This week sees National Burger Day occur and people across the country will presumably be tucking into a juicy burger rammed full of whatever the chef had lying around and decided to cover in cheese.
Manchester’s offerings are pretty special when it comes to burgers, and although they are still not quite at the ‘Whopper’ level yet – they are getting there. Here’s where to spend your dirty money on this auspicious day…
Bundobust
Indian Street Food legends Bundobust continue to smash out their fantastic Vada Pav to pretty much every single person that enters their establishment. To be fair, you’d be an idiot not to get this beaut when eating here – it’s divine. As a little nod to National Burger Day, the Bundobust crew will be offering a FREE Vada Pav pin badge to the first 50 people to order it on Thursday.
Bundobust, 61 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AG
0161 359 6757
bundobust.com/manchester/
El Capo
This brilliant Mexican cantina in the NQ are offering a big, spicy bugger in the form of The Big Ass Chilli Burger. It contains a load of beef, tons of cheese, chilli, jalapeños, onion rings, spicy Mexican Slaw, pickles and loco sauce – all neatly stacked and sandwiched between two buns. Oh and it’s 2 for 1 on all burgers until Friday so get yourself down there sharpish.
El Capo, 12 Tariff St, Manchester M1 2FF
0161 237 3154
www.elcaponq.co.uk/
All Star Lanes
This bowling, food and drink gaff down at the Great Northern on Deansgate are offering 20% off their ‘Dagwood’ burger this National Burger Day. There’s 2 6oz patties, cured salami, spicy chorizo, deli spliced turkey, Swiss cheese and a runny egg – all in a brioche bun.
All Star Lanes, 235 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EN
0161 871 3600
https://www.allstarlanes.co.uk/locations/manchester
Brasserie Abode
Brasserie Abode have a rather considerable burger on offer this week. Looking at the picture above you can see that this thing is pretty massive – loaded with a thick prime beef patty, melted Gouda, crispy onion rings and bacon relish – all slapped between a shiny brioche bun. Coming in at £15.50 this bad boy ain’t cheap, but I tried one last week and it’s a beauty.
Brasserie Abode, 107a Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2DB
0161 200 5665
www.abodemanchester.co.uk/brasserie-abode/brasserie
Almost Famous
The legendary burger joint with a perpetual 50-minute wait is clearly set to be absolutely rammed come National Burger Day and to be fair to them – it’s not surprising considering what they have on sale. Their burgers are excellent, and although they tend to contain a pile of random foods you’d likely see in your Nan’s fridge, they always seem to hit the spot and taste amazing. They don’t have anything special going on for Thursday – but I doubt they need to.
Almost Famous,
Great Northern Warehouse, Manchester M3 4EN
100-102 High St, Manchester M4 1HP
0161 244 9422
almostfamousburgers.com/
Black Dog Ballroom
Head on over to Black Dog in the NQ or NWS and you can get their special Worker Bee Burger this National Burger Day. I’ve always been a fan of Black Dog’s burgers, and try to get one down my gullet as often as possible as part of their £5 lunch deal. This special features a honey-glazed bun with the iconic Manchester Bee stamped on top. For only £4 too!
Black Dog Ballroom,
52 Church St, Manchester M4 1PW
11-13 New Wakefield St, Manchester M1 5NP
https://blackdogballroom.co.uk/
Scene Indian Street Kitchen
Indian Street Food restaurant Scene – located down at Spinningfields – are offering a great deal on burgers this Friday – Buy one burger and get another for only £5.00. They have their Ultimate Chicken and Samosa Burger (A vegetarian option is also available) which is a lightly spiced grilled meat patty topped with a crispy samosa, melted cheese and a combination of mouth-watering Indian sauces, with salad and placed in a perfectly toasted bun.
Scene, 4 Left Bank, Manchester M3 3AN
0161 839 3929
www.scenedining.com/
Sakana
Even though they don’t actually sell burgers, there’s nothing standing in the way of Sakana doing a special offer for National Burger Day with the next best thing – Bao Buns. They are offering either their Chicken Katsu Bao or their Pork Bao for only £6.95, or £10 with a Singha Beer. If you fancy a bit more of an exotic experience for Burger Day – this is the place.
Sakana, 23 Peter St, Manchester M2 5QR
0161 884 1292
www.sakanapan-asian.co.uk/
The River Restuarant & Bar at The Lowry Hotel
The burger at The Lowry Hotel is not only an award winner – it’s also a bloody delicious bugger too. To celebrate Burger Day they are offering 2 of Ivo Pinto’s award winning burgers with either a bottle of beer or glass of wine for only £30 from Friday 25th til the 27th August. It’s usually £42 so you can save yourself £12 and spend it on dessert.
The River Restaurant, The Lowry Hotel, 50 Dearmans Pl, Salford M3 5LH
0161 827 4041
https://www.thelowryhotel.com/restaurants-and-bars
eXchange Food and Drink Lounge
This is probably the last place in the world you would think to go to find a burger this Thursday but the eXchange Food and Drink Lounge at Novotel Manchester Centre has created a rather interesting burger which I wouldn’t mind giving a try. It’s called the “Don’t Duck Back in Anger” Burger and features French toast coated with cranberry mayonnaise, slathered with brie cheese and onion confit, and then stacked with duck rillette and a hearty beef burger. There’s 20% off it too!
