This is the third burger I’ve had in Manchester and I’m beginning to think I should relocate. If I did move, I’d want to live in Chorlton so The Parlour could be my local.
The Parlour is a cosy pub in a laid back part of Manchester called Chorlton. There’s a real sense of community here – in fact the The Parlour recently won the title of Best Roast in the UK in the Observer Food Monthly Awards, partly of course due to the outstanding roast, but also due to the supportive residents.
When my burger loving Mancunian friend suggested we try their burger, I happily obliged.
What a lovely looking burger it is too, served with thick cut chips, two giant onion rings and a few salad leaves. This is a pub burger at its finest.
The burger is mammoth and tricky to pick up without cutting it in half. There’s a soft white seeded bun sourced from a local bakers called J.B. Richardson, where they are baked each day. It’s lightly toasted on the inside and not only are there seeds on the lid of the bun, there’s a few running through the bread as well. It’s a top notch bun and doesn’t tear at all during the entire meal (which lasted a while – this burger really is huge).
There’s always a bit of debate around the ingredients used by chefs in the patty of a burger – for me there’s no set formula, chefs should make their patties exactly how they want to, my only requirement is quality meat. The 8oz Parlour burger patty is packed with ingredients and flavour. The minced steak is sourced from another local outlet, the family butchers W.H.Frost. White onion, garlic and chili are combined together, softened and cooled before being added to the meat. You can see the speckles of chili dotted through the patty which I loved, it reminded me a bit of the Rivington Grill burger in London. The patties are also flavoured with rosemary and thyme, don’t knock it til you try it, for me it really worked. The patties are cooked very slowly on a char grill allowing the meat to remain tender and then coated with a generous layer of mature cheddar, which is melted on to the patty and dribbles down the side. I added some salty bacon to my burger too, which was crispy – just how I like it.
Ketchup and mustard have their time and their place, but not in this burger which has its own signature sauce – mayonaise with finely chopped capers and dill – slathered all over the cheese coated patty. It’s not an obvious burger sauce but delicious all the same. It pairs well with chunky slices of gherkin, no limp tomato, no lettuce, the sauce and the gherkin are all the extras this burger needs.
Ploughing my way through the burger I had to remind myself to save room for two gigantic beer battered onion rings and the hand cut thick chips – crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle. Both are tasty and aren’t a disappointment alongside the brilliant burger. The burger, onion rings and chips costs £10.75 (£11.75 with bacon) which is great value considering the quality of the locally sourced ingredients and diligent burger making process, not to mention the relaxed atmosphere. Also I’m from London, so everything up north seems cheap.
Not only does The Parlour serve up a damn fine burger, there’s also a dukebox playing some decent tunes…
Pub burgers can be hit and miss but The Parlour have got it spot on here. The setting is cosy and comfortable, and judging by the burger, I can see why this pub is an award winner.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s my favourite pub burger to date!
The Parlour, 60 Beech Road, Manchester M21 9EG
www.theparlour.info