Eats

Almost Famous team to debut new burger concept in the Northern Quarter

Big smash.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 2nd October 2024

The team behind Manchester’s most legendary burger bar, Almost Famous, will open the doors to a brand new burger concept this week.

Super Awesome Deluxe is taking over the old Lono Cove site on Thomas Street, serving up a short menu of smash burgers with a daytime soundtrack of 80s hits and a nighttime playlist of drum n bass.

If you don’t like beef burgers, look away now, but if you do, you’re going to like this one.

Super Awesome Deluxe will operate as a grab-and-go takeaway with just three core smash burgers on the menu – the Super (with deluxe sauce and pickles); the Awesome (shaved onion, deluxe sauce, ketchup, mustard and pickles); and the Deluxe (deluxe sauce, spicy ketchup, lettuce, tomato and pickles).

There’ll also be the Special, which will change every two months.

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And alongside those tender smashed beef burgers, topped with melty cheese, will be golden hand-cut fries which are taken ‘very seriously’ to bring maximum nostalgia to your takeaway.

The Super Awesome Deluxe fries are made with Cheshire spuds, cooked to crispy, salty perfection.

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Burgers will be made with meat sourced super locally from W.H Frost with a house blend of chuck, brisket, and aged marrow for a rich buttery flavour, ground for a steak-like texture and smashed hot into caramelised patties.

They’ll be limited daily until they’re sold out to ensure the highest quality and freshest buns.

Smash burgers at Super Awesome Deluxe Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Smash burgers at Super Awesome Deluxe Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
The core menu at Super Awesome Deluxe is only three burgers, plus fries and homemade cherry lemo. Credit: The Manc Group
The core menu at Super Awesome Deluxe is only three burgers, plus fries and homemade cherry lemo. Credit: The Manc Group

There’ll also be house-made cherry lemonade made daily, plus a special Super Awesome Deluxe lager made in collaboration with Tiny Rebel.

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Beau Myers, co-founder at Super Awesome Deluxe said: “Why is super awesome so super awesome? We’re doing more than just smashing burgers – we’re creating a whole vibe. 

“We’ve created something completely fresh that hits in a new way and gives people what they need. It’s all about quality, energy, and keeping it real. 

“Our menu is tight, the flavours are bold, and the beats are loud. 

Super Awesome Deluxe is opening in the Northern Quarter this week. Credit: The Manc Group
Super Awesome Deluxe is opening in the Northern Quarter this week. Credit: The Manc Group

“We want people to walk out with a grin on their face, knowing they’ve just had the best damn burger ever. This isn’t just about food, it’s about the culture we’re building around it and the good times we’re bringing.”

Super Awesome Deluxe will open in the Northern Quarter on Wednesday 9 October, with 200 free burgers up for grabs on opening day (100 from midday, and another 100 from 5pm).

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Super Awesome Deluxe is open for takeaway from 12pm-3pm and again from 5pm-10pm, Wednesday to Sunday. There’ll be late night hours until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Acclaimed restaurant staffed by prison inmates announces sad closure

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The Clink restaurant in Styal is closing

The Clink, an acclaimed restaurant where the food is prepared and served by prison inmates, has announced its devastating closure.

The charity behind the restaurant, which is attached to HMP Styal, has confirmed that it will close for good on 31 July 2025.

The Clink is famed for the training and experience it provides inmates, helping them to get a head start into the hospitality industry when their sentence ends.

It’s also achieved plenty of acclaim as a restaurant in its own right, consistently being rated as the best restaurant in Wilmslow and voted Cheshire Restaurant of the Year in 2024.

Over the years, hundreds of students have earned qualifications including City & Guilds NVQs in Food and Beverage Service, Professional Cookery and Food Hygiene.

The Clink restaurant in Styal is closing
The Clink restaurant in Styal is closing
The Clink restaurant in Styal is closing

But The Clink has now announced that it will be closing this summer due to ‘a number of factors’, including costs and participant numbers.

