A POPULAR burger restaurant has been bought by a new owner.

Coggings and Co in Seven Dials has been regularly voted amongst the best burger bars in Brighton.

But just three years after being crowned the city’s burger king, the restaurant’s lease has been sold for £165,000 – a fall from the original £180,000.

David Stock, an experienced restaurant and bar manager from London, has purchased the restaurant and said he will be keeping the Coggings name alive and hopes to beef-up the brand.

Coggins and Co was included on a Sunday Times list of the best places in the country to eat out for less than £20 a head, but it has suffered a recent spate of negative TripAdvisor reviews.

The new owner is relishing the opportunity.

He said: “I am thrilled to be taking over this well known local burger brand and aim to add some new energy and diversity into the restaurant whilst keeping true to the brand’s ethos of using local suppliers, offering dietary alternatives and remaining part of the Food Made Good awards from the Sustainable Restaurant Association.”

Vendors, Kitchenware Restaurants Ltd, said: “We are delighted to have sold to Dave who loves the brand we have created here and wants to take it to the next level.”

Former hotelier and gastropub owner Andrew Coggings started the restaurant in 2014 after selling the Preston Park Tavern. A former general manager at The Grand, Brighton, Mr Coggings left Kitchenware Restaurants last year and took over as head of hospitality at the Goodwood Estate in May.

Recent reviews of the restaurant on TripAdvisor described it as “overrated” and the patties as “pub burgers.”

One recent review said: “I went there for dinner with a few friends after reading on the internet that it’s the best burger place in Brighton.

“What a let down!

“Burgers were overcooked - not even well done, they were just burnt, dry, not edible. The beers we ordered with the burgers were flat so had to get another round! Service slow – a terrible night all together.”

But it is hoped the new ownership will lead to better reviews.

Last November Coggings and Co was named the second best burger joint in the city in the annual Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Awards, second only to undisputed champions Burger Brothers.

However, this year Coggings and Co has not made the shortlist, with Gourmet Burger Kitchen and the Preston Park Tavern joining Burger Brothers in the top three.