-
-
10. Joe Allen
-
9. Electric Diner
-
8. Lucky Chip
-
7. Hawksmoor
-
6. CUT at 45 Park Lane
-
5. Honest Burgers
-
4. Patty & Bun
-
3. Elliot's
-
2. Goodman
-
1. Bar Boulud
-
-
10. Joe Allen
-
9. Electric Diner
-
8. Lucky Chip
-
7. Hawksmoor
-
6. CUT at 45 Park Lane
-
5. Honest Burgers
-
4. Patty & Bun
-
3. Elliot's
-
2. Goodman
-
1. Bar Boulud
Go ahead, salivate, that’s the carnivore’s natural response to my list of the top 10 burgers in London. But, please, if my voluptuous burger snaps lead you to envy my adventures as a burger taster, think again.
The quality of burgers may be improving, but getting them cooked as ordered is a crapshoot, even from the burger elite: Of the combined 38 burgers I’ve tried at the top tenners featured below a good third were either overcooked or, more rarely, undercooked. A few might have been overcooked by design in response to concerns expressed most vocally by Westminster Council linking increased risk of E. coli infection with rare and medium-rare burgers.
Exhaustive as my investigation was, not just of the top 10 burgers but also of many that didn’t make the cut, the sampling was ultimately too small to be statistically significant: I can’t predict with any certainly the likelihood of your getting a burger cooked the way you want it. Most of these kitchens have good days and off days. The ranking is based solely on my days, my first-hand experiences, my luck.
With many ways to judge a burger it’s too bad you can’t click a relevance tab to arrange this list according to the factors which matter to you most: burger style (joint, diner, pub, steak), patty (size, shape, density), meat (grade, cut, fat content, grind), quality and assortment of toppings, cooking method, consistency of preparation, value for money, construction, inventiveness, level of obscene drippiness.
Absent a re-sorting mechanism I’ve resorted to taking into account all these factors, chief amongst them consistency: Had I rated the top 10 burgers at the top of their form and not according to past performances the ranking order would look very different. One burger not on the list, from Burger & Lobster, would be in the top 5 had recent standards of preparation matched its ambitions and £20 price.
In the end I relied most on a single consideration: pleasure. My top 10 burgers in London are the ones I’d most want to eat.
The Top 10 Burgers in London
10. Joe Allen
Imagine the name of Orson Welles missing from the credits of The Third Man and you can begin to appreciate one’s astonishment at not finding the Joe Allen burger anywhere on the restaurant’s menu. The cross-charred burger, like Welles, may not be the star of this production, but once it makes an appearance atop that house-baked brioche bun, cloaked in melted Monterey Jack, its commanding presence looms in your consciousness. Befitting its unlisted address in a discreet West End celebrity haunt, the burger is a performer of measured stature: big but not obscenely so, lean but not dry, tender but not mushy. When the London Burger Hall of Fame is built the Joe Allen off-menu burger – the West End’s best worse-kept secret – must be its first inductee. £8.50 not including chips.
13 Exeter Street, WC2E 7DT
9. Electric Diner
A “single” cheeseburger contains two patties at Electric Diner as well as at Au Cheval, the Chicago diner that inspired it. Eat one and you’ll know why. Its toasted glazed bun, a beauty if ever there was one, stabbed and steadied in the back with a steak knife prior to delivery. The soft three-ounce patties, expertly fried on a chrome flattop griddle, are deep-pink throughout, their crevices oozing red globules of fatty juice. With gooey Monterey Jack, Dijon mayo and dill pickle chips as their mortar the twin patties are as one. Single cheeseburger indeed. £10, not including fries.
191 Portobello Rd., W11 2ED
8. Lucky Chip
Is it finally time to draw a line in the salt? The hot-off-the-truck burgers from Lucky Chip get their kick – and we’re talking a Steven Gerrard kick – from the Murray Hill Australian sea salt encrusting its patties. As difficult as it is to put these fabulously middleweights down, figuratively and, yes, literally, the heavy-handed salting has gone over the top, literally and, yes, figuratively. There’s no disputing the appeal of the patties, with their desirably rough contours and fat-soaked crevices. When cooked right the buzz you get from the first bite is so great you can almost feel your ears ringing. The smoked back bacon, however, can border on chewy, occasionally with tiny hard white bits, possibly cartilage. Lucky Chip is in residence at the Sebright Arms pub every night except Sunday. On Saturdays you’ve find the guys parked at the original Netil Market location from 12:30pm to 9pm. £6.50-£16 not including fries.
