Burger joints are dotted around every corner of Toronto, providing a wealth of selection for the city’s carnivorous population.
With so many great options out there, we thought we’d take the time to make a list of our top ten for handy reference. In this list we’ve included a variation of different styles of burgers, from old school greased-up approach to new wave alternative toppings, to subtle spins on traditional cooking techniques, there’s a wonderful range of different burger experiences out there in Toronto right now!
10. Woody’s
Despite the praise Woody’s Burgers have gotten for their food, this place still seem to float somewhat under the radar. It’s pleasant wooden appearance and enticing aroma of burning wood make this a lovely, homey spot to enjoy a delicious burger.
9. Drake Hotel
The Drake Hotel is a prominent entertainment establishment in the city, having functioned as a flophouse and an incubator of local punk and rave scenes in the past. Their beautiful terrace area is perfect for people-watching while burger-nomming on a sunny day.
8. Greenwood Smokehouse
A restaurant focused on perfecting the art of smoked meats is an unlikely place to find an incredible vegetarian burger, but their mushroom burger achieves this peculiar feat. Topped with your choice of avocado salsa and smoked pineapple, or vegan chipotle mayo, this is a luscious veggie burger at a reasonable price ($12).
7. Queen & Beaver
Q&B is convincingly decked out as a traditional English public house and boasts premium quality beers and rich cuts of meat to go with the image. This is a great place to go in you’re looking for a nice, plump burger served in a refreshing way (tip: pour the house gravy over the Hand Crafted Burger – splendid, spiffing, superlative!)
6. Richmond Station
Richmond Station is known for providing quality American food and by many as an under appreciated burger on the scene. Their Station Burger is a sumptuous feast, made with conventional (but extremely tasty) ingredients, served medium-rare with a soft, rosy pink centre and framed by a well-proportioned bun.
5. The Stockyards
The Stockyards is very lively restaurant and the staff are efficient and cheerful in handling the demands of such a popular place. The location itself has a sort of hole-in-the-wall vibe and isn’t the largest, but this provides for a pleasant, hidden-away from the main drag feeling when eating. Both their burgers and their waffle-fried chicken combos are beloved by Torontonians.
4. Holy Chuck
Holy Chuck places so high on this list partially for its audacity, which is perhaps best demonstrated by its six patty Go Chuck Yourself burger which will set you back $20. This place serves greasy burgers and is proud of it. It’s gourmet in its own way and delivers on what it promises.
3. The Harbord Room
These burgers have seized a lot of attention and blog space since opening last year. Harbord’s house burger is a perfect example of excellently-done, tender mince accompanied with the right measures of toppings (melted cheese and aoili) to bring out the juiciness as well as a gentle crispiness to the bun to set if off just right.
2. P&L Burger
P&L’s rep is growing in the city. By now this place is certainly a serious contender for the number one spot. P&L consistently provides considerably-sized burgers bursting with flavour in every square inch. Opening up in the middle of Downtown, this place faced some serious competition from other burger joints but has completely managed to hold its own in the years that have passed.
1. Burger’s Priest
While many restaurants bring a fresh twist on a traditional recipe and hence earn the adjective “original”, Burger’s Priest is one of those rare places with an entire concept behind it that could be described as so: a Christian-themed burger joint. It might seem an unlikely outlet to have flourished in the city, but then again, by providing full-bodied, top-drawer mince burgers served in monster-sized portions, it’s easy enough to see why BP attracts such reverential burger fans. If you’re feeling ambitious, go for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – two burgers and two roasted portobello mushrooms, with generous helpings of grilled cheese dividing them.