Handmade Burger Co.

Not a great day for HBCo. I had high hopes walking in for a delicious burger on a Sunday afternoon with my boyfriend. Never been before but obsessed with fresh HAND made burgers I decided to give it a go.
— the STAFF: super über friendly and efficient– John sat us and was very nice/​charismatic. explained where to order and what sides they were sold out of (no sweet potato fries but not bothered).
— the atmosphere: cool, industrial, old courthouse. great music, great vibe.
— the menu: AMAZING on paper… so many delicious choices! if they were cooked properly.
— the food: epic FAIL
i ordered a beef burger with bacon and avocado and paid an extra £1.25 for a slice of cheddar. My boyfriend ordered a chicken burger and side of rosemary fries. I don’t know who they had cooking in the kitchen today– but they were clearly fast asleep. My burger came out hard as a rock and burnt to black. I had the waiter confirm that wasn’t «normal» and the manager had a look and was agreed it shouldn’t be that over cooked. it was like taking a bite of a brick. Yuck. I said we were going to a movie across the street in 20 minutes so i wasn’t sure if i had time for them to make me a new one, but they were so accommodating they insisted on «fixing» the mistake.
well, the second burger came. and it was even worse! this burger had no cheese, was 2 patties the same size as a McDonalds beef patty and no «special» brioche bun that we had ordered the first time around. I couldn’t believe how thin and flimsy the 2 burger patties were. I literally was looking at a fast food mess. i wish now i had taken pictures. not even close to my original order.
i said to the manager that this second burger was nothing like the burger i ordered and didn’t understand why i had 2 small patties instead of one regular patty. i asked for a refund. he brought back the money for the burger but forgot the £1.25 i had paid for cheese.
with this 3^rd cock up in a matter of 15 minutes, the whole situation was laughable. my boyfriend finished his chicken burger which consisted of 2 chicken patties that were barely a quarter of an inch thick and we left.
i hope they can replace the chef– or find someone who can pay attention to orders in the kitchen. this place is a joke. If you want your food overcooked and far from fresh– go to McDonalds and save your £10 note. its the same quality. too bad since the staff and atmosphere had so much potential. total let down!

I am very much a fan of the Handmade Burger Company. They just offer something a notch above a lot of other burger restaurants. They are definitely providing quality rather than quantity — particularly with their locations — they tend only to have 1 restaurant in each city.
On this visit, wanting to try something different than a beef burger, I decided to go for the PeriPeri Chicken Breast in a Pitta Bread. I added Swiss cheese (though £1.50 was added to my bill for it). It was very nice, and I like spicy food, but Wow! when I got to the bottom of that pitta bread where the sauce had collected, the spiciness blew my socks off!
Great décor. Great ambience. Service average, it was once a little more attentive, I feel it has slipped a little.
I do like the 660ml bottles of Peroni. However, they need to be chilled properly. I feel that when ordering at the till, a little more engagement with the customer would be an easy improvement. You want to add cheese, how about «Its an extra £1.50, is that OK?» and You want a large Peroni «Its not been in the fridge long, is that cold enough?» I don’t think that would be too much effort.
Make sure you get a loyalty card. You get free stuff every 3^rd visit. If you have a student ID, take it along as they provide discount.

I was given a ‘buy one burger get another for £1′ coupon whilst in the area a few weeks ago so a friend and I decided to eat here one night after work.
As expected it was rather busy at 6pm on a weekday evening, it seems that a lot of people call in here after work. It was nice to see the place so busy though. Clearly they must be doing something right.
I sat alone whilst waiting for my friend to arrive and I was greeted by a friendly member of staff who talked me through their new menu. This was a refreshing experience after recently having to wait in silence at many other places whilst waiting for friends to arrive.
There is no table service here. You have to decide what you want and go up to the counter to order.
I ordered the brie and cranberry sauce chicken burger and it was absolutely delicious. It was similar to having a Christmas dinner on a summers day. The chicken was moist and juicy and the bun hadn’t gone soggy even with the cranberry sauce filling. I ordered a side of sweet potatoes fries and my friend ordered the normal potato fries so I got to try both. It seems that handmade burger Co even put extra effort into their fries as they were very well seasoned and had cripy skins but were still soft on the inside — you will definitely not leave here hungry.
Even after the discount the bill was a little expensive l, so this is possibly a place I would only return to if I had another voucher.

