ATXGuide
The Best Burgers In Austin
photo credit: Mackenzie Smith Kelley
Sure, Austin might be one of the few cities in the world with access to the holy trinity of fast food burgers—In-N-Out, Whataburger, and Shake Shack—but our diverse culinary background also means we have some incredible local burgers. Through some difficult research, many stains, and a few arguments over the ideal sauce to bun-size ratio, we did it—we tried them all (almost). From smoked brisket patties to old-school sliders, these are the best burgers in Austin.
Just looking for smashburgers? We’ve got a guide to those, too.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Richard Casteel
There are a handful of spots in Austin making smoked burgers, but our favorite comes from LeRoy And Lewis. Maybe it’s the brisket patty that’s thick and peppery with a juicy interior. Maybe it’s the springy potato roll, or the chopped grilled onions that add a little sweetness to each bite. Whatever it is, it’s worth waiting in one of Austin’s famous barbecue lines to get your hands on one.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
There’s nothing fancy about the burgers at Crown & Anchor, but something about these perfectly seasoned patties and toasted white buns put them among our favorites in town. They come in most of the classic variations—bacon, jalapeño, and mushroom swiss—with a pile of fries that always arrive perfectly crispy. Our go-to here is usually the mushroom swiss, but there’s no bad move. They also put a different brewery (or region) from their tap list on sale, and knocks the price down to less than $5 a pint, so you can grab a cheap beer to go with it all.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
The burger at Frazier’s is basically a McDonald’s cheeseburger that went to culinary school. Think smashed patties and steamed potato buns, plus all the usual fixings. It’s small enough that you can probably put down a couple, though we’d advise you to save some room for a side of frizzle fries—basically the lovechild of a curly fry and a potato wedge. And at just over $3 a burger, it’s hard not to find yourself wishing you were at Frazier’s instead of the drive-thru.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
Whether you’re a die-hard fan of putting greens, or you don’t know the difference between a 9-iron and a tennis racket, Gimme Burger is all the reason you need to head to Butler Pitch & Putt off of Riverside Drive. Located in the food/drink/hangout area, the food truck’s menu is simple—burgers, hot dogs, french fries, and fried okra. The burger here is massive—with a juicy, double wagyu patty that’s been smashed hard for edge-to-edge crispiness, a couple slices of american cheese, and lots of mustard. And the heaping pile of fried okra you can get on the side makes for an excellent accompaniment.
photo credit: Taylor Hannan
The menu at Dirty Martin’s is simple—burgers, patty melts, onion rings, and milkshakes. Sometimes, simple is better. This is one of those times. Keep it classic with a kumbak burger (the original option here, with or without cheese), or go with our personal favorite, the D.H. special—basically a double patty melt on Texas toast. Whatever you do, save some room for a milkshake at the end for the full experience.
ATX Guide
The Best Barbecue Spots In Austin
photo credit: Taylor Hannan
All of the burgers here share the same basic format—a massive ¾ pound patty with toppings inspired by various cities across the country. So whether you find yourself taking down a Buffalo burger covered in spicy wing sauce and bleu cheese, or a Pitts burger that’s topped with Guinness and sherry sautéed mushrooms, the thing to remember is that the beef is the star of the show. The patty is incredibly thick, with a char-grilled crust and a pink center—basically the arch-nemesis of the smashburger.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Patty Palace makes our favorite smashburger in town. It also wins the award for “Thinnest Patty That Might Get Mistaken For An Ancient Piece Of Papyrus.” These patties are almost paper-thin with a dark crust that looks like it’s bordering on burnt but without the accompanying bitterness. It’s well-seasoned, the bun is toasted nicely, and there’s just enough special sauce to prevent those thin patties from feeling too dry.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
We’ve seen hamburguesas with a lot of different toppings, but at Cuantas Hamburguesas (from the Cuantos Tacos team) you can choose from a list of combos that grow increasingly unhinged—from cheese and chopped onions, to one with a smashed longaniza patty and a costra cheese corn tortilla. But none of them feel like novelty toppings. If they did, we wouldn’t have found ourselves back twice in the same week. Thanks to a well-seasoned foundation of caramelized beef and a soft, toasted bun, these are burgers worth a hefty detour for technical precision alone—though the one topped with sliced hot dogs might fall somewhere in the (tasty) middle.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
Bar Toti’s smashburguesa is served as a double, and topped with griddled ham, american cheese, chipotle mayo, and escabeche relish. There’s a great balance of textures, and a bit of much-needed punchy acidity from the relish. It’s on the pricey end for a smashburger, but it’s at a tapas bar from the people behind Este (and right next door), so that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.
The specialty at this New Orleans-style spot Uptown Sports is po’boys, but you should come here for the burger. It’s served about as classic as it gets: double patty, double cheese, mayo, dijon, and a healthy amount of pickles, all on a sesame seed bun. It’s a little greasy, but not in a way that will leave you knocked out for the rest of the afternoon. Well, unless you finish the small mountain of fries it’s served with.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Launderette’s burger is refreshingly simple—petite, with american cheese and thin pickles on a challah bun, this is one of the few burgers we can finish while still feeling like we just ate a light meal. One of the only items on both their brunch and dinner menus, you can get the burger at just about any hour that Launderette is open. Afterwards, grab a birthday cake ice cream sandwich to round out the whole experience.