Lucky Chip at Sebright Arms, 31-35 Coate Street, E2 9AG
Lucky Chip at Netil Market, 13-23 Westgate Street, London Fields, E8 3RL
7. Hawksmoor
There are two pairs of hands you want to see around this big and deceptively powerful burger: yours or Hawksmoor‘s. Others have tried to duplicate the lush mince mix, which is said to include bone marrow and obscure cuts like beef shoulder clod, but these imposters have left me and their burgers crushed. Fat fills the grooves within the Hawksmoor burger as it cooks, basting its internal structure with deep, beefy flavours. The wet patty rests over an untidy raft of lettuce interruptus. Squeeze the burger too firmly or not firmly enough, I’m never sure which, and the patty will slide out from its housing, greasing your hands and breaching the bottom of the bun even before you’ve taken your first bite. But, oh my, what a first bite! Danger. Implosion. It’s all there, except, in recent instances, any significant char on the surface of a patty cooked to medium rare. £15 including chips.
Hawksmoor Spitalfields – 157 Commercial Street, E1 6BJ
Hawksmoor Seven Dials – 11 Langley Street, WC2H 9JG
Hawksmoor Guildhall - 10/12 Basinghall St, EC2V 5BQ
6. CUT at 45 Park Lane
Ask £22 (roughly $34) for a not very large burger and you must include at least one luxury add-on: foie gras, black truffles, gold leaf onion rings. A selection of three mustards, however impressive, won’t cut it. At CUT you’re ostensibly paying Beverly Hills prices for the beef, a hybrid of Australian wagyu and black angus; the name, chef Wolfgang Puck; and the address, a Dorchester Collection Hotel in Mayfair. The sumptuous, softly packed, deep-pink patty is anointed with garlic aioli (fab), melted Ogleshield cheese, caramelised red onion and a shallot-jalapeno marmalade that’s London’s finest burger condiment. The air bubbles in a bun densely dotted with poppy and sesame seeds is ideal for compression. When gently queezed between your fingers the bread closes in on one juicy, beefy, beautifully constructed burger. £22 including fries.
45 Park Lane, W1K 1PN
5. Honest Burgers
In a makeshift burger luncheonette in Brixton Village Market built with hammer and nails, Tom Barton and his able sidekicks stick to the fundamentals. They form 5 1/4 ounces (150 gr) of coarse, fatty mince into marbled beef balls and flatten them with their hands (not spatula) on their sizzling flat-top griddle. Only then are the burgers seasoned top and bottom with coarse salt. The crunch of the Honest, their best daily burger variety burger, comes from the level layers (important) of sliced homemade gherkins and crisp streaky bacon; its tang, from griddle-steamed Cheddar; its sweetness, from red onion relish; its oven-browned polish, from a brushed white-flour bun; its juice, from marbled meat put through the most minimal of workouts. Burgers are not like boxers: If you want to develop a middleweight champion, as Honest has done, you mustn’t overwork ‘em. £7.50-£9 including chips.
Honest Burgers Brixton – Unit 12, Brixton Village, SW9 8PR
Honest Burgers Soho – 4A Meard Street – W1F 0EF
4. Patty & Bun
A burger bun is a handle protecting our hands from drippy greasy, cheese and condiments. Patty & Bun‘s Joe Grossman did not get that memo. His burgers are not so much over-the-top as all over the place: Open the wrapper and you can’t tell where the orange cheesy stuff ends and the runny orange house sauce begins. Beneath the radioactive goo is an appealingly plump, deep-pink, hand-packed patty just shy of six ounces but not shy of fatty juices. It’s a genre bender, successfully combining classic elements of both joint burgers and steak burgers. Grossman has named burgers after Ari Gold and Smokey Robinson but for me a more voluminous luminary comes to mind, Oliver Hardy. “Well,” you’ll be telling Grossman as you unwrap yet another Ari or Smokey and lick mayonnaise off your fingers, “here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into!”. £7-8.
