Best Burgers Around the World

The Michelin star-rated Minetta Tavern has been a Greenwich Village fixture since 1937, playing host to literary luminaries like Ernest Hemingway and Eugene O’Neill ever since. Restaurateur Keith McNally revamped the space in 2009, keeping the spirit of the original alive by restoring details like the tin ceiling, New York street scene wall murals, and the wooden bar. The $30 Black Label burger, however, is a thoroughly modern affair, made from a blend of dry-aged beef cuts from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors drizzled with clarified butter and served with caramelized onions and a brioche bun. 113 Macdougal St.; 212-475-3850; minettatavernny.com. —Jonah Flicker

Located on a pretty residential block in Prospect Heights, James is a low-key yet refined establishment that takes its seasonal American menu seriously. One of the highlights is the grass-fed Black Angus burger topped with melted Vermont cheddar—a popular happy hour option any night of the week (burger and beer for $18). But real burger hounds wait for Monday night when the menu expands to offer four different takes on the classic, including a special Chef Burger that’s topped with varying seasonal ingredients (like hot peppers or mushrooms) and changes from week to week. 605 Carlton Ave.; 718-942-4255; jamesrestaurantny.com. —JF

Chicago may be best known for its Red Hots, but the Windy City is no stranger to top-tier hamburgers, too. One of the more upscale versions can be found at Acadia, a contemporary, fine-dining restaurant run by chef Ryan McCaskey that’s managed to hold on to the Michelin star it received in 2011, only nine months after opening. Diners seated at the minimalist black bar can order the gourmet Acadia Burger, which comes topped with a bacon-and-onion jam and two strong cheeses: Gruyere and Taleggio Mornay. 1639 S Wabash Ave.; 312-360-9500; acadiachicago.com. —JF

Chef Sang Yoon’s gastropub Father’s Office has become a go-to destination for tourists and Angelenos alike seeking the ever-popular Office Burger. A Culver City outpost now supplements the restaurant’s original Santa Monica location, where it can be hard to nab a table during the dinner rush. The restaurant has a strict no modifications policy, but with a perfect balance of dry-aged beef, bacon, arugula, and blue cheese, this burger—which Yoon claims was inspired by the flavor of French onion soup—doesn’t need any altering. 1018 Montana Ave.; 310-736-2224; fathersoffice.com. —JF

Las Vegas is a dichotomous city, home to both $9.99 casino dinner buffets and restaurants run by celebrity chefs who must assume their diners hit the jackpot just prior to ordering. Hubert Keller’s Fleur sits comfortably in the latter category, with an extravagant menu that includes the big-ticket Fleur Burger, a Wagyu beef patty topped with grilled abalone mushrooms nestled in a brioche bun. The burger costs $38, and for another $35 you can add foie gras and truffle, which just may help you forget about that bad run at the roulette table. 3950 S Las Vegas Blvd.; 702-632-9400; hubertkeller.com. —JF

Nopa isn’t a burger joint by trade—the restaurant serves an array of organic, wood-fired dishes and also has an expansive wine list—but its burgers are a cut above, and have developed a cult following of their own. (Chefs like Molina's Todd Shoberg and Aster’s Brett Cooper have dubbed this their favorite spot for a burger in the city.) The key is in their simplicity: A thick, grass-fed beef patty is topped with house-pickled onions, and served on a toasted house-made brioche bun with crisp fries and housemade ketchup. 560 Divisadero St.; 415-864-8643; nopasf.com. —Avery Stone

Portland, Oregon, the epicenter of the Pacific Northwest’s gourmand scene, is known for its array of excellent restaurants dedicated to using fresh, local ingredients. Tasty n Alder, chef John Gorham’s third venture, is no exception, and even includes a mention of the ranch in which each cut on their impressive steakhouse menu first originated. The Alder Burger, which comes with melted Oregon Chubut cheese, housemade bacon, beef from Cascade Ranch, and the unusual but enticing addition of a hazelnut romesco, is just one of the many highlights on the menu, available as both a dinner and brunch option every day of the week. 580 SW 12th Ave.; 506-621-9251; tastynalder.com.

