Burg-Burg-Burg, Burger's the Word. [London, England]

I love a good burger, and there are many to be had in London. To set a standard, my favorite burger of all time is probably the one at nopa in San Francisco–it’s the combination of excellent quality perfectly seasoned meat, housemade brioche bun, sparky pickled onion, and those fries…

Ah, back to the subject, burgers in London. For some reason, the ones I’ve really liked here have been more fast-food style.

  • Dirty Burger in Kentish Town (and elsewhere) makes a great, greasy fast-food style burger, wrapped in paper and dripping in sauce. When I had about a third of my burger left, the bun had basically disintegrated. I like the onion rings better than the crinkle-cut fries here.

  • MeatMarket in Covent Garden is part of the growing MeatLiquor empire. The menu is far more extensive than Dirty Burger’s short and sweet two or three item list and there is an equally impressive drinks menu. I had the “Dead Hippie” with French’s mustard, secret sauce, minced onion and two patties. DH had the Green Chili Cheeseburger, which was genuinely spicy-hot, much more so than expected (which we both liked).

Both MeatMarket and Dirty Burger are similar in their goal–producing a fast-food style burger–but I’d give MM the thumbs-up for more flavorful meat and a more creative menu.

Also tried Byron in Camden, which I didn’t like very much (not enough salt in the meat) and Hache, also in Camden, where the burger was fine but nothing special.

As the day grows shorter, I’m wondering if there are any particularly cozy pubs/restaurants with fabulous burgers in Central or slightly NW London? (Camden/Kentish Town/Tuffnell area). I would especially love to find a place, like nopa, that makes grassfed beef taste amazing.

I don’t live in London so trying all the burger places is a bit difficult, but my favorite so far was Patty & Bun near Oxford St. I only wish the restaurant was larger and seating not so limited and crowded.

Personally, after being here for years, I still stay away from steaks and roasts because they just don’t
have that taste I’m used to.

I haven’t been to MeatMarket but will give that a go.

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Another recommendation for Patty & Bun. I’ve only been to their outpost in the city, which is even harder to sit down in (it’s a tiny place), so have mainly had takeaway, which tends to make a filthy burger even filthier by the time you’ve unwrapped it. I’d stick to their Ari Gold burger - they always have a special on, but I regretted it the time I varied from the norm. A big slab of unrendered pork belly wasn’t a necessary addition.

For a more traditional burger (not quite as dirty), I quite like Honest Burger. They use aged Ginger Pig beef, which gives the meat a more prominent beefy flavour than I find in other burgers. They’ve expanded quite a bit and I think there’s one in Camden.

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Yes! The Ari Gold is delicious. The rosemary chips are also good.

This does meet any of your criteria as it’s in SE London and they have no permanent place but I’m a big fan of Mother Flipper. The use chuck steak and more importantly cheese slices, which for me makes a cheese burger.
More helpfully I noticed a new place on Camden High St, up near Moringtone Crescent tube called Band of Burgers. Not been as I no longer work in Camden but maybe worth investigating.

Another vote for Honest Burger - love the rosemary chips! I’ve always enjoyed Lucky Chip, but they are in Dalston, so not really central. The green chilli burger at Meatliquor is very good, but I don’t love it there for some reason.

Excellent! An Honest Burger is opening near us!