54 James Street, W1U 1HE
3.Elliot’s.
With beer-braised onions, aged Comté melted as if for a gratinée and bread overhead, Elliot’s burger is outfitted in the manner of French onion soup. The accoutrements enhance but do not smother each 160-gram mound of aged, coarsely minced beef shin and rib cap from Borough Market neighbour The Ginger Pig. (The cheese is from another Borough Market trader, The French Comté.) The plump patty is smartly shaped for height at the expense of diameter. Its shape and fit over a house-baked linseed brioche bun brushed on its cut sides with acidulated dill butter is in the Bar Boulud mould, whereas the meat’s beefy creaminess belongs to the Hawksmoor school. My only beef with the burger is that it’s only available at lunch. £12.50 including chips.
12 Stoney Street, SE1 9AD
2. Goodman
The caramelised crust of what is essentially a charred chopped steak glistens beneath the custom-fitted brioche dome that crowns the Goodman steakhouse burger. The bun’s top half teeters over molten Cheddar and crisp, easy-to-chew streaky bacon, beckoning you to close shut the sandwich with your hands and devour it. But you will need to stretch the C-shaped brackets formed between thumbs and index fingers to make a go of it. The coarse texture of the patty is firm but not dense, making it a joy to break down the beefy, juicy goodness in your mouth. To capture the benefits of pre-salting the ground beef without breaking down its proteins and suffering the sticky consequences Goodman substitutes salty fish sauce for salt. The swap is usually successful: Blasted in the Josper Grill the Goodman medium-rare burger is a study in pink on pink . £15 including chips or fries.
Goodman Mayfair – 26 Maddox Street, W1S 1QH
Goodman City – 11 Old Jewry, EC2R 8DU
Goodman Canary Wharf – 3 South Quay, Discovery Dock East, E14 9RU
1. Bar Boulud
Some vertical burgers are larger but none is more stable or stylish than Boulud’s: Its patty sits snugly beneath a thick layer of toppings inside the domed bun. It’s as if the bun’s bottom half had a contoured seat, like an Eames moulded side chair. Coarse mince, best for improving inner texture and expanding surface area, is hand-packed into chubby patties most would want to flatten out further. Not the Boulud chefs, who are right in their depth, not out of it. Order one medium rare and it comes to you with charred shell, pink interior, no grey fringes. The burger gives easily to the gentlest of finger squeezes, first lubricating the bun and fixings and then your mouth with juices. The Frenchie, with melty Morbier, Dijon mustard and pork belly confit, is a splendid Gallic riff on a bacon cheeseburger. Even better is the Piggie, which transforms Bar Boulud into Bar Becue with its layers of red cabbage slaw, japapeno and pulled pork. But it’s the lavish BB, as in Best Burger, that halts conversation: Something monumental happens when the succulent braised short ribs, foie gras, horseradish mayo, crisp fried shallots, red onion confiture, black onion seed brioche and patty are crushed between your teeth. £11.75-£20 not including frites.
66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA
About Daniel
beautiful post – beautiful pictures. I am not sure I will survive much longer without savoring one of your recommended burgers. *sigh*
A fine list looking and one which I’ve eaten nowhere near enough of.
Great list, Daniel! I agree that, since Eastside Inn has closed, Bar Boulud is no 1 – but your nos. 2 and 3 follow closely on its heels. Did you ever try the Eastside Inn burger (it was only on their bar menu which became available only shortly before they closed). It was my former number 1. I look forward to trying Malmaison’s burger soon. The photos are complete burger porn.
Ah, a new years resolution – must eat at all of those in 2011! I’ve only got 4 of them under my (ever-expanding) belt.
This has made me pine for the Bella Burger at the Strong Rooms off Curtain Road, which used to be my Friday lunchtime special treat.
Greedy – I read your post praising the Eastside Inn burger but sadly didn’t get there in time.
OMG this post is utter food sluttery haha, pool under my mouth just looking at them haha.
I loved the last Byron bugger i had, cant wait to try Bar Boulud next month when im back in London
. very good post.
