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A French dip might sound like some swoony Gallic dance move, but it’s actually a hot meat sandwich from the US. Thinly cut slices of meat are put back into their cooking juices (the ‘jus’), then packed into a chewy baguette and served with more of the jus (or a cup of jus-based thin gravy), for dipping. It’s just one half of the concept behind this South London newcomer. The ‘flip’ side, is a menu of – yup, you guessed it – burgers.
Our bacon cheeseburger was excellent, its beautiful charred-on-the-outside, pink-on-the-inside patty having been topped with molten cheese and crisp smoky bacon, not to mention long slivers of gherkin, burger sauce and shards of raw cabbage (a smart move: crunchier than lettuce, but with a peppery note). This was all snuggled into a rich, of-the-moment brioche bun. Fries were decent: medium skinny, properly crunchy and paprika-salted.
Yet the dips, which are the more interesting part of Dip & Flip’s offering (and stop it from being ‘just another burger joint’), proved disappointing. While our lamb dip saw juicy folds of full-flavoured meat slathered in a nicely minted gravy, these flavours were lost against the doughiness of the torpedo roll. Stateside, bread of this thickness would be offered double-dipped (where they gravy-soak the undersides before assembling) – apparently Dip & Flip tried this, but locals couldn’t get their heads around it. We were also bemused to have been forgotten about as soon as our dishes arrived. But the vibe here is fun-loving, with loud, upbeat music and a warm bare-brick walls-meet-concrete-floors vibe.
We’re seeing more and more excellent French Dips (in Meatmission, Hawksmoor and independent food stalls) across London. Dip & Flip, alas, should stick to the burgers.