Exchange Food And Drink Lounge, Novotel, 21 Dickinson St, Manchester M1 4LX
0161 235 2200
V Rev
You can still enjoy National Burger Day even if you’re a vegetarian or vegan – and the best place to head would be to V Rev in the Northern Quarter. Serving up proper dirty vegan food is their speciality, so there are plenty of burgers to choose from. Personally I’d go for their Whopper Flocka Flame which comes with a ‘beef’ patty, vegan cheese, ‘bacon’ and salad. Go for a double – you can start the diet after the Bank Holiday.
V Rev Vegan Diner, 20-26 Edge St, Manchester M4 1HN
0161 839 3883
vrevmcr.co.uk/
Five Guys
Okay so Five Guys is in the Arndale Centre which is probably not everyone’s first port of call when it comes to top class cuisine (unless it’s in the Food Market obviously). But Five Guys do a truly excellent burger, which are all made fresh and however you want them. The chips are fit too. Oh and they have that amazing drinks machine which can mix and flavour pop you can think of. But it’s the burgers that are the best really – if you’ve still yet to try one – get down there as soon as you can!
Five Guys, U19, New Cannon Street, Arndale, Manchester M4 3AJ
0161 831 9330
fiveguys.co.uk
Red’s True BBQ
Well known for their delicious BBQ’ed meats, Red’s also serves up the famous Doughnut Burger – featuring everything you’d expect from a juicy burger – except it’s sandwiched between two sweet, sweet doughnuts. Also known as the Luther Burger after soul singer and general top bloke Luther Vandross. This National Burger Day they are offering a lovely 20% off all burgers all day.
Red’s True Barbecue, 22 Lloyd St, Manchester M2 5WA
0161 402 0142
https://truebarbecue.com/manchester/
Hawksmoor
They usually have 3 burgers on offer at Hawksmoor, with each one being just as delicious as the last. There’s the Big Matt Burger, the Kimchi Burger and usually a special – which considering I’ve not been in for a while – I don’t have a clue what it is. And I can’t be arsed ringing them up to find out. This lot know their meat though – and you can always rely on their burgers being succulent and juicy. There’s 20% off this National Burger Day too.
Hawksmoor , 184-186 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3WB
0161 836 6980
thehawksmoor.com/locations/manchester/
Byron
Byron turned up during the huge burger-fest that swept through the city around 2013 and has remained a decent, albeit rather safe destination for a juicy burger and some beers. You can’t really go wrong with Byron, they have a good selection of burgers and will be offering 20% off this Thursday. I do actually really like their Courgette Fries to be fair. Get some of them too.
Byron,
115 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2NW
1 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 1RG
Fennel Street, The Corn Exchange, Manchester M4 3TR
Solita
Well known primarily for their burgers, Solita will probably be absolutely rammed this National Burger Day and with good reason. They are home of ‘The Big Manc’ which is a Mancunian version of the Big Mac obviously and is big enough to feed a packed out Fiat Multipla. There are other burgers to choose from though, including their lovely Catalan Burger which is my favourite – grilled chorizo, roasted red peppers, cheese, roasted tomato aioli and a Padron pepper skewer on top.
Solita NQ, Turner St, Manchester M4 1DW
0161 839 2200
www.solita.co.uk/
Archie’s
Everyone seems to absolutely buzz off Archie’s, including a fair few rappers that I’ve never heard of who go in there whenever they are playing in Manchester. In fact, I believe that Floyd Mayweather wants to take it over to LA and start it there – although I don’t know if that’s true or not. What is known is that they do some really great burgers, as well as some cracking milkshakes to go with them. If you quote ‘National Burger Day’ on Thursday – they’ll give you 10% off.
Archie’s – Burgers Shakes Waffles,
115 Oxford Rd, Manchester M1 7DU
72 Oxford St, Manchester M1 5NH
www.lovearchies.com/
Cafe Football
Cruise on down to the newly opened Cafe Football at the bottom of the National Football Museum this Thursday and you can bag yourself 20% off any of their burgers. They have quite a good range of beauties on offer, with my personal favourite being ‘The Wizard’. Okay, it’s the only one I’ve had but it was very nice. It’s a Welsh lamb burger with smoked chilli crème fraiche, rocket and feta.
Cafe Football, National Football Museum, Urbis, Manchester M4 3BG
0161 751 0430
www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/
The Refuge
Even though they are probably all anxiously awaiting this weekend’s ‘Come As You Are’ Weekender – the staff at The Refuge will be more than happy to fill your face with their fantastic Volta Dexter Burger. Featuring a juicy beef patty, mac sauce, pickles and cheese – the burger is absolutely bloody brilliant, perfect for a chilled out afternoon in the Winter Garden with a few well deserved cocktails.
The Refuge, Oxford St, Manchester M60 7HA
0161 233 5151
www.refugemcr.co.uk/
Get Chucked
If you find yourself in Urmston this Thursday, there’s no need to get the train into town – you can just head to Get Chucked for some absolutely belting burgers and seriously fit fries. I went here a few months back after having a tattoo done and there’s nothing better than easing a throbbing pain in your arm than scoffing a great, juicy burger. They have 20% this Burger Day too – so you’ll have more money to buy a KitKat on the way home. If there’s space.
Get Chucked, 52 Gloucester Rd, Urmston, Manchester M41 9AE
0161 613 3699
www.getchucked.co.uk/