Great list Dan
I would not include BB as number 1 in the top 10 unless it was the NYC version as found the core of the burger i.e. the patty totally bland – however I agree the execution and accoutrements are unsurpassed. This burger is like Cheryl Cole beautifully presented but no voice.
The beauty of Goodman is that it is ground in the kitchen from a variety of cuts from top class USDA Omaha , O’Shea’s of Knightsbridge , Belted Galloway or Devon Red beef and the blend always different depending on what they have used that day.
Hawksmoor and BBR also use top quality beef and for that reason along with Goodman would have to put those in my top 3.
The rest mainly use commodity beef and whilst all are perfectly good by London standards we should maybe think about three lists Joint , Mid range and Premium . The questions is are there 10 of each ?
Here is my recategorised list
Joint
1. Meatwagon
2. Byron
3. Hache
Mid Range
1. Rivington
2. Malmaison
3. Joe Allen
Premium
1. Goodman/ Hawksmoor
2. BBR
3. BB
Dino – Greatly respect your views, as always, but puzzled as to why you listed Goodman and Hawksmoor on the same line atop your “premium” category. Of the two, which do you rate more highly?
I thought the American Bar at the Stafford was up there, (in terms of quality, if at the high end price wise) Once I have staggered through this great list I will know though. From memory Joe Allen is a great burger and a good late night spot if you can find it!
Nic – Tried the burger at Stafford’s American Bar this August and was disappointed. Impressive for its girth and presentation, the burger was nonetheless too hard and compact. They were, however, in the midst of a chef change so your experience(s) might have been different than mine. I need my iPhone GPS to pinpoint location of Joe Allen and even then I get lost.
Oh that’s a good post. Seven burgers in there that I still need to try before I die. Good to see Joe Allen made the cut. And the Lib Dems have a minor position in power too I see.
Seb – Joe Allen ranks near the top for diner’s value and at the bottom for diner’s leg room.
Oh my goodness, that is total an utter food porn. It should come with a NSFW warning!! The drip in front of the big slab-o-meat on the Hawksmoor one gets my vote. I’ve yet to try it but I have heard nothing but amazing things about them.
Great list, I can’t wait to try Bar Boulud’s burgers. Two other favourite burgers of mine are at Dollar Grill in Exmouth Market and Tom’s Kitchen in Chelsea.
Wow. These pictures are turning me on. I’ve been looking for the best burger in London but apart from Byron the others are still alluding me. Actually I think the Meatwagon (which I’ll soon try at the Florence) one looks the best, the Bar Boulud one looks a bit sicky for me. I’m going to Hawksmoor and Goodman soon but not sure whether to try the burger or the steak first? Actually FIRST I need to lose some weight from eating all these burgers. Sigh…
Sasha x
Mmm-mmmm. That is a tasty burger. Daniel, ever have a Big Kahuna Burger?
Matt – No, I’ve not had that pleasure. Have you? Which location?
I’ve just got back from New York where I had two of the most amazing burgers of my life and I’m keen to find a decent fix here in London. Thanks very much for this list, I will be trying as many as I can. Have you tried the burger at the Boisdale (near Victoria station, superior to the Bishopsgate branch) though? It’s only on the bar menu I think but it’s well, well worth it. Particularly if you get the truffle mayo on top…
V – Must try Boisdale burger. Thanks for the tip. Where in New York did you have those two great burgers?
I went to Hawksmoor based on this recommendation and was incredibly disappointed. I ordered the Kimchi burger and my brother the regular cheeseburger. Both of us had the same comment – tasteless. There seemed to be no seasoning in the meat. And my patty was overly charred. Fair enough I will give you it’s moist and succulent, but the only thing giving my burger flavour was the kimchi.
I also ordered the bone marrow with slow cooked onions. Again, burnt onions and brunt toast. And no salt on the bone marrow! I’m not a huge fan of salt (I never add salt to food that comes to the table) but this had me reaching for that salt mill. Do not see myself going back at all.
Just tried the Bar Boulud burgers.
The bun is freshly baked and the meat is of good quality and well-cooked.
However, the sauce is almost absent and the overall dish is very salty. Will go on working that list but will start from the bottom; upscale places are usually bad at providing simple good food.
