Almost Famous

I’ve been to Almost Famous five times in the two and a bit years I’ve lived in Manchester, which isn’t very many but I think it’s time to write a review.
I won’t say much about the concept as it’s been discussed to death, though I will say that I think a lot of people (myself included) find their brand a bit tired and annoying, so for those who haven’t been I would suggest looking past that and just giving the food a try.
The food, then, is pretty good. I’ve taken a few people here and they all but one enjoyed it, although the friend who did not enjoy it has since revealed that she is just not a big fan of ‘junk food’ so I guess it was never going to float her boat. Everyone else has really enjoyed it, with the friends I went with most recently going as far as to declare ‘I think this place was made for me!‘
On my most recent visit I had the I’m Cracked Baby burger and we shared Bacon Bacon Fries and Phoenix Fries between four. The fries are big, and covered in stuff, and filling. I’m not saying it would be impossible to eat a burger and a fries to yourself but you won’t be short on food if you share.
The burger was really delicious. It is totally overloaded with toppings so I would avoid if that’s not what you’re into. On this particular burger though the toppings all tasted good together: cheese, chorizo, garlic salt shoestring fries, salt and vinegar crisps, Cholula, blue cheese sauce, and jalapeño mustard. Admittedly I wasn’t able to pick out each individual sauce in every bite, but the combination made every bite delicious. To drink I had a Famous Frickin Swizzle which was pretty good.
I’ll surely be back.

My boyfriend and I love it here! The food has been great both visits and we had a really nice waitress. Served in good time and it is quite cool. Loved the music they were playing — we heard another couple asking the waitress what playlist was on. We will be going back. However very limited veg options! Room to improve here

Wow.
So I’ve been so excited to try Almost Famous. Forever. I’ve heard it’s an amazing burger, brought up from nothing, topped to the brim with toppings and perfectly made.
And so when I came to Manchester, it was spot number one on my list.
And what I found was… not at all what I expected.
So first, the whole atmosphere is not the cool independent spot that I had pictured in my head. If anything, it felt like a cheesy TGIF knockoff. Flashing lights, brightly coloured menus, terrible music on the sound system (they moved flawlessly from «Last Night A DJ Saved My Life» into «Mambo Number 5», a song I hadn’t heard in years and honestly never needed to hear again.)
I was sat and gave the menu, which was filled with cartoons and burgers with names like Good Morning America and Buffalo Beach Club. I tried the River Pheonix, which had cheese, streaky bacon, shoestring onions, frazzles, red chillies, redneck BBQ, bacon bacon mayo, winning ketchup. I still have no idea what winning ketchup is but OK.
The burger was… fine. Nothing amazing, filled with lots of stuff that didn’t make it pop but just kind of made it a burger. Disappointing the whole way through.
I also got the Magic Waffle Fries, which were waffle fries, bacon rain, JD maple and popping candy (and what they meant were fries, so sweet they were hard to eat and a package of popping candy you can pour on it if you want.)
But here’s where they really lose stars. The service. Which was awful. So awful.
I was seated fine as soon as I walked in and then I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally a waisted as out down a menu and asked if I wanted anything to drink. So I ordered a soda and waited. And waited. What is happening here?
This would be a running theme.
I got the soda and then waited to order. I had to actually wave like a maniac to flag someone down. And then waited for the food, which was not fast by any means (even TGIF brings out food rather quickly). You think as long as I waited, the food would have tasted better, but sadly, no.
No one ever checked on me the entire time. This included when it was time to pay, and even here, flagging someone down didn’t work. So I finally stopped the guy who sat me as he was seating someone else, and asked him for my bill.
«Yeah, just ask one of the staff,» he told me, without even looking at me. What? Ok. So finally managed to grab one of the waitresses. Eventually, she brought the bill and I asked to pay right away, since I was now running late for a meeting.
«Yeah, I’ll get one of the girls to bring the machine over,» she said, again, walking away. WHAT! Bring the damn machine. What is going on here!
I left with a lump of burger not sitting well in my stomach and the worst service I’ve had in a long time. I really dislike dropping one stars on Unilocal (out of the near 2,000 reviews I’ve written, I believe this is number 10.) And my qualifications for doing it is a bad experience made even worse by service so awful it makes me angry. And this was so bad, I’m still angry.

