The Beagle Chorlton – A Review

Having lived in Chorlton for about 18 months now, I can’t believe that I haven’t yet been to The Beagle. How is this possible? I drive past it nearly every day and always think it looks great but just hadn’t made that trip…until this weekend.

On Saturday evening, we thought we’d venture out somewhere nearby. The weather was playing up so we didn’t know if it’d be raining or dry but wanted the feeling of being outside. You get this at The Beagle in Chorlton. 

We went at about 6.30pm expecting it to not be busy, but it was heaving! The place was packed but we managed to squeeze into a table for 2 in the indoor/outdoor seating area. The first thing that struck me was the ambience. The atmosphere was great, with people chatting away, good background music and a healthily stocked bar from what I could see (not that I can enjoy it at the mo!). The floor to ceiling window doors can be opened when the weather is fine, giving that al fresco feel. As it was a little rainy outside, they were shut but allowed for a lot of light, which made us feel like we were dining outdoors at least.

Hubby ordered one of their many draught lagers and I opted for a diet coke (yay for me!) while we perused the menu. And what a menu! This is right up my street…

A mix of American and Tex-Mex was sprawled out in front of us. Oh gosh…how to choose! This is where I get a serious case of eyes bigger than my belly…even at 32 weeks pregnant. The first section of the main menu (they also do a brunch menu, which we didn’t concentrate on too much this visit) is called ‘Pick n’ mix snacks’ – a sort of tapas of American goodness. I probably could’ve just ordered half a dozen things from this part of the menu and been happy, but we thought we’d mix it up a bit. So we just ordered the Deep Fried Pickles...obvs! We got these to come with our mains.

(In case you’re wondering – next time I go in, I’m going to order the Jalapeno Poppers, Popcorn Shrimp, Nachos, Baja Fish Tacos and Homeslice Fried Courgette Wings). Yes, I’ve thought about this already.

Onto the mains – The Beagle serves Burritos, Burgers, Salads, Chilli and Homeslice Fried Chicken. Mmmmm. Luckily we both wanted the two same things, so decided to get both and share. Hubby got the ‘California Surfing’ Burrito, which comes packed with mexican rice, coleslaw, crema, salsa, beef brisket, beans, popcorn shrimp and fries…yes fries stuffed inside the burrito! And I went for the Homeslice Chicken Bucket, which 3 pieces of chicken, 4 wings, fries, coleslaw and sauces. I’m salivating just thinking about it again.

And what did we think? Bloody delicious is what we thought! The pickles were yummy, if not slightly heavy on the batter, but I wasn’t complaining – and the dip was sharp and sticky. The burrito didn’t look like it was going to be enough when it arrived on that plate, but I tell you it’s deceptive. Packed full of all the things it promised, it was surprisingly light and not greasy. The beef was seriously good, succulent and a welcome change from pulled pork.

Then onto the chicken…well…this was just what a pregnant woman needed on a Saturday night. The coating was crunchy and herby with a kick of spice and not at all greasy like the bucket of take-away chicken we’re all used to. The chicken itself was super moist and tender and stood perfectly alone without the dips. But of course we had to try the dips as it’d be rude not to. It came with hot sauce, BBQ and coleslaw. The BBQ was seriously smokey and deep in flavour (my favourite) and I was a bit too wimp to try the hot sauce, but hubby can vouch for it.

The fries were great too, with a little bit of skin on, some like wedges, some thinner. They were seasoned with a sort of cajun mix of spices and were great dipped in some good old fashioned Hellmans Mayonnaise.

There’s a lot of chicken in that bucket…it’s a deep bucket, which the photo probably doesn’t portray. There was plenty for the two of us to share.

I’m just gutted that I didn’t spot that they did Mac n Cheese on the side. How did I miss this?! It’s my favourite thing…like ever! But I saw it arrive at the table next to us and it looked great, so that’s definitely getting ordered next time too.

After our grub we were both pretty full, but I’d spotted Churros on the menu when I arrived and had my mind set on them. So they got ordered. And they were good, but not great if I’m honest. They needed to be dusted in sugar to make them sweeter with the slightly dark hot chocolate sauce they’re served with. And maybe cooked just 30 seconds longer. But I devoured them nonetheless (before I remembered to take a photo of them in fact), so they were by no means bad. Just a bit disappointing after the seriously scrumptious mains.

The service was great and despite being packed to the rafters, the food came quickly – so they certainly know what they’re doing at The Beagle, Chorlton. The two of us ate for about £35 (including 2 beers and a diet coke). I’m definitely counting the days till we can feasibly return and try more of the Pick n’ Mix menu and the other desserts. And once I’ve had the bubba and can enjoy a cocktail (or two), as they looked dreamy…

Have you been to The Beagle? What did you think?

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