It's been almost a decade since London's burger scene transformation kicked off with the arrival of the MeatWagon in Peckham and New Cross. Now Londoners are spoilt for choice when it comes to finding a cracking burger which hopefully makes our guide to the best burgers in town, that bit more useful.
Baba G's
Pop Brixton and Vinegar Yard (London Bridge)
Street food legends won an episode of the BBC's Million Pound Menu but then went on to start their Camden restaurant by themselves. At the heart of the menu are the Bhangra Burgers - Indian-influenced burgers that are certainly not subtle and have won them legions of fans.
Burger to go for: The Crazy Lamb Jalfrezi Burger - their spiced lamb burger with mint raitha, mango pulp and fresh chilli pepper.
Delivery: Deliveroo from Pop Brixton
Photo by Haydon Perrier
Black Bear Burger
Brixton and Boxpark Shoreditch
Black Bear Burger started out in Brixton and late 2019 they returned with their first permanent restaurant. The beef is grass-fed and dry-aged beef sourced from native breeds raised in the South West - one of the founders comes from a farming family so knows a thing or two about sourcing the best.
Burger to go for: The Black Bear burger - Aged Beef Patty, American Cheese, Onion Jam, Pancetta Bacon, Garlic Mayo
Delivery: Deliveroo from Shoreditch and Brixton.
Bleecker
Victoria, Bloomberg Arcade, Spitalfields
If you ever fantasise about quitting your job and devoting your life to burgers, then Bleecker Burger Founder Zan Kaufman is your poster gal. Six years ago she quit her job as an NYC lawyer, moved to London, bought a food truck and started making burgers. Of her burgers, Zan says: "We use rare-breed, pasture-fed beef from small farms in the UK. It is dry-aged, giving it an intense, beefy flavour."
Burger to go for: The double cheeseburger has been a longstanding top London burger for us. One of the very best. And if it's on - the Bleecker Black special which adds in some Clonakilty black pudding.
Delivery: via Deliveroo
DIY Burger kit: Order online
Burger & Beyond
Shoreditch - 147 Shoreditch High St, Hackney, London E1 6JE
It's all about the aged beef burger at Burger & Beyond. Their signature burgers may be on the pricey side but are, in our humble opinion, worth every penny. Even better, their first bricks and mortar place in Shoreditch has allowed them to put loads more on their permanent menu.
Burger to go for: The Bougie Burg - two aged beef patties, cold smoked American cheese, steak sauce, marrownaise and beef fat onions. (£16.50)
Delivery: Via Deliveroo
DIY burger kit: Order online
The Duke of Richmond
Dalston - 316 Queensbridge Road, Hackney, London E8 3NH
Tom Oldroyd's pub is pretty perfect in every way - and they've gone to great lengths to ensure that their burger is right up there - messy in the very best way. Go the whole hog and pair that with a crab and chip butty. Just because. And, if you head down there on a Monday, they do a special deal of a burger and 40 Ft beer for a tenner.
Burger to go for: The Duke Burger - 6oz rib cap patty, Roquefort, confit onions, béarnaise & chips
Delivery: Takeaway only, call 0207 923 3990 to order
More about The Duke of Richmond
Four Legs at The Compton Arms
Islington - 4 Compton Ave, Islington, London N1 2XD
Tucked down a side street in Islington, this historic pub doesn't seem like the most obvious place to find the current content for London's Best Burger, but the Four Legs' burger is not only a super bar snack, it's easily one of the best in town. The patty itself is made with Dexter breed meat from Yorkshire and their burger sauce was apparently inspired by how McDonald's used to taste when you were a kid..
Burger to go for: There's only one and it's the cheeseburger (£10.50)
Hawksmoor
Spitalfields, Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Borough and Covent Garden
Given the love and attention Hawksmoor give to their steaks, it's hardly any surprise that their burgers are A-class too. You'll find a small selection on their bar menu - look out for the third burger - a regularly rotating special.
Burger to go for: There's a lot of love for the Kimchi burger, but for us, it's their classic cheeseburger and made more glorious with the addition of small nuggets of bone marrow in the patty. Choose whether you want it served with either Ogleshield or Stitchelton.
Honest Burgers
Many locations across London
When so much of coming up with a great burger is down to sourcing (and grinding/mincing) the beef, it's not that surprising that Honest Burgers have now opened their own butchers. Their quality patties are made with Scottish beef made from the chuck and rib cap.
