As a vegetarian, to be fair, I am always going to be at a disadvantage in a restaurant that promotes itself as providing Deep South inspired cuisine. However I’m always up for trying a place, so when a friend suggested we try Fancy Hanks of course I said yes.

Previously known as Cut and Chase, which was a very nice independent restaurant that prided itself on cooking local food, for some reason the owners decided instead to turn it into Fancy Hanks, inspired by the Southern fare of burgers, and fried chicken. We went in on a Wednesday night in the middle of November so predictably it was very quiet with only a couple of other tables in, which meant we got our choice of seats.

The usual standard order of two red wines was taken pretty quickly, by a very friendly member of staff who was happy to chat through the menu. Unfortunately, it had been a week of pasta already so rather than trying the recommended macaroni cheese I plumped for the veggie burger. My dining companion went for the cheeseburger with a side of onion rings to share. We also decided (for the sake of reviewing purposes only of course!) to go for starters, I tried the tempting sounding cheese spinach dip with an order of chicken wings for my foodie friend.

The starters were delivered quickly, and both looked tempting. The chicken wings were apparently very tasty with just a hint of spicy heat and came with a delicious dipping sauce. The spinach and cheese dip was basically a big bowl of melted cheese with spinach added, what’s not to love? It was served with crispy tortilla pieces which were nice to start with but as they were fried they were very greasy and soon became a bit too much for me.

The burgers when they arrived looked nice, and were perfectly tasty. The vegetarian burger was a bean patty with cheese on top, the cheeseburger was the same with beef instead of beans as well as the addition of a pickle on top. They were both served on a bread bun, with fries and a tiny serving of coleslaw. There is very little that can be done to make a burger stand out from other burgers and if we are being honest they were a bit average. The addition of the onion rings was nice for one or two but the amount of grease on them was again a bit off putting after a while.

Overall I have to admit to being a bit underwhelmed by the meal, which was just too greasy for my taste. This was a little disappointing but I appreciate this is not necessarily a restaurant geared towards vegetarians and I may have chosen wrong. I think in hindsight the macaroni cheese would have probably been a more exciting choice!. 

The staff however were lovely, very friendly and helpful and the service was speedy. It was also good value for money and the cost for two courses and two glasses of wine (plus some onion rings) was very reasonable The venue itself, although very quiet, had a nice relaxed vibe to it and I can imagine it would be great for a cocktail after work. If you like a burger it’s definitely worth a try.

🍛 Meal for 2 with a 2 glasses of wine: £38.50

🎉 My Highlight: The cheese and spinach dip

⚡️ Friends highlight: The chicken wings with the dip

Overall ratings: Friend ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cand ⭐️⭐️