Bun & Sum

Operating from a converted container unit in the middle of a Bow industrial estate, Bun & Sum draws crowds willing to navigate a business park for LA-style smash burgers. It is a stripped-back setup where the location serves the kitchen, not the other way around. Founders Farbez and Faysal Uddin opened the hatch in 2021, focusing entirely on the output rather than the fit-out. There is no dining room here – just a handful of park benches outside the shutter. Consequently, the surrounding car park often doubles as the main seating area, with regulars eating off their dashboards while the kitchen works through a backlog of orders. The menu leans heavily into American burger culture, specifically the thin, caramelized patties of the West Coast. They import Martin’s Potato Rolls directly from the US to get the texture right, but the meat handling is local and specific. The kitchen is strictly halal, and the team smokes, cures, and cuts the meat in-house. This effort shows up in the Bow Dip, a stack of two patties and 12-hour smoked brisket served with a pot of beef au jus, or the Pastrami Burger, topped with meat smoked on-site. Fries are cooked in beef dripping, and the sides – like the banana pudding – come in portions that suggest they aren't meant to be light snacks. It is a high-volume, high-turnover spot, so you can expect to wait during peak evening hours while the grill team keeps pace with the demand.