Smash burgers are a big thing in London right now, getting the same amount of frenzied attention that Londoners previously reserved for a special new croissant.
Before we start - let's consider what actually is a smash burger? It is essentially just what is sounds like. A round ball of ground beef is smashed into the cooking surface so that the crust gets particularly crispy. As a result, the patties are thinner, so many of these creations come with multiple patties. With that out of the way - here are the places in town specialising in them...
The one from France
Junk
Soho - 49 Old Compton St, London W1D 6HL
Junk was already a big player in France before it hit the streets of Soho and right now it's vying for Supernova's crown as Soho's top smash burger. Their best seller is the classic cheeseburger, but Londoners are also going wild for the truffle double cheeseburger with truffle sauce and fried onions. And if you've got a sweet tooth you're in luck because freshly made huge cookies (similar to Creme) are also a big deal here.
The one that kicked off the current craze
Supernova
Soho - 25 Peter St, London W1F 0AH
It's hard to overstate just what a big deal Supernova was when it first opened. An undeniably clever bit of marketing saw this rely solely on word of mouth (and social media) to spread the word. Simplicity is the key here. They do one thing only - the cheeseburger - but they do it very well. The queues are not as mad as they were when they originally opened, so if you've yet to try their burger, now's the time.
The one with all the wagyu
SMSH BN
Covent Garden - 126 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0LA
Moving away from the classic diner roots of the smash burger, SMSH BN has given theirs a luxury makeover. All their burgers feature a double serving of Wagyu patties, a special house sauce and both pickled cucumber and pickled jalapenos. And if you fancy wagyu on your chips, they'll do that too. It's a slick operation and we like that huge window that lets you gaze upon your creation being made as you wait impatiently for your burger to be made.
The one in the food court
Manna
Battersea and Centre Point Arcade Food Halls
When you know that Manna burger comes from Feroz Gajia, the man behind Bake Street, suddenly everything becomes clear. Bake Street's weekend-only smash burgers have long been a cult favourite. Manna was devised as a standalone burger brand at Arcade Food Hall and was, he says, "a love letter to the American diner". The burgers may be a little on the small side (unless you double up) but they are extremely good.
Alongside the traditional cheeseburgers, there's also their kimchi smash burger (and their Nashville Hot chicken burger is worth trying too).
The one you can have at breakfast
No Drama
Acton - 199 Old Oak Rd, London W3 7HH
If you’ve ever woken up from a major night out and thought that the one thing could save you is a burger, well we’re not judging you. Instead, we’ll point you towards this Acton burger bar. Is it heresy to include a sausage patty in this guide? No matter because the all-day patty here is just that and comes with a smashed hash brown, smokey bacon, fried egg, American cheese, sweet dill pickles, onion salsa and house mayo.
If you're looking for something a little less breakfasty, a standard cheeseburger is available here too.
The one cooked over a live fire
Lagom
Hackney - Hackney Church Brew Co. Address: 17 Bohemia Pl, London E8 1DU
A near-religious devotion to live-fire cooking and excellent produce is what drives chef Elliot Cunningham. His restaurant inside the Hackney Church Brew Co focuses a lot on meat and vegetables cooked over fire, but the chef’s smash burger has also achieved legendary status. The patty is beef from suppliers Hogget & Boar and it's served with both mustard mayo and vinegar slaw. This one’s a three-napkin minimum messy beast of a burger.
The Oklahoma one
Leytonstone Tavern
Leytonstone - 119 Harrow Rd, London E11 3PX
Our first encounter with an Oklahoma smash burger, where onions are pressed into the patty before it’s smashed on the grill, was at New York’s Hamburger America. Happily, Londoners don’t have to go quite that far to get one of these as the Leytonstone Tavern is serving an amazing version over in East London made with dry-aged beef and served on a demi-brioche bun.
In addition to the standard burgers, they also have the Bone Daddy with added brisket, the Carl Jung which adds Swiss cheese or the Bobby Seale which includes smoked confit garlic mayo and jalapenos.
The award-winning halal one
Bun & Sum
Bow, Camden, Hackney, Whitechapel
Their original Bow takeaway hatch might be hidden away on an industrial site, but the sheer popularity of this smash burger offering is such that Bun and Sum now have an eat-in restaurant in Whitechapel and Hackney as well as a stall in Camden Market. No fuss no frills is how they describe their offering, and we love that they ship in the amazing Martins potato rolls from the US for their burgers (they're the ones used at Shake Shack too).
As for the beef, it's all organic and you can opt for a classic cheeseburger or a Motz (Oklahoma). Alternatively, you can throw all caution to the wind with their special which, at the time of writing, include the Big Rib which adds a coffee-rubbed, five hour smoked beef back rib to the burger.
The quadrupled one
Buk
Camden - 8 Ferdinand Street, NW1 and Hawley Wharf NW1
Why go for a double burger option, when you can go four? You can double up any Buk burger (which all feature two patties to start with). This halal burger spot currently has two venues in Camden serving up its smash burgers. There are three smash options - classic cheese, the house special which adds in caramelised onions and chilli sauce, and a truffle version with truffle bacon mayo. If you want to go all-out, try the Beef Tower Burger, which adds a whole pile of slow-cooked beef brisket.
Also look out for their smashed beef sando melts if you want something different from the usual bun.
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