*This article includes mentions of merchants or brands who are partners of DoorDash, and DoorDash may receive a commission if you choose to make a purchase from these merchants or brands.
Perfectly packaged. Indefatigably versatile. Meals you can hold in your hand (okay, maybe both hands). Burgers are available in myriad styles: a plump and juicy beef patty, a chilli-lashed tofu slab, and the all-Aussie works with bacon, fried egg, beetroot, and a slice of pineapple. No cutlery required. Hot chips on the side. Whatever fills your buns, Sydney’s vast food scene delivers — and these (what I think) are the city’s best burgers. Bonus: they all deliver.
Baby Rey’s Burgers
Spawned from brewery pop-ups and a four-year food truck journey, this no-fuss Marrickville joint from brother-sister duo Rey Tesalona and Donna Ward does American-style burgers with heft. Go for the Cheesegasm smothered in extra American cheese, the Donald Truff with truffle mayo, or the Koo Koo, a buttermilk fried chicken beauty with maple and sriracha sauce. Add shoestring fries topped with sriracha mayo, hoisin, fried shallots, spring onions, and coriander, plus some deep-fried mac ’n cheese balls.
Big Daddy’s Burger Bar
With classic cheeseburgers, whipped cream milkshakes, mega hotdogs, and saucy curly fries, this American chain in Newtown, Redfern, and Warwick Farm plays all the nostalgic hits. My rec? Split a maple bacon-loaded Saymyname and a tongue-searingly spicy OMG Burger so you have room for dessert: the cinnamon-dusted doughnut fries and churros dipped in chocolate or caramel sauce.
Paul’s Famous Hamburgers
Anyone who’s driven past this Sylvania institution, originally founded in 1957 by Paul and Katina Zerefos, will rejoice that its classic, queue-triggering menu is deliverable. Order the Famous Works, a hearty Aussie monster with a beef patty, fried egg, pineapple slices, and stain-your-fingers beetroot. Pair it with a bag of thick-cut hot chips with chicken salt and a bottle of fresh-squeezed Pineapple Crush. Old-school magic.
John Belvedere
In the centre of Parramatta, just a punt kick away from the footy stadium, you'll find John Belvedere’s properly delicious burgers. Made from 100 percent Australian beef, ground and smashed in-store, these burgers are beloved by locals — and overlooked by portraits of J-Lo, Beyoncé, The Rock, Chris Hemsworth, and Rihanna painted on the wall. Take the celebs’ lead with the double cheeseburger, a weighty two-hander oozing with cheese, or the smoky Pulled Pork Burger and a crisp hillock of waffle-cut fries.
Mary’s
The self-titled “big, bad burger bar,” Mary’s kicked off the American-style burger trend in Sydney back in 2013 when Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham opened a backstreet restaurant in Newtown with a red light above the front door. Their rock n’ roll, no B.S., #getfat burger mojo has spread to Rozelle, Moore Park, Circular Quay and Castle Hill. The classic Mary’s burger — with grass-fed beef, American cheese, oak lettuce, and “trashcan bacon” that’s been chef-smoked over a metal bin — is divine. Although vegan options, specifically the Mary’s Cauli Burger, are keen competition.
Bonditony’s Burger Joint
Founded in Bondi by music industry veteran Tony Gosden, this ’90s rock-inspired, poster-plastered burger joint offers gourmet favourites laden with Gosden’s homemade sauces, top-notch chips-and-gravy, and quippy menu names. Get the Trippin Zeahorse, a classic burger with relish and aloe, or the Johnny Collide stuffed with a corn and chickpea patty. But if you want to eat like Godsen himself, order The Boss, a beef patty laden with bacon, jalapeños, and truffle-infused aioli.
Betty’s Burgers
You know when burger juice runs down your fingers and onto your lap but you don’t care because it’s so good? That’s the mood with Betty’s Burgers, once only available in Brisbane but now flipping patties in 17 locations across town — from the CBD to North Sydney, Bondi Beach, Castle Hill, and Penrith. The Betty’s Deluxe, with juicy beef, bacon, butter lettuce, pickles, and creamy sauce, is serious lick-your-wrists stuff. But, no joke, the vegetarian Shroom Burger’s deep-fried fiesta of Gouda and Gruyère cheese oozing between two crispy mushrooms, slays all.
