Almost Famous

AF come close, sit with me… just take a pew and lean in I’ve got something to confess…
When I first reviewed you I only gave you 4 stars, to some that would be enough that would embrace those 4 stars and cherish them knowing they were above average, that they’d caught my eye, got a place in my mind where the good things go.
AF I’m sorry, I feel like I’ve besmirched your honour with a 4 star, I feel like I’ve not appreciated you the way I should with the way you treat me I feel like I’m that bad boyfriend who comes home drunk on a friday night and passes out on the couch without evening saying hi hunny I’m home…
AF… I… well… I… I love you
When we first got together in my head, I was like Chandler Bing finding the faults and accentuating them, I always knew you were worth the wait I had no problem getting to your door and being told a table could be an hour away, but I a always felt slightly rejected, brushed aside that I had to wait outside before getting at your tasty treats…
But you’ve got rid of waiting outside now, you cheeky seductive burger laden land of Beefy dreams… now I feel like I’ve pulled for the night and you just ask for my number, and when you say you’ll call me when you have a table free I know in my soul… you’ll call… I love you.
So everyone knows the foods great here, it’s amazing, it’s taste is amazing, it’s price is amazing… the drinks that go with it are amazing…
with the queuing outside gone for extended waits I can’t find fault with AF, unless not being bigger is a true fault.
I turned up table would be 40 minutes, took my mobile no. and sent me on my merry way to a local pub, during a leisurely pint I got a txt ‘we have space for your at Almost Famous’ lets kick that customer interaction into overdrive. It’s so simple, and before anyone says ‘well if you go to a bigger chain restaurant they give you those vibrator things…’ yes they do, which you then have to carry about your person which are so large you can’t fit them in a pocket etc, txt to the phone brilliant move AF touché
removing the queueing outside, means the bar upstairs isn’t filled with people either, which makes ordering your food even easier, this change in table waiting has sealed the deal for me that AF is easily one of the greatest places you can find yourself at in Town.

I am knocking this down to 3 stars just because the queuing system is ridiculous.
I do not see the issue with turning up to give them your name and number so they can call the customer when a table is nearly ready. This saves the customer having to stand out in the cold waiting to be seated.
There has been plenty of occasions that we decided to go but the queues just put us off.
Onto the food.
The food is really delicious; the portions are large so its going to be messy haha.
The meat is so juicy and pacts lots of flavour and the staff and atmosphere finishes off the experience.
Its just a damn shame they refuse to change the queuing system but I guess they wont listen to customers if there are people who are prepared to queue.
Its a shame because I rarely have 30 mins to waste in a queue.
It is definitely worth visiting if you have the time to queue up.

How have I managed to not review Almost Famous earlier? I have been several times and also thought I had reviewed it.
There burgers are delicious. Nice, juice and messy. You will need the kitchen rolls as you will have burger juice and sauce all over your hands and face!
I remember trying an Almost Famous burger in a Manchester food festival about 2 years ago. They then were a secret «pop up» restaurant and even to this day, they don’t have a scene on the door.
They have the normal menu, specials menu and a secret menu. Any burger is good! The suicide sauce is pretty hot so be warned. There is a burger which has suicide sauce but I have been told its not that hot.
The chips are great — different types from plain chips, chilli chips, bacon chips. Yum!!!
As well as the food, there are selections of great drinks including cocktails. The drinks are called things like Bitch Juice and are served in jars — the cool thing nowadays it seems!
Highly recommended to visit Almost Famous and eat their burgers!

Hello, my name is Ange and I’m an addict… it’s been 109 days since my last Almost Famous burger.
Last night I fell off the wagon in an epic style (triple back flip in pike position)
Let me take you back a little… sine AF’s early pop-​up days when I first tasted the glorious beefy goodness of a now sadly defunct Animal burger, I have battled an almost insatiable craving for burgers that nowhere else can quite satisfy and believe me, I have searched long and hard. Floppy, limp, grey patties and dried out bits of random meat have passed my lips and although there have been a few that dulled the cravings for a time, none make me internally weep with joy like AF burgers do.
After AF reopened as a permanent fixture in the Northern Quarter, my addictions were fed by a fortnightly sojourn to their hallowed grounds, but then, due to a lack of financial sense, the visits stopped, forcing me into a cold turkey reminiscent of an Irvine Welsh novel. I reluctantly accepted my fate but I could never get away from the sweet, sweet dreams of a succulent pillow of ground beef tenderly cradled between glossy brioche buns and glazed with a selection of mouth-​watering toppings.
And lo, I found myself queuing up last night with 8 other Unilocalers with much anticipation of a meat fix.
After a jam jar of Snap & Tickle (extra spicy) to soften my impending demise, I chose the «secret menu» triple stacked burger along with some bacon bacon fries to share with my beloved fellow addict, Mr Z. The weekly special of a London Burger was tempting but the lure of 3 burgers smothered in cheese, JD bacon and BBQ onions tipped me to the edge of oblivion, what a glorious downfall it was!
The first bite of tender beef with the smokey tang of BBQ sauce and the textural contrast of the onions was a rush and with juices and sauce smearing my face I chewed, closed my eyes and gave myself over to Nirvana.
From my previous reviews you will see that I claim that these burgers are the best I have ever eaten, and last night’s offering was quite simply outstanding. Better than the usual excellence, this truly was a burger to die for.
And so my downward spiral is complete.
Back in the welcoming arms of Almost Famous, I embrace my addiction wholeheartedly and without regret.
See you in a fortnight!

