London has never needed much encouragement to put something between two halves of a bun, but National Burger Day on 27 August gives us official permission to get carried away.
And carried away we shall get.
Forget the sad patty, limp lettuce and obligatory slice of orange cheese. This year’s contenders involve Wagyu and pickle martinis, bone marrow, roast potato buns, peppercorn sauce, caviar, black truffle and enough smashed beef to make restraint feel deeply unfashionable.
These are the London burgers worth cancelling dinner plans for.
Songbird: The Burger Comes With a Pickle Martini. Obviously.
Songbird in Canary Wharf has understood the assignment rather spectacularly. From 27 August to 2 September, its Wagyu Burger comes with fries and a Pickle Martini for £30. Expect rocket, pickled shallots, mature cheddar and truffle mayonnaise, with freshly shaved truffle available for an additional £10.
@songbirdrestaurant | songbirdrestaurant.com
Junk: Put the Fries Inside the Burger
Why serve fries next to a burger when you can simply put them inside it? Junk’s limited-edition Peppercorn Sauce Burger takes its signature smashed patty, covers it in rich, creamy peppercorn sauce and piles crispy shoestring fries directly into the bun. Available across its London locations until 1 September.
@junksmashburgers | junkburgers.com/en
Heard: The Michelin-Starred Approach to Getting Messy
Two Michelin-starred chef Jordan Bailey has taken his fine dining credentials and pointed them directly at the humble burger. Heard sources British beef from regenerative farms and serves its burgers inside signature roast potato buns. Find it in Borough or Soho, where Michelin-level thinking meets the very un-Michelin act of eating with both hands.
@heard.burger | heardburger.co.uk
Spey Shack: Scotland, Smashed and Served in Brioche
Spey Shack has temporarily swapped Speyside for Covent Garden, bringing its Aberdeen Angus smash burger to 3 Henrietta Street until 6 September. It arrives in toasted brioche with cheddar, lettuce and house mayo, while the house version adds streaky bacon and special burger sauce. Truffle fries and whisky cocktails complete the Scottish takeover.
@speyshack | 3henrietta.com/spey-shack
The Brush: Add Bone Marrow and Call It Dinner
The Brush in Hoxton is taking the classic cheeseburger somewhere considerably richer. Its £18 signature burger combines bacon, cheddar and bone marrow relish, with fries alongside. Add a Mezcal Paloma or Spicy Margarita and National Burger Day could very easily become National Stay Out Much Later Than Planned Day.
@brushhoxton | thebrushhoxton.co.uk
Pippin’s: No Gimmicks Required
Sometimes the clever move is simply making a very good burger. At Earl’s Court neighbourhood restaurant Pippin’s, the grilled burger comes topped with little gem, tomato, house sauce, pickles and smoked cheddar, with skin-on fries alongside. No stunt. No towering stack. Just the fundamentals treated with appropriate respect.
@pippinsrestaurant | pippinsrestaurant.com
Chet’s: The Thai-American Smash
Chet’s at The Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush takes the American diner burger and sends it via Bangkok. Its Smash Burger combines a beef patty with American cheese, Chet’s secret sauce, chilli and pickle, served with fries. Smoky, spicy and proudly messy, it is exactly what 27 August requires.
@chets_ldn | chetsrestaurant.co.uk
Sam’s Kitchen: Hammersmith’s Smash Burger Habit
Sam’s Smash Burgers have graduated from pop-up to weekly fixture at Sam’s Kitchen Hammersmith. Each patty uses a bespoke blend of rib cap, chuck and aged beef from HG Walter, smashed for a caramelised crust before being finished with melted cheese, house-made pickles and Sam’s secret sauce.
@samskitchenw6 | samskitchenw6.co.uk/smashburgers
CUT at 45 Park Lane: The £90 Burger Has Entered the Chat
National Burger Day gets the full five-star treatment at CUT at 45 Park Lane, where Executive Chef Elliot Grover is serving three limited-edition lunchtime burgers from 24 to 29 August. Choose A5 Japanese Wagyu with wasabi mayonnaise and spicy pickles (£90), buttermilk fried chicken with Imperial caviar and lemon crème fraîche (£68), or cep mushroom with shaved Australian black truffle (£56).
@45parklane | dorchestercollection.com
Honest Burgers: The Award Winner Is Back
After winning UK’s Best Burger at the National Burger Awards 2026, Honest Burgers is bringing The Honest back for a limited run at Brixton, Borough and Old Brompton Road. Created by co-founder Tom Barton, it stacks a dry-aged double smashed beef patty with Wiltshire bacon, beef and onion relish, American cheese, pickles and white onion.
@honestburgers | honestburgers.co.uk
Dante Mayfair: Burger, Martini, Piano. Done.
Now a permanent fixture at Claridge’s, New York-born Dante Mayfair serves its Smash Burger with melted provolone and caramelised onion in a house-made brioche bun for £29. Better still, from 3pm to 5pm daily, a mini version costs £10 while live piano fills the room. Come for the burger. Stay for the martinis.
@dantemayfairlondon | maybourne.com
Three Sheets Soho: Make Mine a Martini
The ubiquitous Three Sheets Soho strikes again, this time with a burger worth making room for between cocktails. Minced chuck steak gets Worcestershire sauce, Ogleshield cheese, onion, pickles, Dijon and aioli: uncomplicated on paper, extremely persuasive in practice. And yes, this is one to order with a martini.
@threesheetsbars | threesheets-bar.com/soho
abc kitchens: The Jean-Georges Cheeseburger
At abc kitchens at The Emory, Chef Jean-Georges gives the cheeseburger a suitably polished Mayfair treatment. The £36 Cheddar Cheeseburger comes with herbed mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño and crispy French fries, proving that sometimes all a classic really needs is very good ingredients and a very expensive postcode.
@abckitchens | maybourne.com
Polo Bar: The Burger You Can Order at 3am
Polo Bar is taking National Burger Day rather literally by making sure there is virtually no hour in which you cannot celebrate it. The Liverpool Street café launches its £18 Four Cheese Dipping Burger on 27 August for two weeks: a classic cheeseburger with Parmesan crisp and chipotle mayo, served with a decadent four-cheese dipping sauce. Midnight snack suddenly feels wildly under ambitious.
@polo24hourbar | polobar.co.uk