The best for me is found at Broadway farmers market Hackney & Tootsies .
Sorry, I’ve only just seen your response to my original post last month. The two great burgers we had in New York were at Shake Shack (366 Columbus Avenue at 77th Street, but there are others) and the funny, hidden diner behind the lobby of the Parker Meridien hotel. I think the key, apart from the excellent quality patty cooked to perfection, is the almost brioche-like burger bun that New Yorkers favour. I wish restaurants here would realise that ciabatta or any kind of ‘fancy’ bread just doesn’t work, particularly if toasted. The bun needs to be soft, squidgy, and delicious!
We tried Bob Bob Ricard last night in our quest for the ultimate London burger: a wonderful experience in a beautiful setting, but my burger was overcooked. This is another thing that grates – when restaurants claim they have to cook the burger all the way through because of “health and safety issues”. If they mince the steak themselves, this shouldn’t even be an issue surely…?
Daniel,
Great list, I need to try Bar Boulud, Goodman, and Brasserie Malmaison… Hawksmoor is my favorite by far, I went to Joe Allen and the burger was extremely disappointing, probably the chef had a bad day… Byron in my opinion is over rated, the only time I accept an invitation to go there is in February to have the Big D the rest of the year not good enough…
Meat Wagon is excellent however is absurd to wait two hours to order the burger and the another two to get it….
The last one I tired was the Mini Iberico Pork and Foie Gras burger at Opera Tavern in Covent Garden, excellent I highly recommend it, but is a tapa burger so you should order two otherwise you will be wanting more….
New York I recommend Minetta Tavern, nothing like the Black Label burger….
I’ve tried the Piggy burger at Boulud. Highly recommended, even by the company who bring you the Mal burger. Thanks for putting us in the charts. Good to see in a city where dining is everything, the humble burger is still mighty. We’ve just opened a Bistro du Vin, our first in London on Clerkenwell, we do a burger there. We’ve been experimenting with textures and flavours for it. We’d welcome you give it the once over. Thanks again Gary
Thanks, Gary. I’ll be sure to check out your Bistro du Vin burger asap.
Burger dilemma, courtesy of Jonathon Safran Foer (2009) ‘Eating Animals’ p74
Very often, those who express concern about (or even an interest in) the conditions in which farm animals are raised are disregarded as sentimentalists.
Two friends are ordering lunch. One says: “I’m in the mood for a burger,” and orders it. The other says “I’m in the mood for a burger,” but remembers that there are things more important to him than what he is in the mood for at any given moment, and orders something else [presumably not the product of the cruel torture of animals].
Who is the sentimentalist?
Enjoy!
Gary – I was in for the Bistro du Vin burger last night. Exceptional. It is a very strong candidate for this list. Thanks for reco.
Daniel,
I see you’ve swapped Bistro du Vin in at No 8 and removed Hache. A little odd to me – shouldn’t there be an update notice? And was Hache really the 10th best all along, that you’d add Bistro du Vin and leave Byron/Bob Bob on?
Incidentally, I’m a Texan living in London and am “counting down” your list whenever I get homesick: Byron falls into the “okay for England” category, Hache was very enjoyable, but the best burger I’ve had in England yet was out in Wendover, Buc’shire, at a pub called the Village Gate. Burger night is Thursday night. Obviously the 45 minute train journey excludes it from this list, but if you ever need a Thursday getaway, the Village Gate had stuff that made this Yank feel fat and happy.
This list isn’t right. Christopher’s Grill on Wellington street, Covent Garden needs to be somewhere near the top. Shame on you Daniel, you’ve neglected a burger that i’ve staked my reputation on many a time.
Great list, but I especially like what you were able to put into words, concerning Byron’s – something I felt but could not express: “Byron is very easy to like and a little bit hard to love”.
By the way, Hawksmoor is #1 on my list, but then, I haven’t tried Bar Boulud. That’s going to be next on my list – thanks for the tip!
Excellent list of suggestions, I think I prefer Goodman’s burger to Hawksmoor’s but they’re very close. Yet to try Boulud and the Meatwagon. Also I would rate Hache above Byron (and maybe the burger at the Diner come to think of it).
