Luck Lust Liquor & Burn

One of my biggest gripes is restaurants that don’t take bookings. Why not make everyone’s life easier?! My point was proved on Friday night, when we put our name and number on the waiting list and over an hour later found out that the system had broken.
Rant over, and the largeritas in the bar did make the wait go considerably faster! I do love this place — such a quirky, imaginative menu, and delicious ‘dirty’ combinations.
Prices are reasonable and you get a good helping of food — burritos stuffed to the brim with filling and lots of chips on the side dish. Full of flavour too — perfectly seasoned fries, fresh guac and spicy meat.
But the service on a busy night isn’t ideal. Our food took ages to arrive when we finally were seated, although the manager was very apologetic and gave us a discount.
Overall, good food and drink but maybe steer clear at peak times!

LLLB was actually what made us finally decide to move up to Manchester from London… after a long day of meetings and hanging around the NQ before getting the train back, we randomly walked into LLLB and ordered a couple of beers and The Men of Mayhem Burrito and that was it, the next week we started looking for places in the NQ. Good prices, great food and lovely people.
The service has been pretty good every time I’ve been, nothing exceptional but there’s always a good atmosphere. The food is really good, proper dirty soul food… just thinking about it now is making my mouth water. Yum, yum! I’ve been through most of the burrito’s on the menu and love them all, The Baddabing is a favourite if I’m really hungry and feeling a bit naughty… it’s fully loaded.

So after hearing many brag that this is the place to find the best burgers in manchester, I thought it was time to give it a go!
I have to say that I definitely hands down prefer here compared to Almost famous in the great northern! The choice of burgers on the menu is much more restricted but the stripped back flavour/​ingredient combinations are much more up my street!
I went for one of the plainer burgers and shared a side of fries loaded with taco sauce, guacamole and cheese (they were awesome)!! Everything hit the spot! Nursing a post-​night out tummy I decided to avoid any alcoholic drinks and stuck to the juice!
The atmosphere is small and cosy and the staff were helpful and attentive! I would definitely come back to try again, and perhaps try out one of there many burritos!!! :)

A friend took me here and it was such a treat. We managed to get in on a Friday night without too much of a wait. Really enjoyed the squid and shrimp pint along with some fish tacos. After enjoying our meal we went downstairs for a drink. Such nice and well thought out drinks. So many we wanted to try, so we shared a few. It’s totally worth going to the bar after the restaurant because the restaurant doesn’t make a lot of the drinks the bar does and they are too good to miss out on!

Luck, Lust, Liquor & Burn is one of those places that you just can’t get enough of. I’m slightly worried at how many countless nights I’ve spent there, whether it be eating upstairs or getting a quick pint after work downstairs.
Whenever someone asks me where they should eat in Manchester LLLB is always top of the list. A personal favourite of mine is the Badabing burrito with a side of wonder fries. I can’t begin to describe the fries, you’ll just have to take my word for it! Pair that with a Liquid Luck (LLLB’s own beer) and you’re in for a great time.
The staff are super chilled and really friendly. Highly recommended. Maybe I’ll beat my three times in a week record at some point. Anyway, enjoy!

After hearing and reading many positive reviews about LLB, I decided enough was enough & I had to try this place out for myself. I opted for the wonder fries, described by a friend as «the best thing you’ll ever taste» they weren’t far wrong. Combining them with the lust liquor burger, it was a winning combination.
The bar downstairs is also a good place to unwind, have a few beers/​cocktails.
Can’t wait to head back and see what else LLB has to offer !!

I’ve eaten at LLLB a few times now and I haven’t been able to fault it.
Everything about this place is on point. Their burgers and burritos are excellent, as are many other Mexican dished on the menu. The flattened steak and shrimp is suberb!
It’s a brilliant choice for NQ eats and drinks alike, as their downstairs bar serve exceptional cocktails and turns into a very good bar come night time! I couldn’t recommend it enough.

Brace yourselves Unilocalers, we could very well be talking about my favourite burger experience, ever.
I was honestly ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ as to whether I wanted to go to LLL&B instead of the easy favourite Almost Famous, however as they are in fact owned by the same people, I thought I’d venture out of my comfort zone and pop next door.
I am SO glad I did. I went for the Triple Threat Burger (a bacon double cheeseburger with pulled pork on top) and it was heaven in a bun. The Chipotle Sour Cream they spread on the bun is something else, that good that I think I could drink it in a glass before bed and sleep like a champ. I won’t go into too much detail on the Wonder Butter Fries apart from saying they are bloody wonderful!
I washed this phenomenal feast down with a San Miguel Fresco and the whole lot set me back £16. Hand on heart I would’ve paid double that price for the experience I got.
My admiration for this place goes way past Lust, I’m in Love.

