London's Best Burgers (Tried and Tested)
Sink your teeth into the best buns the capital has to offer
Burgers take pride of place on menus across London, but how many of them actually deserve your time and money? To help you out, we've taken a bite out of the very best buns the capital has to offer.
Black Bear Burger
The burgers are as great as you’ve heard – particularly our favourite, the ‘Black & Blue’, and we can’t wait to try the new miso-bacon burger – but it’s the sides that really set Black Bear apart. The brisket spring rolls, filled and fried with 12-hour beer braised meat, smoked bacon & cheese, are beautiful; the smoked pork taco, too, with its 12-hour smoked pork shoulder, will leave a lasting impression. The chips, even, are some of the best we’ve had in London recently. Formerly a simple food stall operation, they opened their first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Brixton Village at the end of 2019, and recently expanded into Exmouth Market.
Brixton Market: 11, 13A Market Row, SW9 8LBExmouth Market: 17 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QD
Blacklock
One of the best chophouses in the city, Blacklock opened its fourth restaurant in Covent Garden this year (other locations include Bank, Shoreditch and an old brothel and lap dancing club on Soho’s Great Windmill Street.) The temptation when you walk in, of course, is to point at the biggest slab of meat on the chalkboard, and that’s completely fair. You go into Blacklock expecting to emerge in the sweaty daze of a food coma. But you’d be missing out on a truly beautiful cheeseburger: a double patty smothered in onions that have been caramelised in vermouth. It’s rich, juicy and delicious. Order some skinny chops and beef-dripping chips on the side and you’ll have the best of both worlds.
Blacklock, 16a Bedford Street, WC2E 9HE
Mother Flipper
Every Saturday at Brockley Market in southeast London, and every Sunday at Victoria Park Market in east, Mother Flipper rolls up with four of the very best burgers the capital has to offer. The ‘Candy Bacon Fipper’ is a favourite amongst regulars (the bacon is fried in maple syrup, which is all the explanation you should need) but we generally go for the ‘Chilli Flipper’, which balances out fermented green chilli relish with ranch mayo. All the patties are made with 35-day aged steak, cooked medium, and the vegetarian option – a sweetcorn fritta with all the usual accompaniments – is great too. Well worth the journey, wherever you are in the city.
Brockley Market on Saturdays, Victoria Park Market on Sundays, motherflipper.co.uk/
The Double Standard
The Standard – the beautiful brutalist hotel that looms over King’s Cross, packed with enough Seventies kitsch to keep your Insta feed full for months – now has a bottomless brunch option, available on the terrace of the ground floor Double Standard restaurant on Sundays. Beyond the constant streams of Prosecco and Bloody Mary's that arrive at your table, the food menu features hot dogs and vegan banana pancakes and all sorts of booze-soaking goodness. We suggest you opt for the Brunch Burger, however, which is genuinely one of the best we’ve had in London for a very long time. The breakdown is simple but effective: a juicy smash patty, with dribbles of Bloody Mary ketchup, strips of bacon & melted smoked cheddar. We demolished it in seconds. Unfortunately the burgers aren’t bottomless too, but you can’t win everything.
The Double Standard, Argyle Street The Standard, London WC1H 8EG
The Bluebird Café
It may be served on one of London’s most upmarket streets, but the Bluebird Café’s classic hamburger has no pretence. A juicy patty, cheese, gem lettuce, house sauce, pickles and a side of fluffy chips, nothing more and nothing less. What really sets the Bluebird Cafe apart, however, is its leafy outside seating area, perfect for a warm summer’s day (and a mild one too, thanks to the umbrellas and heaters on supply). Pair with one of the cocktails – we recommend the lychee & rose martini. When al fresco dining is out of the picture, the Bluebird restaurant (which sits beside the café) also serves a delicious burger piled with Mayfield cheese, bacon and caramelised onions.
The Bluebird Café, 350 King's Road, London SW3 5UU
Lucky Chip
You can find Lucky Chip burgers in two very, very locations: The Old Queen’s Head in Islington and Hackney's Netil Market. Their pun-based names are a little hokey for our taste (the ‘Steve Martin’ has jerk sauce in it, etc), but you can’t complain about the burgers themselves – unfailingly juicy, delicious and the perfect accompaniment to a relaxing Sunday pint. We recommend the El Chapo: beef, smoked bacon, roasted jalapeños, blue cheese & aioli. Really good stuff.
Lucky Chip, various locations
Burger & Beyond
When you place your eyes on the satisfyingly trim Burger and Beyond menu, it’s hard to look past the ‘Bougie Burg’ (especially when it lands on your plate). We’re talking dry-aged beef (which BoB uses to make all of their burgers), double American cheese, steak sauce 2.0, marrownaise and beef fat onions, all cooked beautifully and dripping with flavour. And while that may seem like enough sauces for one dish, we recommend testing out the burnt butter mayo and tangy secret sauce, too. If that calls for a few orders of truffle tots and cheesy fries, then so be it.
