We traveled hundreds of miles—searching everywhere from gas stations to food halls to pizza joints to fancy dining rooms—to find the very best burgers in the area. Here’s where to go, whether you’re craving a cheap (but perfect!) double cheeseburger or a truffle-aïoli-slathered patty on a housemade potato bun.

 

Shrimp Katsu Burger

Perry’s

American McDonald’s have Filet-O-Fish. Japanese McDonald’s, though, make a version with shrimp. Chef Masako Morishita credits a craving for the latter as inspo for this crispy, deep-fried patty of hand-chopped shrimp. It hits all the pleasure centers with cheddar, lemony slaw, and togarashi-spiced tartar sauce. We’d super-size it if we could.

 

Proper Burger

Back to Top

Duke’s Grocery

What sets one of the city’s top burgers apart? The superb crackly-topped brioche bun, one of the best in the business, and the double cheeseburger’s sweet but not cloying chili sauce. The mini-chain’s cozy Anglophilic locations and friendly service are a big part of the equation.

 

Cheeseburger

Back to Top

Black Salt Black Sugar

Owner Youssef Rhanime channeled the flavors of his Moroccan roots when coming up with his signature burger. The halal smash patties get a kick from a ten-spice blend that includes paprika, cumin, and turmeric. The brioche-sandwiched meat is accented with a sweet-leaning special sauce, plus lettuce, tomato, pickles, and American cheese.

 

Apollo Burger

Back to Top

Burgers@Apollo

Our dream backyard burger looks a lot like the Apollo, the signature sandwich at this strip-mall spot that celebrates DC culture, its walls plastered with portraits of Marion Barry and Chuck Brown and go-go concert posters. Toppings and bun are grocery-store simple—they don’t outshine the two thick, flame-licked beef patties.

 

Double Cheeseburger

Back to Top

Joia Burger

Purple Patch owner Patrice Cleary makes the city’s best smash burger (and there’s a lot of competition) at her cheerful Mount Pleasant and Glover Park shops. Cleary uses American Wag­yu for the patties and a genius top­ping: a blend of chopped pickles, lettuce, onion, and tomato bound in special sauce, so every bite is a perfect one.

 

The Gold Rush

Back to Top

Social Burger

A little sweetness, a little crunch, a little spiciness, and a lot of satisfaction is what you get when you bite into this fast-casual spot’s Southwestern-accented burger. The single patty is loaded with housemade pickles and pickled jalapeños, pepperjack, freshly fried onion rings, and a mustardy, Carolina-style barbecue sauce that’s also made in the restaurant’s kitchen.

 

 

Jalapeño Burger

Back to Top

Jon’s Joint

A mere potato bun can’t contain the thinly pressed halal-beef saucers at this no-frills joint, decorated with Godzilla, Pokémon, and other pop-culture artwork. Despite literally overflowing, these smash burgers are easy to inhale, particularly when topped with pickled jalapeños, grilled onions, pepperjack cheese, and a spicy special sauce.

 

The Classic

Back to Top

Mélange Foods

Mélange, one of DC’s best (but most short-lived) burger places, has made a comeback in Shaw. And while chef Elias Taddesse brilliantly weaves Ethiopian flavors into the tacos and fried chicken, his dry-aged cheeseburger tastes all-American. There are, however, some subtle fine-dining touches: dry-aged beef, pickled onions instead of ketchup, and a brown-butter aïoli he learned to make at a Michelin two-star restaurant in France.

 

Paris Burger

Back to Top

Melt Gourmet Cheeseburgers

It’s worth a road trip for this destination burger. The thick house-ground aged-beef patty is balanced by a zing of Dijon mustard, the sweet umami of roasted garlic, balsamic-glazed onions, and thick slabs of Brie. Also noteworthy are the housemade buns—airy and soft, yet sturdy enough to contain the jaw-stretching stack.

 

Cheeseburger

Back to Top

Pastis

Le Diplomate has long held the crown for best French-bistro burger in the city, and while it’s still great, the eight-ounce cheeseburger at its Union Market sibling is even tastier. Credit a blend of brisket, chuck, and short rib from Pat LaFrieda; buns baked daily at nearby Bread Alley; and just the right amount of pickles, onions, and special sauce. Bonus: It’s a mere $9.99 at lunch.

