Big Licks is a new restaurant/burger joint/ice cream parlour that has opened up recently in Deansgate. Originally starting in Scotland, they decided to branch out, choosing Manchester as the site for their first English location.
Going into the location, the first thing you realise is that there is so much space and a plethora of booths to sit down. Speaking to the owner, she told us that she wanted Big Licks to be a place where you can come and chill with your mates. Besides the ample room to kick it with your mates, there are also ample food choices available. And there are some good choices to be made!
As the food was being set up our eyes went straight to the Angus beef burgers. Thick patty burgers tend to be incredibly juicy and an enjoyable biting textural experience, but often they lack flavour with most of it coming from the American cheese.
So understandably I expected a similar experience when biting into the Black Angus beef burger at Big Licks but to my surprise not only was it a juicy and hefty bite, it was also well seasoned and tasty and I really got to savour the flavour of the beef. Highly recommended. The black buns were also a nice touch adding that extra appealing look and instagram-ability to send all your friends messaging you “where?”
Next I navigated my way through the other ravenous patrons into acquiring some Buttermilk fried chicken burgers. Thick cut chicken breasts aren’t easy to get right since they often become dry in the process of becoming fully cooked.
However, we often overlook the dryness because, most of the time, there’s sauce and cheese to add some much-desired moisture, and hopefully if the chicken is well seasoned, then you forget about the texture because it’s full of flavour.
I’m not one to focus on the juiciness of a chicken burger, but I was wonderfully surprised with how juicy Big Licks Chicken burgers are. But being someone who loves big flavours, I must say the seasoning was a bit of a letdown. Though the buffalo blue cheese sauce was a step up, the oomph of a well-seasoned breading could not be overcome. Saying that these burgers were still a joy to eat and very delicious.
Big Licks is an everything-in-one kind of place. A chill spot, a burger joint, an aesthetic place to take some pictures for your gram as well as a dessert parlour. They have an assortment of flavours, ice creams, and sundaes. It was great to see vegan ice cream options available on the menu. We all have friends that often have to settle for a fruit sorbet due to a lack of choice (nothing wrong with sorbet but options do be nice).
We tried three of their milkshake flavours: Biscoff, Chocolate, and Raspberry.
Seeing the Biscoff, I had to go for it first and obviously it was delicious, how can it not? It’s Biscoff! Once I got my Biscoff fix and my addiction satisfied, I moved on to the Chocolate milkshake. It tasted strongly of cocoa, I’d love to tell you more but honestly I’m just not the biggest chocolate milkshake fan, but if chocolate milkshake is your jam and the cocoa makes you nuts then this will be sure to hit the spot.
The raspberry is where we had some thoughts. Mainly that the intensity of the flavour wasn’t consistent. The first one we had, a light pink coloured one, was exactly the right level of sweetness and all the milkshakes came really thick which is a big plus in my books, but there was another. A glowing hot pink milkshake nestled amongst the others at the back of the table. We thought it must be another flavour and I went to get it, excited to try a new milkshake. However, it was just the raspberry but stronger. Personally, this more intense version wasn’t better though I can see a person with a powerful sweet tooth enjoying it as such. Trying the stronger raspberry milkshake it became apparent that the raspberry flavour was reminiscent of the pink Nesquik- I love it when my desserts come with a hint of nostalgia and childhood memories. Highly recommended.
The ice creams were definitely creamy and they had a variety of mouth-watering desserts that could rival any other dessert parlour around. Big Licks is most definitely a link-up spot for the whole squad.
You can find Big Licks on Liverpool Road in the city centre, it’s open 5-11pm Monday to Friday and 3-11pm Saturday and Sunday.
