Filthy Cow

I was really impressed with their simple cheeseburger! I thought it would make a perfect pre-theatre menu - classic burger and soft drink for £5 from 2-6pm! However we got too greedy and I went for a cheeseburger! I did not regret my choice. It came perfectly wrapped and was served with the chips on a lined metal tray. Unwrapped the burger just looked so sexy! I'm salivating now just thinking about it again! When I bit into it, the burger was cooked medium just as we were advised and was delicious! I thought it looked a bit big but because the other elements of the burger went together so well, I had no trouble eating the whole thing and instantly wanted another one. The skin-on chips were cooked perfectly too but there wasn't any point in adding rosemary although they did smell fragrant initially.

The service by our server Kelly was perfect! For such a casual place we didn't expect table service or check backs or anything fancy so this was all a lovely surprise! I would definitely go back again as it was great value for a great tasting burger in a great venue!

Filthy Cow makes the best burger in Manchester!

Now with that, I'm talking quality and taste of their meat - if you're looking for wacky add ons and crazy flavours added to your burger (which definitely have their place in my Burger diet) then Filthy Cow isn't for you. However if you want the finest burger on a tasty bun - Filthy Cow IS for you!

It's simple and that is what I like most about it. My go-to is the Filthy Beast - they do have their special 'Filthy sauce' on this one, which everybody seems to love - but I often have it even without that (plain jane). Just give me Filthy's meat, some lovely cheese & bacon and squash it into a bun and I'm happy!

Aside from the obvious draw to this place (great burgers) they have nice beer options to with your meal and a solid list of cocktails and wine - though I haven't tried any yet!

After your food you've got Ice cream (from Gingers) or milkshakes to choose from. Again I haven't tried those yet but by all accounts I need to!

The deep passion about what they do is clear from the staff and it comes across in their food. It's a pleasure to see a brilliant independent business like Filthy Cow thriving in our city!

oooookay, Filthy Cow you. De-lic-ious burgers, and I mean A+ quality. I got The Beast with extra cheese (treat yourself) and they doused the burger in their "filthy sauce". The filthy sauce was one of the best sauces I've found at a burger joint, ever. Ask for as much as you possibly can - as I did! Paired with rosemary fries, the burger was simple yet incredibly flavourful and filling. My mouth is watering just typing about it.

Service is friendly and prompt, and I love that they give you an entire bottle of water at the start. I drink water like a fish at restaurants and always feel like such a bother when I have to ask for more. Entire bottle of water to myself? Problem solved.

So why not 5 stars? the multilevel restaurant definitely has its distinct characteristics (swanky bathroom, fun interior design) However, the spread of tables between downstairs and upstairs can feel a little cramped. We sat almost intimately close to another couple, and as shown in my pictures, my burger is not exactly user-friendly nor attractive to eat around strangers.

I also really didn't like that the bathrooms were on the 2nd floor! It was a mission to get there, even though they were beautifully decorated. Oh well, few set of stairs to burn off the filthy sauce can't be all that bad.

No, of course Manchester doesn't need another burger joint. Yes, we could all have a moan about how it's an over-saturated market and we should be focusing on different cuisines, yada yada yada. But let's not.

To be honest, Filthy Cow would not have been high on my radar if I hadn't won a voucher for a free burger. So I popped along on a Saturday afternoon to claim my burger.

Staff were super friendly from the moment I arrived. You place your order at the counter. The menu card has boxes that you can tick to indicate what you want, although oddly they don't provide pens or pencils so this idea didn't really come into fruition. Another smart idea is that they give you a buzzer thing which buzzes/flashes when you need to go collect your food, but again this didn't actually happen and a waitress brought our food over. Also, the staff member taking my order didn't take the price of the burger off at first and had to give it back to me in cash. Not any huge problems but maybe just signs that they're not totally on the ball yet.

Between two of us we ordered two x Filthy Beast (bacon cheese burger), fries, slaw, and two beers. This came to £28 without the discount applied. Not too bad, and would have been £20 without the beers so really quite affordable. Our food appeared very quickly and quite frankly everything was super tasty. Burgers were juicy and suitably messy. The burger itself tasted great and was pink in the middle. Fries were hot and salty and slaw was tangy and crunchy. Also the condiments on offer included sriracha which made me very happy.

Now to make the obvious comparisons - this place is quite a nice foil to Almost Famous and Solita as the burgers are just very simple and tasty with no creative toppings. The options on the menu are a burger; a burger with cheese; a burger with cheese and bacon; and a halloumi burger. The special on our visit was a pork and chorizo burger. There are three sides available - fries; slaw; onion rings. It's not fancy and you wouldn't go here if you were after something more imaginative like Solita or covered in Monster Munch like Almost Famous. But you would go here if you just wanted a really tasty burger without much fuss.

The decor is, in my personal opinion, just weird. I don't need to think about sexy cows. Obviously I get what they're doing but it's not for me. It certainly won't put me off going, though, not when I can get a super tasty burger and fries for a tenner.

My initial thoughts when I heard about Filthy Cow - 'What?! Another Burger place opening up in Manchester? Are they mad? With so much competition around from the likes of Almost Famous and SoLita and even burger chains such as GBK and Byron they must be really REALLY good to hold their own..'

My thoughts now that I've been to Filthy Cow - 'Yes. Yes these guys are good'

Filthy Cow is situated on Tib Lane off Cross St in what used to be Lounge Ten, one of my all-time favourite old restaurants, and is pretty easy to find.
I entered and was greeted by a lovely member of staff who explained quite casually to just grab a table, decide what you want and then order at the counter.