You wont probably notice it while passing from outside. But if you climb the stairs you ll find a nice place! Interesting decoration, really pleasant staf, good food but kind of expensive. Whatever I ate was good and I have to admit one of the best burgers in Manchester. But still people. You have to balance a bit the taste with the price! We want to come again and not to save money for a week to eat a burger (without fries!!!)

Almost Famous burgers are not ‘almost’ famous anymore, I think its time they remove the ‘Almost’ bit because everyone in Manchester seems to be going ga ga about them!
I have attempted to try their burger before but the massive wait has always put me off. Finally yesterday at the UYE event me and a few Unilocalers decided to give it a try and guess what there wasn’t a massive wait (I guess Unilocalers are always lucky with food).
It obviously doesn’t have a name plate outside because remember its supposed to be ‘ghetto’ and ‘too cool for social media shizz’ (Really?) But I have to say I was quite impressed once I walked in because of the décor, they have a bar area and a separate sitting area (which is nice). The bar actually looks really cool with a different retro posters and a whole wall of alcohol (yeah I mean it) some what similar to Molly House in Canal Street. I ordered the DD burger (no pun intended) while my friends ordered for the almost famous burger. I was not overjoyed with my burger because it had mustard sauce in it (it was not mentioned in the menu) and I am not a big fan of that! Having said that it definitely could be an absolute delight for mustard lovers!
The FAMOUS Bitch juice is basically a gin drink (delicious) with neon lights (like the one you get in Sanky’s) served in a jam jar! It looks pretty damn cool! The service was quick and the bartenders were very friendly (I chatted one of the girls up too ;) just friendly banter… stop thinking too much)
Verdict: Definitely famous in my books and I am going back again to try the other burgers in their menu!

Had a top night here with a good group of friends not long ago.
After a hard days night slogging down the beers and cocktails, the peckish ones of us decided to look for a kebab joint when one of the girls suggested we try this place out. ‘It will be worth the walk’ she said as we started trundling to the northern quarter from King Street…
There was a small queue when we got there, but everyone was so friendly, and even the bouncer was in a chatty mood on a rainy night. Inside we were greeted by the staff, and told that she would get us all a seat. I think being friendly and cheerful helps a lot as we actually jumped ahead of others waiting upstairs.
Simply put, there is nowhere else in Manchester where I have experienced this laid back hip vibe, enjoying cocktails served in jars, and offering one of the best value burgers on a late night out. Try the wings too, 3 flavours ranging from mild to very spicy.
Would come again just to soak in the friendly relaxed atmosphere

After receiving a strong recommendation from a waiter at Australasia, I decided to check this place out with two friends that were traveling for business. It was difficult to find the entrance and none of the surrounding bars/​restaurants had even heard of it. After finally finding the entrance and climbing some stairs we entered the hipster wonderland that is Almost Famous. We were immediately asked by what seemed to be the man in charge how many people were in our group and if we wanted to be seated for dinner. He then suggested that we grab a drink at the bar while we waited for a table — as it would just be «two secs» while he cleared one off for us.
After awkwardly standing by the bar for nearly 10 minutes (and ordering the worst, most sugary drink of my life from the bar), we watched a table of three that entered after us be seated. When we inquired, it was explained to us that the group that had entered after us was their «mates,» so they just HAD to seat them first and that they «knew we would understand.» Unfortunately, we did NOT understand. This is entirely rude and disrespectful, so we left and will never return to this filthy establishment with poor business practices and tactless staff.