I wanted to put this review together as recently there are SO many burger places in Manchester and they are all getting a little bit ‘same-​y’. I’m a big burger fan — but only really for chicken and veggie varieties — so I am finding places like Almost Famous and Solita in the NQ are quite limited for me. However, what I loved about Handmade Burger Co (situated on the corner of Deansgate/​Spinningfields) is that they have some amazing veggie burgers on the menu (and I’m not even veggie — I just love veggie burgers!)… spinach and lentil… mushroom and goats cheese… sweet potato burgers… and some really fancy-​pants style veggie burgers too which I find often get overlook at burger joints.
I actually opted for the chicken, bacon and avocado burger, purely because I wanted a fix of healthy avocado after a week of eating rubbish, and a burger place isn’t exactly an eatery of health. We ordered the new rosemary salted chips as a side, which were delightful, and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal here much more than previous burger places that seem so popular.
Nice atmosphere, laid back vibes, serve yourself for soft drinks, order at the bar… all the usual casual restaurant traits which is nice for lunchtime.
If you love your burgers, I would give this a go!

We were out with friends and they suggested that we visit the Handmade Burger Company, I loved the style of the restaurant and the open plan space of the restaurant. Staff were welcoming and couldn’t do enough to help, they asked if we had visited before and they showed us everything we needed about the menu, my partner had the 02 priority offer for two burgers for £10, it was only certain burgers, i had the american cheese which was one of the best burgers I’ve had and my partner had the peppered beef. they have so many burgers to choose from. we also ordered a portion of the seasoned chips with a peri peri topping and it was great to see those chunky chips back after getting so many skinny fries in so many restaurants. The burgers tasted amazing as did those chunky chips, we also ordered two bottomless diet cokes and the whole bill came to £18 for the two of us! We can’t wait to go back again and again!

I came here for lunch today and had the barbeque, cheese and bacon beef burger. I remember the 1^st time I came here (for a Unilocal event) that the portion size of the chips was pretty large so shared chips between the two of us.
The first bite of the burger was pretty tasty and juicy. However, the more I ate it the dryer it got. Looking at the patty, it was cooked «well down». Most places nowadays serve the burgers pink — and rightly so! Burgers is a tough market in Manchester with so many different places doing burgers. And just a stones throw away from Handmade Burger co, are some very good places (and one of the best). Almost Famous (the best), Byron (decent but expensive), Filthy Cow (just opened, really good) and even GBK).
I also remember from the 1^st time that the burger bun seems to just apart and this was no different. The burger came with a stick in the middle to hold it together. I am one of those people who doesn’t take out the stick and sort of eats around it — which some people find unusual. Its also why Victoria B gave me the nickname Shark. (Nothing to do with the other meaning of shark!).
Maybe with the stick in the burger, it could make the bread break out more easily? However, other people have commented on how the burger falls apart so its not just me.
We just had the normal chips. It pretty usual nowadays that you get chips rather than fries. The chips were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Although they were VERY crispy. This was Ok to start with but not by the end.
The service was overall good. Whether it was the person taking the order, bringing food or the bill, they started having a little chat. This may be a good thing or a bad thing depending who you are or the situation.
When we had finished and ready for the bill, it took awhile for someone to realise/​get their attention. The table next to us had finished and asked for the bill etc so I think they should have seen we were finished.
My ²⁄₅ rating is based mostly on the food in this case — and in particular the burger. And also when you compare to the other nearby burger places.