We found a small table and had a look at the small menu. 4 burgers to choose from on the menu - Filthy classic, consisting of beef patty, their 'filthy' sauce, pickled gherkins, tomato and lettuce. The Filthy Cheese - same as previous but with cheese. The Filthy Beast - same as previous but with bacon and cheese and a Filthy Halloumi Sarnie for the vegies. They do a special burger too, which on this occasion was pork and chorizo.
The sides are simple too - either fries, onion rings or slaw, and there's a few soft drinks to choose from. Easy peasy.

They aren't 'over-doing it' with their burgers by going crazy with ridiculous toppings it's just so incredibly simple that it works.

The burgers arrive wrapped in paper, as do the fries, and the coke / beers are served in a can. No plates, no mess, no washing up.

I enjoyed my filthy beast burger. It was juicy and cooked well - although could have been doing with a little bit more of that filthy sauce. The fries weren't too bad either! The best part about this place is that the burgers are only £6- £7.. incredible.

Great tasting burger! Had a holy guacamole special - the wait wasn't long for the food but it also wasn't busy at the time 6:30 Saturday afternoon.

Staff are good but they would forgot about us with the bill even though we were the last ones in the restaurant at the time - other wise pretty good.

Well - I'm gonna be a bandwagon jumper and say yes - Filthy Cow gets it right on so many levels!

Like a few people have commented, my enthusiasm for a new burger joint really wasn't there, in fact I'm so fed up of burgers (they literally were my favourite food growing up..) that I find anyone opening up a new place just a money grabbing master of lack of imagination....

But saying that why not open up a place like Filthy Cow and instantly accelerate yourself to the top of the tree in terms of quality, offering and vibe - and let some of the substandard ones drop off the map.

The burger was as juicy as hell, chips were great and the music spot on (a really good mix of all genres) - the staff were also super friendly and the surrounds nice and chilled out.

Great selection of lagers and IPA's too - yep, if you like burgers get here as I think these guys are setting a new standard in Manchester!

£10 for burger and chips with no drink.

I know eye roll another burger place but go try its really good.

The burgers are really bob on, big and juicy .Chips are hot and with rosemary salt. You can have a blow out dinner here and not spend too much. The wine is from Hangingditch which pleases me so much. They offer 3 whites and the cheapest one which I drank is lovely, almost bought a bottle to take home.

The loos are great but I had a bit of trouble getting the taps to turn on but it was a two bottles of wine with dinner kind of a day.

First time visiting today during lunch time. First floor was quite full already which was a good sign for me. I have won a voucher to get a free burger by ordering sides and drinks. Thank you filthy cow!

So I got halloumi sornie, it has grilled halloumi, rosemary and garlic mushroom, onion ring, pickles and lettuce. It was so good! I really enjoyed every bite of it. Juicy and flavourful. And the bun was very soft. Love it!

Onion rings have sesame in the batter which was one of my favorite ingredient. For me its was well seasoned.

The venue was very fun, Unisex loos on third floor. The words on the wall are quite interesting haha. Made me laugh. It was a very delightful lunch for me. I will revisit soon!

Having told people about my disappointment with Byron Hamburgers, I was recommended Filthy Cow as one of the best burger places in Manchester. My friend and I made our way to Tib Lane after initially being confused why this place was not in Northern Quarter. With it being located closer to Deansgate, it seemed a bit of a mismatch as we knew the burgers were priced £6-£7.50, a stark contrast from the £20 burger served at Burger & Lobster just one street away. We almost walked past this place in our attempts to find it. The entrance is very unassuming if you're just passing down the street. Look out for the neon cow.

The inside looked like a pub and I was confused as to whether this was the right place. The staff were very friendly and said we can sit anywhere and to just order at the bar when we're ready. I liked the condiments cow and colouring sheets to keep kids (or adults!) occupied.

The menu was small and it was more the classics than experimental. At the time we went to visit, their monthly special burger was the Filthy Bleu so we felt that we had to order this (who doesn't like wine marinated beef!) We also ordered the Filthy Bird and sides of fries and onion rings as my friend heard the latter was good. I wasn't really looking for a dessert from this place so wasn't disappointed by that selection. Ginger's Comfort Emporium do the best ice creams in Manchester so they're not losing out here!

I really liked the Filthy Bird burger. The buttermilk batter wasn't oily (which I feel is often the case) and was well seasoned! The salad was fresh and I actually liked how the burger wasn't drenched in sauce. I can taste the individual components and not just a slab of cheap sauce and meat between soggy buns.

The Filthy Bleu was excellent too; the wine marinated beef was delicious and cooked medium to perfection. I did personally find this a bit too rich tasting for my taste with the blue cheese and red wine but I can't fault the fresh rocket or the buns here. It's a good burger!

The onion rings were definitely moreish, everyone needs to season their batters more! The fries were undercooked so I feel this is something they can definitely improve on. As suggested by Ryo, either double fry or just fry from fresh for longer.

The fries are the biggest problem with this place, but once this is fixed this is close to perfection. I do want a bit more choice with the menu, but I do like the fact they have monthly specials. Staff were very welcoming and friendly and those burgers are perfect. I would definitely come back to this place again! The price is good and the place is very unfussy. I do feel it's unfortunately located but don't let this deter you! Just hoping they cook their fries so it's browner next time!