Rejected by the endless queues and stubbornly insisting that AF would provide the beefy fare we craved, my attempts at squiring a few chums around the Northern Quarter rapidly descended into ‘let’s come back later’ …‘the queue will have died down’
Low and behold the queues persisted and all I could do is buy round after round until our bellies were bursting with beer and my recommendation slowly faded amongst the haze of booze.
12am loomed and I was out of ideas. I had nearly given up.
Then, through stroke of pure genius I whipped out my trusty telecommunications device, searched through t’interweb to find AF was open until 2am… could they really serve their glorious burgers, wings and fries until the wee hours?
Turns out they continue to serve Double DDs, Redneck Wings and Winning Fries to drunkards like us until way later than you would expect — could this be the greatest mid night burger greasy love fest ever. Oh yes!
But…
Even amidst our drunken haze — I still noticed a few niggles to their winning formula:
— No menus were given to us, we had to find one.
— We were not given any hints as to how/​where we might clean our greasy chops with a napkin or two.
— The toilets looked like the infamous scene from Trainspotting …
Even with such sloppy standards tainting the picture, AF is still a glorious thing to behold. They do one thing and do it immensely well.
Food Porn to come…

Okay, so the whole mystique about this place was that it was secret and hidden away, and now everybody knows about it that element has kinda gone out of the window (they have the longest entry queue in the Northern Quarter!). However, that doesn’t stop the fact that they still serve the nicest burgers you will ever eat in an environment that your inner hipster will love.

I have to say that I was impressed with the overall time, and the food WAS amazing, however, the service was a little lacking. Now I know that it was friday night and they were busy, BUT still it could have been better. The food was brought to us, and no offer was made for any additional sauce, cutlery, or napkins… as you know the burgers are that juicy that they do dribble all over your hands. However, I am picking and the quality of the meat was to die for… as you all know I am one for a good bit of meat so will defo be back for another try!!! And for those of you who have given the doorman the best doorman in Manchester review… (see my talk thread) you are right — he was a legend!!!

Almost Famous has got pretty famous in Manchester — why? It’s fun, it’s loud, it’s dirty and it doesn’t care what you think.
It’s a bit of a hipster joint but don’t let that put you off, it just makes better people watching. It’s primarily a bar, that does food — but it’s the food you should be going for. These are the best burgers I had in the UK and beat many i had in the USA to boot. They’re sloppy, filthy, quirky — yet they source good quality ingredients and you can tell they’ve worked hard to get the perfect balance of flavours.
Almost Famous is a bit marmite — but it’s fresh, different to anything we’ve got in Manchester and it’s usually a brilliant night whenever we go. (Plus there’s the chance of free booze if you chat to the staff).
Some people are put off by the slightly rowdy atmosphere — if you go on Sunday or at lunchtime, it’s a lot less busy and usually has some Beach Boys on the juke box. And avoid 7−8pm, BUSIEST time ever!
You want burgers? Don’t go anywhere else!

Oh, how boring, another insanely positive review!
So I’ll start with the bad:
Drinks in jam jars — well done AF, you’re cool in London two years ago. Stupid.
Menu — apparently I’m supposed to just know that the £12 cocktail is for two people. Why not just say so on the menu?
Suicide sauce — do they really mean spiciness? You can’t commit suicide by stroking your hair.
No booking — admittedly it doesn’t really make sense for this type of place but it’s still annoying.
Um, that’s it. The cocktails were very good, the burger best I’ve ever had (knocked all my eats in the US into a cocked hat), properly dirty in the best possible way. The fries, mixed with delicious sweet potato fries, were also great.

Awwwwww man is this place great! I’ve got a stupidly high standard of burgers, but these were deliciously dirty. The sides are great, and the drinks (esp. cocktails they serve are even better). It’s a hipster haunt, which might add or take away from the overall appeal but either way I’d absolutely recommend it!

PIG OUT PIG OUT PIG OUT! I was super excited for this event and was not dissapointed. After recently scoring a new job, the boyf booked us tickets for a celebration treat (so well trained.)
Upon arriving they were running slightly late from the previous 6.30 sitting so we headed into Socio for a drink before queuing up and heading on in. Pork scratchings were available on the door and, in all my wisdom, I grabbed some; I hate pork scratchings. I have never liked pork scratchings so my opinion on these ones is basically null and void. I loved the space of this venue, all tucked away, and it really does feel like you’re entering a secret club. We ordered a couple of drinks before sitting down and I was SO excited when my wine was poured into a jam jar. Upon looking back it looks like I’m holding a urine sample, but it was endlessly entertaining on the night. We also managed to nab a whiskey shot, though we shared it due to the alcohol already being consumed.
Onto the main event — the food. A whole piggy was waiting for us in the bar area, all crispy and delicious looking. We were seated at a large table with groups of varying sizes, giving it a nice community atmosphere. First round were pork ribs which literally fell off the bone — no cutlery here, just your digits and some paper towel for company, giving it a real down home feel. The ribs were deliciously spicy and we were presented with more once the first round had been dished out, and of course we went for seconds. Next up was the street style pork taco and a bacon sandwich, both delicious, the meat was just perfect. I scoffed down the taco even though guacamole isn’t a topping I usually enjoy but the flavours were balanced perfectly! NEXT up was the AF burger with bacon, crispy onion, and baconnaise! The sauce went everywhere but, because everyone was eating with the same equipment, there was no feeling self concious about making a mess. Divine. Finally comes the king of the show — the pulled pork plate. And when I say plate, I mean red plastic tray. With 2 sides and 3 dips. And fries. This was by far my favourite course and, although I hit the wall towards the end, I wanted to keep eating just to keep tasting the delicious pork. My favourite dip was butter, rich and melted; this is not the place or the event for the health concious. The fries were delicious and had a really good spice to them, standing up to the pork like fries with something to prove.
This event was £25 and boy did you get your money’s worth. If/​when they do another one I strongly suggest y’all get your asses down there and try some sweet sweet pork. OINK!