So after going on a trajectory that saw me give this place 4 stars at first due to it being a regular fave, I had to give it a 2 based on my last visit which quite frankly was terrible from service to food.
I’m pleased to say that this time I’m able to raise it up to a 3 as after meeting some friends for lunch last week it was how I remembered! Really friendly staff, a very welcoming environment upstairs and just generally a nice place to hang out in at lunch time.
So why the 3? Well my burger was tasty and definitely filled a hole but the nacho’s to start were just not great — volcano style seemed to now mean deconstructed with all the elements just seemingly plonked together. No cheese running into them, no quac and the chips tasted like a funny cheap spice. I love my nachos’ and have eaten them all across the States so this I feel is something they could so with working on as these were pretty dire.
It’s a 3 from me today but I’m sure I’ll be back again with friends sometime soon.

Still true to my word in the original review !
I would be happy with a burrito as a last meal! Great service and good atmosphere
But slight draw back tables were not cleared away as quick as I would have hoped, but staff very apologetic !
Bar man made an AMAZING apple and strawberry mojito (no alcohol) as I was driving afterwards ! It was incredible !
I had the liquor and burn burger (with winning fries) my advice separate the burger from topping and enjoy the burger for the taste of itself ! Then eat the toppings with the chips !
Very good lunch — would be five star if price was a little less steep for lunch (two burgers, two standard chips, one mock tail, one Pepsi) £28

Score another win for Northern Quarter!
Service: 5 stars
Atmosphere: 5 stars
Food: 5 stars
Let’s break this down a bit…
I came here last night for a birthday celebration. With a group of 16, the hostess was upfront and honest over the phone about a potentially long wait (2 – 3 hours), as well as a maximum of 8 people per table (space issues), so we’d just need to book 2 tables, and may not be near each other. Fast forward, we go to get our booking and, as expected, it’s a 2.5 hour expected wait. No problem for our group though — time flies when you’re downstairs having pints and tequila, right? When our time came ’round, we were happily surprised to find that the two tables of 8 were actually right next to each other, so our group wasn’t broken up at all!
I was mainly excited to try this place out after falling in love with Almost Famous. So let’s get to the important point — the grub. With a menu of nachos, quesadillas, tacos, and burgers (among other things), I’m assuming it’s an attempt at Southern California/​Mexican food. The one thing I’d say here is that it’s definitely not authentic style. The burritos aren’t quite right, the tacos don’t have the same sort of flavour, and the nachos were lacking… BUT, and that’s a big BUT, it was almost all of it delicious. If you come here expecting a true burrito you’ll be disappointed, but if you want a ridiculously tasty wrap and a British-​style burrito with flavour to blow you away, then this is the place to go.
I had the Men of Mayhem burrito (all the meats, plus jalapeño fries and other goodies tucked inside), which was epic all the way through. I also tried the F-​Bomb (half a cool, refreshing sort of wrap, the other half spicy), also a favourite. The nachos were lacking in the meat department, but the tacos (Taco Roulette) hit the spot. I didn’t get the spicy one, but my mate that did handled it… he said it wasn’t spicy (while turning bright red in the process), so I can’t say one way or the other how bad the chilis were.
For the birthday celebration, I was told I could bring in a cake and they’d serve it for us. I was happy to find they had no issue whatsoever with me coming with an ASDA bag filled with 2 cakes and candles. They brought them out at the end of the meal with candles lit and a few knives for us to cut it all up.
Excellent experience overall, can’t wait to come back!