Absolutely loved my visit here. The food was cooked fresh and was amazing and tasty. Not that many choice of fries but the Cajun ones were amazing.
Was supposed to be serve yourself but on the date we went the staff took our orders and did everything you would expect in a waiter restaurant. Lots to chose from on the menu and it all looked amazing. I have the barbecue beef with cheese and bacon burger and it was to die for. Piled high and with jut enough salad on it with fresh buns. You could tell a lot of care and attention went into making the burger.
My sister had the same as me but had chicken instead. That was to the same quality and tasted amazing. There are only 3 choice of fries but they seemed more like proper chippy chips and you got plenty. We were going to go for a desert but we couldn’t manage it.
Usually in places the BBQ sauce on the burgers are spicy but not here. It was perfect. The drinks were bottomless or you could just order one or two and they do milkshakes and other drinks. We went in for a quick lunch so couldn’t try all of the menu but we will Deffo be going again.

My boyfriend and I were in Manchester visiting some friends from the states and when we arrived to the hotel, they messaged us saying they were at Handmade Burger Co., just about to have lunch. We hurried down and met them just in time.
It’s been some time since I’ve been to a Handmade Burger Co. in Glasgow where I live, so I was interested to see how the menu (if it had) had changed and what delicious burgers I could get. Having already been there a while, my friends already knew what they were going to order. I decided, since we had had burgers in the days leading up to our trip to Manchester, that I would opt for the falafal burger, which was delicious. My boyfriend ordered the bacon cheese burger and we both ordered a side of chips– one cajun, one plain. Our friends ordered another veg option and a regular burger and chips. Everything came out in good timing, piping hot, no complaints really.
The staff were friendly enough, but as it seemed customary in other places in Manchester, it took us ages to get the attention of staff to get the bill. I think we waited a good 10 minutes after everyone piled the empty plates to one side to be noticed. The place didn’t seem too busy, but maybe Manchester is trying to be a slow city where people don’t want to rush around.
I definitely enjoy the way this place is run vs. the way it was when it first opened. Gone are the days of ordering at a till and taking a number back to the table, now, the staff come over and take the orders. Much more like a nice sit down restaurant, than a Wetherspoons.
There are much better burgers to be had than Handmade, but I wouldn’t pass up a burger if it was on offer.

I visited here with colleagues at lunchtime, after seeing an offer board outside suggesting junior burger meal of £5.99. When we got there the offer board was gone, and the only offer i could see on the menu applied to under 12 year olds. I ordered a small beef and cheese burger. It arrived without cheese, so I had that awkward few minutes of waiting, while the rest of my group devoured their lunch.
I suspected the wrong beef burger was whisked away to be tampered with and cheese added, and its obvious this is what had occurred as a square unmelted slice of cheese was added to what was represented to me. I can understand adding cheese the the existing burger but the main disappointment is that the burger is cold not warm. The place was not even busy so I don’s appreciate how they can make an error on the order. Will not return, this place is too gimmicky.

It a freezing cold night and I found myself hunting for somewhere to eat on Deangates, which hasn’t got a hour wait or a pub fill of Friday night drinkers. Step in handmade burger co. to save me from frost bite.
I like the feel in this place — laid back with good staff and a descent offering of tasty sounding burgers. So far so good. Enter food — a Mexican burger for myself, messy but enjoyable though the burger itself could have do with some more seasoning as they didn’t really carry them self’s too well. The chips from here are great though, big chunky and plenty for two!
Well I am sill hunting for the perfect Manchester burger burger co is still an enjoyable stop gap. Though next time I may try a chicken burger.

I wanted to try this place out and due to long wait times at our first choice, we popped in to The Handmade Burger Co on the off chance.
Firstly, I have to say that the staff were very friendly and professional, but they were run off their feet. It was in between Christmas and New Year so I figured they may have been short staffed and didn’t plan for a rush.
Due to this, it took a little longer to place my order. It also took a bit of time for the milkshakes to arrive. But then there was only one member of staff doing drinks and trying to take orders. But they arrived at the same time as the food so it’s not really a bad thing. I was really looking forward to my Oreo Milkshake, it was okay but not a patch on Byron’s.
Now to the food; I ordered a BBQ, Bacon and Cheese Beef Burger, Chips and Onion Rings. I thought the Onion Rings were delicious. I really wasn’t expecting them to be that good. The chips were so so, I didn’t hate them but didn’t love them either. They tasted a little like they’d be cooked and re-​heated. I’m not saying they were but it tastes like it. The burger was tasty, but it didn’t really blow me away. I asked for the burger to have no Mayo and they got that right, so I was happy.
I feel like I’d need to go back for another go just so I know one way or another if it really was meh or it was just a okay day. I like to give places second chances, especially since it wasn’t really that bad.

