LDNGuide
The London Smashburger Power Rankings
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Stacked, stretch-your-jaw burgers are out, and crispy-edged thin patties in pillowy buns are in. The American-style burgers are popping up across the city more and more, and of course you need to know which to eat first. We’ve ranked the best smashburgers in London for the next time you’re craving one.
Check out our guide to the best burgers in London right now too.
THE SMASHBURGERS
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
#1
Ronald McDonald would approve of Bun & Sum’s smashburger take on the Big Mac. The pickles are thick and ridged, the cheese is perfectly melted, the patty is thin, and the all-important sauce is creamy, tangy, and slightly sweet. The industrial-looking kitchen is tucked away under one of the railway arches near Mile End, with a few oak wine barrels that double as makeshift tables to stand around and eat excellent smashburgers in three satisfying bites.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
#2
Before we get all nerdy over some pickles, you should know that Bake Street, near Clapton, only does their smashburger on the weekend. It’s also a cafe and closes at 4pm, but the burger is so good we’d have no problem starting our day with it. The memory foam-esque brioche bun holds the unbelievably soft and buttery meat. Plus the pickles are perfectly tangy and the fried shallots add an extremely welcome crunch. The whole thing is a five-biter that’ll leave you wanting more. It’s a perfectly done job, the kind that deserves a promotion.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
#3
Manna is from the people behind Bake Street, so it’s little surprise its American-inspired menu and burgers are spot on. The Nashville fried chicken is excellent, but when you’re looking for a beefy smashburger in central, this Tottenham Court Road spot inside Arcade Food Hall is a go-to. The thin, flattened beef patty is topped with a melted square of American cheese, equal squeezes of ketchup and mayo, a light swipe of mustard, and a handful of salty, tangy pickles.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
#4
The smashburger bun at Lagom is so buttery you have to wipe your hands after every single bite. Which means you can’t take photographic evidence for your ‘Beautiful Burgers Spotted In The Wild’ group chat unless you want to make a sticky mess. This industrial, dimly lit barbecue restaurant, inside Hackney Church Brew Co. near Hackney Central, is part beer hall, part shrine to things cooked over the fire. Napkins become a precious commodity and attention is torn between a disaster date story and the lacy crust of this smashburger smeared with sharp vinegar slaw.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
#5
This BBQ spot in Leytonstone has an excellent menu of tender, charred lamb and mac and cheese that’ll put your Lactaid to the test. But the best thing here is the burger. You’ll have to prep a pile of napkins and stretch your jaw to fit this double patty burger—which isn’t ideal at peak times when perfect strangers are squished together on small sharing tables. But just focus on your burger. Take in the melted American cheese, fried onions, and tender patties. And take it as a good sign that by the final bite, the bottom bun is all but disintegrated.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
#6
We have a theory that there’s a correlation between how great a burger is and how inconvenient a restaurant’s seating is. The better the burger, the less time you’ll want to stick around afterwards. And that’s the case with this often-crowded smashburger spot with backless high stools on Acton High Street. The crispy-edged double patty burgers are finished in five—sometimes three—satisfying bites, and each soft bun, also filled with tangy pickles and creamy burger sauce, tastes like elevated fast food. You’ll consider ordering another one as you savour the last meaty bite.
photo credit: Buk
#7
Buk’s special burger has a thin but substantial, flattened beef patty, a double portion of melted American cheese, plenty of creamy, chilli house sauce oozing over the patty, and sweet caramelised onion to top it all off. This burger laughs in the face of the Big Mac. And we laugh in the face of anyone who hasn’t been to this laid-back Camden burger spot and tried it. Oh, and all the meat is halal.
photo credit: Koray Firat
#8
Usually we don't like to think about our granny's linen while eating, but this smashpatty was as lacy as one of her doilies. The edges of Supernova's burgers are perfectly thin and extra crispy. The tangy, creamy burger sauce and gooey slice of American cheese are a must for keeping things moist. But we can't justify the—sometimes 50-minute—wait for food at this tiny, hyped burger spot in Soho. Plus, only the lucky few get one of the precious counter spots. But even then, the incessant flow of people inside means it's barely preferable to walking around the streets with your food.