Catching up with a University friend recently, we quickly agreed on LLLB — after spending 6 months together in America, we needed wings and we needed meat. Perfect!
We had a drink downstairs as there was a 45 minute wait, but no problem; standard procedure of giving your phone number and waiting for that all exciting text. Staff were super friendly, explaining that the card machine downstairs had broken (luckily we both had cash!) then making a delicious penniless & passionate.
Heading upstairs after getting ‘the message’, we were disappointed to find we had been seated in the middle of the thoroughfare, on the left hand side of the restaurant. We quickly decided what to eat; a starter of the hot chicken blasts & a portion of fries with wonder sauce, then I went for the F-​Bomb.
The new wonder sauce was super naughty, and basically just melted garlic butter. Dreamy. Fries as ever were delicious, and I always feel better about life after a portion of the chicken blasts. Then it all went a bit Pete Tong.
We started to realise that tables who had arrived after us were getting their meals quickly, and our waitress hadn’t been by in a long time, leaving us both foodless and staring into empty glasses. I caught the attention of the front of house and explained the situation, who quickly came back to explain that there had been some kind of mix up in the kitchen, and another table had received our food.
She bought over drinks on the house, and our food followed soon after, with a portion of the fries with guac/​salsa/​sour cream. We were both slightly dubious to be honest as the food didn’t exactly feel hot — so was this just the other table’s meal? Anyway, we were starving and the food was good! The F-​Bomb, half chicken & half beef/​pork, was a great way to try more than one burrito combination.
So all in all, pretty poor service from our actual waitress, but the rest of the staff were accommodating and apologetic for the mix up.

Again, I massively underestimated the popularity of some of the popular restaurants in Manchester… One of these days I’ll figure it out, but until then, it means that I need to scramble fast to find another place for lunch while listening to my stomach growl loudly. Awkwardly loud. We were actually looking for Almost Famous and stumbled upon Luck Lust Liquor and Burn. To be honest, after looking at the menu, I was pretty excited because I can go for Mexican food 99% of the time.
We got there before it was super busy, but the place definitely filled up in no time! Lighting was a bit tricky on the day because it was a very cloudy day and it was a bit cozy in the area we were sitting in, but I did like the vibe. I had trouble trying to narrow down my decision, but I knew I would be having a burrito. Mr. Snarky and I decided on the Lettuce Cups to start with. In addition to that, I decided on the Baja Beach Club while he decided on the Big Easy Burrito. They accommodated Mr. Snarky by putting the guac mayo and chipotle sour cream on the side and suggested a side since the burritos do not come with a side. We ended up with a side of fries.
The Lettuce Cups were AMAZEBALLS!!! Seriously, I would like to have multiple servings of that for my main. It is a bit spicy, especially if you chomp on a chili, but the whole thing is amazing. Warning: It is messy, you will probably need a fork to catch everything you have dropped on the plate because they pack a lot of filling into the lettuce cups. It is a good kind of messy though ;)
Our burritos came out along with our side of fries. Their crispy beef… delicious! In fact, while my burrito was good, the beef completely overwhelmed the fish. I think if I had to do it again, I would order the Baja Beach Club without the beef. However, I also think that I would be interested in a burrito that just featured the crispy beef. Trust me, that beef was delicious! Also, while the 24-​hour Alberto’s Taco Shop in San Diego does a burrito with fries and my cousin swears by it, I’ve never been a fan of the fries as they just get soggy and let’s be honest, it is a cheap filler. So I took a half a star off for the beef overwhelming the fish and the soggy fries in the burrito.
So the other half a star came off when it was time to settle our bill. The card machine seemed to be acting up, so our waiter asked us to come to the bar area (still on the first floor) to pay. He told us that someone was fixing the machine, and chatted with us for awhile. Eventually they asked us to head to the bar downstairs to try paying there. There was another table having trouble with the card machine as well, so our waiter continued chatting with us (it was lovely and he was so friendly, but part of me wonders who was taking care of his tables!). Eventually they just asked everyone to pay with cash and of course, we didn’t have any. They told Mr. Snarky where the nearest ATM was and he went off to get some cash. They did take 20% off because of the inconvenience, but everyone kept saying that this was a continuing problem… get it fixed! Beyond this, we agreed that we really like this place and will certainly be back the next time we crave a burrito… or lettuce cups ;).

I went to Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn on the advice of 2 of your group who really recommended it. There were 7 of us so I thought we might have had a bit of a problem getting a seat on a Saturday night however I needn’t have worried. Our hostess shifted things about slightly to accommodate us and in the end we were seated within about 5 minutes.
Luckily I got to try 2 of the dishes, my own of the South Central Enchilada and the Almost Famous Burrito. Just to bump up the calories we also went for some wonder fries which were really good. I thoroughly enjoyed my enchilada and would heartily recommend it however I can’t say the same about the burrito. Despite having a load of ingredients I found it fairly bland and uninspiring although my view wasn’t shared by everyone.
The house lager was decent and there was a decent selection of bottled beers but a few of the group got cocktails which they weren’t too impressed with however the service was first class which was impressive.
Overall a little bit hit and miss but I’ll definitely be making another visit in the future. There’s too much on the menu that looks appealing not to!

