Meat:Stack — Restaurant in Leeds

After spending a year of my career starting and running an award winning burger joint in Australia, I'm always wary of trying other burger joints. They always say they're the best, and only use fresh ingredients, and that they're juicy. But when I ate there, I came away only liking their chicken tenders. We went on a Saturday night knowing we didn't have to book as the website said bookings weren't necessary. Confused about how to order when we arrived I finally figured it out. We were told it was going to be half an hour's wait for our food before we'd even ordered it. So much for their 'flat food' claim. We were happy to wait. We got a table of 6 to ourselves because there are only tables of six available unless you want to eat by a window on stools. The 1st thing I noticed was how many delivery drivers there were waiting for their orders. At least 5. We walked past their bikes at the entrance INSIDE the restaurant. As I was ordering there was one driver constantly trying to butt in and get his food. To the servers credit she told him to be quiet. I won't hide my dissertation for Uber Eats et al as I believe they are a cancer on food businesses. Many people don't realise how much it hurts places to use them. Most of their profits going to Uber as lazy people don't want to go to restaurants anymore. Burger places are usually the ones that hit most, and are one of the foods that don't travel well. Why do you want a burger that has been sat in a box for half an hour? The restaurant was half full, so being told half an hour meant they were prioritising delivery over actual customers in the restaurant. A shame. I bought the All in. A new Mexico burger, fries, drink and 2 tenders. My wife just got haggis fries and a side of tenders. She can't eat the bread and there was no option for lettuce as an alternative, like 5 Guys and Meatliquor offer. Sure enough, half hour past and the food arrived. Droves of drivers came and went. The burger was smaller than I expected for its price. Liked the fries, loved the tenders. Best part by far. Burger was gone in 5 bites. Over £2 a mouthful. For a burger, that's a lot. In Oz, a similar burger would have been about $14. (£7). Not £10.50. It contained smoky bacon. It was warm, floppy smoky bacon. The burger patties were juicy, and had flavour, but there wasn't enough of them. But, the bread was the worst part of the burger. It was that cheap, straight white bread that you get in bulk. No texture or flavour. I had a bottomless drink knowing it was a bad choice but there was nothing else bar water. I wasn't drinking alcohol and there's no way I'm ever drinking a milkshake in a place like this. Looks like Meatliquor is maybe the place to go for a burger (but it's been over 2 years) or just make them at home better, for a fraction...

I grab burgers here with my partner as a casual but fun date pretty often now. Relaxed enough to have a laugh and tasty enough to leave you coming back again for more.

If you’re a picky eater and maybe didn’t like a burger one time, well good news! They have a monthly special where for that month only you get a new burger on the menu. And it gets updated to something different the month after and so on. But if you fall in love with one you gotta make sure you get enough of it before it’s gone! (RIP French Canadian 😔🍔). Another perk is a loyalty card with rewards on the fifth and tenth purchase there! Love a freebie! Also shout out the vegan burger option on the menu, it’s crunchy, hot and delicious! I however do sauce it up a bit.

Drinks and desserts options are nice and simple. There’s general soft drinks, alcoholic drinks and they have some great milkshakes (another pro: they are generous with the cream). The mince pie one this month is AMAZING. The grapefruit beer they sell is genuinely the tastiest beer I’ve ever had. For anyone who’s not a beer lover definitely try it!

They have a breakfast menu. I haven’t tried it yet so can’t comment. But their burger flavour combos work so well so their breakfast will most definitely be great too.

Staff are friendly and helpful. You enter the diner and order at the till. You’re given an electronic alert disc thing which flashes when the order is ready and you go choose somewhere to sit. The staff then bring your food to you. As it’s relatively new they sometimes ask if you’ve been before and explain the process. Great customer service from all staff every time we’ve been. If we ever get torn between which burger to choose the staff are happy to make recommendations which I really appreciate.

Very conveniently located opposite the train station so great spot to meet up before heading in to the town for shopping or to catch a gig or fuel up before heading home maybe.

Consistently all round good stuff!

Edit Jan 2023 - They brought back the French Canadian 😎 amazing...

I ate here with my family this evening after seeing it on Google Maps. The good reviews drew me in, so we decided to give it a try instead of going to TGI Friday's or Five Guys. I am so glad we did. Five Guys is my benchmark for burgers, but this place is my new favourite. The whole experience was flawless, from the service right through to the food itself. On entering I was met with friendly and helpful service from what I presume was the manager, and the menu was explained to me. On hearing my phone battery was nearly expired, I was even offered the opportunity to use their phone charger. There was an acceptable wait of around ten minutes, before the food for the whole family was brought to our table (I don't think this is standard because we were given a buzzer to collect the food when it was ready, but it was a nice touch). I had the "all-in" option with my French Canadian triple burger, and this gives you a shake, fries, and chicken tenders with the burger. It was all cooked to perfection, and incredibly tasty. The children's meals were good value at £3 for a mini burger or mini chicken burger, with a small fries and a Fruit Shoot drink.

I really couldn't fault the place. In every area it was better than Five Guys. The service, the food quality, the restaurant interior itself, and the choice. In fact, that is one area where it is much better than Five Guys. Sure, in Five Guys you have the opportunity to create your own burger, but whatever you choose, you're basically ending up with the same tasting burger. But here, the burgers are all unique, and the toppings are very different, such as hash browns, black pudding etc. And the icing on the cake is that it's better value than Five Guys.

We will definitely be back and it will be our default choice for somewhere to eat in Leeds from now on. No question. I can't wait to go back and try the other burgers on the menu.

Five stars,...