We Brits enjoy a bit of irony and nothing felt more ironic than the reopening of pubs and restaurants for outdoors dining being met with freezing cold days, gusts of wind, and the odd shower of hail.

Nonetheless, after months cooped up inside with the same four walls with the same faces, many of us have been grateful to have somewhere new to venture to. Plus, the reward for braving the elements (not having to cook) is always worth it.

One of the restaurants that has been luring punters out of their homes and back into their arms is Gourmet Burger Kitchen. The restaurant chain, founded in London in 2001, specialises in high-quality burgers and employs around 650 staff nationwide.

In Basingstoke, the chain has a restaurant in Festival Place and has made use of its outdoor seating area to be able to reopen to customers. They have recently teamed up with brewery Magic Rock to open a new outdoor terrace bar in a bid to draw in the casual drinkers as well as diners. The bar offers three of Magic Rock’s craft beers: Magic Lager, Murk Life Balance and Saucery.

When The Gazette was invited to check it out, the team couldn’t resist. We got lucky with the weather. While the forecast for the week ahead looked gloomy and wet, the sun was shining for our visit. At 6pm on a Thursday as we arrived, the tables were full of friends catching up or couples enjoying an early evening out.

The Festival Place restaurant is well-adapted to comply with Covid restrictions with plenty of hand gel on offer and outdoor seating, spaced a safe distance away. Staff were friendly, knowledge and always on hand.

The team sampled a selection of drinks including a memorable Magic Lager which was light and refreshing. For food, came a mixture of burgers. Notably, GBK has an impressive vegan range compared to many of its High Street counterparts, going above and beyond the usual mushroom-only offering.

The Californian Vegan Burger, a lightly pan-fried bean patty, was delicious arriving in a soft bun with vegan mayo and a crisp salad to accompany. It was also one of the lighter options on the menu, weighing in 502 calories. A good one for those trying to mitigate any lockdown weight gain.

For sides, string French fries went down a treat while the chunky skin-on chips were perfectly crisp with that satisfying crunch that came complete with the fluffy interior. The only challenge was to eat them all before they got cold, which wasn’t too difficult.

As restrictions set to ease further in June, with a bit of luck we will start to inch closer to something that resembles a normal summer. But hopefully, with better weather.