Been to LLLB a couple of times in the past but there has probably been a 6 month gap since my last visit till this week and wow things have changed. This place used to be rammed on a Sunday lunch time with people queueing out the door, but this weekend it was dead downstairs, we were the only people in there when we walked in around 1.30pm!
So in we go, decide to sit downstairs in the bar area rather than upstairs in the restaurant as it is generally more cosy downstairs. Staff very friendly and when I ordered a cocktail that was going to take a while, the bar staff offered to bring it over for me instead of me having to Wait.
I ordered an almost famous burrito (three meats and super hot and spicy) and some chilli cheese fries. The food arrived verrrry quickly, so quick we actually were unsure if the food was ours ha !
The burrito was. Ok. Plenty of beef but the chicken and chorizo were really sparse. even though there were three meats in the burrito, the dominant flavour throughout was cheese. it was almost like eating a very expensive cheese and lettuce wrap ! I’m not going to lie, a barburrito burrito tastes much fresher and it feels like you get wayyyy more meat for less money than at lllb. You also get a load of rice and beans in a barburrito wrap unlike lllb where the main ingredients are lettuce, chips and cheese asides from the meat. The chilli cheese fries did what they said on the tin, beef chilli (although not very much) and a mountain of cheese on top of the usual white and sweet potato fries you get at LLLB /​almost famous.
For a burrito, fries and a cocktail, the bill came to £22 which I thought was more than fair. Especially as I couldn’t finish my huge portion sizes :)
Overall, lllb was ok. I used to love it here now I wouldn’t be too bothered if I didn’t come back. The food was much more average than it has been in the past and atmosphere was really lacking due to it being really quiet.

Although the food here is overall very good and excellent value I felt it was massively let down by the service which would definitely be 2 stars (and really should make this place three stars overall but I will definitely go back/​recommend which is my barometer for 4 stars).
When we arrived we stood at the restaurant bar for about 15 minutes while the bartender studiously ignored us, eventually the host hearing how annoyed we were getting had to go over and get him to serve us. Granted there was just one person responsible for the drinks for the entire second floor restaurant (something they may want to reconsider) but a friendly «hello, i’ll just be with you in a second» was all that was needed. Or perhaps a suggestion we go back downstairs to the bar, which is what I recommend you do.
We were slow picking our mains and the waitress was very patient but the drinks order again got messed up — we had to ask for glasses for prosecco that they had delayed bringing because they had none chilled (should have just asked us and we could have ordered something else) and also had to ask for water more than once.
Food wise, the south central enchilada as recommended by Mike is indeed very tasty. The triple threat burger was also good although if I came again I would stick with the Mexican stuff, it was super heavy. My friends’ burritos were apparently tasty although it’s a bit weird how they come served just sliced in half with no garnish or anything else on the plate. I was impressed that the guacamole was mashed at the table although for my personal taste I would add more lime. I didn’t like the bacon blue cheese and pop chips dip at all — it seemed quite artificial.
Chips were great and really cheap. My favourite thing overall though was the pint of shrimp… delicious and would come back again just for that. For the food, vastly better than Lucha Libre in my experience, which would be its nearest competitor.

Luck Lust Liquor & Burn has been on my hit list for a long time. I don’t know what’s taken me so long. We were told it could be up to an hour wait for a table (on a Saturday night) but in reality it was about 20 minutes. Happy days. Up we went into a maze-​like restaurant and got seated.
Me being me, I had perused the menu online earlier, but was still a bit overwhelmed. Burrito was the obvious option but maybe I wanted tacos? A burger? A steak dinner? And do we want starters? Yes, we do. We shared the Fear & Loathing platter between 4 of us. This was delicious. I would have loved more of the nachos. Thankfully there was no shame round the table as we practically licked the board clean.
I went for an Alabama Slammer burrito which included pulled pork and blue cheese, along with the regular trimmings and maybe some other stuff that I’ve forgotten. I loved this. It was so good. I was getting increasingly full after the sharing platter and concurrently attacking a bowl of fries but I couldn’t stop eating. Everything went together so well and unlike some burritos it wasn’t too heavy on the rice.
The bill, including a drink each, came to around £20 per person. I thought this was incredibly reasonable for the quality and amount of food. Now I’ve made it to LLL&B and know it’s worth it (and worth the wait, if you’re not ravenous) I’m sure I’ll head back.