Another great trip to Almost Famous. The Star Wars themed specials are amazing. The Rebel Alliance burger was the choice this time with Pig and Wookie waffle fries. The burger was perfect and I’d love to see it become a full time addition. Fries were excellent too with the BBQ pork cooked just right. A friend had the giant Xmas special which was an absolute tower of a meal. Definitely a place to come back to over and over again.

Went to the Great Northern branch of Almost Famous for the first time the other day, as I have always loved the one in the Northern Quarter. However, I found the service to be not great, as we were ignored at the bar, and it took forever for our orders to be taken and food and drinks to arrive. There didn’t seem to be any staff about, and those who were didn’t seem to be interested in the customers at all! Not what I’d have expected on a Tuesday night.
However, the food was as good as ever, and the fries and cocktails still made this AF worth a visit.

I’m not massively too sure what’s happened to AF over the past year really… There used to be a time when the concept used to be exciting and fresh, where queuing up at the smaller branch for hours made you eager in anticipation and when being greeted at the Warehouse and being told you had to come back in 2 hours for a table made you say «sure, why not!»
But my past 2 visits it’s all just been a bit tiring and lacking in wow. The burgers don’t seem to be as good as they used to be and now it really does just just seem to be a stack em high mentality.
Personally I prefer the burgers and offering at Filthy Cow and when down in London a few weeks ago — I realised just how much I missed MeatMarket’s burgers — now they’re amazing.
From what was once a clever concept, it now all seems a bit paint by numbers. I’d definitely be keen to see what this group has up it’s sleeves next as they’ve always been very forward thinking.

A lot of people say that Almost Famous has lost it’s way and that burger-​wise it can’t compete with some of the newer editions to the Manchester meat scene however I have to disagree!
I’ve always loved AF although normally I venture to the NQ location, so when I was hovering around Great Northern the other day I knew I had to get my fix.
I got the Down & Out burger which I’d never tried before and yep I have a new favourite. It was amazing! Craft beer friends stop reading now… I washed that down with a pint of San Miguel, lovely!
Writing this review has made me realize I have a burger problem, because I am now considering getting in my car and making the 20 minute drive to Almost Famous for lunch.
It’s only 8am #burgershame

We popped along to Almost Famous after the One Watson Street launch for a late dinner. I had heard so much about AF and couldn’t believe that on my nearly two years in Manhester I hadn’t paid it a visit!
Impressively we didn’t have to wait for a table, and were shown to our table by the friendliest waiter. In fact every member of staff who spoke to us couldn’t have been friendlier or more helpful, carefully explains the parts of the menu that didn’t really make much sense.
My dining partner doesn’t have the biggest appetitive, so when he was told all burgers come as double pattys his face fell (thankfully he took the rest home with him later). We both ordered the I’m cracked baby — burgers with cheese, chorizo, shoestring fries, hot sauce, salt and vinegar crisps (?!?), blue cheese sauce and jalapeño mustard. We decided to split a portion of the the wining fries — mixed skin on regular and sweet potato fries.
The patties themselves unfortunately are nothing special, not compared with delicious patties from somewhere like solita. The toppings all actually worked on the burger, although I couldn’t help but feel like I was eating a posh McDonalds. The fries were really tasty, however they were served to us pretty cold which is a big let down for me. Fries are kind of my thing.
All in, AF is cool, loud, and inventive in its flavour combinations, but maybe more attention should be paid to the simple things like the meat and having pipping hot fries.

I would have liked to give 3.5 stars but unfortunately cant do that with Unilocal!
1^st time I’ve been there was few months ago and I would have definitely given 3 stars as the music was very loud and burgers were average.
I’ve been there again recently and there were some improvements: they now do table service and I was able to hear what my neibourghs were saying! food remain the same: too much different sauces in the burger so you cant really taste anything! next time I should probably ask to only put the one I like! we got the bacon chips that were very nice though!
staff was friendly, they did few mistakes when taking our orders that have been rectified without any issues!
I’m not going to say that I won’t go there again but it wont be my 1^st choice if Im looking for a nice burger in Manchester!

