If you know me, then you know that I love Almost Famous. Me and Martin came across them last year just before they opened, and I remember going to hunt them down on Great George Street and almost walking past it! Back then, it was extremely quiet and very few people knew about it - fast forward to now, and it is one of the most popular burger joints in town. Not only do they do amazing and ridiculously calorific burgers, but they also do a wicked selection of cocktails, and with them cocktail making classes. A couple of months ago, Almost Famous launched a new menu; keeping some of the old favourites, but adding in lots of new additions for everyone to try. Me and Martin have now been to the restaurant twice since this launch, so keep reading to find out my thoughts.





When Almost Famous first opened, it was a bar service deal - meaning that you had to go up to the bar and order what you wanted. This was always absolutely fine by us, but when they started to get more popular (and therefore more busy), they introduced a table service. On the first occasion we visited after the launch of the new menu, we were seated straight away because it was on a Monday afternoon, but on the second, a Saturday tea time, we had to wait twenty minutes or so at the bar. We don't mind waiting though, not with a drink in hand and promise of an amazing burger on the way! When we visit, we usually get a pint of their own beer, Danger and Mayhem, but I believe on both occasions we skipped the alcohol and had soft drinks instead. Martin's new favourite is the Lime 'n' Soda, partly because it's so cheap, and for me, I love the Purple Grape Juice. As for the new menu, I believe that there are thirteen new additions; in the form of burgers, sides and mains so there is plenty to choose from.




The only problem with Almost Famous is that everything sounds so good, so it makes choosing what you want very tricky! We always make the mistake of ordering too much food; trust me when I say that most people would be full with a burger each, and a portion of fries to share. Do not do what we did on our first ever visit and order a portion of fries each, as they're pretty huge - as are the burgers! We decided to try the Magic Waffle Fries; waffle fries, Bacon Rain, JD Maple and Popping Candy. Sounds ridiculous, but they are so, so good. Covered in a very generous amount of toppings, rationing them throughout the meal is essential, so that you have enough room for your main. They are the ultimate junk food but done so well; crispy, hot and added crunch and even pop from the Popping Candy, I don't know how they come up with the combination but it just works. We also went for some Mac Balls, which as the name implies is deep fried mac and cheese balls, served with dip. These were out of this world; very filling, as you can imagine, but so rich and incredibly satisfying. They are definitely my favourite addition to the sides menu.



Now, for the really difficult part - choosing our burgers. We did spend a little while deliberating, as we knew that we wanted to try a new one, but we didn't know which one! Eventually, Martin chose the Johnny Drama burger. This one is a bit special, as it is served in a pretzel bun, not a regular glazed bun (which are excellent as it is). This one is a monster; two beef patties, cheese, flat iron steak melt, pickles, peppercorn sauce, garlic salt shoestring fries and Million Island sauce. When it arrived, even I did a double take - it was as big as my head! Martin had to break it down just to eat it, and I think I can safely say that it is one of his new favourites. The steak was cooked perfectly - or at least to Martin's taste it was - and the shoestring fries were delightfully crispy and provided that much needed texture. The beef patties, as always were slightly pink in the middle and all the better for it, and richly flavoured. As for the pretzel bun - Martin proclaimed it to be the best buns he had ever had, so that says it all! The dough is so soft in the middle, yet somehow it didn't all disintegrate with the toppings; I think the glazed outer has a lot to do with that. Almost Famous need to bring out more burgers made with these pretzel buns!



I chose the Good Morning America burger; two beef patties, cheese, sausage patty, streaky bacon, JD Maple Wonderdust, Cheerios, a poached egg, Bacon Bacon mayo, Winning ketchup and to top it all off, a quarter of a Strawberry Pop Tart. It's almost like a breakfast burger, and I was more than fine with that! If you enjoy the mixture of sweet and savoury, then this burger is for you. Don't ask me how Cheerios works in a burger, but somehow it just does - I think, again, it added that bite that was much needed. The sausage patty was unlike anything I've ever had before, but tasted delicious, even though it doesn't sound it! I was disappointed to find that the poached egg didn't have a runny yolk, but considering that the rest of the burger was so good, I can forgive them for that. The regular buns again have that seemingly impossible feat of not falling apart under so much pressure, but somehow they manage it - a sign of a great burger if there ever was one! I have to admit that I didn't quite manage to finish it, even with carefully chosen amounts of fries. You may have noticed that on my burger, there was no Pop Tart; I was far more disappointed by this than perhaps I should have been. So much so, that I mentioned it on Twitter to the Almost Famous and they offered me a free burger! Now you can't complain at that, can you? I took them up on it a few weeks later, which gave us another excuse to try the new menu again. I absolutely love what they have added on, and we will definitely be back again and again in the future to try even more. Almost Famous is our new go-to place for somewhere to eat in the city centre, although you have to make sure that you're starving; anything less and you will be defeated! I have recommended it to a lot of my friends too. Almost Famous, keep being awesome!