Viral Edinburgh takeaway Butta Burger are set to take over a George Street premises which formerly housed a branch of the chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen.
The newcomer to Edinburgh's hospitality scene has gone from strength to strength after launching during lockdown and there isn't an Edinburgh foodie worth their salt that hasn't posted pictures of the giant butter-basted burgers on their socials.
Now owners of the business have said that "if someone had told us just 2 months ago we'd be opening a George Street restaurant and bar, we'd have laughed!".
The restaurant and bar will open for sit in bookings as lockdown restrictions ease across Scotland from the end of April, with owners revealing that they have 'major plans' for weekend brunches.
Co-owner Graham Atkinson spoke exclusively to Edinburgh Live about Butta's sudden rise from a humble newcomer to a booked out takeaway must - having only launched on December 28 last year.
Graham told us: "We set out with a modest aim of serving great food and, hopefully, making a few quid to help us get through this difficult period, but every night after opening, as word continued to spread, we've been getting busier and busier and busier.
"After working in the events industry for over 12 years, the onset of the pandemic left myself and Simon Bays (fellow co-owner) unable to trade and desperate to diversify into something that could operate during lockdown.
"We'd always wanted to open our own restaurant and after recruiting our amazing head chef, Chris O'Connor, who'd spent 5 years at The Balmoral's 'Number One', we began to develop our menu, source our ingredients and perfect the recipe for our special seasoned 'Butta'.
"After just a few weeks, things had got out of control! We didn't have the capacity to meet ever-increasing levels of demand and decided to look for a bigger kitchen.
"Another few weeks later, with the help of Orinsen estate agency, we'd managed to secure the lease at 137 George Street - a feat that would have been impossible in different economic climates."
Speaking of how quickly his business has accelerated, Graham said: "Quite honestly, we're still pinching ourselves. If someone had told us just 2 months ago, when things were looking particularly bleak, that in February we'd be opening a George Street restaurant and bar, we'd have laughed! We're extremely grateful that an opportunity like this has arisen from the darkness and can't wait to see what the future holds for Butta Burger."
Butta create burgers from 'the finest dry aged scotch beef', with all the their cuts aged for 35+ days which 'adds a real depth of flavour'.
Seasoned ‘Butta’ is added to the restaurant's beef mix which acts as a sort of basting technique, melting during the cooking process. For the chicken burgers, breast meat is left to marinate for 24h in special 'Buttamilk', leaving the finished product juicy and flavoursome.
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