 

Lamb Burger

Back to Top

Local Provisions

At this hopping American bistro in Cascades Marketplace, you’ll see a lot of lamb burgers coming out of the open kitchen. Take that as a cue. The patties are crafted from Elysian Fields farm lamb, set on slabs of housemade sourdough focaccia, and finished with fresh dill, long hot peppers, roasted tomatoes, and, instead of cheese, plenty of labneh.

 

Dry-Aged Burger

Back to Top

Buck’s Fishing & Camping

Chevy Chase DC’s favorite cozy neighborhood restaurant still masters Americana—not least the thick, wood-grilled customizable burger fashioned from dry-aged beef. The au poivre burger—a rotating special slathered with a sharp, peppery pan sauce and topped with fistfuls of arugula and slow-cooked red onions—is worth seeking out, too.

 

 

The Standard Burger

Back to Top

Garden District

This is the platonic ideal of a neighborhood cookout burger. It’s not too thick or thin, plenty juicy, and bears a whiff of char from the grill. Nothing fancy—it comes with pickles, tomatoes, onions, and special sauce—but perfect for an afternoon hang at this beloved little urban beer garden.

 

Chopped Cheese Burger

Back to Top

Emmy Squared

This Brooklyn-born pizza shop has long been famous for its massive Le Big Matt burger. But this humbler homage to NYC bodega sandwiches, with ground beef, American cheese, onions, and peppers—chopped together on a griddle, then piled on a pretzel bun—deserves all the glory these days.

 

New England Smash Burger

Back to Top

The Salt Line

Ordering a burger at a restaurant devoted to New England seafood might seem unwise. But chef Kyle Bailey was an early player in the smash-burger scene and has been sending out messily delicious thin-patty cheeseburgers for more than eight years. When it comes to accessories, he keeps things familiar: iceberg lettuce, thick-sliced tomatoes, sweet pickles, and a mayo-slathered potato roll.

 

DoubleCheeseburger

Back to Top

Steeze Burger

Hunter Karametos’s mobile cookout operation draws crowds wherever it shows up (often at suburban breweries). He sets up a tent and griddle and starts whipping through orders for the one thing he serves: three-ounce smash patties—available single, double, or triple—with American cheese, pickles, steamed onions, and a Martin’s potato roll. Sounds straightforward, tastes divine.

 

The Frenchie

Back to Top

Ghostburger

This lightly smashed four-ounce patty, gilded with buttery cremini mushrooms, deeply caramelized onions, and Fourme d’Ambert blue cheese, nails the whole salty-sweet thing. The burger’s compactness calls to mind a drive-through, but the quality of the beef and its toppings are far superior to any fast food.

 

Veggie Burger

Back to Top

Woodmont Grill

For more than two decades, this Bethesda dining room, part of the Hillstone chain, has been known for its expert burgers. It’s the veggie version—fashioned from rice, beans, and prunes and sheened with a sweet soy glaze—that’s singular (and oft imitated). It comes with excellent skinny fries, but the creamy chopped coleslaw is destination-worthy, too.

 

The Capital Burger

Back to Top

Capital Burger

This steakhouse spin-off isn’t cheap, but it feels generous, with big, precision-cooked burgers that come with fries or, if you wish, a Caesar or kale salad. The signature French-onion-style house burger is juicy, with rich layers of flavor—caramelized onions, shallot aïoli, and a burnished, torched coating of grand cru Gruyère.

 

 

Salmon Burger

Back to Top

Burger Shop

Restaurant vet Ismael Montero is best known for his hit taco spot, La Michoacana, inside Mixt food hall. Turns out he makes a pretty great burger, too. Walk over to his nearby stand and start with this salmon patty slathered with chili mayo and pickled veggies. It eats like a great fish sandwich but is as satisfying as any good burger.

