My Top 10 Manchester Burgers.

Burgers, burgers, burgers, I've had enough, I'm all burgered out. In the endless and thankless quest to find the best burger in Manchester, I've been eating at least one a week for.....well.....as long as I can remember (two last week).
I think I'll give it a rest for a bit now.
Of course the list is never exhaustive, with people jumping on the burger bandwagon all the time it's a never ending task. I've still not been to the Grill on the Alley and had their Wagyu burger yet (at a whopping £18.50, and my budget already stretched to the limit, that one can wait  - maybe it should be in a different category anyway - luxury burgers).
But now's a good time to put up my list with Byron Burgers recently coming to town.
This top 10 is only based on my memory of how good they were. And we've already established that my memory is terrible. It's possible it'd look totally different if I were to eat a sample of them all next to each other. Click on the title links for the full reviews.

1. Almost Famous. (f)
It was at that time (February) 'the best burger to come out of their kitchen';
The LTD edition Hulk Hoagie. (I'm sure they've done loads of even better ones since).
Double smoked cheese burger, herb roasted beef topside, hand cut potato crisps, fennel slaw mustard & horseradish mayo topped with grilled cheddar, £10.
I know some other bloggers are not keen on AF, with stories of annoying queuing, the studied coolness, and reports of rude staff. I've only been in the day or early evening so have not encountered that personally. I do recall really loving this burger though. As a crisp butty fan, it was the addition of the crunchy crisps I really enjoyed. The lower prices are also of note - it still remains cheaper than many others on this list.

2. Solita.
The first time I went to Solita I wasn't as overly impressed as perhaps other bloggers, (the hanger steak was disappointingly chewy), but stick to their fabulous burgers and you won't go far wrong. The Manc-hattan: 6oz minced chuck steak pattie Oven bottom roll, pastrami, melted Lancashire cheese, panko fried black pudding, Lancashire sauce, Coney island mustard, £12.90 including fries.

3. All Star Lanes. We were bowled over by All Star Lanes (sorry about that). (f)
'The Hamburger': with blue cheese added. (£13).
It was the tang of the blue cheese that really lifted this one above the crowd. A bit pricey though, another one that needs to look at lowering their London prices I think. My guess is that you'll soon start seeing deals and offers. You can't argue with the quality of the burger though.

4. Byron Burgers. The newcomer. They keep it simple and it really works.
The Byron Burger: Dry cure bacon, mature Cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion and Byron sauce , £9.25 without fries. The model of paying £9 for a simple burger without fries irritates some people. Again, I can see them lowering their prices. Manchester is not London. But the burger is quality, plain and simple.

5. Luck Lust Liquor & Burn. (f) If there's a queue for AF, just go next door, these are just as good. The Sloppy Juan Burger, £9. It's big and sloppy and bloody lovely.

6. Parlour. (f) My local. The Handmade Beef Burger with Cheese, Caper & Gherkin Mayo, Proper Chips & Beer Batter Onion Rings, £10.75 + bacon £1.00 extra. This was proper meaty and proper ace.

7. Gorilla. (f) The Herbed Lamb Burger: Toasted sesame brioche bun, aioli, red onion chutney, & butterhead lettuce - £11.00. I've returned for this recently, and it was just as good as I remembered.

8. Mud Crab Café.
The 2nd Best Cheeseburger (double mature cheddar cheese & other hamburger stuff plus loads of fries, £9.95). I was surprised how good their burgers were, although at times overloaded.

9. Common. (f)
The Blue Burger: Blacksticks blue cheese, rocket & horseradish. (£8.50 including fries). Good value and a very decent burger at this casual NQ bar.

10 Brewdog. (f)
The New Delhi: a spicy lamb burger (£5.95). You can't argue with the price can you? (No fries though). They've since changed their menu, hopefully they still have burgers on there, I've not been back yet to try them.

Tried but didn't make the cut for me:
Smoak: Not worth the money.
3:21: Not very good.
Dog bowl: Not memorable.
Southern 11: Not cooked medium rare.
Hard Rock Café: Not for me.
Neighbourhood: Not bad.
Morley Cheek's. Not there yet.

It's worth noting that at least 7 of the Top 10 to my knowledge are supplied by Frosts of Chorlton indicated by the (f) symbol.
Note: Solita were up until recently.

See them all here: http://pinterest.com/bacononthebeech/burgers/
 

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