Jim Block

Jim Block belongs to the family of Eugen Block, the Hamburg restaurateur behind the Block House steakhouse chain. In 1973 the company opened its own butcher’s shop to supply the steakhouses and, in the same year, a burger restaurant called Jim’s, created largely to turn the trimmings left over from cutting steaks into minced beef for burgers. The chain says it brought the first burgers to Hamburg.

Two more Jim’s restaurants followed in Hamburg by the end of the 1970s, and over the decades the chain traded as Jim’s, Original Beef Market and Jim Beef before settling on the name Jim Block in 2005. It has stayed modest in size, with around a dozen restaurants in Hamburg, Berlin and Hanover and about two hundred staff.

The burgers use 100% beef and regional ingredients, “without frills”, and most come with romaine lettuce, cucumber, onion and the house JB Sauce. A 160-gram Prime Beef hacksteak plate uses beef from the family’s own herd, and the burgers come with chicken or vegan patties too. Nutritional values are published for every burger.

About a dozen restaurants in Hamburg, Berlin and Hanover.

• Max Burgers (Sweden, since 1968). The Swedish chain from above the Arctic Circle that beat McDonald’s at home. Also built on beef and cheese.
• Quick (Belgium, since 1971). The Belgian burger chain that took on McDonald’s across the French-speaking world. Also built on beef and cheese.
• MEATliquor (United Kingdom, since 2012). A burger van turned into a dark, loud London bar famous for the Dead Hippie. Also built on beef and cheese.
• Honest Burgers (United Kingdom, since 2009). The London burger chain that comes with rosemary salted chips. Also built on beef and cheese.