My favourite burgers in Melbourne, Australia

I blame Melbourne’s incredible burger scene for my pot belly. Actually, scrap that. If I’m honest, I already had a pot belly. But I do blame Melbourne’s incredible burger scene for the extended edition of said pot belly which I’m now sporting.

We left Melbourne nearly two weeks ago now and I really really miss it. We called it our home for almost five months and loved everything about it. We’re in Penang, Malaysia now. It’s loud, full of mopeds, humid and very very hot. It’s great. But it’s not Melbourne and I doubt anywhere ever will be.

Burgers are big business in Melbourne and there are more indie burger shops than you can possibly get around in anything less than at least two years. In the time we were there I tried my best to take a large sample size.

In no particular order (so as not to cause arguments) here are my favourites:

On It Burger

We spent two weeks living in Abbotsford whilst our friend Patrick was out in Melbourne with us and during our time there we ate at On It Burger. Actually, we’d planned to go into town for Huxtaburger but ran out of time so On It was our second choice.

What a second choice – we loved it! The food was great. Tasty beef patties and interesting toppings plus some really good sauces including bacon jam. Environment wise, On It is in an airy light building with plenty of booth seating and funky graffiti style decor.

TOP PICK: Double On It. A classic double beef patty with red onion, cheese, tomato, lettuce and the house ‘on it’ sauce. SO GOOD.

Find them: 349-351 Victoria St, Abbotsford VIC 3067 // insta // online

Wonky Trolley

My friend and fellow blogger Laura from Full to the Brum was in Melbourne over Christmas visiting her sister. Her burger love is real (possibly more real than mine) and she did a great job hunting out some of the best burgers around. Her absolute fave was this place: Wonky Trolley in North Melbourne. Obviously, we had to go and see what she was making a fuss about.

The restaurant itself is small and not overly comfortable but if the weather is being kind, you can sit outside and watch the world pass by. Service is fast and the prices are good. Don’t be alarmed when you don’t immediately see fries on the menu, they do offer them it’s just not massively clear!

TOP PICK: The 3051: Double beef, double cheese, bacon, lettuce & wonky sauce. THUMBS UP!

Find them: 47 Errol Street, North Melbourne, VIC 3051 // insta // online.

8Bit

My first experience of a Melbourne burger was at the 8bit shop in CBD. One bite and it was true love. Despite the fast food approach, this place serves seriously good burgers. We spent three weeks in Footscray and were able to visit their original site there too. It’s stripped back and painfully cool with brick walls and simple seating. I also love their nod to retro video games everywhere.

TOP PICK: Whatever your order, make sure you include a portion of the cheesy bacon fries with it. They are so so good. A mess of oozy cheese sauce with spring onions, bacon bits burying a mound of skin-on fries. *DROOL*

Burger-wise, for me it has to be the After Burner. Beef patty, tomato, red onion, lettuce, cheese, chilli sauce, jalapeños, mustard & chipotle mayo. It’s oozy and quite hard to eat but worth the mess.

Find them: Footscray: 8 Droop Street, Footscray, VIC 3011 // CBD: 231 Swanston Street

Melbourne, VIC 3000 // insta // online.

Betty’s Burgers

If there was an award for crazy lettuce, Betty’s would win it. I like to think all that crazy lettuce also makes their burgers just a little bit healthier too… right?

Betty’s was our chosen place to eat on Australia Day and Dave had their special – filled with avocado, beetroot and a fried egg. It was so good (as was mine) that I returned with my friend Patrick on the last day of his visit. The burgers both comforted us and acted as a triumphant final supper. This place looks great inside too, very surf chic despite its city centre location.

TOP PICK: The Betty’s Classic Stack: Beef patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, Betty’s special sauce & a crisp fried mushroom filled with melted Gouda and Gruyere cheese! BOOOM! If you’ve got room share a portion of onion rings and make sure you grab a pot of the sriracha mayo too. It’s awesome.

Find them: CBD: 97 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000 // insta // online.

Royal Stacks

So we may have over-ordered on our visit to Royal Stacks. As well as fries and onion rings plus extras in our burgers, we both had a BIG burger and one of their concrete shakes. In case you’re not familiar with what a concrete shake is – it’s basically frozen custard with a choice of toppings. Like a really good McFlurry.

The menu is a bit complicated so take a look online before you go in. Otherwise, you’ll be stood at the counter stammering like a bloody tourist and holding up the inevitable queue. TOP PICK: For something utterly decadent, go for the Miss Elizabeth. Beef patty, Swiss cheese & truffle mayo. And as if that wasn’t enough, I added fried mac n cheese. Yeah, baby!! Share a cheesy fries with your dining partner. The portion is huge and they are SO rich you’ll never manage one to yourself!

Find them: CBD: 470 Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000 // Brunswick: Shop 1, 800 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, VIC 3056 // insta // online.

That Burger Joint

As a Brit with a November birthday, it doesn’t get much better than sitting somewhere hot and sunny with a burger and a pitcher of beer in front of you. Roll back to November and that was me. Sat in St Kilda and about to tuck into this almighty beast!

These guys have a small garden out the back with an outside bar and they also run some good deals on lunch and delivery so definitely worth checking out when you’re next in St Kilda!

TOP PICK: Mighty Chillian. Beef patty, lettuce, tomato, fresh green chilli, crispy bacon, cheese, spicy salsa and guacamole. Yes, please!

Find Them: 221 Barkly Street, St Kilda, VIC 3182 // insta // online

So many burgers, so little time!

And that’s it. Somehow I’ve managed to narrow it to six burger joints out of the many excellent choices there are for burger connoisseurs in Melbourne. 🍔

Which one do you think looks best? Have I missed somewhere off? I love to hear your comments so share below!

4 thought on “Melbourne’s Best Burgers”

Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours says:

30th March 2017 at 8:46 am

Oh they all look so good. There are so many factors in to making a burger amazing aren't there? The meat (rare – although unless they make their own burgers they are never allowed to cook it rare), the bun and the toppings.

I also love fries with sauces, so good!

Helen Costello says:

30th March 2017 at 9:25 am

Oh wow, you really did do your burger homework! I'm not usually a huge burger lover (non-cheese eater) but even I'm tempted by these. Love the names too, Wonky Trolley is awesome!

Helen - family-friends-food says:

30th March 2017 at 10:06 am

Well, I'm vegetarian…BUT, those cheesy fries and onion rings still look damn appealing! I'm impressed with your dedication to seeking out the best, too 😉

Coral Musgrave says:

4th September 2017 at 12:56 pm

I now have a list of more burger joints to go to when next house sitting in Melbourne. Each time there are more to try. So many burgers so little time.