When I knew I was coming to Manchester for one night only, I did my fair share of research and got recommendations from a lovely bunch of Mancunian Unilocalers. Top of the list to go to was Almost Famous. So lovely Michael B. and Emily B. saw it to take pity on a lonely visitor and take me out to give it a try.
After several pubs and several pints, we ended up here After perusing the cocktail list and the food list, I made my decision. I got a pint of lager. It was unfortunate, but the cocktails (while interesting sounding) all sounded really sweet, and that was confirmed by the bartender, so I just couldn’t get one. (Sweet cocktails are just not my thing.) I decided to get the Butter, Blood and Bleu burger because I love chillies and I love blue cheese. So I also ended up ordering the suicide wings because hot wings. (Although neither Michael nor Emily were brave enough to try one!) We also split some of the Phoenix fries and Ballpark fries so we could get a selection and try things. Annoyingly, they were out of a few things we tried to order (Cream soda and one of the shots), so it put a slight damper on things.
The burgers came out quickly. So that was good, because I needed food at this time. The burger was massive and messy, which is often what you want in a burger. And it was tasty. However, I think, for me, there were just too many toppings. It was hard to discern everything that was supposed to be on there (chorizo was there apparently, but I couldn’t find it). Maybe that was my fault, but I think if I go back, I need to go for something a bit plainer so I can actually taste the burger (which is the best part in my opinion). However, the suicide wings were fantastic! Just the level of spice I like in hot wings and a nice blue cheese dip to go in. I was so glad I ordered them on a whim. Probably some of the best hot wings I’ve had since moving to the UK.
The atmosphere is laid back and hipster. The decorations look like a grafitti artist threw up on the walls, but it really worked for the place. And you can’t beat the plethora of eighties and nineties music playing over the speakers. It’s a massive venue as well, so I imagine getting seating isn’t too difficult. I can imagine coming back here if I’m ever back in Manchester, if just to get more of the wings. And maybe the buffalo chicken burger for more buffalo. Because you can never have too much buffalo in your life.

Nearly 18 months since my first review and many different burgers from many different places later, AF needed an update.
For me, the food is just not five star worthy any more, even considering their new menu. The service has always been above average and the venue/​atmosphere you take it as it is — bold, brash, loud and in your face — as that’s the persona the brand has built for itself.
As has been noted by other reviewers, the burger within the bun is now almost an afterthought, with the myriad of toppings, most of them full of flavour and texture in their own right, all competing to be noticed. Meanwhile, the poor beef patties are vainly trying to get your attention whilst the gastro mob attacks you.
I still like AF and I completely understand that they have a heck of a lot more dirty burger competition for attention these days, but there are a significant number of diners who’d appreciate the option to ‘go simple’ every now and again, and not have to pick off Monster Munch, Cheerios or some other foreign invader on our bacon double cheeseburger.

Nothing beats a good tasty juicy burger! Almost famous certainly adds some twists, throwing random crisps and sweet surgary snacks on top of theirs… some of which I have to quesion as being a little bit OTT and unecessary… but well I guess that comes with the american way of go big or go home! The burger I got was delicious itself but had about 4 different sauces on it most of which I couldnt really feel the flavour of, e. g the blue cheese sauce which I expected to be a strong dominant flavour was lost)! As for their options of loaded fries (jalapenos, bbq sauce, blue cheese sauce, bacon bits, cheese. etc… etc), whilst tasty themselves, when you’re already faced with a burger that has every topping under the sun, I feel like plain or sweet potato fries would serve as a better match!
Realising this all seems a bit negative, I have to say I would definitely go back to sample some more burgers… for me personally I feel some menu items need stripping back, however others may be filled with glee at the idea of eating popping candy and sherbet strips on their burgers… each to their own I guess!

Don’t tell my mum, but I’m finally not a virgin anymore…
After living in Manchester for about a month, I finally lost my Almost Famous virginity last night and after such a huge build up, I was slightly disappointed.
Ok, so you absolutely can’t deny that the burgers here are good! I highly recommend the Triple Nom as my boyfriend immediately got food envy when my burger arrived and it was bigger than his. It included a mound of pulled pork that was delicious! I also had the skin on chips with sweet potato fries and they were also yummy (but quite cold) .
Now the problem with these burger places, is the competition is just too fierce. Because of this, AF have tried to be «original» by adding exotic and interesting things to their burgers. Including Cheerios, Doritos and a strawberry pop tart?! Yes, you read that right, a strawberry pop tart.
I just find the gimmick slightly embarrassing. The burgers are good, but they’re not the best, and so to disguise that fact, they’re shoving bright lights, loud music and strawberry bloody pop tarts in your face and hoping you don’t notice.
I’m not saying don’t go, I’m just saying go to Solitas first.

