Where To Find the Best Burgers In Philadelphia

Satisfy your carnivore craving with some of the best hamburgers in the city

In Philadelphia, the variety of mouthwatering burgers is astounding.

From the foie gras-topped hamburger at Village Whiskey to burgers made with handmade toppings at the city’s best gastropubs to the beautifully updated fast casual versions, Philadelphia’s corner pubs and restaurants create burgers that satisfy all cravings and budgets.

Plus, there are even versions for burger lovers avoiding wheat, meat or otherwise.

Read on for our guide to the city’s best offerings to satisfy any burger craving.

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Rittenhouse Square and Midtown Village

Village Whiskey

Jose Garces’ Center City whiskey bar offers some of the city's best burgers including the half-pound Whiskey King Burger, topped with maple bourbon glazed cippolini onions, Rogue bleu cheese, applewood-smoked bacon, and foie gras, would be difficult to outdo. Looking for something lighter? Opt for the Village Burger with house-made thousand island dressing and bibb lettuce instead. And don't miss the restaurant's ever-changing burger of the month.

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Rouge

Known for power-lunching and people-watching, Rouge is an American bistro overlooking Rittenhouse Square. Its burger is cooked on a challah bun and topped with caramelized onions and gruyere. Late night? Go for the brunch burger instead. It’s stuffed with fontina and topped with bacon onion jam and a sunny-side-up egg.

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Shake Shack

Yes, Shake Shack is a New York-based chain, but we can’t help but love the flawless execution of the classic fast food-style burgers they bring to town. On the menu: hormone- and antibiotic-free Angus beef burgers, frozen custard “concretes” and flat top-griddled hot dogs. Yum.

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Pub and Kitchen

As the name implies, this much-loved spot operates as both a neighborhood pub and a cozy restaurant from brunch until late into the evening. The burger — a stack of beef patties, English cheddar and house-cured bacon on an onion roll — is elegantly executed and so tall that it arrives skewered to help it stand up.

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The Dandelion

This charming British pub offers a stately, delicious burger. The meat itself is dry aged beef, ground and blended in-house, and it’s served with Brooklyn Brine pickles and applewood smoked bacon. Naturally, it’s topped off with a proper cheddar, this one from Vermont. Their proprietary churchill sauce, a mysterious blend of at least 12 ingredients, is the finishing touch.

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Good Dog

You’ll want to sit and stay to enjoy The Good Dog Burger, generously stuffed with oozing roquefort cheese and topped with caramelized onions. Alternately, the veggie burger and traditional burger at this cozy bar, each customizable to your preference, don’t slouch either. Their signature blend of hand-cut kennebec and sweet potato fries seals the deal.

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Hunger Burger

Choose from Hunger Burger’s menu of inventive turkey and angus beef burgers (or their available-until-noon array of breakfast burgers) and you’ll not only feed yourself, but you'll also contribute to feeding someone else. The burger stand in the historic Reading Terminal Market contributes a portion of sales each year to hunger relief organizations.

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SouthGate

The bulgogi burger from Korean-inspired pub SouthGate was Philadelphia magazine’s 2016 pick for the best burger in town, and it’s easy to see why. It combines all of the irresistible flavors and textures of Korean barbecue-marinated beef, green leaf lettuce, scallion salad into a luscious burger topped with pickles and spicy, savory saamjang mayo.

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Hip City Veg

When Nicole Marquis opened HipCityVeg, it was on the hunch that even those sticking to a plant-based diet occasionally crave a big, juicy sandwich. HipCityVeg’s burger, called the Ziggy, is made with organic smoked tempeh and special sauce.

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Bud & Marilyn's

Bud & Marilyn’s is classic Americana reimagined in a restaurant of midcentury design perfection. Naturally, Bud’s Double Patty Burgerburger, named for Chef-owner Marcie Turney’s grandfather, doesn’t sway too far from the classic. Yellow cheddar, Neuske’s bacon, red onion, pickles, lettuce and “fancy sauce” make this one, toothpicked with an American flag, a winner.

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Butcher & Singer

This Center City steakhouse knows red meat, and their burger, topped with English cheddar and fried onions, shows it. It’s only on the menu at lunchtime, but as a midday splurge amidst the restaurant’s Old Hollywood decor, it fits the bill whether paired with a martini or not.

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Bare Burger

Build-your-own is the name of the game at Bare Burger, which offers hungry burger lovers the chance to customize everything — patty, bun, cheese, bacon, veggies, sauce and spread. Or pick from more than a dozen other burger options on the menu, including ones made with elk, wild boar and bison.

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Northern Liberties and Fishtown

Standard Tap

This two-story Northern Liberties bar was at the forefront of Philadelphia’s craft beer renaissance, setting the gold standard for bars driven by menus of great local beer all over town. There’s no better match to a local draft than the Standard Burger, topped with Monterey Jack and slices of pickled green tomato and accompanied by a haystack of house-made skinny fries.

