Should you order a burger from a petrol station? That's the existential question I faced ahead of my recent visit to Smashville Burger - the takeaway serving up American classics at Monarch Service Station just off Broadway in Oldham. While you can get some decent grub at petrol stations - and certainly at service stations nowadays - I tend to associate pit stops like this with quick and easy convenience food and snacks for the road rather than a five-star gourmet experience.
After intensely studying a number of TikTok videos - I’m something of a Luddite - of people’s experience of Smashville I was cautiously optimistic, and rather sadly, visibly excited at the prospect of being able to stock up on fuel and get a car wash at the same time - two birds, one stone.
As someone who only experienced their first Burger King a few weeks ago, I definitely don’t consider myself to be a fast-food burger connoisseur, so I knew this task required calling in an expert. One text to my brother later - “want to get a burger from a petrol station, I’ll pay” - and we found ourselves pulling up into the forecourt, winding our windows down and exchanging a knowing nod as we prepared to lift the lid on the Smashville Burger experience.
