The best burgers in Hong Kong

If you can pry yourself away from The Baker & The Bottleman’s baked goods, this British joint offers a mean fish burger that’s just as mouth watering as their sweet treats. With fillings like beer-battered cod fillet topped with melted Red Leicester cheese, pickles, and a smattering of homemade tartare all sandwiched between fluffy brioche buns, The Baker & The Bottleman’s fish burger will definitely rock your socks off. Pair it with a glass (or bottle) of wine from the restaurant’s wine list for a sinfully satisfying meal.

Burger restaurant The Belly Boys is a popular joint located on Causeway Bay’s Tang Lung Street. This spot is best known for its smash burgers made with USDA prime beef patties, and diners can order burgers with up to three patties. Aside from beef burgers, Belly Boys also whips up some neat alternatives like the Korean spicy chicken burger or the cheekily named Codfather fish burger. Complete your meal with sides like fries, chicken wings, or onion rings, then go for Belly Boy’s milkshakes to really make your cheat meal worth it.

Located in Causeway Bay, Exotica Gelatea is known for their unique twist on classic burgers. One of the hearts and souls of their creations lies in a special, reinvented garum sauce that pays tribute to a 1,500-year-old Italian recipe detailing what might well have been the first burger known to mankind. The garum that has undergone an 80-day fermentation process adds juiciness and a flavourful burst to their beef burger selection. Try their signature Lava Burger that features a secret cheese blend, or opt for the Cheesy Burger that is as close to a pizza as you can get in burger form. Alternatively, the Cauldron Burger features a refreshing and slightly tangy green sauce made with various herbs. Pair your burgers with piping hot French fries, onion rings, coffee, as well as irresistible gelato milkshakes, and prepare to undo the top button of your jeans. Click here for more info.

49 Sharp Street East, Causeway Bay, 2897 8211, Daily 12pm-9.30pm

If barbeque and burgers sound like a match made in heaven for you, then look no further than Smoke & Barrel’s smokin’ burgers. This American restaurant takes brioche buns and creates sumptuous burgers with fillings like dry aged beef patties with American cheddar and maple bacon, 10-hour smoked pork shoulder and belly, buttermilk fried chicken, and crispy fish fillets.

We’re talking about the good kind of ‘sick’ here. Specialising in quality homemade burgers, Sick! Burger churns out hearty creations from their cosy venue in Ma On Shan. Their best selling Sick! Chicken burger sees a buttermilk fried chicken thigh sandwiched between toasted brioche buns, paired with coleslaw, topped with lemon zest and sansho pepper, as well as a shiso leaf, red onion relish, and caesar dressing. Sick! Burger also allows you to add up to three Angus beef patties in your beef burger, so you’ll be left completely stuffed and satisfied regardless of how big your appetite is.

OK, so The Diplomat is not technically a burger shop, but who cares when their burgers are as good as this. Offering one of the best burgers in Hong Kong, The Diplomat's burger is a quarter pounder perfectly grilled to medium-rare, but with crispy edges, topped with melted cheddar cheese, and sandwiched between two toasty sesame buns. It's served with tomato slices and pickles on the side, which keeps the bun in perfect shape.

Rosewood Hong Kong’s meat-centric smokehouse and grill restaurant Henry is every meat lover’s dream come true. Aside from offering irresistible steaks, the steakhouse also whips up a mean burger exclusively on the weekends during lunch. Cheekily named Juicy Lucy, Henry's burger consists of a dry-aged double-patty cheeseburger with a fried egg, all sandwiched between homemade brioche buns.

Shake Shack’s popularity in Hong Kong has grown into eight locations, from Central to Sha Tin and beyond. Unlike other fast food chains in town, Shake Shack consistently shakes up Hong Kong’s burger scene. Aside from their regular menu, they frequently roll out time-limited items to keep things fresh. Make a stop at their branches in IFC, Times Square, Pacific Place, Elements, Harbour City, Citygate Outlets, New Town Plaza, or Metroplaza and get stuck into a solid burger, time after time.

The airport outlet of Beef & Liberty offers meat lovers from around the world the chance to chow down on signature gourmet burgers and creations exclusive to Hong Kong International Airport, such as the char siu burger, Hong Kong Breakfast Toastie – an HK-style breakfast dish with macaroni, cheese, and béchamel slathered between crispy thick-cut toast – and a delicious milk tea crème brûlée.

This all American-style burger joint in the heart of Wan Chai (and somewhat lively red-light district) is known for using soft brioche for burger buns. Their signature double cheeseburger and a milkshake are definitely crowd-pleasers, but their fried chicken burgers – crispy with moist meat – and fish burgers are just as good. For those who are not as carb-inclined as the rest of us, you can even go bunless.

Like their name suggests, Lobster Bar and Grill offers a large range of dishes prepared over the grill. The restaurant also has a dedicated gourmet burger menu, which provides surf and turf offerings such as the mega-indulgent sweetbread burger, which features a portion of roasted veal sweetbread as the main protein. Alternatively, Lobster Bar & Grill also provides a grilled portobello mushroom burger for vegetarian diners.

What started as a place for passionate chefs and butchers in Aberdeen has evolved into one of Hong Kong’s premier burger joints. Be sure to try the classic dry aged burger, which consists of cheddar cheese, maple bacon, and a generous slather of their top-secret burger sauce. Additionally, The Butchers Club Grille also offers a burger with a butter baked crab cake as a pescetarian-friendly option.

Just around the corner from buzzy Star Street, Honbo fits right into the neighbourhood. The blue and white walls give off a Santorini vibe during the day while the neon accent lights scream ‘Hong Kong’ at night. It’s all about quality over quantity at Honbo. From the cheeseburger to the chicken burger, every element – patty, bun, sauce – is made in-house. The beef burgers, featuring a combination of local brisket and US chuck, are meaty with a bit of umami and are flat-out delicious.

Think strawberry milkshakes, candy stripes and bow ties, and you've got Burger Circus in a nutshell. Serving up a range of irresistible burgers, from classic American cheeseburgers made with a juicy 5oz beef patty with Wisconsin cheddar cheese to spicy chicken burgers that crank up the heat, and make your own options with selected ingredients such as fried eggs or jalapeños to make your burger masterpiece.