Ume Burger
Japanese-style burgers, inspired by Tokyo’s street-counter culture, are relatively rare in Sydney. Kerby Craig’s Ume Burger, in Barangaroo and Haymarket, flips classic American-style burgers alongside the hand-crumbed, Japanese tartare-licked Fish Katsu Burger and the Kakiage Burger — a crunchy tempura vegetable fritter with finely shredded cabbage, salty nori mayo, and soy tonkatsu sauce. Get some house-made kimchi too.
Burger Point
In 2016, Burger Point went viral for suggesting its American-style, Filipino-flavoured burgers be dipped into supplied bowls of liquid cheese. Even Lizzo was impressed, calling it her “go-to” burger joint during a 2020 tour. Eight Burger Point locations — including Eastern Creek, Circular Quay, Edmondson Park, the CBD, and Norwest — keep Sydneysiders everywhere cheesing. The Marvin Glaze, a signature burger with a doughnut-glazed bun sprinkled with cheddar and maple bacon bits, is heartily recommended.
Frango Charcoal Chicken
What Sydneysiders affectionately call “the chicken wars” — the ongoing debate about the city’s best charcoal chicken — requires selfless, unerring research. Do your part at Frango, founded in 1998 in Petersham and now offering beloved, slow-cooked Portuguese chicken, spit-roasted with lip-tingling chilli sauce, in eight locations (from Drummoyne to Concord, Bella Vista, Marrickville, and Marsden Park). The Original Portuguese Chicken Burger wins but, if you wake late, the All-Day Breakfast Burger, with bacon and egg-draped chicken, pineapple, and mayonnaise, is truly rousing.
Batch Burgers
A milk bun’s throw from the “Coat Hanger,” on the edge of Sydney Harbour, Batch Burgers’ American-style diner in Kirribilli’s village serves juicy classics with come-hither upgrades. Try the Miami Viced, with succulent deep-fried chicken; the Truffle Shuffle, featuring truffle mayo and melted white cheese; or the Aussie, a milk bar-style burger topped with beetroot, egg, and pineapple. Cross the American border for quintessential Canadian poutine, hot chips and softened cheese curds smothered with gravy. Batch Burgers is yet another must-try burger place in Sydney.
Five Guys
If you’re looking for the best American burgers in Sydney, you need to try Five Guys. The cult U.S. chain arrived here in 2021, opening in Penrith to a plethora of publicity. Foil-wrapped burgers, crisp fries, and no freezers in sight, fans were agog at being able to order from such an iconic brand. Try the ample curves of the Bacon Cheeseburger, a motherlode of melty cheese-draped beef, applewood-smoked bacon, and, like all the burgers here, as many free toppings as you wish.
Burger Head
Founded in 2016 by friends and fine dining chefs Joshua Deluca, Timothy Rosenstrauss, and Richard Borg, Burger Head’s four Sydney restaurants closed due to financial pressures in 2023 but reopened as burger trucks, parked in Casula and Penrith. The pivot hasn’t changed the oozy, gooey, juicy caramelised wonder of their burgers. Order the Louis for its smashed and sizzling Angus beef patty, tangy onion pickles, and kicky mustard mayonnaise. Stellar crispy fries and the creamiest mashed potato and gravy also abound.
Slim’s Quality Burger
These Australian-American burger and milkshake joints, with a delivery-friendly outpost in Marrickville, make fresh, filling, wallet-friendly favourites that smoke most big chain fare. Full marks to the chicken club’s spicy, grilled-to-order marinated breast with maple-smoked bacon and whacking great tomato slices in a soft potato bun.
Butter
Hip-hop, sneaker culture, and burgers delivered in food-grade shoeboxes — the mindset at this Surry Hills neighbourhood joint is kooky, cool, and fuelled by fried chicken. The cheekily-named Cheezus bun cradles golden, karaage-style chicken thighs smeared with honey mustard and blanketed in cheese. Get the cinnamon sugar-dusted hot apple pie bites for dessert.
