FOLLOWING a brief post-pandemic re-imagining, Ventnor's Stripped has been titivated to become Stripped: Bar and Bistro.

Subtle changes have enhanced the restaurant's winning formula, yet the menu retains that European vibe, the pizza oven remains satisfyingly operational, and yes — spoiler alert — it can still lay claim to being the home of the Island's best burger.

Our brisket burger was fabulous. A rich beef patty made even more spectacular by a great wedge of slow-cooked beef brisket, any fat rendered into the flesh— boosting its meaty flavour.

It was a succulent feast, including a sparky relish, moist beef tomato, crisp little gem lettuce and sweet caramelised onion, all amazingly contained within a nice, seeded brioche bun.

(Image: Matt and Cat)

The construction held together very well.

As an aside, the Stripped cheeseburger comes with an alternative of raw onion, leaving us to wonder if there is such a thing as an onion sommelier?

Our other burger was a special off-menu concoction. Nominally advertised as a mici burger, ours was pimped by the chef, with a bonus serving of that luscious brisket.

Mici, we discovered, is a traditional Romanian sausage, created using a stock, seasoned with paprika and garlic, to which is added pork and beef, then left to marinate for 24 hours, creating a succulent tasty sausage.

So, with two beef treatments, plus pork, the mici was a memorable union of banger and burger and, due to the gorgeous quality of the meat, beautifully soft without being fatty.

The pairing of pork and beef sausage meat with the brisket was inspired. The rest of the burger was nicely balanced — not too moist, or too enormous. A top burger.

(Image: Matt and Cat)

(Image: Matt and Cat)

The dessert menu was succinct, but with variety.

The gooey chocolate brownie seemed to come out of the oven, rather than the microwave, as it was desirably crusty on the outside, spongey on the inside.

Served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce, this was a warm pudding that, along with our baked vanilla cheesecake, definitely met the standard.

We like the restaurant — always have — and that remains the case with its latest iteration.

And, despite us eulogising about the burgers, there are also meat-free dishes, including cauliflower steak and a selection of meze.

Take it from us, Stripped offers far more than the bare essentials.

(Image: Matt and Cat)

(Image: Matt and Cat)