Tex Ann (American Burgers) – Harrow

Located in the heart of Harrow, Tex Ann’s large and confident red logo against a strikingly bright, flame-orange shopfront signboard, certainly seems to belie its modestly-sized interior.

This American-inspired burger joint’s simple, yet effective use of large mirrors, extending across one side of the restaurant, certainly makes it appear far more spacious than its limited capacity of 25.

According to their website:

A lot of thought goes into our premium burgers, and each one is cooked with great care…. We use our Charcoal BBQ ovens to really bring out the flavours.

In actual fact, Tex Ann uses the fancy Mibrasa Charcoal Grill Oven.

As such, not only does this immediately separate them from the sprawl of similar-sized burger joints out there, but also their use of charcoal briket and lumpwood for cooking.

Salted Caramel, Coconut, Oreo – £3.99 each

Despite all three shakes being presented deliciously thick and luscious, these were met with mixed reviews.

For one, while the caramel came through strongly in the Salted Caramel, with the salt barely discernable, the Oreo was undoubtedly biscuity in both its taste and consistency, with little of the vanilla ice cream coming through. Having said that though, they were both pretty darn good for what they were.

The Coconut, though novel in its own right, quickly lost its appeal on account of its familiarly fleshy-cum-grainy coconut texture. Hence, while the flavour was undeniably there, all three Lions agreed to its peculiarly atypical texture and quickly lost interest.

Nachos £4.99

What defined these Nachos were… its nachos – top quality, thick and crunchy crisps smothered in dollops of warm, gooey cheese to boot.

However, while this certainly tasted good, and though the size of this sharing dish justified the price, we noticed an apparent disparity between the ratio of cheese to the rest of its constituent  parts.

This would have been far more satisfying had there been far more of the salsa and sour cream than the meagre teaspoonfuls added. In the end, we were left with lots of cheese and nachos, and not much else.

Grilled Wings – 3 pieces £2.49, 5 pieces £3.99, 10 pieces £6.49. Available in: Smoky BBQ, Tex Mex, Scoville or Lemon & Herb.

Well marinated chicken wings with crispy skin that come in the following four flavours:

• Smoky BBQ – where the flavour of barbecue sauce not only came through decently, but also ensured a sticky glaze.
• Tex Mex – mild and subtly spiced.
• Scoville – good tangy taste whose heat lingered on the tongue.
• Lemon & Herb – the lemon was subtle.

Sauces

And a word on the in-house made sauces too:

• House Mayo – Thick mayo with a slight tangy-cum-herby taste; very good.
• BBQ – More fruity than barbecue, with a good consistency to it.
• Chilli – A fiery fruity sauce that packed a solid punch.
• Habanero Sauce – Habanero is usually strong, hot and pungent; this wasn’t quite so.

Grilled Chicken Rice Box – Served with side Salad (without fries), £5.49

A simple thing, but one that actually worked really well. In spite of the rice being reheated (entirely understandable given the setup), this chicken was well cooked – soft and fairly succulent – and really well spiced, with a touch of sweetness to it.

What’s more, the addition of the fresh salad, dressed in a mild dressing, helped cut through the heat of the chicken. Very good for what it was. Would have been even better with fresh rice.

All burgers available as: 3oz – £5.99, 6oz – £7.49, 10oz – £9.79.

New Yorker (10oz) – Relish, Original Mayo, Mustard, Tomatoes, Onions, Lettuce, Dill Pickle & drenched in Melted Cheese, £9.49
With Fries – Regular £1.39, Large £1.69

This was the only burger we had with a chosen 10oz patty.

The patty in this New Yorker was an interesting one though.

With an intriguing dark reddish brown tinge, it was fairly dense and quite juicy, with a good grain to it. As such, it was thick, chewy and succulent.

And while the flavours were simple, the burger itself was beautifully layered.

With plenty of cheese, the combination of the relish, mayo and touch of mustard ensured a very appetizing, solid American-style burger.

This was served with fries; but what fries they were: amazingly crunchy, unsalted, and addictively tasty.

The Scoville (6oz) – Habanero Sauce, Hot Salsa, Tomatoes, Onions, Lettuce, Dill Pickle & Cheddar Cheese, £7.49
With Sweet Potato Fries £2.49

For The Scoville, we reverted to their default patty size of 6oz.

The patty was again chewy, fatty and subtly flavoured.

And though the salsa delivered on the tangy heat, this well presented burger perhaps needed more jalapenos, particularly with the habanero sauce never really materialising as it should have. A good burger nonetheless.

The rustic Sweet Potato Fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside; some may prefer theirs more crunchier though.

The Mexican (6oz) – Nachos, Sour Cream, Hot Salsa, House Mayo, Mature Cheddar Cheese, Onions & Lettuce, £7.49
With Wedges £2.59

Sadly, The Mexican turned out all confused and wanting.

Its biggest flaw was the fact that the patty was entirely overwhelmed and overpowered by the sourness of the sour cream sauce therein. And though the salsa sauce tried in vain to fight back, it was always going to lose. What this needed was something equally as strong to counter all that sourness.

In all honesty, we were expecting a burger named The Mexican to revolve around heat and spices rather than sour. Adding the same salsa, sour cream and nachos from the Nachos had for the starter came across as uninspired.

But, if there was anything redeemable about this meal, then it was most certainly the Wedges, beautifully crispy and soft on the inside, with a pinch of spice to them, and superb! RECOMMENDED!

Philly Cheese Steak £6.99

And this Philly Cheese Steak was arguably the dish of the review! Alas, this hadn’t quite reached the final stages of being included as a menu item at the time of our visit.

When you have strips of tender steaks thoroughly mixed in with mushrooms, caramelised onions and plenty of soft cheese and mayo sauce all stuffed in a warm, soft torpedo bum, what you get is a yummy mixture of chewy deliciousness. And though one Lion tentatively preferred a “little less sauce”, there’s no doubt that if this hasn’t already been added to the Tex Ann menu, it needs to be in a hurry.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Caramel Filled Churros £3.79

And these Churros were the surprise package of the review!

We weren’t expecting a restaurant of this kind to pull out freshly made and beautifully crispy Churros, filled with a hot caramel filling (with a touch of cinnamon to it perhaps), and drizzled with sugar and toffee sauce. A wonderful finger food dessert to round things off.