Mister Gee
There’s a lickey-split, dance music, burgers-are-life joy to Mister Gee, founded by namesake Gee Ozgen, a social media star and wearer of halo-topped merch. This North Strathfield diner offers four signature burgers, led by the magnificent beefy punch of the Stoner’s Revenge — laden with sweet-vinegary pickled onions, crispy bacon, salt and vinegar chips, and rich, peppery “stoner” sauce. A real dude.
Flappy’s
Around the corner from Brisket Boys at the rejuvenated Penrith Manufactor site, Flappy’s is an American-style diner offering fried chicken burgers on glossy buns. Go big on extras like mash and Creole gravy, loaded fries, and freshly squeezed, house-made lemonade. Try the Road House BBQ with silky roast bell peppers, golden meteorites of fried chicken, plenty of grilled onions, and sweet-spicy Memphis BBQ sauce.
Soul Burger
Soul Burger, Sydney’s first wholly plant-based burger restaurant, was founded in 2015 by Amit Tewari, a trained doctor who swapped medicine for hospitality. With locations in Randwick, Newtown, and Glebe, Soul Burger has a fan base that extends far beyond meat-free eaters. The Southern Fried Chicken Burger, with apple slaw, Westmont pickles, and aioli and relish is unbridled plant-based pleasure. Add a lush caramel and coconut ice cream milkshake.
Surly’s American Tavern
Sydney burger purists will applaud Surly’s Plain Jane burger, a succinct smashed beef patty number with melty American cheese and shoestring fries. This Nashville-vibed Darlinghurst joint calls it “the hackable burger,” with almost 20 add-ons — including chips, slaw, peanut butter, and sticky, smoky bacon jamtrust me, you want a swipe of that).
Burger’s Anonymous
Fans of the TV series Breaking Bad have made The Heisenburger, with its herculean sirloin-based patty, gooey lava cheese, oak lettuce, and addictive maple bacon, the most popular order at Burger’s Anonymous. And with seven locations — from Sydenham to Darlinghurst, Campsie, Fairfield, and Balmain — you’re never far from one. Try the PBJ burger, a cheese, bacon, fries, peanut butter, and jammy mayo combo, and house the special for dessert: crispy fried buns with condensed milk dip.
Two Hungry Bears
Enjoying a burger by Narrabeen’s sandy shores might attract chip-seeking seagulls, but Two Hungry Bears’ chargrilled chuck and brisket burgers are popular far beyond the Northern Beaches. The menu offers 20 burger varieties with the Super Mario’s chargrilled portobello mushroom with jalapeño jam, and the Japanese flavours of the Mr Myagi — sweet-and-sour pork hock, pickled carrot and onion, shallots, and sesame mayo — clear winners.
Suburgia
Half the joy in picking a Suburgia burger from the outlets in Petersham and Redfern, is puzzling over names — all real Sydney suburbs. Why does a Randwick have wagyu beef patties, smoky bacon, cheese, egg, pineapple, beetroot, tomato, and pickles? What does the Macdonaldtown’s two plant-based patties say about the inner-west? The Drummoyne adds chipotle salsa and a hash brown, the Pyrmont is veggie, the Annandale, Windsor and Illawong are vegan, and the Cronulla features fresh battered fish (the seaside, we get this one!). Try not to overthink this: the Chatswood’s juicy Southern fried chicken with bacon jam and buttermilk ranch is a no-brainer.
Burger Patch
Speaking of Chatswood, Burger Patch goes big. The burgers here can tower, like the Angry American with its mega-sized patties and onion rings. Try the Cheesy American, with two deep-fried mozzarella sticks crowning a beef patty, that oozes liquid cheese with every bite. Veg-lovers will find plenty of plant-based options — and don’t skip the chicken wings with myriad sauces or the majestically cheesy, saucy, and chive-sprinkled sweet potato fries.
Miss Ary
The absolute winner at Korean street food specialist Miss Ary, available from a Mt Druitt food truck and a restaurant in Strathfield, is the Southern Wagyu BBQ Bulgogi burger. A sweet and salty umami song of rich, marinated beef, spicy honey ssamjang, and Korean mayonnaise, this kimbap-inspired burger, is wrapped in seaweed and seasoned rice rather than buns. Add a side of tok bok ki, with house-made, hot, spicy sauce, plus a chilled honeydew melon ice-cream soda.