I thoroughly enjoyed the burger here and had to admit I was totally full by the end of it. It is my second visit to the place.
I do think the place is slightly overrated and think that you get a better burger at the crafty pig or SoLita.
The atmosphere is very busy and more of a ‘going out to get wrecked’ vibe than a ‘make the food the end of the night’ place. I also find they crammed folk in too tightly.
Mostly enjoyable though and great as part of a night out.

This was my first time visiting the Great Northern branch of the growing chain, and the food didn’t disappoint!
Having had a massively indulgent 5 or 6 days, I wanted to round it off with a reliably awesome burger so naturally had a look at AF. I normally visit the NQ restaurant as it’s much closer for me, but felt the need for a bit of a walk, and also had my eye on the Great Northern only Butter Blood and Bleu burger — it did NOT disappoint! 2 juicy, meaty burgers sandwiching some tasty chorizo, smothered in cheese, fried onion, pepper sauce and blue cheese sauce, and topped with strips of beautifully pink flatiron steak — I thought if died and gone to burger heaven! I had the goodfella fries to accompany it, nice to see a bacon free option All expertly polished off with minimal fuss or spillage, I then wanted ice cream! I opted for the choccywoccyhoohaa sundae, which included a gorgeous warm, gooey chocolate sauce, brownie pieces and chopped nuts. Delicious!
Service was efficient and friendly, the restaurant looked fab, and the food arrived quickly. These guys definitely know their stuff!

TL;DR — Dieters beware! Amazing burgers.
Endless surveys have rated Almost Famous as the home of the best burger in Manchester (or second, depending on how Solita did in the same contest) so we decided to give it a go. It was a Saturday evening and we didn’t know how long we’d have to wait for a table so were pleasantly surprised by the quoted 25 minutes.
Now, I loved the next bit. They take your mobile phone number and text you when your table is ready. If you’re sat upstairs in the bar with a drink this is fine, but of course the beauty is you can actually leave the premises and have a wander and still not miss your table. Simple but brilliant idea.
Our text came *exactly* 25 minutes after we came in the door and we went and took our seats. Service is a little unusual here — a member of staff brings you the menu but you order everything at the bar.
Sparky went for the «John Bender» (cheese, bacon, burger, waffle, poached egg…) and I had a «River Phoenix» (cheese, bacon, burger, frazzles (!), onions, chillies…) and we each had a side of «Winning Fries».
In short, it was all awesome. Greasy, fatty, gorgeous tasty mouthfuls of meat. The fries were also great — a nice mix of regular and sweet potato fries, seasoned really nicely. We had beer to drink but there were lots of cocktails being made all night.
This is NOT the place to come if you’re on a diet or of a nervous disposition. It’s loud and frantic but also utterly brilliant.

The name Almost Famous reminds me of the film, you know that film with Kate Hudson in it.
On this occasion we went there as part of the Yap on Unilocal series that JQ has initiated. We started yapping at Brewdog (no pun intended) and then headed over to Almost Famous for one of their burgers.
I’ve not yet been to America and I do not know what the burger joints across the pond look like. But since I have seen Pulp Fiction very many times, I expect every American burger joint to be like Jack Rabbit Slims. It is a bit ironic isn’t it, when you expect life itself to be larger than life.
Anyway, back to the real world, I was not that bowled over by Almost Famous. It just felt like a big, noisy and busy food court. We ordered beers too drink and I went for one of their very discriminatorily named chicken ‘not burger’ «sandwich». This was, fried chicken in a bun, which, for me, was a burger (I checked the Merriam and Webster definition of burger) and the customer is always right, right? Again, this level of pretentiousness is a bit unnecessary, I believe. The chicken ‘not burger’ «sandwich» tasted well and all the sauces that went with it complemented it very well too, but the patty (if I may call it that) was a little burnt, just a tiny bit. This wouldn’t matter anywhere else, but at a place where they are so particular about the food that a chicken burger is a chicken ‘not burger’ «sandwich» this is a bit disappointing.
Along with my chicken ‘not burger’ «sandwich» I got a portion of true romance fries and a portion of suicide wings to share with Josh M. The fries were crispy and the baconnaise was good. The suicide wings were doused in some combination of tabascoesque thing with a bit of tang and something else. Frankly I don’t see the point in something so hot (taste, not temperature) that you don’t get to enjoy the other flavours that go with it.
The staff who served us on the day were fantastic. They were polite and friendly, which is a redeeming factor for Almost Famous.
Given that there are so many other places where one can get a decent burger instead of a ‘not burger «sandwich» and given that for vegetarians there is hardly anything, I don’t think I will go that far just to eat a ‘not burger’ «sandwich». I can get a better burger at Knott or Handmade Burger, which are only a stone’s throw away.
For me, Almost Famous will remain a series of almosts, and so i will almost go there the next time, almost.

