New burger restaurant in Worthing town centre, with former manager as the owner

After around ten years at 55–59 Portland Road, Worthing, The Woods has been sold to former manager Lucas Vito and his wife Alex.

The couple has given the restaurant a fresh new look and renamed it Burger Culture. They opened on October 13 and are excited about building a community vibe.

Lucas said he had been manager at The Woods for seven years, as well as working in the kitchen, while Alex had been serving in the restaurant for four years.

Now, at Burger Culture, he will focus on the kitchen and she will take charge of front-of house.

Lucas said: “At Burger Culture, we believe every bite matters. Our fresh ingredients are carefully selected from our trusted, family-run wholesalers, and our meat is sourced from local, high-quality butchers.

“We have kept the basis of The Woods menu but added some ideas of our own. We want people to know it has changed owners but we still have the same message.

“We have contained the choices to nine burgers and they all sell very well. We didn't want a huge menu. This is the best one we have had because it is streamlined.”

The Commodore, with two beef patty, cheese slice, bacon jam, tomato and house sauce, is the most popular burger on the menu. Priced at £13.50, it is truly meaty and oozing with delicious sauce.

There are three chicken options, with Dirdy Birdy at £15.90 being the favourite. The house fried chicken can be served on a brioche bun or on a thick waffle, topped with cheese sauce, streaky bacon and bacon jam. It's huge!

There are four beef options on the burger menu and two vegetarian burgers are available, too – and one of these can be made vegan on request.

We tried a few sides and they were massive. Porkboi Fries with bbq pulled pork, caramelised onions, cheese sauce and garlic mayo costs £10, onion rings are £5 for six, and the mozzarella sticks are £7.50. These house-cut sticks, served with tomato jam, are a meal in themselves – I've never seen mozzarella so thick.

I was persuaded into a quality shake and chose Make Us Dream at £8.50. This had peanut butter, caramel and popcorn and it was an absolute treat.

Alex said: “As an independent shop, we believe that community matters. From the sourcing of our ingredients to the delivery of our service, our focus is on people because, in the end, it's the people who keep the culture alive.”

She is hoping to collaborate with local artists to have pictures for sale on the walls. One of her goals, she says, is to bring the community together.

Burger Culture is open Wednesday to Sunday. Visit www.burgerculture.co.uk for more information.