Burger and Beyond, 147 Shoreditch High St, Hackney, London E1 6JE
Flank
Beginning as a Brighton pop-up, Flank now holds two stalls at Victoria Market Halls and Old Spitalfield Market. The key to head chef Tom Griffith’s success? Keeping things simple with a nose-to-tail, grab-and-go ethos. Try the must-have cheeseburger, made from aged ground short rib, brisket & flank and topped with St Giles cheese, dill pickles, rich onion jam, crispy onions and Flank burger sauce. We're big fans.
Flank, various sites
Coin Laundry
A cheeseburger, but not as you know it. It's substantial and juicy, without ever tipping into brioche bun-soaked albatross territory. To be honest, Coin Laundry’s effort is almost worth it for the side portion of garlic fries alone. Welcome, friends, to flavour country.
Coin Laundry, 70 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QP
Mac & Wild
Voted London’s best at the National Burger Awards in 2016 (it's a thing!), there’s no shame in using a knife and fork on the ‘Veni-Moo’: a delicious, gut-busting heap of beef, venison, cheese, béarnaise, caramelised onions and candied bacon. Scottish steak-and-burger joint Mac & Wild have two sites, but head to Devonshire Square if you want to have a go at their shooting range, and kill your virtual meat before you eat it.
Mac & Wild, 9A Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4YN
Hawksmoor
Sure, you've heard about their thick juicy steaks but the insider tip when visiting the Hawksmoor is to head to the downstairs bar for their house burger. As well as the same high quality beef they use for steaks they use bone marrow to create an intense rich flavour. You'll save a few quid too.
Hawksmoor, various locations in London and Manchester, as well as New York if you fancy a long walk
Dip and Flip
Enjoy a twist on the classic at this South London chain where burgers come with a pool of gravy ready for dipping. As well as the classic burger there's sliced roast beef or lamb which you can enjoy with melted cheese and other garnishes.
Dip and Flip, 87 Battersea Rise, London, SW11 1HW
Shake Shack
This West Coast import is a slice of fast-food gluttony without the cheap ingredients. The plain old cheese burger is the one to watch, a succulent beef patty cushioned by a soft bun and with the best burger cheese around.
Shake Shack, 1 Cambridge circus, London WC2H 8PA
Honest Burgers
While it's harder than ever to get a seat at Honest ('no reservation' policies and burger bars are comfy bedfellows) the food more than makes up for it; aged beef cooked medium-rare, with a dollop of caramelised red onion marmalade in a soft brioche bun. And the rosemary-dusted fries will vanish in seconds.
Honest Burgers, 4A Meard St, London W1F 0EF
Dirty Burger
The meat in a bun offering from Soho House, Dirty Burger is definitely worth getting your chops around. At £6 for the cheeseburger prices are friendly for the member's club, add bacon or go for there surprisingly satisfying vegetarian option aptly named, "dirty cop-out". Their triple cooked chips and tempura style onion rings are pretty damn tasty too.
Dirty Burger, 17 Exmouth Market, London, EC1R 4QD
Bleecker St. Burger
Inspired by tasting the perfect burger whilst in New York, Zan Kaufman ditched being a lawyer and started selling burgers out a food truck in London. The beef is the really standout part of the mouthful which is rare-breed, pasture-fed beef from small farms in the UK and then dry-aged for 40 days. Get the double cheeseburger for two hits of that meaty masterpiece.
Bleecker St Burger, Old Spitalfields Market, London E1 6EA
Joe Allen's
To order a burger at Joe Allen's, you must already be in the know because despite its peerless reputation it never appears on the menu. The beauty of this burger is its simplicity; made entirely of ground sirloin with no seasoning, the meat does all the talking.
Joe Allen's, 2 Burleigh St, London WC2E 7PX
Haché
Deluxe burgers, using only the freshest ingredients, are what make Haché stand out from the crowd. Try the Steak Catalan burger, topped with chorizo and chili jam, for a truly unbeatable burger experience.
Hache, 24 Inverness Street, Camden Town, London, NW1 7HJ
Patty & Bun
Colloquially known as P&B, for those in the know, P&B's own-made relishes and mayos make their burgers some of the finest in London. Their now multiple venues are popular, so you may need to queue but trust us the lashings of liquid cheese, prime beef, glossy buns and sides are worth ever minute in the cold.
Patty & Bun, 54 James Street, London W1U 1HE
Smiths of Smithfield
Masterchef presenter and Smiths' founder John Torode is passionate about sourcing his meat. Evidence of this can be found on the restaurant's second floor in the form of the delicious Smiths' Beef Burger, topped with mature cheddar and Old Spot bacon.
Smith of Smithfields, 67-77 Charterhouse Street, London, EC1M 6HJ
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