The goal of Phillip Eeles and Tom Barton’s hot London-based chain is simple: serve up delicious burgers made from fresh, high-quality ingredients. And if the company’s rapid growth is any indication—since launching a first location in 2011, the duo has opened eight more around the city—they’re doing it right. Diners can choose between menu mainstays like the “Honest” (with red onion relish, smoked bacon, cheddar, pickled cucumber, and lettuce), and rotating specials with more unconventional flavor profiles (like the “Far East,” with sesame mayo, Sichuan slaw, cheddar, parmesan, and sriracha ketchup). The common thread: all patties are made with aged beef from London butchery Turner & George, and all come with a side of rosemary-dusted fries. (Honest also serves a market vegetable fritter, and gluten-free buns are available, too.) If you can’t snag a table right away—the restaurant has a no-reservations policy—give a staff member your number, and they’ll text you when your table is ready. Various locations; Original location, 12 Brixton Station Rd., Brixton; 44-20/7733-7963; honestburgers.co.uk. —AS

Blacows, located in the Ebisu district of Tokyo, offers 15 different carefully composed burgers, each with its own specialized toppings (consider the teriyaki glaze or the bacon-egg-and-cheese combo), aimed at striking a “golden proportion of flavor.” A lofty ideal, perhaps, but with Japanese Black Wagyu beef patties, Maison Kayser rolls, and add-ons like bacon made from enzyme-fed pork (touted as having positive beauty and health effects for the consumer), it seems attainable here. The atmosphere is comfortable and modern with the quirky inclusion of a Patty Factory window where you can watch skillful butchers at work—a testament to the quality of the beef and expertise of the staff. 2 Chome-119 Ebisunishi; 81 3-3477-2914; kuroge-wagyu.com. —JF

Blend’s four Paris locations pay careful attention to all aspects of their burgers, from buns baked in-house to renowned butcher Yves-Marie le Bourdonnec’s carefully chosen cuts of French or Irish beef, ground daily into patties. Though the vibe borrows from a fast food aesthetic, with burgers served in paper cartons and a lunch special available from noon to 6 P.M., the craft is most certainly gourmet, with selections like the onion and balsamic vinegar compote-covered Signature burger or a super spicy Brave burger with hot sauce-laced cheddar, in addition to a classic topped with the most iconic add-ons, including cheese, iceberg lettuce, pickles, onions, ketchup, and their secret sauce. Various locations; blendhamburger.com. —JF

The Butcher’s Club was launched in 2013 by a group of Hong Kong chefs and butchers as a space for cooking classes, dining, and butchery. There are now seven locations throughout the city, all dedicated to high-quality dry-aged beef, with the Wan Chai outpost focusing on beer, bourbon, and burgers. There is only one option on the menu: a bacon cheeseburger made from Australian Black Angus beef. But diners in the know can order off of the rotating (not-so) secret menu (you can view it online), that often includes selections like the Sriracha-fried Wu Tang Style or pulled pork-smothered Hogtown burgers. 2 Landale St.; 852-2552-8281; thebutchers.club. —JF

This popular national chain started as a stand in Tel Aviv nearly 15 years ago. Today there are nine freestanding restaurants all over Israel. Agadir serves only four kinds of burger—a testament to its quality-over-quantity approach. Choose from plain (available in four sizes, starting with a slider-sized portion), mushroom-based veggie, chichi entrecôte and the Diana, a beef-and-lamb combo dressed up with aioli, tomato, spring onion and pickled lemon. But it's The Agadir, a plain burger weighing in at three-quarters of a pound, that's the restaurant's signature. At that size, adding toppings would only make it harder to eat. agadir.co.il. —Chadner Navarro

This New Zealand eatery opened way back in February 2001 in a tucked-away alley called Cow Lane, but its popularity among Kiwis propelled a move to a bigger space on Queenstown’s busiest thoroughfare four years later. It expanded again in 2011 with an adjacent bakery (Fergbaker), which turns out handmade buns. Fergburger adopts an evocative naming strategy. Little Lamby, for instance, is a prime New Zealand lamb burger with a tomato relish and mint jelly. The falafel-based vegetarian burger received a more controversial moniker: Bun Laden. Hungry visitors gravitate to the Big Al and its two beef patties, bacon, cheese, two fried eggs, and aioli. Tomato, relish, lettuce, and beetroot are there, too, but you might even not notice. 42 Shotover St.; 64-3/441-1232; fergburger.com. —CN

The six burgers at Jon Widegren’s hot spot (one is a veggie) are as plain as they come except for the Cricket, which is topped with cream cheese, pickled onion, caramelized onion and pickled jalapeño. But Widegren’s less-is-more style is firmly rooted in quality. The restaurant grinds its own meat (grass-fed if possible), which comes from small-scale local producers, a Stockholm bakery bakes the bread and the pickling is done in-house. His goal was to add some American burger tradition to the local food landscape, so don’t be surprised to find In-N-Out and Five Guys paraphernalia decorating the interior, or the menu. The Flippin’ is Widegren’s take on the double cheeseburger, which he prefers to eat with no condiments or add-ons. But you can have it however you want. Observatoriegatan 8 ; flippinburgers.se. —CN