Amir comment is exactly what i’ve to say about this place! burgers are good but nothing amazing and chips disapointing. for the same price i already had a much better burger in manchester!

So I finally got round to getting myself into this place.
The food was nice, not mind blown but certainly nice. I think in a price to flavour balance this place falls short a little though, that’s a flowery way of saying value for money might be lacking.
I went with
The Macho burger — two patties, bacon, cheese bbq relish, mayo, salad
peri peri fries
side of gherkins (love me some gherkins)
The burger was ok, the patties are unseasoned, I feel this is a mistake as there isn’t enough flavour in a circular slab of minced beef to carry itself. It wasn’t a terrible burger, just I wasn’t sat there eating it thinking ‘zomg soooo good’.
The peri peri chips, I was happy to see were a thicker cut, cos obviously thicker cut are healthier and that’s why you eat chips… a healthy amount of peri peri seasoning on them.
Portion size of the chips, it’s enough for 2 you have now been informed. There were 6 of us at the table and we ordered I think 5 portions of chips, many chips were wasted that day despite my best efforts, I’m sorry potatoes I’m so sorry I did not help you all achieve your life goals I tried I really tried.
Gherkins, let us not dwell on my side of guilty pleasure as lots of people don’t care about gherkins.
The burger was 11.85, for that amount of wonga I don’t think it delivered. I fell for the biggest burger on the menu gimmick.
Staff were nice
Nice wine not badly priced.
Not turned off from going again, but also not rushing back

I did not have mega high expectations of Handmade Burger as it is a chain but overall I would say I prefer GBK (which I actually kind of love which I guess makes me a heathen) and Five Guys and maybe even Byron (although it is hideously overpriced).
My burger fell apart as I have noticed other reviewers have mentioned. Onion rings were fine but not particularly great. Chips I thought were a bit odd — not quite crisp (and fatty, frankly) enough? Maybe the ones I tried were just a bit undercooked.
They have incredible enormous ice cream sundaes here though. Everyone must go immediately for the ice cream sundae. The building is also lovely inside — great Victorian tiling.

I turned up expecting this to be a gourmet burger kitchen with a bit of destroyed décor to add to the urban edge much like the trend in many meat emporiums of late. I was surprised as the venue ha an almost Italian feel to it with the lighting and tones yet the inscription across the wall portrayed the dedication to the favoured meat combination of HMB Co. The hot plate on full view to the right of the room was an eye watering conveyor belt of towering burgers that looked near and indulgent with a variety of toppings, much more eloquent than the likes of Almost Famous or other street food type burgers that cram everything between a gherkin and a chipotle blend of whacky sauces as the filling to a soggy bun. The menu will have you more torn than a Scottish referendum, as the choice vast! My eyes flirted to the old faithful of a blue cheese, across to the American themed sort but then to the Moroccan lamb before finally settling in for Christmas on the 30^th of September with the chicken, Brie and cranberry with a accompaniment of peri peri chips to feed my Portuguese addiction. The burger arrived before the chips which made my plate appear a trifle sparse, however I couldn’t leave my choice sat there like a teenage date awaiting his sweetheart to reappear from the bathrooms after a thirty minute wait, so I tucked in. Although the wait for the chips was longer than expected I cannot blame this down to the service just the complicated order of the 25 in our party of Unilocalers. The waitress was extremely pleasant and helpful if not patient with the continual individual orders and I saw no dish sent back! When my chip did arrive I started to wish I had save room! The portion was deceptively big and the perfect blend of crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle! The peri seasoning was not just a sprinkle on top like you’d expect from a nandos but the whole portion was tossed am infused with the delicate tastes and slight spices. Safe to say the chips were a hit, especially as we found the crispy ones near the bottom! The evening was a delight and given the choice again I may have considered a slightly more unorthodox burger but the meat, garnish and most importantly bread were all impressive, my fingers were saved from a soggy crumbling barm disintegrated by an overlay of americanised sauces I had previously expected. I did not try the desserts but they appeared quite mammoth and more of a share between four than a twosome.
I would not normally choose to spend my time at a burger specific food venue as I feel I can get a burger anywhere at any time but year on display really enticed me to return and I would advise this as a burger place over the likes of the current theme around Manchester! Well done HMB Co!

