Best Burgers in London
Best Burgers in London
Welcome to the best burgers in London. We love burgers and these are the best ones you can find in London town. WARNING it gets dirty! If you’re looking for a meat-free alternative check out our guide to the best bleeding vegan burgers in London.
For burgers and boozy shakes into the small hours, MEATliquor will welcome you with open arms. And if you think you can handle your spice? Order the green chilli cheeseburger, chilli dog and chilli fries and if you can get that all down you in under ten minutes it’s on the house. But it’s defo not for the faint-hearted.
Flipping out some of the sloppiest burgers in London town, Patty & Bun are famed for their juicy patties, neon signs and bangin’ tunes. You can’t beat their ‘Ari Gold’ with an aged beef patty, cheese, pickled onions, smokey P&B mayo, ketchup, lettuce and tomato. Add in some rosemary-salted chips, coleslaw & a couple of beers and you’ve got yourself a damn good dinner.
Bleecker Burger is all about keeping it simple, serving up US-style burgers and fries with shakes, sodas and beers. No fancy starters, sides or specials, just rare breed, dry-aged beef cooked medium rare with homemade burger sauce, American cheese and a sesame seed bun. And when it tastes this good, you don’t need anything else. Order a double cheeseburger – it’s easily one of the best burgers in London.
LA-style smash burgers (made with extra-thin, crispy-edged patties) have become super fashionable in London in recent years. But if you want to try some of the best of their kind, head to Bun & Sum. Winners of the National Burger Awards 2024, Bun & Sum started slinging burgers and sides in Bow before expanding with sites in Hackney and Camden. At any of the locations, expect to find classics like the Big S’Mac (with two patties, American Cheese, lettuce, pickles & house S’Mac sauce), the Motz (with sliced onions smashed into the patties) and the Green Chilli Cheeseburger (with two patties, American cheese, fresh jalapeño, onion & house Fire Sauce) – and a lengthy queue.
The Dom’s Subs crew have nailed sandwiches and expanded into the world of hot dogs (at its new London Fields bar Rasputins), so of course the logical next step is burgers. Jupiter Burger, open on the old Lucky Chip site in Netil Market, is mainly takeaway operation, with a couple of stools for perching at the counter, and is inspired by California-style burger joints – think In-N-Out vibes. The burgers – a smashed beef patty or a house-made veggie patty – are topped with mustard, ketchup, pickles, onion, tomato and lettuce and stuffed into a Martins potato roll, or you can go for the mustard-fried and Jupiter sauce-topped namesake burger. Fries, sodas and Five Points JUPA beers are available on the side.
Photo credit: @harryblofeld
This place might be known for the chops but you don’t wanna miss the Blacklock Burger. Obvs the meat is of the highest standard and they top their juicy beef patty with Ogleshield cheese, caramelised onions and pickle in a brioche bun. It’s one of the best burgers you can get your lips around.
These burger truck vendors-turned-restaurateurs sure know a thing or two about a filthy burger. The signature Bacon Butter Burger features a dry-aged beef patty slathered in burnt butter mayo and topped with crispy pancetta, and the Bougie Burger with steak sauce, marrownaise and beef fat onions is a juicy, messy delight. Don’t miss the boozy shakes and badass sides too, including cheeseburger wontons and dirty tater tots smothered in hot sauce and crispy bacon pieces.
They may not have the most refined burger in town but when it comes to that all-satisfying middle ground between Maccy Ds and ‘posh’ burgers, Five Guys reigns supreme (sorry Shake Shack, it’s true). The burgers are big and filthy, you can choose as many toppings as you want, and they have those swishy Coke machines with endless soft drink choices. Plus, who doesn’t love their kitsch bit of retro American diner style? Definition of a guilty pleasure and one we indulge in maybe a little too often.
Flipping out some of the sloppiest burgers in London town, Patty & Bun are famed for their juicy patties, neon signs and bangin’ tunes. You can’t beat their ‘Ari Gold’ with an aged beef patty, cheese, pickled onions, smokey P&B mayo, ketchup, lettuce and tomato, all in a brioche bun. Add in some rosemary salted chips and a couple of beers and you’ve got yourself a damn good dinner.
