We are going to talk about the best hamburgers in Madrid, but, first, let’s talk about their history and almost how they came to be our city.
We will say in a few words that it starts with the Romans, passing through the Mongolian cavalry, until it reaches Hamburg, where it finally took shape. From there it was exported all over the world.
They say – the blogs, the media, the legend – that German sailors took the recipe to another continent and there – at last a proper name that lends credibility to this myth – American chef Louis Lassen cooked the first hamburger in the United States. In 1895. Then the first restaurant opens, then the first chain, and the rest is history.
Because any day is a good day to eat a hamburger and you have to celebrate it as Genghis Khan would have wanted -or not-: going to eat a good hamburger in Madrid to one of these places:
1. Junk Burger
For Junk Burger 2022 was its year. They won the best hamburger in Spain in 2022. According to the jury of the II Campeonato de España de Hamburguesas its Smashed Burger had no competitor to match it with controversy through.
Such was its success that this hamburger restaurant in Chamberí had to close for a few days to cope with the flood of orders they expected to receive after winning the award.
Hamburgers from 14,50€
Various locations.
2. Cesar’s Burger
The Cesar’s Burgers menu, with three smashedburgers -whose meat is smashed on the griddle-, complies with the maxim that quality is better than quantity. And having tried two of them, we can assure you that their quality is undeniable. Part of the secret and what makes them unique, says César, is to ensure that the meat is toasted on the outside but not overcooked on the inside.
Hamburgers from 12,90 €
Calle de San Lucas, 11 (Chueca)
3. Frankie Burgers
The breadth of choice in Madrid as far as hamburgers are concerned can be overwhelming, so it is fortunate to have a filter to help you choose. One of them or the most prestigious is the Hamburger Championship of Spain, and according to the 2022 contest the third best burger in Spain is made at Frankie Burgers.
The burger in question is the Super Frankie Cheese, made with 250 grams of beef, double cheddar, double bacon and Frankie sauce. But the list is rounded out by seven other burgers, among which there is also a choice of vegetarian.
Hamburgers from 11,95€
46 Ponzano St. (Ponzano) and 17 Espronceda St. (Ríos Rosas)
4. Jenkin’s
Jenkin’s, the most awarded Valencian hamburger restaurant in recent years, already has a location in Madrid. Its big hit is the Emmy-B, a 180 gm Black Angus beef burger with a berlin bun, carmelized onion and a homemade sauce, which has earned it the title of the Europe’s Best Burger 2023.
Hamburgers from 12,90 €
Orense Street, 11 (Azca)
5. The Yellow Door
There are restaurants that become (because of their location, because you don’t know why everyone doesn’t know about it or for any other analogous reason) little gems that only you know about. The presence of The Yellow Door in this article compromises the esteem in which we hold it. But the burgers at this restaurant are a different story.
Menu 15,50 €
Calle Fúcar, 9 (Barrio de las Letras)
6. Munchies by foodgoddess
It took them eight months to choose the place and open it, and at that time they added to their brief menu. Nothing simpler, nothing more practical. The menu at Munchies by foodgoddess has a classic spicy burger, a vegetarian burger, a bacon burger, a truffle burger and a hot dog pack.
Khundadze and Gvelesiani started in Tbilisi (Georgia) with just 1,500 euros and a couple of years later, in 2022, they set up this burger restaurant in the neighborhood of the Letters with a colorful, Wes Anderson-inspired aesthetic and a touch of the local style.
Hamburgers from 12,90€
Calle Santa María, 39 (Las Letras).
7. La Birra Bar
La Birra Bar has under its arm the title of best burger in the USA in 2022, and since the beginning of 2023 it is also in Madrid, with two locations.
It all started in Boedo, Buenos Aires, with a small hamburger joint. And today it has 13 stores in Argentina, one in Miami and two in Madrid, with its first stores in Europe. They are now in the top 5 of the best hamburger restaurants in the world. What characterizes La Birra Bar’s burgers is the combination of the very careful selection of meat cuts they use and their cloud bun (which follows an original recipe since 2001), in addition to the variety of toppings that can be found in their products.
Hamburgers from 12,90€.
Carrera de San Jerónimo, 3 (downtown) and Calle de las Postas, 12 (downtown).
8. Mad Grill
Another roll. And we could end the description of their burgers with these two words. Mad Grill’s burgers are another roll. Apart from their burgers (which we have already said what we think), the most surprising thing we have tried at Mad Grill is the smoked mayonnaise with oak charcoal. Really: another roll.
Hamburgers from 10,50 €
Campoamor Street, 13 (Alonso Martínez)
9. Viva Burger
And yes, among the best burgers in Madrid, Viva Burguer, the vegan option in which not even the most carnivores will miss the meat. This hamburger restaurant is already a classic of the La Latina. Of course, you have to go hungry, the size of both the burgers and the fries will not leave you room for almost anything else.
