Who doesn’t love burgers? Whether they’re a guilty pleasure or a weekly staple, burgers are one of the only foods that everyone can generally agree on. These days even vegans can appreciate the gooey goodness – there’s been a lot of innovation in the world of veggie burgers in recent years.
Both meatless and meat-ful burgers are celebrated by the National Burger Awards, who held the final round of their 2025 contest at the Big Penny Social in London on Tuesday (February 11). A panel of expert judges, including our very own food and drinks editor Leonie Cooper, sat down to have a bite of all 16 of the finalists and crown the nation’s very best burger.
There were five categories the nominees were competing in, including: Plant-Based Burger of the Year, Freakshake of the Year, Bloggers’ Choice Award, Burger Chef of the Year, and the big one, National Burger of the Year. If ‘burger’ has already stopped sounding like a word to you, imagine being a judge.
So what is this year’s best bun-meat-bun creation? The gold went to the Miso Bacon Burger from the London based Black Bear Burger. This behemoth consists of two 45-day aged beef patties, cheese, bacon, miso butter mayo and onion, all squished together in between a sesame bun.
Stewart Down, owner and head-chef of the restaurants, said he was ‘pretty surprised’ by the win but that: ‘We’ve competed two times before – came third last year and won the Bloggers’ Choice Award after that, but this was the one we wanted… This changes things.’
He’s not the first Londoner to wield a magic spatula, in fact last year the top prize went to Bleeker, another burgermaker in the capital, and six of the finalists were based in the Big Smoke. There must be something in the water. Or maybe in the grills.
For any vegetarians feeling a bit forgotten about, don’t worry. The winner of best veggie burger was equally as juicy and delectable. Chef Rob Macdonald’s ‘Sloppy Faux’, which is not a euphemism, was the best plant-based burger-maestro with his sloppy Joe pickle-chipotle-mayo-plant-burger.
Here is the complete list of this year’s victors at the National Burger Awards:
- Plant-Based Burger of the Year: Sloppy Faux, Fat Hippo
- Freakshake of the Year: Shake My Sweet Burger, Leonati Street Food
- Bloggers’ Choice Award: The New Yorker, Mollies
- Burger Chef of the Year: Bacon and Cheese Picante. El Perro Negro
- National Burger of the Year: Black Bear Burger, Miso Bacon Burger
Eating in the UK
Although there are some stellar burgers in the UK – especially in the capital – you don’t need to love them to eat well here in the UK. We’ve uncovered some secret foodie locations that you might not have thought of, and we have lists of the best restaurants in the country, as well as our picks for the most romantic places to eat in Britain.
ICYMI: Inside Restaurant Sat Bains, the Nottingham establishment crowned the UK’s best restaurant for 2025.
Plus: The UK’s 13 best artisan bakeries have been crowned for 2025.
We ate at the UK’s ‘best’ gastropub – here’s what it was really like.
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