Donna-Marie Edmonds, Chief Executive of The Clink Charity, said: “The decision not to renew our contract at HMP Styal has been made with an incredibly heavy heart.

“The Clink Charity’s mission is to reduce re-offending and we have been doing this at Styal, producing outstanding results for over a decade.

“Although the restaurant will officially close this summer, our partnership at Styal will be remembered not only for its landmark training outcomes, but as a beacon of hope, where women have sought refuge and rehabilitation.”

As one of those students put it: “If it wasn’t for my journey at The Clink, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Deansgate’s new mini brunch triangle attracting big queues – and rightly so

Danny Jones Danny Jones New Manchester brunch spot triangle Deansgate

Manchester is absolutely bursting at the seams with brilliant brunch spots, and don’t even get just started on trying to pick from all 10 boroughs as a whole, it’s impossible.

However, over the past year or so, we suddenly realised that somewhat of a city centre trio of brunch spots serving unreal breakfasts, midday delights and early afternoon scran has emerged.

A new Manc brunch triangle, if you will.

While some have been there longer than others, all three of these places within aren’t just within spitting distance of each other but are enjoying a real wave of success at the moment – and it’s no surprise why: they’re all utterly incredible.

Three brilliant city centre brunch spots for you to try

1. Bruncho

First up on the list is the aptly named Bruncho, which opened just last summer, and despite announcing itself to the Manchester hospitality scene rather quietly at the time, it’s starting to pick up some serious pace now.

Specialising in unreal breakfasts and Mediterranean exports like menemen, Turkish eggs, their own spins of spicy favourite shakshuka, as well as plenty of dessert-forward plates with colour palettes as full as the plates themselves.

It goes without saying that you can obviously get a proper good ‘Bruncho Full English‘, but we’d encourage you to branch out and, who knows, maybe have a brekkie that features ice cream? In fact, it’s sentences like that which make it our Thomas’ favourite way to start the day – albeit ideally a lie-in.

2. Alex’s Bakery

Now, another very strong candidate which has been around on the Manc brunch scene much longer than the other two on this list is local success story, Alex’s Bakery, though we’ll admit we’d mainly visited this place for the unreal brownies, cupcakes and other assorted sweet treats until recently.

However, in addition to the popularity of their lunch deal (a panini, cupcake and drink), they’ve really stepped up their wider brunch offerings of late, going from what was once just a Manchester Artisan Market back in 2014 to branching out into everything good you can put on toast and tonnes more.

It may not garner the often ridiculously long queues of other places, but that’s because this place has a steady flow of regulars all week long who’ve steadily fallen in love with it over many years. They’re tres leches cakes alone are well worth the visit.

3. Acai And The Tribe

Last but not least, the acai craze is undoubtedly one of the biggest foodie trends around right now, as proven by the lines that gather outside this Great Northern venue at least once virtually every weekend – but Acai And The Tribe has actually been on the hype for ages.

That being said, after moving from Arndale Market to Deansgate Mews back in 2022 and now along the main strip in recent months, their popularity has skyrocketed. If you’re looking for a health brunch open packed with vibrance, vitamins and plenty of other very nice toppings, this is the one for you.

We’ll warn you, finding the right window to visit is essentially if you don’t want to wait around for ages these days, but both Clem and Daphne still greatly approve, so it’s it gets the seal of approval from us.

So, while we could recommend you a whole load of fantastic places in around Manchester city centre, we’ve been particularly charmed by this mini Manc brunch triangle around Deansgate.

Best of all, it’s just always great to see local businesses thriving, isn’t it? Especially when it comes to people lining the streets and sending it viral just for a chance to taste their offerings.

Modern breakfast and brunch are things that can be either perfect in their simplicity or surprising in their creativity; either way, we’re glad there are plenty of examples of that here in Manchester.

Trust us, we take this stuff very seriously…

The top 25 places for the best breakfast and brunch in Manchester

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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