But in my top 5 I would include the burger at the Duke of Wellington in Marylebone.
http://www.thedukew1.co.uk/menus/barmenu.pdf
At £16.25 (including chips) it’s one of the most expensive ones on the list but in my opinion it’s worth it. The barbecued pulled pork addition is a great idea.
Great list!
One to investigate. In a moment of desperation whilst stranded in Marlyebone station we discovered that the burger at Sports Bar & Grill — also in Farringdon — betrays the somewhat quotidian surroundings.
Juicy, soft but reliably meaty burger on a (controversial) ciabatta bun. It’s not the finest by any means, but a good back up…
Chips on the other hand? a bit hit and miss.
I agree with Alex – in fact I had to check that it wasn’t me who posted it. Being a bit price conscious I also like the fact that the Goodmans one is cheaper than Hawksmoor despite having everything included in the price.
Glad to see that Byron made your list. I somewhat disagree though on your thoughts on it – for a chain establishment, I think it does a fantastic job at making each restaurant different to its others, plus it has excellent staff.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jason. You’re right, Byron does a good job of making each location decoratively distinctive. However, I’ve been to the Islington Byron recently and stand by my comments.
Love this burger ranking. Must go to bar Boulud and Mal.
But I’d rank Black and Blue over Byron. It’s a bit soggier, and the chips could be better, but I do find the burger done properly always. I’ve had hit-n-miss experiences at Byron.
Ooh and The Commander off Westbourne Grove is deffo in my top 3. The bun is a fluffy brioche type thing and not soggy, and the burger juices seep out only once bitten into. aaah.
i’ve had one experience with the Black and Blue burger at the Gloucester Road location and was very disappointed. Dry and drab. Must try The Commander, however. Thanks for tip.
Daniel,
Just been to Bar B-as a taste test definitely well up there but I have to say my initial reaction was where is the rest of it?
I did have great burger at the Draught/Drafthouse near borough a few months ago. Good selection of American craft beers as well.
My friend, also an afficiondo rates the Broadway market burger.
Peace
Muhunthan
Daniel
Have you tried Lucky Seven on Westbourne Grove? They would definitely go top five in your list, I think.
Matt
I still have dreams over my Meatwagon# burger, to the point where I have become obsessed with tracking them down to see where the next location will be… it has proved very tricky so far, since they moved out of their semi-temporary location at New Cross…
In the interim, we are satisfying our carnivorous cravings through regular trips to Hawksmoor in Spitalfields on Sundays….
My partner is American and a very harsh judge of what constitutes a “proper burger” here… happy to report that Hawksmoor has passed the test with flying colours!
The only thing left now is to convince him that paying £15 for a burger+chips is not unreasonable (for central London *ahem*)
Matt – How recently have you stopped by Lucky Seven for a burger? I was there this week and the burger wasn’t very good at all. The fries were criminal.
Hi Daniel,
Great list. I have tried Hawskmoor and Goodman’s burgers, both really good and I can not wait for my visit this weekend to Bar Boloud but personally I would rank Haché on top of Byrons if we talk about meat quality and consistency, have you tried them?
Vanesa – Since you are comparing Haché and Byron on the basis of consistency I will assume you’ve been to both several times. I’ve only been to Haché’s Camden restaurant three times. I’ve had two very good experiences and one so-so experience.
Really?! Its been a while to be fair – probably 6 months since I was last there. I’ll have to re-visit.
Most of these burgers look revolting, and I’m a big burger fan.
Think you’re missing the point with burgers somehow.
Nils – Out of curiosity, which of the illustrated burgers did you NOT find revolting?
As a burger fan I am delighted to find this site. One of my faves is the Electric’s house burger (Portobello Road). Consistently tasty and convincing, and £10 with fries.
Looking forward to trying out the list. As for Lucky 7 – don’t bother with their measly effort. The Elgin pub on the corner of Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park Road is worth a try and they will cook it how you want it…
Have you ever tried The Gun pub in docklands? Their juicy beef shin burger with Keen’s cheddar is far, far better than Byron in my opinion, and therefore probably deserves to be on this list.
…I haven’t tried the burgers at the other places yet, but can’t wait to get stuck in – can’t believe I’ve been to the top 3 several times and missed the burgers every time!