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.
Finding consistently great burger spots in London has proven to be a punishing quest. The “eureka!” moments are few; the “you’re kidding!” failures, many. All too often the beef is ground too finely, seasoned too early, packed too tightly or cooked too long. British chefs both famous and obscure mix egg and bread crumbs into their patties, yielding mealy or mushy mounds. Come on guys, this is how you prepare meatball and meatloaf sandwiches, not burgers.
My frustration inspired me to curate my own London burger show, inviting accomplished chefs from the UK and abroad to create exceptional burgers for my BurgerMonday spop-up dinners.
Others are getting the message, too. The quality of the burgers on this London top 10 list is steadily improving, so much so that I would not regard any restaurant’s ranking as secure. There are several true beauties here but none qualifies as an “end of ” burger, as in “end of story” – “it can’t get better”. Sorry, it can get better and it will get better. London is only at the “beginning of” stage when it comes to high-impact burgers.
As much as burgers may vary according to genre, composition, price, presentation and personal preferences the best ones are invariably untidy, implosive handfuls you shouldn’t eat without a stack of paper napkins – or a duvet-sized cloth one – at the ready. All the burgers on my top 10 list share this most coveted of burger attributes.
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 a tad firm but not dense, making it a joy to break down the beefy, juicy goodness in your mouth. With medium rare burgers blasted in a Josper Grill Goodman used to produce graduated shades of greyish rose rather than deep pink with shades of red. No more. Partly by seasoning the patties with salty fish sauce rather than salt its interior is now a study in pink on pink – London’s best burger. £13 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
Custom accessories may distinguish Bar Boulud‘s Yankee, Frenchie and Piggie, but it’sthe matching of two round body shapes – the ground beef patty and the the bun – that gets admiring looks. You’d have to go to Saville Row to find a better fit. Coarse mince, best for improving inner texture and expanding surface area, is softly packed by hand into chubby little patties most would want to flatten out further. The Boulud grillmen, however, are right in their depth, not out of it. Order one medium rare and you get a New York medium rare: beneath the charred shell the beef is pink throughout. No grey fringes. The beef sits snugly beneath a thick layer of toppings inside the domed bun. It’s as if the bottom of the bun has a contoured seat, like an Eames chair. The burger, a tad under-seasoned or under-somethinged, gives easily to the gentlest of finger squeezes, first lubricating the bun and fixings and then your mouth with fatty juices. The Frenchie, with melty Morbier and thin slices of pork belly confit, is a splendid Gallic riff on a bacon cheeseburger, but it’s the Piggie burger, topped with red cabbage slaw and BBQ pulled pork, that is Boulud’s best. The £11.75-12.75, not including frites.
66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA
Years ago outsiders flocked to The Cod, as this Chelsea pub is known, to see what the Sloane Rangers who gathered there were wearing. These days they go to see how the burgers are dressed. Chef Fred Smith lays his flat, firm-but-crumbly, fat-glistening patties over what I call iceberg slaw – shredded iceberg lettuce in a Dijon mayo dressing. This ingenious solution to the unwieldy lettuce issue was partly inspired by Heston Blumenthal and is also employed by David Myers for his acclaimed burger at the Los Angeles brasserie Comme Ça. The Cod burger, an 8-ounce blend of rib cap, chuck and fat trimmings from O’Shea’s of Knightsbridge (with extra bits sometimes thrown in) squirts juice with every bite. Fortunately the grilled brioche bun from Millers Bespoke Bakery is up to the task. £15 including hand-cut chips. Iceberg slaw aside this burger, like New York’s classics, is all about the beef. There is no subterfuge. There is nowhere to hide.
17 Mossop Street, SW3 2LYI
There are only 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 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, both basting and breaking down its internal structure with deep, beefy flavours. The Hawksmoor burger patty sticks out the sides of its bun on an untidy raft of lettuce interruptus. Bad tailoring. Messy and squashed, the patty’s fatty juices grease your hands and breach the bottom of its bun even before you’ve taken your first bite. But, oh my, what a first bite! Danger. Implosion. It’s all there.
