Four Candles, George Street, Oxford, 01865 263110 This is the age of the gourmet burger, or so the meat industry would have us believe.

Just as mashed potato was transformed from canteen nosh to snooty fare in the late 90s with a lot of marketing fanfare, so the humble burger has been restyled.

This tends to mean that the grub is skewered in a tower and the price is at least £8.

But there's no need to traipse to Gourmet Burger Kitchen or Clinton Pugh's organic burger place in Cowley Road — you can stuff yourself for far less at JD Wetherspoon's.

It's only fair to say that opinion is divided about the Four Candles (named after a Two Ronnies sketch from 1976), which opened in early August. Our letters page the other day contained a complaint from a disgruntled punter who'd dropped by at this former Slug and Lettuce for a bite.

But the Candles has no problem attracting custom — on Tuesday night, it was packed. Which meant service at the bar was, while friendly, a mite slow, with only two lasses in T-shirts advertising a forthcoming 'wine festival' taking orders.

A sign on the bar boasted how the prices were about 30 per cent lower than Copa, O'Neills and The Grapes. My fellow customers were mostly drinking, though a few were tucking into baked potatoes.

There was no music in the background, just BBC News 24 on a widescreen telly — with the sound turned off. WHAT DID YOU HAVE?

I'd have loved to try the fish and chips deal — £3.20 for cod/haddock, chips, bread and butter with a cup of tea. But that's only available 2-5pm, Monday to Friday.

So I asked for the gourmet burger — for £6.19, you can get 6oz of processed cow in a bun, topped with two slices of bacon, blue cheese sauce, a few slivers of salad, half a dozen battered onion rings and chips, plus a pint.

To my surprise, the eligible drinks included guest ales, so I was able to order Marston's Old Empire pale ale, which would cost nearly £3 in most city watering holes. Although I was warned the food would probably take 20 minutes, in fact it was delivered in 12.

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

Not bad for the price. The chips were overcooked and the burger was on the dry side, but the back bacon hadn't been done to death.

The pungent cheese sauce was slightly overpowering and the pot of tangy tomato relish which arrived with the food made for a more successful partnership.

It was a substantial meal and the beer was served cool without too much foam.

VERDICT: It wasn't a gourmet experience, but then this was JD Wetherspoons, where some of the food (such as the curry) isn't up to much. But the chain has always been good value, appears to care about its customers and is expanding its menus.