Yay! I finally made it to LLL&B! This place had been on my to do list since moving to Manch, seven months ago, so you can imagine how excited I was to get a chance to sample its wares, at long last.
After stepping inside the heavily graffiti’d restaurant, we weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms and it was all a bit confusing. All the tables were occupied and we had to ask the girl-​with-​a-​face-​like-​a-​slapped-​arse behind the bar if there was more seating upstairs. Thankfully there was.
Once on the first floor, we were faced with another female member of staff who looked like she’d just been told the world was about to end and was obviously reluctant to politely asking «table for two?». Eventually, we were seated in a corner booth and ordered white wine spritzers but FFS, why was that so difficult?
Anyway, whatever. The drinks arrived quickly (and in big, bowl-​like glasses) and after trying to fathom what the crazy but well illustrated menu had to offer, we placed our order of a Fear & Loathing sharing platter with a portion of fries. When they arrived, they didn’t fail to impress.
The presentation was spot-​on and once we’d got stuck in, the flavours of the mini cheese burgers, BBQ chicken, dipping salsas, nachos, spicy fries and quesadillas didn’t fail to impress either. They were bloody awesome, in fact. And it was just the right amount of food to allow us to keep shopping afterwards. The bill came to £24, which I think was pretty reasonable.
If you ignore the moody female staff and just focus on the atmosphere and the food, LLL&B is a cool place to go for lunch and a cheeky drink. I will definitely be returning, I just hope the waitresses can at least PRETEND they’re having a good day next time I’m there.

This is officially my favourite place to go for an incredible pint. No not that kind of pint, a pint of shrimp & squid that is.
Arguably the best starter being served in the Northern Quarter, it’s difficult not to mmm and aaaaah at the magnificent crunchy on the outside & soft/​melt in your mouth delicious on the inside nature of this heavenly treat. That’s even before you’ve had the chance to mouthwateringly pick a winner main from a winner menu.
We arrived at the heart of busiest time of the week, namely 7pm on a Saturday night. Without a reservation my Australian +1 was a tad skeptical about the prospect of a successful sit down. We were told the wait would be 40 minutes, we were sat ordering our starters in 35.
Not being one for going for the obvious. We decided to go for a burger strategy after being in shrimp/​squid heaven. Soon we were in burger heaven. The triple threat burger was eliminated with consummate ease as was chicken variety. The sweet potato fries were delightful beyond blissful glee and we were left speechless by the end of proceedings. The Aussie from Melbourne and his superlative rhetoric were reduced to random noises of approval.
I can’t wait to update this review already. The problem is it’d be oh so difficult not to order the same as we did here, so good was the grub on offer. The marination of chicken in the burger deserved an oscar. The perfection of cooking time on the shrimp & squid deserved a grammy. I deserved a noble peace prize for decision making genius; we had enough love in our hearts after dining to achieve world peace.
Luck, lust liquor and burn should change their name to. You were love, food divinity, full of liquor and I will return.

Even though it has been on my list for quite a long while, this is the first time that I’ve actually made it through the door of Luck, Lust, Liqour and Burn. If you take one thing from this review, it’s that you shouldn’t wait as long as I did before you go. Please, please, try this.
First of all, the venue itself. It has a dirty, grimy feel to it that I just love! The same mad graffitier has been at work as Almost Famous on Deansgate. It’s not a surprise really, as they share a common heritage, and the feel, and the food are as good as you would expect.
We made our way upstairs, and were seated really quickly — I don’t know what the situation is in the evening, but if it anywhere near half as popular as Almost Famous expect to wait on busy days. You should wait though — it’s well worth it.
I went for the South Central Enchillada, and it is one of the best things that I have ever put in my mouth. Really, honestly, one of the best things I’ve eaten. It had everything. Chicken — juicy, spicy, tangy. Chilli — spicy, smokey, delicious. Fries — starchy, soft, wonderful. All wrapped up in a huge tortilla, and smothered with creamy chipotle sour-​cream and zesty guac.
I can’t recommend that you try that highly enough. My only regret is that I was so in awe of it that I completely forgot to get a picture. On the plus side, this now gives me the perfect excuse to go back and have it again.
It’s like a complete meal all gift-​wrapped for you in a tasty package, and you should definately have one. So, to repeat my begging from the start — don’t be like me. Let Lust Luck Liqour and burn into your life, or, at the very least, Manchesters most exciting enchilllada.