Hawksmoor Spitalfields – 157 Commercial Street, E1 6BJ
Hawksmoor Seven Dials – 11 Langley Street, WC2H 9JG
Hawksmoor Guildhall - 10/12 Basinghall St, EC2V 5BQ
The first taxable address registered to Yianni Papoutsis and Scott Collins, the co-conspirators behind the Meatwagon burger truck, sits at a shadowed site back side of Debenhams’ Oxford Street flagship. The Phil Spector of burger producers, Yianni spins spine-tingling, yellow-cheese-dripping compositions of Americana under the neon glow of twitter. The bacon cheeseburger leaks fatty juices from every crevice of its patty’s desirably crumbly periphery, lubricating the liberally seasoned surface for its bacon patty piggyback. There are black highlights on the crusty shell and pink ones through the medium-rare interior but you won’t see much of either at MEATliquor: This carnivorous funhouse of gothic surrealism is a dark ride dimly lit like a darkroom. Bacon cheeseburger is £7, not including fries (no great loss). Bring your night vision goggles.
corner of Henrietta & Welbeck Sts, W1G 0BA
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 burger, like Welles, may not be the star of this production, but once it makes an appearance atop that house-baked brioche bun its commanding presence looms in your consciousness. Befitting its unlisted address in a discreet West End celebrity haunt, the all-chuck burger is a performer of measured stature: big but not obscenely so, lean but not dry, tender but not mushy. £8.50 not including chips.
13 Exeter Street, WC2E 7DT
A makeshift burger luncheonette built with hammer and nails, Honest Burgers has stuck to the fundamentals to give Brixton Village a strong contender for middleweight burger champion of London. Look out, MEATliquor. Tom Barton and Philip Eeles 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 Honest burger’s crunch comes from the level layers (important) of sliced 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. £6.50-8, including chips.
Unit 12, Brixton Village, London SW9
As food trucks go Lucky Chip is more Parcel Force than FedEx, its deliberate, one-by-one griddling suspiciously Meatwagonesque. But the comparison stops with a shared weakness for molten yellow cheese. From their rough patty surface encrusted with Murray Hill Australian sea salt to their beefy pink core to their fat-soaked crevices Ben Campbell’s burgers are high-impact middleweights. They’re nearly impossible to put down, figuratively and literally. Once you get your hands on that soft, polished bun you don’t want to let go. Lucky Chip may jump back up the London burger charts its busy griddle cooks become more attuned with how their burgers cook and eat. The smoked back bacon, for example, can be chewy and gristly. For the winter Lucky Chip has pulled out of its parking place at Netl Market and into the Sebright Arms pub, where it is in seasonal residence, dispensing burgers Tues-Sat 6pm until “late”, Sun 1pm-6pm.
Sebright Arms, 31-35 Coate Street, E2 9AG
In ordinary circumstances a 35-percent burger with zero-percent beef would not qualify for this list. But maxi exceptions must be made for a mini burger when the pork mince comes from acorn-fed Ibérico pigs and the melty succulence is from a corn-fed duck. Its luxurious components notwithstanding, the surprise star of Opera Tavern‘s tapas-style Ibérico pork and foie gras burger is the humble red onion. It’s prepared two ways: as a relish for the cushioning and fried in the manner of floured onion rings for the crisp topping. Both the pink-centered patty and bun are branded with black stripes of smoke off the charcoal grill. £5.95, not including chips.
23 Catherine St, WC2
Can there really be nine burgers in London superior to the one served only for weekday lunches at Elliot’s? Probably not. I’ve inserted it in the 10 spot only because I’ve only tried it twice and the second, ordered medium rare, was a soft pancake of not so much rare as uncooked mince. Elliot’s must first prove to me some level of consistency before I can rank it any higher. This is nevertheless a meaty addition to the middleweight class, its 160 grams of aged, coarsely minced beef shin and rib cap from Borough Market neighbour The Ginger Pig shaped for height at the expense of diameter. The creamy beefiness is closest to the Hawksmoor burger, whereas the shape and fit over Elliot’s very own outstanding olive oil brioche buns is in the Bar Boulud mold. As for toppings the beef-braised onions and melted aged Comté from the superb Borough trader The French Comté, are able sparring partners. So what can be improved? A darker sear to give the burger more of a crust? A crisp or crunchy accessory for texture? No matter. If my third and fourth Elliot’s burgers are as good as my first this baby will fly up the charts. £10.50 including matchstick fries.
12 Stoney Street, SE1
About Daniel Young
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!