London’s best burgers

Travelling smokeshow Whole Beast have quietly crafted the best burger in London. A semi-smashed aged beef patty, layered up with demure bread and butter pickles, smoked bone marrow, their own Whole Beast burger sauce, diced white onions, and American cheese in a super-soft milk bun. It’s a classy but still elegantly sloppy affair, perfectlty balancing meat, sweet and tang. After a stint slinging this brilliant burger at Peckham pub the Montpelier, Whole Beast are now in residence at Exale Brewing & Taproom on the Blackhorse Beer Mile in Walthamstow.  

Side-hustling property developers they may be, but the Topjaw automatons of social media infamy have helped cast Lagom’s house burger into the upper echelons of the metro-patty hierarchy, such is the reverence with which it’s mentioned by half the chefs they’ve cornered. And rightly so: a humming puck of 60/40 ratio of aged beef to fat, in a milk potato bun with a slick of mustardy mayo, Yank cheese and a vinegar slaw dressed – crucially for both zing and crunch – immediately before serving. It’s a thing of minimalist radiance.

There are just a few tables at Bleecker’s Spitalfields Market home, so don’t expect much in the way of comfort or ambience. But what you will discover is a stripped-back but hugely satisfying formula for the all-American burger. Show-stopping dry-aged beef cooked pink is complemented by Bleecker’s secret sauce that tastes every bit as peppery as McDonald’s’ Big Mac mayo (but more upmarket, obvs). Maximise on that meat with a double cheeseburger. Seeded buns are toasted to perfection, mopping up those excess patty juices without ever compromising your vice-like burger grip.

If you only order one thing at Four Legs' Finsbury Park boozer, make sure it’s the bona fide, utterly brilliant cheeseburger. It’s the stuff of dreams, a sloppy, messy thing comprising of a thin and juicy chargrilled patty made from Dexter beef, with accompaniments in the shape of melted cheese, burger sauce and finely minced onion – plus a heap of sweet pickles like something your granny would make. You’ll be swooning after the first mouthful.

After proving their worth with a street food stall on Broadway Market, Black Bear Burger have low-key become one of London’s best homegrown fast-food chains. With proper restaurants in Brixton and Exmouth Market, as well as more casual joints in Boxpark Camden and Market Halls in Victoria and Canary Wharf, their burgers don’t mess about. The house Black Bear Burger features two patties, smashed thin and crisp-charred to maillard perfection, neatly offset with onion jam, synthetic cheese and garlic mayo. A bacon-miso version hums with a heady umami twang. Don’t scrimp on sides either; wings come drowning with buffalo and blue cheese sauce but are still unfathomably crispy on the outside.

Arcade Food Hall sits in the shadow of Centrepoint and is host to all manner of incredible food stands. Burger fans will delight in Manna, which does fried chicken and the current hype burger – the smash burger, a sloppy triumph of a smashed patty with diced onions. There are kimchi and vegan versions, too, and there's also a Manna in the Battersea Power Station development. Go and get smashed, pals. 

As former street-food supremos, the Burger & Beyond boys pride themselves on ageing and butchering the best home-reared meat. Their burgers are officially cooked medium and despite the temptation to double up, a single patty is more than sufficient in its sturdy sesame brioche bun with essential additions. We couldn’t fault the gloriously sloppy bacon butter burger either, stacked with crisp pancetta, molten American cheese and burnt butter mayo.

Blacklock’s chophouse inhabits a classic Shoreditch warehouse space and the menu is – not surprisingly – heavy with chops (skinny little chops, medium chops and large off-the-bone beauties). It also has an unexpected ace up its sleeve in the shape of the Blacklock burger. Inside the soft sesame bun, you get a juicy patty loaded with sliced gherkins and onions caramelised in vermouth, plus a slug of mild sriracha-laced burger sauce. Don’t forget a side order of crispy beef-dripping fries.

The nomadic Lucky Chip is currently doing its thing at Islington’s vibey Old Queen’s Head and at Netil Market, serving up burgers that taste like a party in your mouth. There are specials on the menu, but of the regulars, the fiery El Chappo gets our vote. Here, an already excellent patty is topped with smoked bacon, jalapeños, aioli and blue cheese. Hot!

The popular American burger chain is popular for a reason. Their burgers come with two pattys as standard, but its the bacon cheeseburger that really does the buisness, complete with two strips of crispy bacon and melted American cheese. Add some cajun fries on the side and you'll be set for the next week. 

Looking for all the world like some rich old grandfather’s study, the polished Mayfair branch of the Russian-owned steakhouse chain brings Manhattan to Mayfair with its well-upholstered, well-aged look and truly excellent grass-fed beef from both sides of the Atlantic. Steaks are headliners, but don’t ignore the stellar beefburger – a super-juicy patty with the usual additions (lettuce, pickle, tomato, onion), plus a heap of crunchy, thick-cut fries.

One of the best US burger joints does its finest work in the signature SmokeShack burger. It’s a regular cheeseburger (already delish) topped with Applewood smoked bacon, piquant peppers and creamy, sweet, slightly spicy ShackSauce, served up in a little waxed paper jacket. The millennial’s Big Mac, basically.

This chain has more than thirty London branches – but never fear, HB hasn’t lost its sheen. We still love the signature Honest burger (with its super-sweet red onion relish), but our all-time fave has to be the Tribute. It has American cheese, French mustard, bacon, pickles and a patty made from 35-day dry-aged British chuck steak. Chips are hand-cut and rosemary-salted and there are some not-too-shabby options for veggies, such as the Southern-fried courgette and sweetcorn fritter with chipotle mayo in a bun.

As you’d expect from the name, the burgers here come with both a properly cooked patty and a rich brioche bun, but the real star turn is the use of own-made mayos and relishes. The Smokey Robinson, made with smokey P&B mayo, jammy caramelised onions and crisp bacon, is so good it deserves to be in a burger hall of fame. Fries are of a rustic ilk: skin-on, hand-cut thin chips with flecks of rosemary salt.