Top Must-Try Burgers in Los Angeles

Anya Fernald’s breakout meat company with Todd Robinson humanely and sustainably raises animals in the shadows of Mount Shasta, now has three L.A. locations: Grand Central Market, Mid-City, and Santa Monica. Belcampo butchers grind select steaks, chuck, and whole muscle cuts in-house to create a dry-aged, grass-fed burger with a winning chew. Each 5.5-ounce patty comes with white cheddar, caramelized onions, house sauce, and lettuce on soft sesame seeded BREADBAR brioche bun. Bolster your bovine experience with a side of skin-on French fries that crisp to great effect in cow fat.

The Bottle Room isn’t specifically in the burger business, but chef Tony Alcazar and his firefighter partners have turned their Uptown Whittier gastropub into a destination for their beef short rib, brisket, and chuck patties. They feature these patties in three of their five burgers, which are grilled to order. The signature Bottle Room Original Burger features egg-washed brioche cradling rosy beef, melted Swiss and blue cheeses, crisp arugula, and caramelized onion that Alcazar accents with brown sugar and balsamic. Their black & bleu burger teams black fig jam with pungent St. Agur bleu cheese and onions cooked with duck fat. Their deluxe bacon cheeseburger adds house-made onion rings and BBQ sauce. The Bottle Room also grills avocado turkey burgers and Mexican-inspired lamburguesa with fried jalapenos, smoked chile Cheddar, and guajillo ketchup.

Chef Christian Page and his partners at Hotel Normandie helped to revive a Koreatown classic down 6th Street from the original location in 2015. Version 2.0 has a wood counter with leather-wrapped barstools, vintage signs, an open kitchen, and the restaurant’s original cross-broiler, which imparts a historic sear on both sides. Patties can either weigh 1/3 lb. or 2/3 lb., depending on your appetite. Either way, a blend of chuck and brisket is ground in-house and served with special sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle on a La Brea Bakery Parker House roll. Top your burger with either cheddar or Swiss cheese.

Everson Royce Bar’s motto, “My, That’s Better" could easily refer to the burger, which is a masterstroke from chef Matt Molina, most recently with Mozza. He, Silverlake Wine co-founder Randy Clement and partners have transformed a rundown Arts District corner into a destination with an open air back patio, blue bocce court, moody bar, and comprehensive beverage program. Still, it’s the burger that many people praise first after visiting ERB. A textbook ratio applies to the griddled Prime chuck patty, sharp Tillamook cheddar, aioli, and toasted egg brioche bun, which join a dill pickle spear.

Jason Bernstein and James Starr’s Cali-centric café resides along on the increasingly fashionable Fairfax strip. Contemporary paintings and premium craft beer predominate, and they more or less nail crave-able comfort food, particularly The Burger. Chuck, short rib and trimmed rib-eye fat from Harris Ranch form a winning patty, which sports a good sear from being finished in the broiler. The patty joins Fiscalini Farms cheddar, applewood smoked bacon strips, arugula, aioli and ketchup in a soft Rockenwagner brioche bun. Each burger comes with a choice of fries, highlighted by supple, skin-on fried sweet potato wedges with punchy garlic aioli.

No burger has half the backstory of Love & Salt’s Downlow Burger. This Cal-Italian restaurant from chef Michael Fiorelli, Guy Gabriele, and daughter Sylvie Gabriele offers this sinister burger by special request at dinner and during weekend brunch. Fiorelli developed the burger for a pesky dentist who was a regular at his previous South Bay post: Mar’sel and would always order a burger, which was never available. Fiorelli finally caved, but implored the man to keep this burger to himself, but he shared the culinary secret, and word never stopped spreading. Now you’ll find this devastating combo of twin 70/30 blend Wagyu patties, caramelized onions, tomato aioli, pickles, and Fontina on a buttered Larder Baking Co. brioche bun in downtown Manhattan Beach.

This classic Paris-style “bar à la carte” is the lightning from a collective brainstorm between chef-partners Ludo Lefebvre, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. The former Thai restaurant now sports a green facade, marble bar and counter, and decorative mirrors. While many menu items would be instantly recognizable in the 6th Arrondissement, Parisians would no doubt be stunned by the Big Mec (in a good way). Petit Trois’ decadent double cheeseburger features twin patties, melted American cheese, garlic aioli with minced pickles, and a cascading pool of sticky Bordelaise sauce on a brioche bun.

Chef Chris Phelps showcases sustainable, humanely raised animals and features an ever-evolving menu. In 2015, he and former partner Zak Walters upgraded from a West Hollywood café to a full-scale Hollywood restaurant, complete with full liquor. One selection is a constant, the Bacon Cheeseburger, a delectable 70/30 blend of grass fed beef - chuck, round, brisket, ribs - grilled to medium rare with a crater in the middle of a seasoned eight-ounce patty. Red leaf lettuce provides roughage, house-made mayo adds richness, onion, crunch, and Seascape is sharp cheddar crafted from cow and goat's milk. The ingredients coalesce on a griddled bun. The burger comes with distinctly flat, skin-on French fries.

The Tasting Kitchen has become known for a lot of things, including fashionable Venetians, Justin Pike’s medicinal cocktails and chef Casey Lane’s house-made pastas. Given that, one under the radar gem remains their burger, which got upgraded from weekend brunch to dinner. A juicy patty of Prime chuck joins sweet caramelized bacon and onions, crisp lettuce, molten Gruyere, and a fried egg on a toasted, house-made brioche bun. The burger comes with crispy, skin-on fries sprinkled with herbs and sage.

Natalia Pereira’s colorful Brazilian cafe in Downtown L.A.’s Fashion District features sunflowers in the window, a beer bottle vase on every table, and breezy Brazilian music on lock. The setting may remind the chef-owner of her native Minas Gerais, and while many specialties also evoke her homeland, Wood Spoon’s signature pork burger would translate well almost anywhere. A juicy pork patty with pronounced sear supports roasted cabbage on a toasted potato bun that soaks up jus. The burger comes with a choice of simple skin-on yam fries or salad. The decision is clear: yam fries, which are dipped easily into ramekins of ketchup or Dijon mustard.