Archie’s

So last week I finally got to see what all the fuss was about and try a milkshake from Archies.
I tell you what it was bloody good.
I had the Holly-​oaks which involves Oreos and peanut butter, so I could end the description there couldn’t I? It tasted fantastic, despite the 17 000 calories it contained, I was extremely happy after I’d finished it all (approx 45 second after I bought it).
I haven’t tried the food here so I guess I’ll have to come back to do that, though I can’t foresee it becoming my favourite ‘Americana’ option in Manchester.
Final note, coming in at a smidgen under £4 for my shake is fairly steep, however when someone can back up premium pricing with premium quality (shake-​wise), I’m happy to fork out!

Nothing beats Archie’s oreo milkshake, I repeat NOTHING. So fatty but so irresistable! The best I’ve had in my life, hands down! Everytime I’m in the UK, I ALWAYS take a trip to Archie’s! I’ve had their million dollar as well, and it’s good but peanut butter doesn’t work for me! Just standing in there is like standing in heaven, tons of Candy!

The size of the burger is TOP
The quality of the food is TOP
The milkshake is TOP, but the only problem is that between the size of the cups of mediun milskahe and large milkshake, there is no a huge difference !!
SWEET POTATOES OMG VERY DELICIOUS !!!

nice place to have a snack fairley small inside
sevice was a little bad as i had to wait five minutes as the girls
ignored my order waiting on the side as they talked but gave the
person before me their order but they are forgiven
as the strawberry milk shake i ordered was yummy!
£3 for a regular size so was definetely worth it
i will be popping in again for another milkshake and for a extra 40p
more you can put a topping on of your choice.

As a place to grab a burger and chips, this place ticked enough boxes for me. I had the Royal Cheese Burger meal which was a fairly simple burger with fries and a drink.
If you haven’t tried an Archie’s milkshake, you haven’t lived!

Popular with the students, this american diner/​shake bar is a unique addition to the streets of Manchester.
Although the food is not much better than your average fast food (burgers and chips), the milkshakes are seriously good! With an extensive menu and the option to make your own, you can have any milkshake combination under the sun! Not a bad price too — around £4 for a large!
Good points: Can eat in or takeaway, NUS 10% discount, free large upgrade if check in on facebook!
Bad points: No parking, limited space to queue (often have to queue outside).
If you haven’t tried an Archie’s milkshake, you haven’t lived! My personal favorite is Holly-​Oaks (peanut butter, oreo and maltesers).
Mmmmmmm…

Milkshake heaven has arrived in Manchester, this is the Archie’s nearest the palace theatre !
First of bad points; no parking, limited space to queue and staff are so busy it’s like your pushed to order quickly — and with an extensive menu it’s hard !
My standard is large Holly-​oaks Shakes (free large upgrade when you check in on FB and show staff) sweet potato fries and a ordinary joe burger — plus 10% off with an NUS card it’s normally about £7.50 I think !
But the milkshake is divine and well I cannot recommend it enough ! Keep your receipt with the order number as it is called out to go and collect it !
You can ask for them to be a bit thicker for travling out of Manchester ! We managed to get from there to St. Helens and they were a little runny !
Go and treat yourself !

As a place to grab a post-​booze burger and chips, this place ticked enough boxes for me. I had the Average Joe meal which was a fairly simple burger with fries and a drink. I was pleased to see that the drinks included Irn Bru and Vimto.
My burger was fine — on par with Maccy Ds or a burger van, but frankly that’s often what I want after a night on the sauce. I also had mozzarella sticks which I probably wouldn’t have again. Overpriced for what they were and pretty tasteless.
Service was as efficient as it can be for a gang of drunkards at 2 in the morning. For two burger meals and two portions of cheese sticks I paid about a tenner.

Regular Joe for me. You can see people queueing when you’re awaiting a bus to turn up. And perhaps you’ve had a couple of beers.
But well tbh, it wasn’t anything more than the basic cheeseburger from McD’s down the road. (Though I wouldn’t be seen dead in that place!)
In the past I’ve had the full chicken burger meal and felt I’d got a good value, quick meal. But a single cheese burger didn’t quite hit the spot. Perhaps I should have ordered more. Perhaps I should have walked a bit further down the road and got some chips for £1.50 instead. I didn’t.
Though there’s an aspect worth exploring that I’ve not seen since I was in Cairns, Australia. Mixing sweets into smoothies. I found this to be the perfect hangover cure over there. Oh soooo long ago. So, it’s good to see that being brought over here, though for me it’s not going to work after beer, but perhaps before Cornerhouse sometime.

