Food review: Brooklyn Craft, Shrewsbury

The website's weird. Actually, it's not weird. The website's unfinished.

This is how Brooklyn Craft's website describes its burgers: "Aluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit, magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem." And this is what it means: "Aluptatem follow without realising it. And no man who is not, who is a pain, because the pain, some great to seek pleasure."

Now I may be going out on a limb here, but I'm not sure how that sells burgers. The description of the Big Steak Burger is the same, as is the Rage of Milk Shake. And guess what, the Bacon Cheeseburger, Texas Burger, Blue Cheese Burger and Dubble (sic) Cheese Burger are also described in the same manner. Which is weird. And a little bit funny.

Still, let's not dwell. The guys behind Brooklyn Craft aren't the first to make errors on their website and they won't be the last. Besides, the most interesting thing about Brooklyn Craft is surely the burgers, rather than the wonky webpage, so let's talk meat.

Brooklyn Craft is a reasonably new burger bar in Shrewsbury. The prices aren't as low as the website suggests, however. Burgers start at £8, rather than £2.27, and ascend into the dizzy heights of two figures. Yowzers. More than £10 for a burger. They'd better be good.

Happily, they are. Though I'm not sure a regular burger with a slice of wan cheese, a squirt of mayo and a few bits of salad is really worth £8. No matter. Brooklyn Craft are tapping into the lucrative gourmet burger market and bizarre website aside, they do a pretty good job.

Their buns are good – yes I did just write that and no it wasn't a double entendre. Light, fluffy and nicely flavoured, they're a gazillion times better than the sponge-like things served in national chains that have a longer shelf life than Joan Collins and are as tasty as chalk.

The burgers are good. And burgers are a thing. Burgers are cool. They provoke debates that are more impassioned and interesting than Brexit. The Brooklyn Craft Facebook page, for instance, features expansive prose from burgexperts who've eaten the world's finest beef patties. It's hilarious.

There's bantz between burger bros who know their onions from their dill pickle. Jack Clarke's assessment is the funniest, but I'm not going to repeat it here. We're a family newspaper and don't use words like that, Jack. But you're probably right.

Maximilian Poole sets himself up as being a leading authority in the world of burgers by telling people he's lived in Poland and the USA and dined on beef there. He rates them as being the best in Shrewsbury, though not necessarily the best value.

The riposte, however, is where it's at. So let's share that with you. James Sparkes is right back at him with: "Who cares if you lived in Poland or the States that's not the point is it? Are these good burgers and are they better than many you can get in Salop?

"That's all we needed to know but have a big shiney medal for living in those places never the less we are all so impressed."

James is right about one thing, however. The only question that matters is this: "Are they the best burgers in Shrewsbury?"

The answer for me is no. Though they're not far off. There are places nearby selling organic burgers that were farmed in the fields near Shrewsbury. They are well-seasoned, the meat is a little better and in my opinion, burgexperts, those take the biscuit.

But Brooklyn Craft's are good – and better than most.

The venue is simple. It's a former fish and chip shop that's been converted into a gourmet burger joint where you pop-in, pop-out, or eat on the high stools that line the perimeter. There's not been too much styling. The interior designer was, presumably, on a day off when they made the call. Instead, it's all bare brick walls and bright coloured paint. And it looks pretty good just like that. There's no need for change.

The fries are brilliant: the best in town. They're as skinny as a supermodel and just as tasty. Deep fried – no, hard fried – so that they're golden and crisp, they're beautifully seasoned with a hint of heat and served voluminously. I've not found better for a long time and certainly not in Shropshire.

Service is okay. It's quick and a little impersonal though the two staff were pleasant on the night I popped in for the aforementioned burger and fries. A little more engagement with customers would improve the experience.

Brooklyn Craft is a welcome addition to Shrewsbury's dining scene. It's odd in places: as well as the peculiar website, it seems to be selling sports nutrition powders for bodybuilders, which is too surreal to think about. Buy a burger, get ripped abs. It doesn't compute. So let's leave it there.

The burgers are good, the prices are not, the fries are brilliant and the staff could try a bit harder. Oh, and the website is chaos.

My feeling is, they'll fix the obvious teething troubles, bring their prices in line with competitors and last the course.

It's a work-in-progress and it'll probably do quite well.