This weekend saw the launch of the Battle of the Burgers at Alton Towers Resort’s Rollercoaster Restaurant. Pitting seven burgers against each other, each representing one of the Resort’s big seven rollercoasters, guests can vote for their favourite dish throughout the summer, with the winning dish being rewarded with a place on the Restaurant’s 2020 menu. TowersTimes was invited to sample the burgers battling it out.
Running until 7th September 2019, the Battle of the Burgers is the latest initiative from the Resort’s flagship dining outlet. Each of the seven burgers have been born from ideas submitted via a Resort wide staff competition to create dishes that capture the essence of each of the theme park’s signature rollercoasters. The result is each burger has a unique flavour identity and enables the restaurant to offer something totally different to anything else found at the Resort.
First up on the menu is Nemesis, a moderately spicy chicken burger, comprised of battered chicken, marinated pulled chicken and gem lettuce in a seeded bun. The pulled chicken is marinated in firecracker sauce, which gives the burger its key tangy and short-lived mildly hot flavour.
Perhaps the hardest of the choices to describe is Galactica. This large burger contains 3 beef burgers, bacon, onion rings, cheese, BBQ sauce and little gem lettuce, enclosed within a bagel style Galactica portal bun. The bagel bun provides a doughy flavour and texture, whilst the burgers and bacon add a meatiness to it, with the BBQ sauce providing the occasional burst of sweetness which can be easily missed with the other flavours being that much stronger.
Oblivion is also presented in a bagel bun, this time with cheese melted onto it and onion rings stacked on top. The key flavour of this battered chicken burger is the smokiness provided by the baconnaise sauce. One of the larger burgers on the menu, the dish also contains streaky bacon and melted cheese inside making it by far the messiest, but also perhaps the most fun to eat, burger on the menu.
The Smiler is another of the larger burgers, with three beef burgers, cheese, and onion rings inside a Rollercoaster Restaurant bun, and a full gherkin on top. The gherkin provides one of the key flavour profiles of this dish, but what also makes this burger distinctive is the bright yellow mild mustard BBQ sauce, (the colour of which matches The Smiler’s signature colour), which oozes from the burger when bitten into.
Whilst technically not a burger, the Rita Wrap is the lightest dish on the menu. On opening the metal pot containing this chicken tender fajita, an immediate aroma of jalapeno is released. This jalapeno, along with the other sautéed vegetables, helps produce a fruitier flavour, with only the occasional spicy kick. Of all the dishes, this was the most refreshing and would make a great lunch or lighter evening meal.
Th13teen is the only dish to be fully vegetarian by design. The burger provides a mix of flavours, with the vegetable burger being slightly sweet, the halloumi fries adding a slight saltiness, whilst the cajun spices and chilli jam give an occasional mild-to-moderate kick.
Although the Wicker Man Stack has been on the Rollercoaster Restaurant menu since last year, it naturally finds itself a place in the Battle of the Burgers representing the Resort’s latest Secret Weapon. Served as a stack of coated chicken fillet, BBQ pulled chicken and chicken goujons, the entire dish is smothered in melted cheese, hot sauce and jalapeno peppers. This is the spiciest of all the dishes, and unlike all the others the spiciness lingers therefore is perhaps better for those who are particularly fond of their spicy food.
All seven of the dishes in the Battle of the Burgers are highly enjoyable. They add fun to the food options and provide dishes that are truly unique to Alton Towers Resort. All of the dishes cost £15 and are served with chips and coleslaw, with the option to add additional side dishes. A particularly impressive aspect of the dishes is that all of the options can be made vegetarian on request, with Th13teen and The Smiler also able to be vegan, meaning not only that the Rollercoaster Restaurant has the widest range of vegetarian and vegan offerings at the Resort, but also these speciality dishes are as inclusive as they can be to allow as many people to enjoy them as possible.
Have you had the opportunity to sample any of these new limited-time additions at the Rollercoaster Restaurant yet? What are your thoughts on the Battle of the Burgers? Have your say on this and more over on the Attraction Source Forum.
TowersTimes were invited to sample the burgers free of charge by the Rollercoaster Restaurant. All opinions are TowersTimes’ own and have not been influenced in any way by the Rollercoaster Restaurant.