 

Double Cheeseburger

Back to Top

7th Street Burger

This burger operation—which started as a carryout in the East Village a mere four years ago and has since ballooned to 21 locations, including Georgetown—has a downright obsessive following. And if smash burgers are your thing, it’s not hard to taste why. These American-cheese-topped creations are sloppy and greasy in the best way, with lacy-edged patties, plenty of pickles, and almost too much special sauce.

 

Aventino Burger

Back to Top

Aventino

The juicy lunchtime burger here might feel out of whack with the otherwise Italian menu—until you take a bite. The patty, made from Randall Lineback beef, seared in a cast-iron pan, and placed on a housemade bun, is done up with arugula, red onions cooked down in balsamic, and Fontina Val d’Aosta cheese, which gets perfectly melty as it’s basted in butter.

 

Puebla Burger

Back to Top

Hill East Burger

Charred-poblano relish and smoky cheddar add an extra campfire dimension to our favorite burger at this cute Southwestern outpost on the Hill, where all the burgers are cold-smoked before hitting the grill. Squeeze in on a Tuesday night, when everything is half-price, and queue up some Willie Nelson on the vintage jukebox.

 

Big Papa Deluxe

Back to Top

Bun Papa

We have one quibble with this double cheeseburger: It’s ginormous. But even if it’s tricky to eat, this is a thing of beauty, with juicy seared patties made with sirloin, rib eye, and chuck, plus cheddar, crunchy lettuce, pickles, and special sauce. Part of what makes it so tasty is the grilled brioche bun, made in-house—these burger carryouts are the brainchild of the team behind the Bread & Water Co. bakery.

 

Double Cheeseburger

Back to Top

Unconventional Diner

Love the crispy edges of a smash burger but crave the heftiness of a bigger patty? This double Wagyu burger—with nearly a half pound of Roseda beef—is for you. Before the meat is pressed on the searing-hot flat-top, it’s brushed with butter amped with Montreal Steak Seasoning. The toppings are by-the-book, but there’s thought behind them: Those caramelized onions have been cooking down for five hours.

 

 

Bacon Jalapeño Burger

Back to Top

Swizzler

“If we were going to make McDonald’s for millennials,” Swizzler co-owner Jesse Konig once mused to Washingtonian, “what would that look like?” His answer is this Navy Yard fast-casual place, which serves grass-fed-beef burgers, shakes made with Maryland ice cream, and fries sizzling in avocado oil. Picking favorites here isn’t easy, but right now we’re going for a double smash burger with bacon and candied jalapeños.

 

Royal Smoked Burger

Back to Top

Burger District

This place excels at well-proportioned burgers cooked to specification, whether you’re posting up to watch a Nats game or want a patty that travels well. Among the dozen options, the Royal Smoked Burger is a home run, with its sweet barbecue ranch sauce, applewood-smoked bacon, crispy onion strings, and fried egg with a saucy yolk.

 

Ahi Tuna Burger

Back to Top

Central Michel Richard

The spirit of the late, great DC chef Michel Richard is very much alive at the buzzing bistro that bears his name. The tuna burger—one of a few luxe patties here—has been on the menu since he opened the place in 2007. Rare, chopped tuna is layered on a glossy bun with a crunchy potato wafer, confit tomato, and gingery mayo.

 

Cheeseburger

Back to Top

Sunshine General Store

The ambience at this dusty old gas-station luncheonette, which feels frozen at some point in the LBJ administration, is as old-school and regional as area restaurants get: An Orioles game will likely be on, and you’re substantially more likely to get called “hon” here than you are 15 minutes down the road to the south. Burgers are straightforward, greasy, endlessly customizable—and delicious.

 

Lucky Bun Burger

Back to Top

Lucky Buns

The simpler the burger, the more you appreciate the details. Alex McCoy’s burger bars experiment successfully with out-there toppings like bacon XO jam and Thai-chili mumbo sauce. But with the simple Lucky Bun—topped with Gouda, pickles, arugula, and charred red onion—you pick up on the kitchen’s mastery of something more difficult: The patties are smashed to a crisp yet still juicy.

 

This article appears in the August 2025 issue of Washingtonian.