Great burgers and fries, and great atmosphere, but it’s quite expensive for what you get (a can of Dr Pepper was £2.00 because it was poured into a jar-​glass!), it can be very loud, and the worst part for me is the free-​for-​all dining room.
You can’t really just wait for a table, as all tables are crushed full of people, and all you can do is stand around and hope someone leaves, then seriously leap onto their table before someone else does, and believe me other people will be trying to do the same thing too! That does kind of put me off, and spoiled the start of the meal for me the first time I went, especially after having to stand outside in a queue for ages before even being let in, only to find no tables available.
That said, the last time I went was on their opening night of their latest stay in Manchester, so we were at the front of the queue, meaning we got a table with no trouble, (and not one covered in spilled beer and rubbish, having dived onto it as soon as someone stands up from it). However, it got very busy, very quickly.
Then again, its not really a restaurant, but a space with tables and chairs in it. If they were able to get a bigger space, and take reservations, I think it’d be a lot better and a lot more pleasant for people. The venue itself is nice for what it is, it has great artwork and some thought provoking pieces, and Charlie Sheen’s entire «winning!» speech painted onto one of the walls. The bar goes all the way up the wall with bottles, about 2 floors in height, with rope lights behind them all, which gives a great effect. The «dining areas» are split into 3 areas, the bar (where there is some wall-​seating), and two rooms, which have different types of tables and chairs, from some small 2-​person tables, to big dining tables for 8, to coffee tables with couches.
As the restaurant originally had a somewhat clandestine «only spread by word of mouth» thing going on, wanting it to be semi-​secret, the main entrance is a simple brown door leading up a large flight of stairs (not sure about wheelchair access!), between two bars. It has no signs on the door or inside the venue, other than a neon burger in the window of the top floor, only really visible from outside, if you look straight up.
The music is on a jukebox, and can be a bit loud really.
The menu is tongue-​in-​cheek, and littered with vulgarities, but it’s all done in fun.
The most important thing is the product. The burgers are absolutely delicious, as are their fries and chicken wings. They’ve found what they know they’re good at, and they do it well.
I think as they establish and become more popular, they’ll either move venues, or go for a bit more of a modern restaurant thing, rather than the current chaotic thing they have going on. I’ll probably go back at that point, but for now it’s something I guess I might do once in a blue moon, as the crowds, queues, £2 cans of pop, and waiting to pounce on tables kind of puts me off.

You know it’s a great place when Samwell Tarly from Game of Thrones eats there. Yep, Chris and I fan-​girled the hell out of him from a distance. You know it’s a great place when they take the piss out of a terrible book like 50 Shades of Grey by creating a pig-​stuffed work of art like 50 Shades of Bacon. Even better when said burger is delicious. And you also know it’s great when you’ve loved everything you’ve tried there, from the crispy, delicious wings to the bacon bacon fries to the DD, which is one Daddy of a tasty burger.
Also an update? Bitch Juice is addictive. Yes, I had it. As well as that? I’d eat here every day if I didn’t have a) to save a lot of pretty pennies and b) to fit into a wedding dress come May. It’s places like this that made returning to carnivorousness worthwhile.

Blueberry Fuckmuffin…

Almost Famous is an almost painfully hip burger & cocktail joint. It’s currently trading off of a we’re a pop-​up restaurant that will only be here for a short period story and is hidden away behind a windowless door. At the door, you’ll find a doorman, who probably won’t let you in right now as they’re full at the moment, could you come back in 20 minutes?. You can’t make reservations.
Anyway, get beyond that, and you’ll find a pretty cool restaurant that serves pretty good burgers (if a bit over-​done for my tastes) and really good fries. They also do pretty reasonable cocktails generally serving in jars with glow-​sticks. I didn’t realise until I saw them making the cocktails, but the jars are really quite an ingenious idea. Instead of transferring the drink to a cocktail shaker, just put a lid on the jar and shake!
Getting in wasn’t very painful really, and we arrived at about 7:30pm on a Saturday. We waited for about 40 minutes, but 30 minutes of that was because we went to the bar next door and had a leisurely drink.
At £6.50 for a burger and fries and £7 a cocktail, the prices are pretty fair.