Tucked away in a Bow industrial estate, Bun & Sum is the kind of place you'd walk past a hundred times unless someone told you to go. Since 2021, they've been turning out LA-style halal smash burgers that earned them a National Burger Award in 2024 — not bad for a unit on a business park. The setup is no-frills (think stand-and-eat outdoors), but the patties are wafer-thin, crispy-edged, and genuinely excellent, with beef dripping fries that have earned their own fanbase.
National Burger Awards 2024 winner turning out LA-style halal smash burgers from a bare-bones Bow industrial unit — go for the food, not the setting.
It's a takeaway-first spot with outdoor standing only — order ahead and eat your burger while it's hot, don't expect to sit down.
Award-winning smash burgers hidden in a Bow industrial estate
Bun & Sum is one of those places that proves you should never judge a burger by its postcode. Wedged into Unit 4 of the Bow Triangle Business Centre, it's not somewhere you stumble into — you go because someone who knows burgers told you to. And they were right. The LA-style smash patties are the real deal: wafer-thin, lacy-edged, with that perfect Maillard crust that only comes from a properly hot flattop. The double smash with cheese is the move, and if you're feeling ambitious, the Big Rib Burger piles on five-hour smoked chopped beef rib with honey BBQ sauce — it's excessive in the best way.
The beef dripping fries are not an afterthought. They're the reason some people come back. Crispy, deeply savoury, and best ordered loaded. The menu also covers pastrami burgers, chili cheeseburgers, and spicy tenders, so there's range beyond the classics. Everything is halal, which has made this a go-to spot across East London's Muslim communities and beyond.
Here's the honest part: the Google rating sits at 3.6, and that's misleading. The food is genuinely award-worthy — they won the National Burger Awards in 2024 — but the experience is bare-bones. It's a takeaway-first operation with a stand-as-you-eat outdoor setup. If you're expecting a sit-down meal with table service, you'll be disappointed. Go for the burger, eat it while it's hot, and don't overthink the setting.