Smart looking shop near the top of Oxford Road. Had a «Millionaire Strawberry Ferero Rocher Milkshake». Service prompt even with a few in. Our choice of banana somehow ended up being strawberry. Never had any before so didnt get it changed. 6 halves of berry n 6 rochers mixed with loads of thick soft ice cream. The shake needed the whip cream for the final touch of sweetness. Yummy tasting mud like paste. not overly sweet and very filling. Now i need another drink as i’m so thristy!

As a girl who likes shiny things, pretty logos and retro décor, Archie’s brought out the magpie in me and I simply HAD to sample the wares of this overly pink, 1950s-​inspired diner.
After ordering and paying for our food at the counter, we were told to go to a certain table downstairs and wait for someone to bring it to us when ready. Well, that wait went on… And on… And on… And when it did eventually arrive, it really wasn’t anything to write home about. My piri piri chicken burger was drowning in mayonnaise and the bread fell to bits as a result. The fries were dry and tasteless and my drink was just meh.
For somewhere that’s supposed to be a fast food joint, this was lame with a capital L. Yes, it looks cool and promising from the outside but if you’ve got an appetite for good food and a rumbly tum which needs an instant fix, don’t do Archie’s.

It all seemed like such a good idea. 2 networking events, one evening and just enough time to grab a quick walk and eat snack between venues.
Seeing that Archie’s is always rammed with all the cool kids, I thought hey let’s check it out. Fairly decent prices, their marketing looks pretty cool, they have celeb endorsements (rapper Nas was in here last year) and the variety of burgers seemed good — what could possibly go wrong!
Well through all the above, the burgers and fries are total rubbish. In fact they taste exactly the same as ones from a dodgy kebab shop late night, you know of the dodgy tinned variety! Put it this way, after a couple of bottles of beer I was no way drunk enough to eat here.
It’s definitely one for when you’re smashed and at least you aren’t in control of your decisions but to go here for a casual sober bite will bring on a severe case of ‘eaters remorse’
At least I’ve tried it now but can’t see me going back anytime soon!
Ringo burger and fries with water was £4.95

Best shakes in Manchester if you ask me. They have every candy bar you could possibly imagine and they will blend it into milky heaven with a smile.
Having left Uni here a year ago I came back to try their new venue which has the same great shakes and burgers, but they also have seating.
I’d eat here every day if I wasn’t worried on the consequences it would have on my health.

I forgot to review this earlier which means I’ve probably forgotten the worst of it but basically the burger here was not good — thin patty like you would find at McDonalds with a similar «fake meat» kind of taste. I thought the chilli cheese burger would be giant and of full of flavour but again it looked like processed cheese and the meat in the chilli was that weird type ground really small. Overall very disappointing. I miss Johnny Rockets, which does this kind of thing much better.
I’ve had a milkshake here on another occasion which was all right and I might come back for that, but certainly not for the food.

Good for: Every milkshake you could ever want. Ever. Curly fries, meal deals.
Bad for: Vegetarians, parking, awkward queuing

Shocking Service for Takeaway, never again.
I ordered my food from archies on the just-​eat website. My order was small, 2 milkshakes, a burger, chips and an hot dog. Really simple. This order was placed at 8.30, straight after eastenders.
1hr later, I ring archies to find out where’s my order is. They state in will be with me in 5 minutes, acting like the drivers got lost. 20 minutes later, No food. So I call them again, the guys states it’s on it’s way and if not there in 5min he will call me. The guy never calls back, I tried to call them, the phone was engaged. Awful customer service. I was furious, I could of killed someone. This was so stressful. After that, I had to call just-​eat to complain and to get a refund. This is bang out of order.
I will never order from this takeaway again or go in for a milkshake, I’ll now take my business elsewhere ie to shakeaway in the Arndale.
Complete disappointment.
PS there food is under standards, just like a cheap Kebab shop, nothing special, was only ordering because it was cheap and had a milkshake with it.

When I first walk along the corners of Oxford Road and see the coming soon sign, i sigh. Another fast food /​takeaway outlet. Its not like McDonald is not nearby or so.
Though it had an interesting colour for the shop. Pink? I was first detested being a guy but when it finally opened, I went in to give it a go. Burgers and the food there were okay, being average but the milkshakes were very good.
Any time I want a milkshake from now on, I’ll definitely go to Archie for one. Its such an indulgence =)