If you’re after burgers and boozy shakes well into the wee hours MEATliquor will welcome you with open arms, especially the Margaret Street restaurant, which is open until 3am. The Dead Hippie is the group’s signature creation and what a thing it is – mustard fried patties, Dead Hippie sauce, American cheese, lettuce, pickled and onion. And if you think you can handle your spice? Order the green chilli cheeseburger, which is not for the faint-hearted. Epic burgers all round.
After launching a kitchen at Arcade Food Hall at Centre Point, Bake Street founder Feroz Gajia opened a second branch, and the first standalone site, of his burger joint Manna at Arcade Food Hall at Battersea Power Station. A tribute to American diner dishes, Manna does smash burgers and fried chicken that nod to the fast food faves of your youth but dialled up to another level. Just like at Bake Street, the Manna smash burger is thing of beauty, balanced with just the right amount of cheese, mustard, ketchup, pickles and onions, but you don’t wanna miss the Nashville hot chicken or an exclusive-to-Battersea crispy fish filay burger (there’s one with Old Bay-laced tartare sauce and one with scotch bonnet sauce). Pair with a thick vanilla shake and waffle fries, and finish with the Manna Apple Pie, with volcanically hot apple chunks inside just like at Maccy’s, with a dusting of cinnamon sugar to elevate it, for the ultimate nostalgic meal.
There’s truly a lot to love at this understated cafe by Rectory Road station – just see how many people journey there for the inventive and consistently excellent dishes, including the legendary creme brulee cookies, tom yum chicken buns, lamb birria tacos, superb Nashville hot chicken burgers and some of the best soft serve in London. Bake Street was also doing smashburgers before the rest of the city caught wind and they’re still some of the best to found; a caramelised and crispy but still juicy patty, dressed with exactly the right amount of ketchup, American mustard, American cheese and pickles, all tucked into a soft toasted bun to create the perfect balanced burger bite.
Image credit: @kiyahsyeda
BLACK BEAR BURGER
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 5:00 – 9:00 PM
- Wednesday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM
- Friday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM
- Sunday: 12:00 – 9:00 PM
Starting out as a street food joint, Black Bear Burger opened up its first bricks-and-mortar site in Brixton back in 2019 (they still have kitchens in Boxpark and Market Halls) and it’s been slinging out some of the best burgers in town ever since. Those burgers are made from a bespoke blend of cuts from grass-fed and dry-aged British beef and they’re so good, they only need topping with cheese, smoked bacon, onion jam & garlic mayo – you can get them with blue cheese sauce and beer-braised brisket on if you’re feeling extra indulgent. The burgers may be the main event but there are plenty of other treats to discover, including brisket spring rolls (which are as good as they sound), smoked pork tacos, buttermilk chicken nuggets with blue cheese and buffalo sauces, and even smoked meat specials on from time to time too. This BBB joint also serves booze, so you can sip on cocktails, beer jugs and shot skis alongside your buns.
Bleecker is all about keeping it simple, serving up US-style burgers and fries with shakes, sodas and beers. No fancy starters, sides or specials, just rare breed, dry-aged beef cooked medium rare with homemade burger sauce, American cheese and a sesame seed bun. And when it tastes this good, you don’t need anything else. Order a double cheeseburger and prepare to go to burger heaven.
After smashing the Four Legs residency at The Compton Arms, Jamie Allan and Ed McIlroy opened their own pub The Plimsoll, and thankfully they brought the Four Legs’ cheeseburger with them. A Dexter beef patty, oozy cheese and a McDonald’s inspired burger sauce, it’s the star of their menu. If you consider yourself a burger aficionado, you need to head here – but don’t agree to share.
This East Acton diner spot is all about good food, good vibes, and no drama. They’re turning out stacked sarnies, breakfast buns and hash browns, but it’s the cheeseburger that winning all the plaudits here (Ed Sheeran is a big fan). Made smashburger style, it’s got a beef patty, American cheese, sweet dill pickles, house burger sauce and crispy shallots stuffed into a brioche bun and it deserves the hype. If you want extra burger action, drop by on one of their burger nights on Fridays and Saturdays where you can get fried chicken buns too.