The Vurger Co Manchester

Inspired by a trip to California, The Vurger Co started out as a market stall in 2016, its success seeing Rachel and Neil crowdfunding to get bricks-and-mortar premises in London hipsterland Shoreditch, then branching out to Canary Wharf, Brighton and, more recently, Manchester.

With a “mission of revolutionising fast food through the power of plants”, everything is vegan and achingly right-on: “We are constantly striving as a business to become the most sustainable, ethical and inclusive version of ourselves that we can be.” Indeed, The Vurger Co picked up the Best Sustainable Fast-food Brand title in the Marie Claire Sustainability Awards 2022. The entirely plant-based menu creates a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions of a regular fast food joint, and, compared to red meat, uses loads less water, land and energy. With a zero-to-landfill policy, the biodegradable PLA packaging is also derived from plants (typically fermented plant starch, such as corn, cassava, sugarcane or sugar beet pulp) and is composted; the aluminium- and glass-only drinks containers are recycled and all other waste is sent to generate green energy that is then used to power the restaurants.

So the food. Burgers and bowls are the name of the game, plus dairy-free mac n cheese, various vegan crispy “chicken” dishes, fries and shakes. All Vurgers are served on vegan brioche buns (gluten-free buns are available, just ask when ordering) and include the “exclusive” BBQ “Pork”, with vegan smoked gouda, BBQ baconnaise and hickory BBQ sauce, paired with crispy onion straws, tangy slaw and rocket. The fake meat continues in the three fried feather-free numbers, including the Hunny “Chicken” with its sweet vegan honey-glazed patty, vegan honey mustard aioli, tangy pink slaw and gherkins. The New York Melt involves a Beyond Meat patty topped with double vegan cheese, gherkins, tomato and house-made burger sauce, while the Auburger isn’t pretending to be something it isn’t: it’s a vegetable-based patty made from aubergine, tempeh, chickpea and chipotle, and topped with vegan cheese, caramelised red onions, gherkins and house-made chipotle mayo. Bowls include Caesar salad or sweet chilli “chicken”.

And if you fancy recreating the flavours at home, no worries: The Vurger Co have you covered with all manner of indulgent accompaniments, from an award-winning vegan mayo to vegan cheese sauces.

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