photo credit: Taylor Hannan
A bowling alley might not be the first place you’d expect to find one of Austin’s best burgers, but we’re living in a time where the Fast & Furious franchise has hit double digits—wilder things have happened. The burgers at Lebowski’s Grill are, unsurprisingly, named after characters from the titular film. We’re fans of The Dude, with an Angus beef patty and all of the standard toppings, including both mustard and mayonnaise. It’s a super classic burger—no wildcards here—which is really all we want out of a bowling alley burger.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
It’s impossible to have a discussion about burgers in Austin without Dan's coming into the conversation. They’ve been a fixture in Austin for five decades. In that time, they’ve expanded to a few locations across town, alongside a series of stories about family drama (that led to the creation, and eventual closing, of Fran’s Hamburgers). All you really need to know is that they still make one of the best classic char-grilled burgers in town. We like the double meat, single cheese option best.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
When the mood strikes for a burger, and we're even remotely close to The Domain, we’re heading straight to That Burger, a trailer parked near the Lone Star Court Hotel. Here, you basically tell them a country and they’ll bring you a burger inspired by its flavors. That means things like a Mexican burger topped with queso fresco, guacamole, and tortilla chips, or a German burger served with muenster cheese, sauerkraut, and a pretzel bun. But our favorite is probably the Argentinian burger, topped with grilled mushrooms and chimichurri. The one constant is the crispy, smashed beef patty (unless you sub in a Beyond meat patty).
The shoestring fries at Clark’s are incredibly divisive—they’re thin, impossible to eat, and it makes it feel like your burger is resting against a prickly haystack. But there’s very little debate about the quality of the burger at Clark’s. It’s incredibly thick—with a pan-roasted crust and a soft, warm center—and comes topped with a delightfully tangy gribiche sauce and gruyere cheese. It’s expensive for the size, but it’s worth ordering at least once in your life. Or just show up during Happy Hour on a weekday and grab one for half price.
photo credit: Holly Dirks
If you want the burger that you’ll still be telling your friends about five days from now, you’ll want to try the Yenta at JewBoy Burgers. It’s a burger with smashed patties and toasted potato buns that gets the addition of a crispy, fried potato latke. Afterwards, order a few more latkes to snack on while you relive the moment (we like the one with green chile and cheddar).
photo credit: Richard Casteel
The burgers at Delray Cafe behind Nickel City—technically considered “sliders”—feature mustard, onions, and pickles on a steamed bun with a thin patty. They’re simple, delicious, and just small enough that you can probably take down a couple before you even finish your first frosty pint of Coors Banquet. We like the double slider with cheese here, but sometimes we like to throw all rules out the window and go with the looseburger—a chopped-up burger patty served in a hot dog bun, covered in chili. We’re not sure if that’s technically a burger still, but who really cares?
photo credit: Richard Casteel
It’s not entirely surprising that a burger from a butcher shop/restaurant is great. But the burger at Dai Due exceeds even the highest of beefy expectations. It’s a mountainous, show-stopping affair, with two grilled patties made from dry-aged wagyu beef that’s ground with Dai Due’s bacon, dill pickles, and local cheddar cheese, all on a house-made sesame seed bun. The burger used to be only available on Wednesdays, but now you can get it every day (well, except for Mondays, when they’re closed).
photo credit: Mackenzie Smith Kelley
Hold Out makes one of our favorite smashburgers in town. It’s made up of pretty simple ingredients—shredded lettuce, French’s mustard, american cheese—but the execution is what sets this apart from whatever burgers your friend is making on the grill in their backyard. Two super-thin patties (because you should be getting the double) manage to defy physics by being juicy and crispy at the same time, and a layer of comeback sauce adds a nice bit of tanginess.
photo credit: Raphael Brion
Billy’s on Burnet has some pretty dedicated regulars. Some are here for the beer and others for the constant sports on TV, but the most loyal group comes for the burger. The Cobra burger (our favorite) with a ⅓ pound patty, cheddar cheese, crispy, curly bacon, grilled jalapeños, and chipotle mayo might be a little more expensive than you’d expect for a bar burger, but it’s spicy and savory and always worth it. But if you come during lunch Mondays through Fridays, all the burgers are $2 off.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
The burger at Salt & Time is made with the daily steak trimmings, so it’s going to taste just a little bit different every day. You know, if you needed an excuse to eat it two or three times per week, for research. It’s a pretty simple burger—a half-pound grilled beef patty with just mayonnaise and house pickles, on a squishy brioche bun. They don’t need to dress it up, since it’s essentially a showcase of the tremendous quality and flavor of the meat.
photo credit: Taylor Hannan
Buddy’s has found the perfect balance between quality and convenience, offering up a smashburger that can compete with the best in town at prices that feel appropriate for eating in the front seat of your car. If you didn’t just get it from a drive-thru, you might mistake it for some hype burger you just waited in line 45 minutes for. Instead, you can get it any day of the week from the comfort of your car. Plus, you can pair it with a hand-spun milkshake and really complete the old-school burger drive-thru experience.
photo credit: David Douglass
We’ve said some great things about the loaded fries and the fried chicken sandwich at Golden Tiger, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that they put just as much time and effort into their burger. It comes as a double by default—our preferred arrangement for a smashburger—with shredded lettuce, pickles, red onions, american cheese, and dousing of special sauce over a couple of thin smashed patties. Everything works great together, and you can enjoy it all with an excellent cocktail from the bar at Whisler’s.
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
You can get two different burgers at Moreno: a smoked one and a smashed one. And while the smoked burger is perfectly fine—it’s got just the right amount of smoke, and a thick patty—it’s the smashburger we find ourselves ordering. The patties are about as thin as they come, with a crispy exterior that keeps every bite savory and packed full of texture. It’s all served on a warm, toasted bun over a couple leaves of romaine lettuce that balances the whole thing out.
