both of them from ‘The Chippendoubles’ of Britain’s Got Talent fame) but the food at Smoke Shack, which aims to combine the best of British and American smoke houses, has a real authenticity.


Crucially for a BBQ restaurant, the quality of the produce on offer is clearly very good and it was mostly well-prepared. The smoked ham hock terrine starter was delicious, livened-up by the fresh, zingy house-made piccalilli. The nachos were about what you would expect and would have been more interesting if they had come topped with the smoked chicken and black treacle bacon lardons we had ordered.

On to the mains, the Shack Attack burger was delicious. The high-quality beef had a deep, rounded flavour and, cooked slightly pink, was still wonderfully soft and juicy, nestled neatly inside a rich brioche bun. We also had the grand spare ribs. These are not the huge, meaty, fatty ribs that we have had elsewhere (we asked the waiter to assure us that they weren’t the baby backs) but the pork was tasty and very succulent, falling off the bone and melting in the mouth. They were, as you would expect, deeply smoky. But somewhere between the smoking process and the spice rub they had become very salty. For some people, we suspect, they would have been inedibly salty. The crispy fries were fine but they were brought to life by the wide variety of fantastic hot and smokey sauces on the table.

When it comes to dessert menus, some BBQ restaurants can really disappoint. Not so here. We were disappointed not to be able to have the peanut butter fondant because it sounds amazing, but the black forest eton mess was everything we wanted it to be-very dark chocolate sponge, very sweet meringue and very boozy kirsch laced cherries. The special cheesecake was similar: super sweet, not very subtle but perfect if that’s what you are looking for in a dessert. We also have to mention how pleased we were that the restaurant offers the crisp, refreshing Curious Brew lager on tap.

There were, as you would expect, a few teething problems with service which we expect will be improved upon. In addition to the unavailability of the peanut butter fondant the kitchen ran out of chicken wings (our favourite!) and there were a few mistakes with our orders and a lack of knowledge about the menu among the waiting staff.


Our party was a little divided on the restaurant decor. One of us guiltily missed the gaudy Americana that adorned the walls of BBQ Bob’s, but the other admired the warm simplicity and the sense of space created by the giant mirror on the back wall. However, we were agreed on two things. First, that the effort that has gone into revamping the space in the short lead time since the restaurant’s announcement was impressive. Second, that we love the giant bear mural in the bar.



On what must have been a difficult opening night for the Smoke Shack team, we were left confident that with a few tweaks it will be one of Bedford’s top eateries. The menu has been designed deliberately so that diners will face a difficult choice in deciding what to order and the range of delicious-sounding burgers, dogs and grills on offer will certainly have us coming back for more in the next few weeks. We look forward to offering our updated impressions when we do.