Could these be Bristol's best burgers?

If Rob Forbes from Shirehampton is reading this, I salute you. Last weekend, Mr Forbes was the first person to "take down" The Beast in 59 minutes – a remarkable achievement that defeated 40 previous challengers.

For those of you just tuning in, The Beast is a 4.5lb burger sold at Warren's Gourmet Burger Co– a rare culinary outpost in St Annes.

The equivalent of three double burgers, those brave enough to attempt this meaty challenge had to eat the entire Beast (and every chip) in order to get their money back and have their name added to the Wall of Fame.

At the end of the year, there is a £100 cash prize waiting for the person who scoffed it the quickest.

Owner Tom Warren used to run burger vans around the city but at the end of last year he decided to upgrade to a more permanent premises and opened this restaurant/ cafe in a small row of shops next to a Chinese and a fishing tackle shop called Tony & Tina's.

To be honest, I half expected Tom to be a shaven-headed, tattooed Ray Winstone character flipping burgers in a greasy apron.

With that image in mind, I was a little taken aback when the man who took my order at the counter turned out to be a fresh-faced chap with spiky hair and the sort of ironed shirt and suit trousers favoured by eager young estate agents.

Warren's Gourmet Burger Co wasn't really on my radar until a colleague alerted me to the fact he had driven past it and thought I should check it out.

In all the years I have been writing this column, I have never been sent to St Annes, so there was a certain novelty value attached to climbing into a taxi and asking for Wootton Road.

Even the taxi driver had to thumb through his A-Z when we reached the Netham Lock gates.

Occupying what must have been a local shop, the cafe is bright and breezy with a mix of white walls and contemporary black and grey patterned wallpaper.

Chairs are high-backed leather jobs and tables are clear glass and oval shaped. It looks a little bit like the dining rooms of those ghastly self-publicists you see on Come Dine With Me and not at all what I expected.

Each table has a cluster of essential burger and chips condiments – Sarsons vinegar and squeezy bottles of Heinz tomato ketchup and Heinz mayonnaise.

If you like burgers, then Warren's is the place for you, mainly because that's all it serves – 30 different types of them in beef, lamb, chicken, pork and vegetarian flavours.

The laminated menu features all the usual favourites but there is much more than that. This is the place where you can order a curry burger (beefburger marinated in curry paste topped with homemade mint yoghurt and mango chutney), an Italiano (beefburger infused with pepperoni, olives and topped with mozzarella) or a Funky Lamb (lamb with fresh mint, stuffing and apricot).

There is a sense of humour here, too. If the True Brit (beefburger topped with crispy bacon and Stilton) doesn't bring a smile to your lips, then The Hogfather (pork with crispy bacon, rosemary and smoked cheese) might.

Rather boringly, I ordered the "classic with cheese", but I wanted to judge Warren's on the quality of the basic burger rather than the flavoured ones. I wanted to taste the meat.

It was a good plan for it also allowed me to taste the perfect seasoning (not too much salt but a generous twist of pepper) and the smoky, juiciness of the meat, which had been flamegrilled, as had the soft, pillowy white bap.

The burger was served with mayo, a layer of lettuce, some red onion and finely sliced tomato that also had some flavour rather than being anaemic and purely there for a bit of colour.

Served on a small wooden board with a bowl of good coleslaw that wasn't at all sweet and cloying, as it often is, it arrived with a smallish helping of golden, crisp-edged chips.

In terms of portion size, it may not have been as colon-busting as The Beast, but it was certainly substantial and it came as no surprise to be told there is no dessert menu here "mainly because nobody can manage one".

What struck me most about the meal was the price. Between 11.30am and 5pm, the inclusive price of a burger, chips, coleslaw and a soft drink (I had draught Diet Pepsi which, admittedly, could have been fizzier) is just £5.95.

In the evening, it's just £2 more and you can double up on burgers for an additional £2.

Whichever way you look at it, these are outrageously good prices for burgers of this quality and it's little wonder it was busy on a mid-week lunchtime and packed most evenings (when it offers BYO booze – a canny idea as there are no local pubs in the area).

The only downside of all this is the fact Warren's Gourmet Burger Co only has a handful of tables, although there is always the takeaway option.

When you are serving what are arguably the best burgers in Bristol, it would be a shame to turn people away.

Mark Taylor