The best burgers in Manchester

According to the mantra ‘do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’, Scott Andrew, founder of Bearded Feeder is living the dream. He’s a burger obsessive, and he loves Star Wars, and his little burger hut on Piccadilly Gardens is rightly hailed as an affordable favourite. As well as classic and pulled pork burgers, there are hot dogs, chicken wings and mac and cheese too. With budget friendly, hunger-busting lunch options and Star Wars puns for days (‘may the pork be with you’), these out-of-this-galaxy burgers are more than just a gimmick.

Some burger joints feel the overwhelming need to over-complicate things. Throwing too much at a burger is rarely the answer. Burger Stop keep things pleasingly simple. Classic, you might say. Just patties, cheese, perhaps bacon, burger sauce, lettuce, tomato and pickles. Go chicken or beef (there is an option for both, though not sure we can condone that) or falafel, with sides of tenders, wings and loaded fries on offer too. Not to mention more shakes than you can shake a stick at.

This Wilmslow Road burger spot is understandably popular with students, but also has accumulated customers in Fallowfield and beyond, becoming a huge hit amongst discerning fans of patty and buns across the city. Their outrageous creations have names like The Brunch (with turkey rashers and a fried egg), Danny Dorito (which is loaded with tortilla chips) and The Hulk (which features four smashed patties). Eat in, take away or order online. Just be prepared to make a mess.

It won’t come as a shock that the burger joint called Burgerslut aren’t really the shy or retiring types. They boast that they have ‘the best deluxe stacked burger in Manchester and Salford’, and we’d agree that they are certainly up there. Keep it simple with an Angus beef burger with American cheese, gherkin and ketchup in a toasted brioche bun or try Jamaican Jerk or BBQ smashed options. They don’t hold back on portion sizes too, announcing boldly on their website that ‘size does matter’.

No prizes for guessing that Burgerism would make our guide. These guys have not only set the bar for takeaway burgers in the city, but they were one of the first in Manchester to pioneer the ‘no physical shop premises’ method, also known as a dark kitchen. Operating from a warehouse on a Salford industrial estate, the Burgerism team have more time and space to focus on perfecting their secret smash burger recipe and feeding 5,000 people every single week, snaring themselves a slew of accolades along the way. They owe their success down to scientifically perfecting the optimal amount of smash being applied to each patty, resulting in what they consider a perfect amount of burger caramelisation. National supremacy surely beckons.

With the mantra ‘smashed beef burgers and homemade gravy’, you know exactly what you’re getting with Dunkin Burgers. Find them inside the Arndale Market and available to order online too, these guys are masters of the beef patty, which you can have served ‘O.G.’ style with cheese, as The Marley with jerk chicken and reggae sauce, or even as ‘The Manc’ with egg and grilled tomato. With prices starting at £6.99, it’s a seriously tempting lunch option for city-centre based burger enthusiasts.

A tiny yellow hatch in Altrincham’s independent bar-filled King’s Court, I Call Myself Sanchez is a legitimate hidden gem. Headed up by cheffing talent formerly of The Con Club, I Call Myself Sanchez is far more than a burger window. They are influenced by many aspects of American cuisine and strictly source their ingredients from local suppliers. The Sanchez burger is a beef patty with smoked bacon, spicy Mexican cheese and a fried egg. There’s also a lamb burger with feta and mint yoghurt. Don’t skip the sides either – the salt cod fritters are worth raving about.

Specialising in all things brisket, Pitmaster is a BBQ smokehouse located on a stretch of Wilmslow Road where you could be forgiven for lumping it in with all the other late-night takeaways, curry houses and kebab joints. But if you spend a moment browsing the menu, you’ll find blackened cuts of premium beef which are perfectly pink inside and 8-hour slow smoked ribs. So you know their burger offering is going to be next-level. Choose from a brisket or smokehouse base and add toppings like melted hot nacho sauce, hot peppercorn sauce and home-made slaw and mustard. So, not your average student burger joint then.