Burger to go for: The Honest - where the patty is topped with red onion relish, smoked bacon, cheddar, pickled cucumber and lettuce. And it's worth keeping an eye on their monthly specials which often see them teaming up with some great London restaurants.
Delivery: Via Deliveroo
DIY burger kit: Order online
Mac and Wild
Fitzrovia and the City
Mac and Wild are best known for serving venison on their menu - and that includes in their burger too. A previous winner of the National Burger Awards for best burger, this combines beef and venison into an epic creation.
Burger to go for: The Venimoo burger - Beef patty, venison patty, cheese, béarnaise & caramelised onions - served in a seeded bun (£12)
Delivery: Via Slerp
DIY burger kit: Order online
Le Bun
Fitzrovia - Smuggler's Tavern, 28 Warren St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 5ND.
Le bun, as you might guess from the name, tend to put a French twist on their burgers. That means a fair bit of truffle is involved, both in the burgers and the fries.
Burger to go for: Probably the Truffle Honey Bacon cheeseburger. That's aged beef patty, truffle honey bacon, confit beef fat onions, pickles, truffle mayo, american cheese, all in a potato brioche.
Delivery: Via Deliveroo
DIY burger kit: Order online
Lucky Chip
Islington and London Fields
Lucky Chip are one of the longstanding members of the London burger community. Ben Denner launched Lucky Chip back in 2011 and his obsession with burger perfection led him to visit 70 bakeries before finding the perfect bun. Oh, and the aged beef patty he uses has incredible flavour.
Burger to go for: The Kevin Bacon. An aged patty with American cheese and applewood smoked bacon.
Delivery: Deliveroo from Islington and London Fields.
MEATliquor
West End, Hoxton, Covent Garden, Queensway, Islington, Croydon and Battersea.
Arguably the burger company that changed the way all Londoners think about burgers, this street van turned million-pound business set up by Yianni Papoutsis and Scott Collins is still pushing the envelope both as far as great burgers go and how businesses are run. Their most recent opening just off Oxford Circus sees them opening really late and with loads more lethal cocktails on the menu too.
Burger to go for: The Dead Hippie - featuring two French's mustard-fried beef patties and dead hippie sauce.
Delivery: Via UberEats
Mother Flipper
Victoria Park Market, Brockley Market
Mother Flipper serves up smashing (and smashed) burgers. Just make sure whatever burger you do order here features candy bacon because you need that in your life.
Burger to go for: The Candy Bacon Flipper - topped with American cheese and bacon fried in maple syrup
Patty & Bun
Marylebone, Notting Hill, Liverpool Street, Hackney, Soho, Fitzrovia, Borough and Television Centre.
Is it really seven years since Patty & Bun opened their first bricks and mortar spot? Since then the street food merchants turned proper restaurateurs have begun empire building in London and beyond. Their burgers (the patties are 35-day aged, grass fed Aberdeen Angus beef) are fabulously messy, but who cares when they taste this good?
Burger to go for: The Ari Gold - featuring their signature Smokey P&B Mayo in a brioche bun
Delivery: Various sites on Deliveroo
DIY kit: Order online
Shake Shack
Covent Garden, Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square, Victoria, Stratford, Canary Wharf, Cambridge Circus and Mansion House.
The frenzy surrounding the arrival of Danny Meyer's elevated burger chain on these shores back in 2013 may have abated somewhat, but we're still big fans of their burgers. The 100% Angus patty is always cooked pink unless you request otherwise and we're marginally obsessed by the Martin's potato roll it comes in.
Burger to go for: Double ShackBurger - £8.75 because one patty simply isn't enough
Delivery: Via Deliveroo
DIY kits: Order online
Also worth trying:
- Truffle - serving up truffle laden burgers from Seven Dials Market
- Goodburger - a delivery-only offshoot of Coqfighter
- The off-menu cheeseburger at Joe Allen is the London restaurant world's worst kept secret (still to reopen at the time of writing).
- Dip and Flip down in South London are best known for their roast meat sandwiches, but their smashed burgers are pretty darned good too.
- In King's Cross, Slider Decider winner Adam Rawson's burger in The Standard's Double Standard is worth checking out.
- They're best known for their chops, but Blacklock also have the special Blacklist on the menu - but you have to ask specially for it...
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