Well this place took its sweet time in eventually opening! I swear it had a «coming soon» sign over the door for at least a year before I left Manchester (which itself was over a year ago now…) but whatever the weather, it’s open now and honestly it’s quite hard to miss. Situated on Oxford Road snugly between Grand Central and the Corner House, other businesses would usually run the risk of fading into the background; not so with Archie’s with its brilliant white interior no doubt visible from the moon (or at least somewhere far like… Swansea…).
I can hear what you’re all groaning, «just what Manchester needs, another generic takeaway» but aha! This is a generic takeaway with a difference. A huge difference. Conveniently taking up around half of the premises, Archie’s is home to Manchester’s first city centre milkshake bar (that I know of, I have been out of the city for a while…)
The sign in the window boasts over a hundred flavours but realistically there’s an inifinite number of combinations you can choose from. The way it works is simple, you pick your chocolate bar/​fruit/​sweets/​whatever after which it’s expertly mixed with milk and ice cream until you have one thick brain freezing dessert. I went for a Kinder Bueno shake and would have happily paid another couple of pounds on top of the meagre £2.50 that I was charged for something that was even half as good.
The milkshake itself was delicious and seconds after I managed to eventually draw some through my straw (it took great effort — it was so thick!) the thought struck me; why the hell is no one else doing this?! Archie’s is exactly the kind of place that I want to see more and more of — the kind of specialist places that really have something to shout about, the kind that do something way better than anyone else, the kind that you’d happily travel halfway across town to visit, Archie’s is all of those places and it makes me sad that I’m not in Manchester anymore to enjoy it. That’s probably a good thing though as I think I’d get real fat real quick if I were to be in close enough proximity of it to visit regularly. As it stands though I can guarantee it will be frequented whenever I have the pleasure to be close by.
One caveat though, I haven’t heard good things about their food but in all honesty that shouldn’t be the reason you visit Archies anyway. The menu appears to be your more than typical takeaway fare and there are a few other places close by should you really feel the need to pick up something gross to eat.
More Ice Cream milkshake bars please! (and less of the generic takeaway on the side thanks).

My word, talk about a necessary addition to our oft rain-​splashed, grim streets. Okay, there are a few things you need to know about this place. It’s one of those outlets that people became cynical towards because it seemed to be ‘opening soon’ for an eternity. So you could say it’s hotly anticipated, or you could say it’s already outstayed its welcome. But I implore you, try it first.
One of the other things you need to know, though, is don’t try the burgers. Well, I’m not saying I’m forbidding you to do so, but I have it on Canadian authority that they’re no good. The milkshakes however are, and they scream indulgence in over 100 flavours. That’s right. Over 100 flavours. «Impossible,» Chris and I scoffed, then picked up a flyer and realised how wrong we were.
Think of every single chocolate bar you’ve ever eaten. Chances are, most of them are on this menu, from Kinder Buenos to Crunchies, Drifters to Star Bars, Dairy Milks to Milky Ways… and that only covers one column. Then you’ve got just about every sweet you’ve ever eaten, from Refreshers to Skittles, Wham Bars to Liquorice Allsorts… and on top of that are the standard fruit, vanilla and chocolate flavours we know and love. Or at least, WOULD know and love if we had anywhere in this darn country selling proper milkshake.
I like my milkshake like cement, and the sheer difficulty in getting this goop up the straw meant I was incredibly pleased. At £2.50 a pop it’s a dessert in itself, and money well spent. I don’t know who Archie is, but boy am I glad he’s here. Now if they could get some Reece’s Cups back in stock so they could make those milkshakes, I’d never need to leave Oxford Road again. They’re on the menu but as we suspected they didn’t have the cups with which to make them. Well, Chris and I could always implement our plan of just GIVING them a bag of Reece’s Cups…

Archies first started life in Manchester under a cloak of mystery. A sign heralded the arrival for what seemed like years. What was it going to be? A knock-​off McDonalds?
Well, whilst Archies does indeed have a line in hot junk food, that’s not the reason why anyone should go.
Why?
Because Archies makes the most outrageously good milkshakes made with a myriad of delicious ingredients. What we’re talking about here is a place that gets the basic milkshake formula of milk and ice-​cream and then asks you to gaze fondly at shelf after shelf of sweet things, which they’ll blitz straight into your shake.
So, for example, if you’re a big fan of Toblerone, or indeed, Daim bars… or Muchies or… you get the idea? They’ll grab your favourite chocolate bar (or bars if you’re feeling adventurous) and turn it into a delicious drink.
There’s also a menu if you can’t decide what to go for. I took a punt on one that contained peanut butter, a flake and some Oreos. The thrill of getting such an outlandish drink reduced me to a state I haven’t witnessed in myself since I was a child.
That’s the best thing about Archies — you will skip around and clap giddily as they whip up these ace creations in front of your widened eyes.
A seriously fantastic place and a must-​visit if you want a treat.