Taking Salford, Bury and Walkden by storm, That Burger Place have grown a cult following since launching in 2017. They put their success down to a combination of California-style smashed patties – which have thin, crispy edges – classic toppings, and their secret Big Bob’s Sauce (named after founder Ryan’s dad), which seems to have magical properties when it comes to turning a good burger into an unbeatable one. They’ve competed in the National Burger Awards on multiple occasions, raising their game among the big players in the UK scene.

Hidden round the corner from the main drag of Sale town centre, Yard Burgers’ set up lets the food do the talking. They operate out of a shipping container in the backyard of a hairdressers, overlooking a supermarket loading bay. But what it lacks in a bougie location, it more than makes up for with the quality of the output. Their classic American cheese burger and ‘Snobby Cow’, with onion chutney and truffle mayo, are cracking. The definition of no-nonsense.

This spot takes pride of place at the top of our burger restaurant list, not merely because it begins with the letter ‘A’, but because these guys were responsible for kickstarting the burger renaissance back in 2012. The original bad boys of beef, their outrageous meaty stacks and eccentric interior decor have inspired a hundred imitators. Loaded creations, complete with unfathomable amounts of toppings like shoestring onion, nacho cheese fries and frazzles, may sound extra but they absolutely hit the spot.

Combining all the best elements of an American diner and a dessert shop, Big Licks is a Glasgow import that has made a big impression on the Manchester fast food scene. Burger-wise, they keep things radically simple; there’s a buttermilk chicken one and a smashed Angus beef one. The garnishes are fresh (no soggy lettuce here), the homemade burger sauce is delicious, and you can choose anything between one and four (yes, four) smashed patties. Very big licks indeed.

If you regularly pass through Sale you might have seen this rustic, wood-panelled taverna right by the main road. Cowtown Grill are inspired by Canadian comfort food and have won loads of awards for their efforts, including being a finalist in the National Burger Awards. The burger menu is extensive, with Canadian-inspired creations like the Mountie burger laden with bacon and heaps of crispy onions, and the 403 YYC (named after a Calgary postcode) which features a deeply flavoursome combination of Canadian cheddar, chilli jam and roasted garlic aioli.

Diecast might be more strongly associated with its pizzas and frozen daiquiris than its burgers but it’s burger is an absolute contender, made using a dry-aged Angus short rib patty served with two types of cheese, caramelised onions, burger sauce and pickles. But it’s the potato bun which changes things up, managing to be both sturdy and fluffy at the same time, maintaining peak burger integrity and meaning you aren’t left with a disastrous clean-up situation afterwards, something plenty of burger joints seem to disregard.

Worth the trip to Ramsbottom on its own, Frank’s has been turning out top flight patties since 2021. While their OG Cheese is a lesson in simplicity, their Ruben (a beef patty topped with smokey pastrami, sauerkraut and Russian dressing) is a game-changer, as is the ‘Slow Pete’, which comes laden with a pile of slow-cooked brisket. They do a whole heap of proper buttermilk chicken burgers too. But that’s not what you’re here for… right? (or maybe it is, no judgement here). Take away, or dine-in and grab a cocktail too.

Macclesfield Picturedrome’s burger and fried chicken joint have a simple premise: good food and no nonsense. Their pared-back offering is super tasty, and on the more affordable end of the spectrum when it comes to food hall fare. Pick from ‘classic’, ‘good’ or ‘veggie’ burgers, and choose from a small but perfectly formed list of sides and sauces. It’s certainly better than just ‘good’, but we appreciate their commitment to staying humble.

Yep, they’re a chain, but you can’t deny these guys know what they’re doing. With just four different versions of their Butcher’s Beef Burger, you won’t find any over-the-top toppings or silly sides. Plus, they’ve added a smashed burger to the menu too, which is a slightly lighter patty that cooks all the way through but stays juicy. For consistent quality, you honestly can’t beat it.

