What’s better than a thick, juicy, cheesy burger? Nothing, that’s what. SF is actually packed full of all kinds of scrumptious burger creations, and we’ve made our way around the city stuffing our faces in order to compile this list of what we consider to be the contenders for best burgers in San Francisco. They’re in no particular order, so check ’em out and let us know what you think!
1. The Brixton
The Brixton has two locations in SF (Cow Hollow and China Basin) and one definite must-try burger. The Brixton Deluxe Burger a fat stack of pimento cheese, chili, pickled chow chow, and a side of french fries. We dare you to try eating this one without making a mess – but that’s part of the fun of eating big burgers, right?! It’s only available at the 2nd Street location, which is temporarily closed during the pandemic, but keep an eye out, and as soon as they reopen, go stuff your face!
2. Causwells
The Americana Burger from Causwells is, for sure, in contention for best burger in San Francisco. It’s made with two juicy patties, American cheese, Causwells sauce, lettuce, pickles and onions. It’s seriously cooked to perfection every time, and it’s BIG! And you know how some burger places will stack the veggies really high to try to give the impression that it’s a thick burger? Not at Causwells. This one is actually as thick with beef as it looks!
3. Balboa Cafe
Another juicy, delicious burger is Balboa Cafe’s Balboa Burger! It comes with butter lettuce, house made pickles and onions, and shoestring french fries, and you can choose to add on any combination of jack, swiss, blue cheese, cheddar, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, fried egg, bacon or avocado. We went with jack, bacon and caramelized onions, which was the perfect choice. This burger packs so much flavor, and was definitely one of the juiciest we’ve tried. Our only complaint was that some of it squeezed out the sides as we were eating, but who cares about being messy when you’re devouring something this good!?
4. Roam Artisan Burgers
Roam Artisan Burgers has been popular spot in the Bay Area for years. They offer super unique flavor combinations, burger concepts, as well as tons of ways to customize your order, which go above and beyond most other restaurants in the area. One of the most awesome options you have is the meat, for which you can pick among 100% grass fed beef, free range turkey, all natural bison, or a house-made organic veggie patty. The bison is the only one with a price markup ($2.99 extra), but if you’ve never tried it, definitely go for it at least once! They also have some incredible fries, but since this is a burger roundup, we won’t go there.
5. Super Duper
Super Duper Burger, an institution in SF, has several locations in the city, and they’re all always packed with people around lunch time. They have a bomb chicken sandwich and a veggie burger if you’re not a beef person, but where they really shine is their Super Burger. That’s two patties with their Super Sauce, and you can add cheese and bacon for $0.75 each if you’d like. Also, you need to get a side of their garlic fries!
6. Louie’s Bar
While Louie’s Bar is temporarily closed during the pandemic, we still want to mention it so it’s on your radar for when they reopen. The Burger – a simple name, but loaded with flavor and texture! This beast from Louie’s Bar is packed with a huge schmitz ranch beef patty, bacon bourbon bbq jam, potato sticks, aioli, arugula, and a potato pepper bun. You can also add white cheddar or fried egg for $2, or add bacon or avocado for $3. The potato sticks bring a nice crunchy texture that none of the other burgers on the list have, so if you’re a stickler for texture and having a full sensory experience with your food, don’t miss this one! Read all about Louie’s Bar in our full blog post on them here!
7. Gott’s Roadside
Gott’s Roadside offers a whole collection of burgers, but also releases seasonal burgers, which are all really tasty! If you’re a vegetarian, they also can replace their beef patties with the Impossible burger patty for any of their burgers. If we absolutely HAD to try to narrow their extensive list down to what we think could be the best burger in San Francisco, we’d recommend the California Burger (Fried egg, Cowgirl Creamery’s Wagon Wheel cheese, Zoe’s bacon, arugula, balsamic onions & mayo on a toasted egg bun), Kimchi Burger (Fried egg, kimchi, American cheese, Zoe’s bacon & spicy gochujang mayo on a toasted egg bun), or the Western Bacon Blue Ring Burger (Beer-battered onion ring, Point Reyes crumbled blue cheese, Zoe’s bacon, pickles, red onion & BBQ sauce on a toasted egg bun).
8. Wesburger ‘n’ More
Wesburger‘s got a pretty unique burger here that they call The Hot Wes, and it’s got a lot going on, which makes it stand out. It’s made up of a 6oz beef patty with onion rings, queso, and pickled jalapeños. It’s kind of a western burger minus the BBQ sauce, and with jalapeños to add an awesome spicy kick. It’s totally worth a try!
9. Belcampo
The 100 Day Dry Aged Burger from Belcampo is fire! Although they’re no longer in SF proper, they have a location close by in Jack London Square in Oakland. Whereas many times burger joints will try to add toppings and sauces to differentiate their burgers, Belcampo actually dry ages their beef, which gives it a super unique flavor that, to us, has really subtle almost- blue-cheese-ish hints to it. And when I say sutble, I mean subtle, so don’t let that description turn you off if that’s not usually your thing. It’s by far the most expensive burger on the list at $31 (due to the dry aging process and quality of meat), but it’s definitely worth a try, especially if you’ve never tried dry aged beef before!
10. Schroeder’s
Schroeder’s is actually one of the oldest restaurants in San Francisco, and they serve German food and lots of delicious, refreshing beer! Their Shroeder’s Burger is a smash burger, which means the patties are plopped on a flattop grill and “smashed” down with a spatula to increase the area that’s in contact with the heat source. If you’re a fan of smash burgers, you’re probably of the belief that this process boosts the flavor given the way the meat cooks and chars a bit on the outside. Others believe that smashing patties gets rid of all the juices. Regardless of the camp you fall into, this burger is worth a try! And be sure to grab some of their signature tots along with it. Read all about Schroeder’s in our full blog post on them here!
So those are our picks for what could be the best burger in San Francisco! What do you think of the burgers we chose? Have you tried any of them? Do you have any favorites that didn’t make our list? Let us know in the comments or send us a DM on our Instagram. Till next time, Nomsters!
Why is Bandit not on this list?