Stopped by this place the other evening with friends! Soon as I walked i saw my group of friends and made my way to them. A waitress was walking past with a handful of burgers and stopped to say «hi» nice touch! Showed to me they where going to be an assertive bunch! And I wasn’t wrong. Nothing here was too much trouble for any of the friendly staff! Menu in hand I ordered my drink and looked at the menu! I didn’t know where to look first… Beef, chicken, lamb or veggie burger, I was overwhelmed by what was staring me! My belly decided I had to try the sweet chilli chicken burger! My belly chose well on this occasion! The chicken was so succulent and within under 10 minuets I’d managed to demolish it!
If your after and full dinning experience and trying to show off with your extensive taste buds maybe this isn’t the place you’d bring your +1. But if you where looking for a bite to eat before of after the cinema or after your shopping or a busy day in the office and haven’t got hours to spend then The Handmade Burger Co is the place to stop by at!
Go on… Go and get stuck in — I dares you!

Handmade Burger Co. is a chain of 20 restaurants around the country, primarily in the North. Their ethos is big on fresh and hand made, from their burgers to their buns to their chips, so although I dine in chain restaurants, I don’t usually blog about them, but this time I made an exception when I decided to visit their newest restaurant in Spinningfields in Manchester, with a few Unilocal friends.
The venue was nicely laid out, bright, and spacious, but I’m still not sold on the gritty/​industrial/​rough-​and-​ready thing that so many burger places have going for them lately. This place’s stripped floors, bare sanded walls, and thinly one-​coated painted chimney breasts etc didn’t really do it for me. In the entryway and at the kitchen there are lovely old fashioned brick-​set glazed tiles and green decorative glazed trim. This throughout would’ve looked really nice. It’s also fair to point out that the toilets were nicely decorated and appointed. There are two toilets, both are unisex, and each is its own self-​contained room, complete with sink and hand-​dryer etc.
The staff were fab! Friendly and knowledgeable, and giving a good service all round! Everyone from the servers to the smiling chefs in the kitchen were all young, enthusiastic, and full of energy.
Before we joined our friends, my partner and I had ordered milkshake each (he had butterscotch, I had strawberry), and we both agreed they were superb, and we enjoyed them thoroughly! They cooled us down after quite a clammy day, and were thick, cold, and loaded with enough ice cream to give me an ice cream head ache (but it was totally worth it!)
Now for the food. The first thing you’ll really notice as you open the menus is that there is an overwhelming amount of choice, with over 40 burgers, as well as other foods, sides, desserts etc. I enjoyed that there was a good range, but I think the menu could easily be pared down a bit to say 10 really good burgers, so that the choice is a bit easier than having to carefully read three pages before you decide.
The food was good on the whole, but to me it varied. I ordered the classic cheese burger, which for a grilled burger was really juicy and tasty, but the burger bun itself was quite starchy and it started to fall apart quite quickly, something I noticed with my friends’ burgers too! My partner ordered his smoky chicken burger in a pitta, which the staff were happy to do, and which he said tasted lovely. The sides however were only ok… the corn was great, the chips were poor (tasted like chippy chips that had gone cold and been reheated in a fryer), which was a shame as their menu gushes about their quality of their chips, and our onion rings never turned up, but we tried some of our friends onion rings instead. Not bad but quite batter tasting, but I’d certainly order them again.
The drinks were good too, with options from beer and wine, to Fentimans soft drinks, Rekorderlig flavoured ciders, milkshakes, and standard soda fountain drinks.
For me the other highlight was the desserts, which were delicious! Big tasty sundaes! Our group tried a chocolate one and a lemon meringue one, the latter being my favourite, with lemon curd, loads of cream, and lots of delicious crumbly meringue pieces! Yum! I’d come here again just for the desserts!
All in all, I’d visit again, perhaps just for a burger at lunchtime, or on a hot summer’s day for one of those lovely big ice cream sundaes! Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area :)

