Oliver spent years happily ignoring the smash burger craze. Then DUMBO came along and, rather annoyingly, proved that squashing a burger really does make it better.

Smash burgers have been in the zeitgeist of modern food culture for quite a while now and, if I can share a little secret with you, I had never tried one until this week.

After all, how good can a burger be? Especially after being squashed.

This week, on another sunny afternoon, I visited DUMBO, the Paris-born smash burger sensation that has now landed on Berwick Street in Soho. And for me, a northerner who grew up listening to Oasis, there is something quite funny about finding myself eating a burger on the very same street immortalised on the cover of What’s the Story Morning Glory?

DUMBO is cool. Annoyingly cool, actually. The kind of cool that makes you immediately question whether your own outfit is quite doing enough. The room is stripped back, all stainless steel, concrete, wood and yellow resin, with the kitchen sitting proudly in the middle of it all. 

There’s no faffing about, no fifteen-page menu and no ingredient list that requires a degree in gastronomy or a patronising explanation from the wait staff. Just burgers, fries, nuggets and a very confident attitude.

And perhaps that is why the whole thing works. DUMBO knows exactly what it is and doesn’t seem remotely interested in overcomplicating it. You could almost say it has taken the Oasis approach: just roll with it. Except here, thankfully, nothing is rolled, just beautifully smashed.

And honestly, it feels bloody nice to feel cool.

I went for the cheeseburger and the Earth Burger, because apparently one burger wasn’t enough to settle my long-standing doubts about the entire smash burger movement. The cheeseburger is everything you want it to be: crisp, caramelised edges, juicy beef, molten American cheese, pickles and the sort of sauce situation that makes you temporarily forget you are eating something that is probably going to require you to nap afterwards.

Then there was the Earth Burger. The vegetarian option, and surprisingly, not merely the obligatory token veggie burger quietly hiding at the bottom of the menu. It has enough going on to stand proudly alongside its beefy sibling, which is exactly what you want from a vegetarian burger.

DUMBO’s whole philosophy is essentially less is more. Two-week dry-aged beef, a soft potato bun, American cheese, Heinz ketchup and a searing-hot plancha. The patties aren’t smashed little by little, but instead hard and fast, creating that deeply crisp crust while keeping the centre juicy.

So, have I finally understood the smash burger?

I’m afraid so.

Turns out squashing a burger really does make it better.

And now, after years of happily ignoring the smash burger phenomenon, I find myself converted. Perhaps there really is something to this whole thing after all. And if I’m going to discover it anywhere, doing so on Berwick Street, with an Oasis reference practically under my feet, feels rather appropriate.