This burger joint in Reykjavík’s Tower of Höfðatorg is known for the clever names of its sandwiches—and for how delicious they taste. Miss Reykjavík, for example, is a chicken burger topped with mango-yogurt salsa. The Rescue features toppings from pepperoni to mesquite sauce to green and red chiles. But The Factory burger, a quarter pound of Icelandic beef topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and the Factory sauce is one of the simplest on the menu. Translated, Hamborgarafabrikkan means “hamburger factory,” proven in the 15 different varieties on the menu. Höfðatún 2; 354-575-7575; fabrikkan.is. —CN

This butcher-shop-themed eatery in Rotterdam’s trendy Witte de Withstraat sources its 100-percent Black Angus beef from Ana Paula Ranch in Uruguay. The rest of the ingredients are local (buns from a nearby bakery, produce from a Rotterdam supplier), and the small, seven-burger menu—from beef to shrimp to pumpkin—orbits around secret-recipe sauces and a range of toppings for easy customization. De Hamburg (weighing in at more than half a pound) comes with, among other things, two kinds of cheese (cheddar, Gruyère), pancetta, and a secret sauce. Witte de Withstraat 94B; 31-10/737-1537; restauranthamburg.nl. —CN

The Príncipe Real original of this now mini franchise in Lisbon opened in October 2012. Now there are many more—including outposts in São Bento (9 Rua dos Industriais) and Belém—and they all attract the same local fanaticism for their 15 burgers, four of which are vegetarian. Unusual toppings (watercress, sweet cucumber, flamengo cheese) pack a flavorful punch, and the toasted buns are often sliced in three, a middle layer of bread separating the patty from the lettuce and tomato to prevent sogginess and allow the sandwiches to keep their lovely dome shape. The Caco is simple enough, garnished with a slice of Brie, lettuce, fried tomato, and tasty garlic butter; its roll hails from the island of Madeira. 19 Tavessa Monte do Carmo, Príncipe Real; hamburgueriadobairro.pt. —CN

Twenty different burgers—ten beef, three chicken, three veggie, four “alternative”—served on homemade sourdough buns have made Holyrood 9A a popular favorite. The beef comes from the award-winning Simon Howie the Scottish Butcher, which worked with the restaurant to create an exclusive patty recipe. Craving a taste of Scotland? Holyrood 9A has a haggis burger (a proud member of the “alternative” collection) of traditional sheep’s pluck and a veggie version that packs in oatmeal, nuts, onion, carrots, and black pepper. But the restaurant's signature is its namesake burger—the Holyrood—made even more flavorful with the help of beer mustard and Hereford Hop cheese. 9A Holyrood Rd.; 44-131/556-5044; theholyrood.co.uk. —CN

Brothers René and Felipe Lillo, who opened La Burguesía in Santiago’s business district of Providencia in 2012, divide their burgers into two categories: gourmet and American. The five gourmets boast innovative flavor pairings, such as grilled shrimp with tomato confit. The American selection features sandwiches you might find in the United States but with a twist, like the Ají Verde (“green chile” in Spanish), which is garnished with both cheddar and mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, and bacon-filled green chile. The Juicy Lucy is La Burguesía’s true homage to American burger tradition. It comes with bacon, fried onions, cheddar cheese, and a generous helping of barbecue sauce. “It might sound familiar to you, but to Chileans, it’s a new flavor,” says René. Santa Magdalena 99; 56-9/731-9389; facebook.com. —CN

What started as a humble ten-table operation is now a three-floor empire that serves 50 different kinds of burgers at its original Long Street address. “I think the fact that a hamburger can be so versatile means there has to be a variety to suit personal taste,” Sascha Berolsky, co-owner of the Royale Eatery explains. The encyclopedic menu will impress just about anyone, including vegetarians, who have 11 options to choose from. But we like The Wagyu, a Wagyu-Angus cross served with Citizen beer–soaked pickled onions on a pretzel roll. If that’s not decadent enough, Sascha recommends topping it with Swiss cheese and extra bacon. 273 Long St.; 27-21/422-4536; royaleeatery.com. —CN

L’Anecdote is a 30-yea-plus stalwart in the city’s trendy Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood. Designed to look like a diner from the 1950s, L’Anecdote offers a menu of just six burgers, but they all make a big impression. You could go with a tried-and-true double cheeseburger, but don’t pass up the more unexpected, such as the No. 4, a venison burger topped with smoked bison. But the No. 1 is indeed number one—a standard beef burger with bacon, grilled mushroom, onion and Gruyère. Locals are also particularly big fans of L’Anecdote’s home-blended condiments like the spicy herbed mayo. 801 Rue Rachel E.; 514-526-7967. —CN