Pierce Brosnan orders £55 beef burger

It is the ultimate fast food, served cheap and quick with a side order of greasy fries. Think beefburger, think 99p Big Mac. Until now. Because this is the Wagyu - the most expensive burger in town. At £55 a go, served with onion, tomato and skinny-cut chips, it works out a little over £4 per bite. And it goes on the menu at fashionable Knightsbridge restaurant Zuma this week - reports ThisIsLondon.

The beef in the 200g burger is Wagyu meat, a strain of the famously succulent beef from Kobe in Japan that first went on sale in Harrods in 2003.

A Zuma spokeswoman said: "Our Wagyu beef comes from New Zealand where the cows are reared on beer and massaged until they weigh three quarters of a ton, more than double the weight of an average cow. It rivals p‚té de foie gras for richness, tenderness, calorific content - and cost. It's also the only beef scientifically proven to reduce cholesterol levels."

James Bond first experienced Wagyu meat back in Ian Fleming's novel "You Only Live Twice", where "Bond feeds a bottle of beer to a cow and then, taking a mouthful of shochu ... to spray over its back, gives the cow a massage. The result of this special treatment ... is the highly prized Kobe beef, which was without equal in Bond’s experience."

Zuma owner Rainer Becker decided to introduce the burger after a special request from James Bond star Pierce Brosnan - who ordered the delicacy twice when dining with Becker in Japan.

Becker told the story to a Zuma guest - who asked him if he cold recreate the Kobe burger. "It had such an impact that Rainer decided to introduce it to the Zuma menu," said the spokeswoman.

Zuma general manager Russell Norman says: "£55 is a legitimate price for an excellent product. Wagyu beef is reckoned to be the best in the world; it really doesn't make a difference whether it comes to your table as a steak or as a burger - it's still the best."

The Evening Standard's Ed Harris put the burger to the test. He said: "Anticipation was only raised as Becker brushed my burger with oil and cooked it over a grill in view of the dining room.

"The meat is certainly juicier than an ordinary beef patty. You could eat for three or four successive evenings at my local curry house for the same amount, but it really is a very good burger.

"The beef is richly marbled with fat and carefully cooked on the rare side. It's fabulous. It's more tender, more meaty than any burger has the right to be."

Thanks to `Kyvan` for the alert.

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