LONDON'S BEST BURGER
- MG
- 1 hour ago
- 7 min read
As nominated by YOU, our readers, in this Time Well Spent Awards
category sponsored by Bar-Be-Quick
Nothing hits the spot quite like a burger. Late nights, lazy afternoons... hell, we're not too proud to say we'd do a morning burger, too, if anyone's willing to serve it. Thankfully, you're as passionate about burgers as we are, and the nominations came in thick and fast for London's Best Burger. So, let's get to it. Here are YOUR nominations for the finest patties in our city.
Smash and Grab at Sam’s Kitchen
Hammersmith
You'll have to time your visit to grab a smash burger from Sam's Kitchen, as Smash and Grab take over the grill from Thursday to Saturday every week. It's worth it though, if you fancy chowing down on a tip-top burger with loaded fries and cocktails.
The Smash and Grab crew offer a bunless version for those of you who are on a diet (did someone say keto feast?), which works just fine when you consider that the patty is the dealbreaker here. The meat's from award-winning butcher, HG Walter and the burgers are made to order - none of that hot-plate action in THIS place, thankyouverymuch,.
The loaded fries come with shallots, jalapeños and cheese, and there's a chorizo version, too. Pair that up with some excellent cocktails or some 'Big Smashing wines chosen by Sam' and you've got yourself a party.
17 Crisp Road,Hammersmith,London,W6 9RL
Bleecker
Various Locations
With the proliferation of American burger joints making their way across the sea to London, it would be easy to get swallowed up in a wave of newcomers, but Bleecker stands out thanks to its willingness to bend to our European ways.
Let's be real, American cheese is the pits. Sorry, America, you can tarrif the world all you want, but when you're exporting that plastic muck, we ain't buying it. Step forward then. Bleecker's Blue Burger, which for our money is the pick of the cheeseburgers on this menu. It's exactly what you'd expect - a hunky chunk of beef, slathered in blue cheese and with that crispy goodness of onion and lettuce. Sounds simple, because it is!
If you're not a fan of the stinky stuff, there is American cheese on the menu (we won't judge you, promise) as well as straight-up beefburgers that let the patty sing on its own. Oh, and for the veggies among you, the Symplicity burger - made of mushroom, beetroot and onion - is tasty enough to make your meat-eating friends envious.
Our favourite location: Old Spitalfields Market, London E21 6EA
Burger & Beyond
Various Locations
Borough Market is a Mecca for food lovers, so if you open a restaurant there it had better be good. Thankfully, Burger and Beyond passes the test.
Perhaps unexpectedly, they're not your average burger joint. This menu boasts a Chopped Cheese Foccacia burger; Fried Chicken Thigh with sriracha and crinkle pickles; Bacon Butter Burger with burnt butter mayo; and the Japanese-inspired veggie option, Oso Yaki.
Our choice? The British French Dip - medium rare rump steak with beef jus, gruyere, fried onions, dijonaise and French roll. Side that up ith Bone Marrow Gravy Fries and you can live the rest of your life knowing you did things right.
Our favourite location: Arch 231, Borough Yards, Bank End, London, SE1 9FJ
Bun & Sum
Various Locations
Inspired by the US (we'll allow it - they invented burgers, after all) - but born in Bow, Bun & Sum do smash bugers right. In a world where Michelin starred chefs create dishes that look like works of art, there's something primal about a burger that looks like it's been created by a toddler on acid. That's not to say the result isn't exceptionally good, but these patties are created for your taste buds, not Instagram (though you'll find plenty of them on there, too...)
What is Bun & Sum? Well, Bun is the burgers - think smash patties with anything from in-house sauces to grilled cheese, jalapeños, pickles, and caramelised onions - and Sum is the fries, which range from In-and-Out inspired Animal Fries to cajun seasoned; chips slathered in beef dripping or portions smashed with cheeseburger.
Take a pot of sauce on the side (Beef Bone Broth or Burnt Butter Mayo, anybody?) and you'll be in smash burger heaven.
Our favourite location: 224 Graham Road, London E8 1BP
Four Legs at The Plimsoll
Don't panic, people. We're not sending you to a ghastly gastropub with ideas above its station. The Plimsoll in Finsbury Park is a delightfully charming, proper pub that sits exactly where a proper pub should sit - tucked away down a side road.
Find it, and you'll be rewarded with a hearty patty that more than warrants a place on this hallowed list. The chefs behind Four Legs - Jamie Allen and Ed McIlroy - previously opened under the same name in a pub called the Compton Arms. There, too, they wowed an unsuspecting crowd with juicy burgers topped with gherkins aside deep fried potatoes.