First thing I should say about Handmade Burger Co. is that I didn’t pay for the food on my visit, I was invited, along with a few colleagues to try the wares on offer at the recently opened burger restaurant.
As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I’m not a fan of eating in chain restaurants, Handmade Burger Co currently have about 20 stores, having never been in any before I could imagine that they are quite similar to this one — smart, tidy interior, friendly staff and forgettable food.
I plumped for a New York Deli burger with pastrami and pickles from a menu that is far too large (40 burgers!?) after much deliberation, with some chips on the side. The burger itself was moist & had been well seasoned, but was still a bit chewy (it was pretty thick) and the pastrami didn’t really have any flavour, the whole thing fell to bits after a couple of bites, so I had to resort to knife & fork eating. My chips were curiously both crispy and soggy, like chippy chips that have been wrapped. I’m not actually too fussy about my chips — these weren’t too bad, but did need plenty of seasoning.
My friends all plumped for differing burgers and their feelings were much the same as mine, Handmade Burger Co. is nothing special, you’re looking at around £15 for a meal of ⁶⁄₁₀ quality at best. When there are what feels like hundreds of burger options in Manchester, this place doesn’t stand out enough.

Rather than me pestering anyone else, for a change it was my friend who wanted me to go along to burger co to check out what they had on offer. We decided to mooch on over to deansgate on a lazy Sunday afternoon to recoup from the weekends activities.
As we walked in, the décor is cool and casual, lots of wooden floors and very American diner esque. You have to wait to be seated and we chose our own table near the back. It’s not the largest restaurant, but there were plenty on tables at around 1.30 pm on a Sunday.
The menu is massive. Seriously massive. There are SO many burgers to choose from. They also have your regular tower burgers, chicken burgers, but also mini burger sliders and stuffed burgers where your toppings are actually inside the patty. There are other items on the menu such as veg and halloumi skewers and plenty of stuff for vegetarians too.
The ordering system works like Nandos, up to the desk, order your food and receive a table number. They have bottomless soft drinks in addition to other things such as Oreo milk shakes ! The food came quickly and was fresh and hot. The colours were vibrant and everything was very well presented.
My friend had the BBQ bacon burger, very good with plenty of thick juicy bacon. I had the Mexican burger with avocado, jalapeños etc. I have to say I thought the burgers were pretty good. A lot of toppings, juicy patties and a good balance of flavour. The buns were a little flimsy but it’s fairly common for burger buns to fall apart anywhere you go.
We also ordered the veg skewers which were well cooked and used fresh and crunchy vegetables.
The staff were very friendly and attentive even though it wasn’t table service as such which was a nice surprise. The price for this place we thought was very fair, if not quite cheap for the quality of the food.
I would recommend and would definitely go again. I feel you get more good quality food here for less money than at a lot of other burger joints in town!

Handmade? Handmade by an effing 5 year old! My ‘Mexican’ burger fell to bits as soon as I picked it up. After the third attempt at trying to get the damn thing to meet my mouth, it looked nothing like a burger. In fact, my plate looked like something I’d already chewed and spat back out. Yep, nice.
As for Mexico, I could taste absolutely nada from that part of the world. Actually, I could taste nada full stop. It was basically just grease in bread. These ‘chefs’ obviously think that stuffing as much as possible between flimsy sesame baps is more important than flavour and being able to eat comfortably.
Prices were way too high for what you get, service was average and you could tell the staff had been forced to ask if you’re having a good weekend. I’d rather be served by a sulky teenager who says nothing, to be honest. Oh yeah, and you have to get up and order your own food at the bar area. It’s like a pretentious, beef-​orientated version of Nando’s.
There was a serious lack of air conditioning in the place, which made battling with soggy burgers even more difficult. Then when Rihanna started playing, that was the final nail in the coffin. We ate up and got the hell out of there.
HBC need to sort their sh*t out before I return. IF I ever return here (I probably won’t).