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Kensington Quarters

The first establishment of its kind in Philadelphia, Kensington Quarters is a bar and restaurant anchored by a full-service butcher counter at its heart. Naturally, they turn out a handsome burger made from local, pasture-raised beef. It’s incredibly umami rich, served topped with raw milk cheddar and garlic-chili aioli on a sesame seeded brioche bun.

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Sketch Burger

Sketch does does burgers really well. Whether beef, kobe, turkey, veggie, or the delicious smashed onion burger, all are customizable with your choice of sauces and toppings. Get fancy with their Truffle Butter Burger, or make your burger part a balanced breakfast by choosing the Cyclops, a burger with bacon, egg, and cheese.

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Old City

Khyber Pass Pub

Pair a delicious craft beer with the Khyber Pass Pub's burger, made of Angus beef, bacon, barbecued onions, smoked cheddar and creole mustard. It’s completely worth every napkin you’ll need to eat it.

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Fairmount and Brewerytown

Spot Burgers

This burger spot started out as a bright yellow food truck serving crowds of Drexel students a steady array of ground-sirloin burgers, cheesesteaks, and roast pork loin sandwiches. Recently, they also added a bright yellow Brewerytown storefront. Chef-owner Josh Kim has seemingly endless burger inspiration, so you can’t go wrong regardless of the burger you choose.

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Alla Spina

A double-decker burger with special sauce, pickles and cheddar, The Burgamo is what Italian gastropub Alla Spina has dubbed their mainstay burger. Another not-to-miss burger: the Carbonara Burger with fried egg, guanciale, and black pepper pecorino. Alla Spina’s approach to pub food is simultaneously playful and legit, meaning that you can frame a great burger with a Negroni on draft — then end your meal with a house-made choco taco.

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Graduate Hospital, South Philly and Beyond

Grace Tavern

Dark and tin-ceilinged, Grace Tavern has been griddling up a handsome burger forever. Though the bar’s selection of burgers certainly hold their own, it’s a fair fight between them and Grace’s house cut fries or blackened green beans. Thankfully, both are available as sides.

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Rex 1516

Chef Justin Swain doesn’t make just one great burger — he makes one great burger every day. Then he snaps photos of them and posts them to his Instagram page, an endless parade of burger beauties. Recently, the “Show Me the Mornay” burger was topped with roasted onions and mushrooms, frisee, and — you guessed it — Mornay cheese sauce.

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P’unk Burger

This causal spot on trendy East Passyunk Avenue takes burgers seriously. Pick your patty from their selection of offerings (beef, turkey, chicken, ahi tuna, lamb, veggie or grilled portobello) and then choose from a staggering array of cheeses, sauces, and toppings. P’unk Burger also takes special care to offer plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.

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Fountain Porter

Go to Fountain Porter for their expansive selection of craft beers as well as their no-frills burger. A cult favorite around town, it’s a modestly-sized patty on a potato roll with a leaf of lettuce and one slice each of cheese and tomato. Best of all? It’s just $5, with a side of fries for $3 more, which leaves more money for more craft beer.

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Royal Tavern

Some bars will grill a burger with a pick-your-own array of toppings, but Royal Tavern has chosen for you — and their choices are good ones. Angus beef, caramelized onions, smoked Gouda, pickled longhot peppers, Chile mayo and bacon. You can’t go wrong.

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South Philadelphia Tap Room

This beloved neighborhood pub, complete with booths framed by repurposed church pews, puts up a casual, consistent menu of bar food favorites. Their burger, topped with smoked cheddar and secret sauce, is made entirely from local Rineer Family Farm’s grass-fed beef, and it’s as juicy and delicious as any in town.

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Lo Spiedo

The name of Marc Vetri’s Lo Spiedo refers to meat spit roasted over an open fire. So it should come as no surprise that the restaurant’s burger is excellent. A seeded potato roll, lettuce, tomato, and American cheese all come standard, and it's your choice to top it off with grilled onions or house-cured bacon. Even so, the star in this burger is the patty itself, made from juicy, full-flavored beef brisket.

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The Blue Duck

Named Beast of the Northeast, the burger at the Blue Duck in Northeast Philadelphia is a combination of beef and wild boar with smoked Gouda, sweet tomato jam, bacon and crispy Sriracha onions. It’s a bold burger making as big a statement as The Blue Duck itself, an ambitious BYOB off the beaten path.

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Beefsteak

Veggies take the spotlight at Beefsteak, a fast casual spot from Spanish-born chef Jose Andres on the campus of University of Pennsylvania in University City. Order the Beefsteak Burger and look forward to a big slice of beefsteak tomato, pickled red onions, herb mayo and more on a brioche bun courtesy of Philly Bread.

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Local 44

One of the premier craft beer spots in West Philadelphia also serves up a couple delicious burgers. The 44 Cheeseburger comes with house-made American cheese while the Red Beet Burger includes white beans, lentils, pickled onions, lettuce and ranch dressing.

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