Located in the community-owned Radcliffe Market Hall, House of Bun proves that you don’t have to be in the city centre to experience glistening meaty towers loaded with classic and not-so-classic toppings. Their signature burgers come topped with things like maple bacon, stewed chillies, blitzed jalapenos and black pudding (obv, it’s in Bury), and the beef is aged for 35 days for an incredible flavour. A foodie must, whether you’re local to Radcliffe or not.

Regularly singled out by chefs as one of the best burgers in the city, Nordie’s double cheeseburger comes with two beef patties, white onion, cheese and a Russian dressing. It’s served on a potato brioche bun for that all-important bounce, and tastes delicious with one of their cocktails or local craft beers. No fuss whatsoever, and a bit of a no-brainer, if you ask us.

A Chorlton grill restaurant with a distinctly Iberian flair, Off The Grid serve plates full of bold, ‘flame-kissed’ flavours. Their Country Girl burger is a double cheese, double patty affair topped with pork belly burnt ends which have been doused in a house burger sauce, and bacon, truffle and gorgonzola burgers are available too. With a sides game that included salt cod croquettes and octopus, this is an unmissable spot for satisfying, sun-soaked comfort food.

Housed in a 1982 Bluebird International American school bus, the Old School BBQ Bus is a fully-functioning kitchen with smokers and griddle, turning out literal bus-loads of BBQ food. They’re located up in Chadderton in Oldham where they have a family-friendly, covered live music space and serve up cocktails too. If you like your food meaty and cooked low-and-slow, this is the place for you. The burgers are obviously excellent, served on a corn roll with skin-on-fries.

The Last Stop? Or should it be the first one? If you’re after one of the best smashed numbers in the ‘burbs, then make a beeline for The Last Stop in Heaton Chapel, not merely a burger joint but a service to the community. A wonderful neighbourhood watering hole (it even has a quiz night), you can swing in for a pint, and then stick around for bacon cheeseburger from the very top drawer. They do some wildly generous lunch offers too.

After building a reputation on the street food circuit, these burger geniuses have established bases for themself in Salford Quays’ Kargo MKT and Bolton Market Foodhall, creating a red-hot reputation for some of the best burgers in town. They always have a special on the go, but their signature burger is the Stateside Deluxe, made with a 5oz grass-fed dry-aged beef patty and streaky bacon. Oh, and if you were wondering where their beef is from, it’s ethically sourced and grass-fed from an award-winning local butcher.

This Salford haunt was originally founded by a monk and lay abandoned for decades. In 2021, it was lovingly restored to its former glory (and then some). It’s a traditional boozer with elevated dining and one of the best beer gardens in the city. It’s all about that burger, though, – a beautifully simple sandwich consisting of a juicy beef patty with burger sauce, tomato, lettuce and chunky chips. You can add cheese or smoked pancetta if you want. No bells and whistles, just really good quality pub grub.  

Known for their fancy brunches and exceptional roast dinners, you might not necessarily equate Elnecot with burgers, but this Ancoats spot have made perfecting classic dishes their speciality. The Welsh wagyu beef burger is served with cheddar, onion and pickle and it’s absolutely spot on. Plus, on sunny summer days they fire up the BBQ out in Cutting Room Square. Is there literally anything they cannot do?

With a burger so perfect-looking it resembles the platonic ideal of a burger, Hawksmoor have absolutely nailed it with their simply entitled Hawksmoor Burger. It’s all about that patty, which uses an ingenious blend of high quality grass-fed beef and just the right amount of bone marrow. Then you can add Ogleshield cheddar or Stichelton blue cheese. A classic combo of red onion, tomato and lettuce make up the rest of the burger, and that’s it – deceptively simple, yet a real masterpiece. 

Also doing the ‘beef and bone marrow’ thing are MAYA, the Gay Village cocktail bar and bistro with a glam, disco feel. Their burger is suitably chic, served on a golden brioche bun with house relish, tomato and lettuce. At £16 it’s not the most budget-friendly option, but in terms of flavour and presentation, it’s one worth seeking out and very much worth the extra bunce, if you ask us.