Cost.ª de San Andrés, 16 (La Latina)
10. Nugu Burger
At the beginning Nugu Burger had its premises on Covarrubias Street, but its location only mattered to know if your house was within its radius of action: this unusual burger joint only operated on a door-to-door basis and your burgers were delivered to your home. It now also has a hamburger restaurant physics in Atocha Street.
Nugu’s product, by the way, is excellent. Man does not live by concept alone -although theirs is quite special because they do not use brioche bread- and that is why the meat comes from organic farms in Extremadura and Castilla.
Hamburgers from 11,90€
Various locations.
11. Juancho’s BBQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2b2-JP5VeY&t=3s
After many barbecues with friends, after many compliments for his grilling skills, Juancho began to consider the possibility of turning his hobby into a profession. He started with a stall in the Chamberí Market where he cooked top quality grilled meats and his growth has been omnidirectional: Juancho’s BBQ is everywhere and is already a classic among the hamburger restaurants in Madrid.
Hamburgers from 14,90€
Various locations
12. Burmet
Burmet’s burgers are just as you imagine them, but even a little bit better. Special attention to their Crispy burger that even has bacon bacon. Much less heavy than it may seem just by reading it. Not in vain, it is one of the best hamburgers in Madrid.
Hamburgers from 13,70 €
Calle de Luis Vives, 9 (Prosperidad); Paseo del Olmo, 13 (Acacias) and Calle Ferraz, 77 (Argüelles)
13. Briochef
Briochef is one of the latest batch of these types of restaurants in Madrid to join the smash burgers trend , although they are not the only ones they serve. The recipes are an amalgam of flavors, the raw material is wrapped in a spongy brioche bread that does not cover, but complements, a matured Galician blonde beef.
Hamburgers from 14,50€
Paseo de la Florida, 21 (Príncipe Pío) and Calle Ramón y Cajal 3, (Alcalá de Henares)
14. Pink’s
Continuing with the gastronomic trend of smashed burgers, we will agree that Pink’s Burger is, on the one hand, a pioneer and, on the other, a master. The hamburger restaurant has grown at an exorbitant rate (they already have four locations) and they have done it through a concept that has no equal in Madrid. They only sell 100 hamburgers for the day and only sell 100 hamburgers at night. And when they run out, they close down the beach bar.
Classic Cheeseburger: 9€.
15. Pacific
Pacifico’s burgers are so smash that the meat stays crispy like bacon. It is not a small place, but there are few places to sit, it is designed to take away or to eat on site quickly. They have only two types of hamburgers: the classic and the pacific, plus a vegan option. They make their own lemonade and iced tea, well worth a try, especially if you don’t like carbonated drinks.
Hamburgers: between 9 and 10€
Calle del Conde de Xiquena, 2 (Salesas)
16. BDP
BDP is a hamburger restaurant in Coslada that won the award for the best hamburger in Madrid at the end of 2022 Showdown Madrid.
BDP has achieved this distinction with a high dose of irony. And the winning burger is called “La Fracasada” in reference to being the one that was presented in 2022 to the championship of the best burger in Spain (championship that, as we said at the beginning, was won by Junk Burger). They also have some of their stores dedicated only to smash bugers.
Hamburgers from 11,50 €
Various locations.
17. Panpajaropan
Panpajaropan meets two culinary trends of the moment: they are fried chicken burgers and they don’t have a location, they announce on their Instagram account where they are going to do their next culinary Pop up. The thrill of not knowing or not being able to eat one of their chicken buns has earned them a real following that flocks to each of their openings.
They say they don’t sell burgers, but, even if they are battered fried chicken with or without spice, that round brioche bun doesn’t deceive. They are also accompanied by potatoes.
Hamburgers from: 10€
It is changing.
18. Burger Jazz
Burger Jazz’s burgers are manageable, so juicy that the meat (always flattened) from old cows looks like butter, and they also add a very gourmet extra: Formaje’s artisan Pitchfork Cheddar cheese, which makes them even tastier.
Hamburgers from: 7,5€
Various locations.
19. Milwaukee
A group of friends from Milwaukee and Wisconsin (not a joke) decided to bring the smash burger recipe with butter and sauce from these American cities to Madrid. The trip has been a success, so much so that it has won the third prize for Best Burger Delivery 2023 and opened a second location in the capital.
Hamburgers from: 9,5€
Av. América, 33 (La Guindalera) and Calle Manuela Malasaña, 9 (Malasaña)
20. Hundred
Hundred was born after the trip around the world, a hundred destinations in total, of two friends in search of the perfect hamburger, they were broadcasting it through networks and triumphed. They decided to materialize this apprenticeship in this burgershop that has managed to be in the second place in the world top being the first Spaniards to do so, with their Singular Burger.
Hamburgers from 9.50€
12 Eloy Gonzalo Street (Chamberí) and 8 San José Artesano Street (Alcobendas)
Simplicity can have its sophistication and these burgers prove it. This dish not only does not lose interest over the years, but the competition between who makes the best hamburger in Madrid continues to grow.