The Fat Hippo

Reviewing places to eat is fast becoming one of my favourite things to write about. Not only do I love trying all of the new places I can find (gimme ALL the food), but I love sharing great food places with you guys so that you can all find some delicious places too. Jess and I have already reviewed afternoon tea at St Mary's Inn and champagne breakfast at Jesmond Dene House so naturally, burgers were next on our list. The Fat Hippo is place that I've heard people rave about many, many times and was somewhere we had on our list to try so last week we stopped off in Jesmond to get our burger fix.

First of all, the decor in the Fat Hippo is right up my street. It has a laid back, modern rustic vibe with it's wooden ceilings, dark wood tables and hanging open bulbs, giving the whole place a really chilled and relaxed atmosphere, essential for enjoying a juicy, messy burger. I personally love the little lamps on the windows - I can't think of anything more adorable than little jars with open bulbs in them! We were seated in the front area of the restaurant by lovely, big windows and I know that you all know how important natural lighting is in a restaurant. I mean, how else are we supposed to snap Instagrammable photos of our food?! There was also more seating through the back of the building, keeping with the rustic theme but with the addition of some super snazzy wall decor, making the Fat Hippo the ultimate easy going restaurant for when you want a calm, laid back lunch or dinner.

I am obsessed with milkshakes so as soon I saw the "milkshake" section on the menu I knew I had to try one. Jess and I both opted for strawberry and they arrived in those super cool red cups that remind you of American house parties in the movies and we all know that drinks just taste so much better out of cool cups right?! Anyway, the milkshake was fab - creamy, sweet and bright pink. Exactly the way a strawberry milkshake should be. There was also a "naughty shakes" section on the menu that I couldn't help noticing, offering the best sounding alcoholic milkshakes I've ever heard of. As we're not drinkers, we opted for the non-alcoholic shakes but next time we go back I know I'll be very tempted by the Milky Bar, a shake made of Baileys, Amaretto and vanilla ice cream. YUM.

We were both absolutely starving but luckily for us the food arrived almost immediately! Dontcha just love it when that happens? Jess went for a classic American burger: two beef burgers topped with cheese, gherkins, ketchup and mustard, also going for the skinny fries topped with Fat Hippo sauce and bacon pieces. The burger was juicy, cooked as a burger should be and Jess loved it. Last food review I told you about Jess's weird habit of eating the egg white and leaving the egg yolk. Today I'm telling you about her weird habit of eating gherkins whole. Yup, she loves them so much she even took my gherkins! Anyway, she said her burger was delicious and it definitely looked it. 

As a vegetarian, I can sometimes get sick of the same ol' veggie bean burgers. I mean, I love them but sometimes that's the only meat free option so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the Mac the Ripper burger on the menu. A burger bun with salad, BBQ sauce and deep fried mac 'n' cheese balls, this was literally heaven in my mouth. I loved this alternative and although it's not what you would usually class as a "burger", it was beautiful and I ate every last bit of it. I went for the freshly cut chips with mine and ate nearly the whole pot of them as well. You know when something is so good you literally can't stop eating even though you're about to burst??? Yep, wear trousers loose fitting enough for a considerable food baby to grow when you visit the Fat Hippo!

Even after we demolished our huge burgers, we just had to try the desserts. We decided to share a chocolate brownie with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream and my oh my....it was worth squeezing it in. It was one of those melt in your mouth brownies with a softy, gooey centre and oh my lord, was it good. I'm a dessert person anyway so I was bound to love this but my stomach is rumbling again just thinking about this!

Overall, we had a beautiful lunch at the Fat Hippo. The burgers were delicious with plenty of choice, the drinks and the dessert were both amazing and the decor made us feel right at home so we didn't have to worry about getting a bit messy with the burgers! The Fat Hippo is located in Jesmond, just a few minutes drive from the city centre of Newcastle but they also have a Fat Hippo Underground in the centre of Newcastle itself, meaning that whether you're looking for a light lunch or a pre-night out burger, the Fat Hippo has something for you.

Where're your favourite burger places?

Amy x

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