So when they moved to The Plimsoll, people followed. And new people arrived. And soon, you too will find your way there on the mighty recommendation of Time Well Spent magazine, and you'll take your place amongst the throngs of people and order a Dexter Cheeseburger. And then, you will message us and say thank you. This is the way.
52 St Thomas's Rd, Finsbury Park, London N4 2QW
Black Bear Burger
Various Locations
If it's quality meat you're after (and we'd rather hope that's what you're after, on a London's Best Burger page...), Black Bear Burger has an Ace card up its sleeve: Owner, Stew's family run a beef farm in Devon. Not only does that mean he knows his meat, but he's also an advocate for ethical meat-sourcing, and recognises the difference that makes to the taste of your patty.
Black Bear started out as a Broadway Market stall with beef straight from the local butcher, and grew into residencies, street food festivals and eventually, bricks and mortar. So, you know they've done the hard graft. But what of the burgers? Well, we're talking dry aged meat, beer braised brisket, garlic mayo, smoked bacon, onion jam, Habanero honey mayo and all the good stuff that makes your mouth do a little water.
Our favourite location: 11-13a Market Row, Brixton, London SW9 8LB
Mother Flipper
Brockley
Brockley locals don't have a lot to shout about on the London culinary scene, but they're understandably loud and proud about Mother Flipper, the burger joint that draws diners out to the suburbs with its 35 day aged grass fed patties from award-winning HG Walter Butchers. .
They're served up in glazed brioche buns and come topped with pickles, American cheese, candy bacon and onions, sweetcorn, ranch mayo and plenty more. It's not all about that beef, though - there's a solid fried chicken burger menu here and the Garlic Parmesan Hot Wings might even be good enough to steal the show, but let's not talk about those on a Best Burger page...
10 Coulgate Street, London, SE4 2RW
Brockley Market Lewisham College Car Park, Lewisham Way, London, SE4 1UT
MEATliquor
Various locations
We've written plenty on this website about our love for rock 'n' roll, dive bars and perfectly cooked meat, so you can be sure a place that combines all three will be on our favourites list.
Meat Liquor, owned by Hospitality Hero nominee, Scott Collins, is a masterclass in American grub, offering smash burgers and filthy fries with lashings of liquor, as the name suggests.
The Dead Hippie burger is where they made their name, so it seems a sensible place to start: Two mustard-fried aged beef patties, Dead Hippie sauce, lettuce, American cheese, pickles, and minced onions.
Whether they'll ever run out of Dead Hippies to make that sauce, we don't know, but we recommend heading to MeatLiquor before the last of those ageing Grateful Dead fans pop their clogs.
Our favourite location: 7 Dartmouth Road, London, SE23 3HN
Lucky Chip
You'd be a lucky chip to find yourself sharing a plate with Kevin Bacon, and that's a sentence we never thought we'd write. Kevin Bacon, for the uninitiated, is this restaurant's cheeseburger with added Applewood Smoked Bacon. Other memorable menu items include the J Lopez (with chile con queso, onions, pickles and Habanero Honey Mustard Mayo) and the El Chappo (with Smoked Bacon, Roasted Jalapeños, Blue Cheese and Aioli). Veggies might prefer the Woody Harrelson, while Gus Fring is your go-to if you fancy some chicken. Does that all make sense?
Lucky Chip doesn't take itself too seriously, if that isn't immediately clear, but it does take burgers seriously, and that's enough for us.
7 Roach Rd, Fish Island, London E3 2PA
Patty & Bun
It's tough to pick a favourite from Patty & Bun's menu. We're inclined to go for The Don - two aged beef patties with pancetta, beef butter, American Cheese, onions and mayo - but we'll never not be tempted by the Lambshank Redemption, where lamb is topped with coriander, chilli, lettuce, buttermilk baby courgettes, pickled aubergine, cumin aioli and feta. You can see why we get ourselves in this muddle, right? The sides are a little easier. Hand cut chips are great, but brisket loaded chips are better, and when they come sprinkled with parmesan and pickled red chillies you've got us hook, line and sinker.
Patty & Bun has enjoyed a rapid growth over the past few years, and understandably so. The good news is, that means there's probably one near you and you can go there right now and find yourself in the same burger-choosing dilemma we're suffering right now.
Our favourite location: 12 Northcote Road, London, SW11 1NX
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