Visiting as part of the Yap on Unilocal series, I was excited to return to Almost Famous and get my hands on something juicy. Being a table of 7, we were worried that there would be a massive wait upon arrival, yet we were ushered straight through to the rear of the restaurant and a large table. Result!
The menu rarely changes, with a one new burger and fries combination roughly once a month, but why change something that keeps the punters coming? Wanting to try something slightly different, I actually went for the steak sandwich, sharing some of the infamous pig & waffle fries with Michael B. and a portion of suicide wings for the middle of the table.
I did ask for no mustard mayo on the sandwich, but instead it came without the peppercorn sauce — a disappointment but, as it was simply to do with personal taste, I thought I would give it a go. The steak itself was delicious and the perfect pink for me, though the bread hardly stood a chance against the juice of the steak and the sauce together. Just get cracking on the kitchen roll and get stuck in!
The suicide wings were okay, though lost their temperature heat quite quickly, and pig & waffle fries devoured. Bottles of the sauces were also available on the table, a new addition since I last came, which can never be a bad thing for that extra added flavour.
Not wanting to drink a cocktail, I started to see some of the issues people have with other drinks here as the range isn’t vast. I ended up with a Kopparberg, which was fine, though definitely not my usual first choice.
Interested to see where they go next with this franchise, perhaps the return of the beach club on the square outside this branch? Here’s hoping.

Almost Famous delivers well on almost every front, the American style burgers and fries are tasty filling and there’s enough variety in the menu for everyone, the staff are friendly and polite.
I wont’ say much about the look and feel of the place as it’s pretty standard fare for the American burger model, which I guess part of my only gripe with Almost Famous.
They have started paying for being one of the early adopters of the new wave of American style burger joints. I can’t help feeling they need to shake up the model in some way.
If the worst thing you can say about a place is that they don’t have the range of beer I’d like then there really isn’t much of an issue is there? Well there is when these kind of places especially in Manchester are becoming a dime a dozen. It doesn’t detract from everything Almost Famous does right, and they do a lot right, but sadly it does mean that comparison is naturally drawn with similiar places which might do it a bit better. That place there has a bigger beer selection, that other one has event nights etc.
It’s definitely a restaurant I’d head to if I was nearby and felt the urge for a burger or meeting before the cinema, or the bowling alley, but I wouldn’t be venturing far afield to return especially when there might be something pretty similiar just around the corner.

When Almost Famous in the NQ burned down a few years back safe to say I was gutted. But then this much bigger AF opened within the Great Northern Warehouse and I’ve been a fan of this place just as much as the old one.
I’ve had countless visits to this AF and I’ve always had a great experience. The burgers are always juicy, freshly cooked and served to you quickly after ordering at the bar.
They are huge portions and I’ve never been able to manage to finish off any fries by myself (I usually get the bacon bacon fries — mixed fries and sweet potato fries covers in baconaise and crispy bacon bits)
The atmosphere in here on a Saturday night is always great. Very busy, quite loud but still the type of atmosphere where you can hold good conversation and not be drowned out by the music.
We were asked to wait about 30 minutes for a table, but I didn’t mind. There was plenty of space at the upstairs bar and all the more time for some of their fab cocktails!
I tried the Cherry Bomb, Candy Floss Collins and the one that tastes like Sherbert. I was pretty merry by the time I sat down to eat.
There’s a vast amount of places in Manchester now where you can get a good burger — but AF will always be a favourite.