Like fire exits and bathrooms, you should always know where the nearest great burger is. That is why we made this list. Well, that and to have an excuse to eat four cheeseburgers a week for two months. Nonetheless, we now present to you our absolute favorite burgers in Miami. And after reading this guide, you can feel secure in your knowledge of where to find the nearest excellent burger.
THE SPOTS
Lately, it feels like Blue Collar has been missing from the “Miami’s best burger” conversation. We will simply not stand for this. So let us say this loud and clear: Blue Collar’s dry-aged cheeseburger is our favorite burger in Miami. It’s not new or trendy. There is no special sauce or smashed patties. It’s just a thick, unbelievably good blend of NY strip and brisket covered in American cheese and served on a golden Portuguese Muffin—which we put right up there with the potato bun in our own personal burger bun rankings. Blue Collar’s burger is representative of Blue Collar’s best traits: no hype, all quality, and always leaves you 12% past full.
Unwrapping a warm USBS burger fills us with the kind of joy we haven't known since Christmas Day, 1996 (the year the Nintendo 64 came out). The housemade potato bun is so soft that your fingers leave little imprints like a memory foam mattress. The smashed and seared patties are covered in a runny cheese sauce that sinks into all the burger’s little cracks and charred bits. It's a classic smash burger with just enough unique elements to make it taste like a one-of-a-kind creation. Add to that the pun-loving team who run this food hall stand like the Bob's Burgers superfans they are, and this place always puts us in a good mood.
You go to The Louvre to appreciate classic works of art. And you go to Off Site to appreciate bar food. They both take their respective works just as seriously, as evidenced by this cheeseburger. It might not immediately grab your attention when it hits the table, but as you bite into it, you will be greeted by all the essential cheeseburger flavors, dialed up to 11. This is mostly thanks to the super flavorful patty—a mix of koji-cured chuck, brisket, and short rib.
Nobody nails the martini and cheeseburger combo like Over Under. The menu at this Downtown restaurant and bar changes often, but their cheeseburger has been there since day one. If it ever leaves, we might cry a little. There isn’t an aspect of this burger we don’t love: thin, deeply charred patties with American cheese, jammy onions, pickles, shredded lettuce, and 1000 Island Dressing (a burger condiment we don't see as often as we’d like). Pair it with a classic dirty martini or their shell-tini, a briny martini with oyster shell-infused gin.
We love a steamed bun, and Apocalypse BBQ in Kendall makes a stellar steamed-bun cheeseburger. Their boss burger isn’t complicated: it’s meat, cheese, pickles, and a house sauce. But simple is better when great ingredients are involved. Their housemade pickles are sweet but peppery. And the tangy boss sauce is everything Big Mac sauce wishes it could be. Then there’s the cheese. It gushes over the tender brisket and short rib patty like slow-moving lava. The meat is pressed and cooked perfectly. But those steamy potato buns could inspire Sir-Mix-A-Lot to write a sequel. It’s truly a joy to take a bite out of this fluffy, gooey burger.
Coney Burger is a sidewalk restaurant in Little Havana serving a menu heavy on American nostalgia with burgers, chili dogs, soft serve, and mac and cheese. What makes it different from your average burger stand is that—in addition to the usual meat versions—there are plant-based variations of everything on the menu. But the non-plant-based burgers are really wonderful. The champ burger has a thick—and we mean thick—wagyu patty. But if you're a smashburger person, go for their double smash, which has plenty of crispy beef, melted cheese, and fancy pickles.
North Beach’s Silverlake Bistro is one of Miami's most consistent restaurants, and not unlike Rick Astley, their burger will never let you down. This is also a good one to seek out if you're kind of sick of smashburgers. It consists of two un-smashed patties, lots of melted cheddar, porcini mayo, and strips of thick bacon, which are “optional”—but, in our opinion, essential. Another great thing about this burger: it comes with a big pile of crispy, skinny fries. There’s an option to make them truffle fries, and we can’t think of a more satisfying way to spend $2.
Chug's burger is a towering creation, held together by nothing but good burger engineering and every one of your fingers, which will grasp onto this thing like it’s the Hope Diamond. There’s nothing too complicated going on (except the dexterity required to eat it). It’s two patties, American cheese, pickles, shredded lettuce, and house sauce between a sesame seed bun. But, like everything this Coconut Grove Cuban diner does, it’s perfectly cooked, meticulously arranged, and hits your table looking like the burger equivalent of a supermodel.
Smashburger aficionados, meet Ted’s. It’s a Wynwood pop-up operating in front of J. Wakefield on Sundays from noon until sold out (these hours could change, so check their Instagram for the latest info). These are the best smashburgers in the whole city—the kind of smashburger that looks like it was smashed by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. (He played The Mountain on Game of Thrones, in case you were about to Google that.) They sometimes sell out, so try to get there a bit early. Your effort will be rewarded in the form of crispy, lacey, cheesy beef.
Two words: bacon jam. That gloriously chunky ingredient, which is used liberally in the Cowy burger, makes this burger pop-up worth stalking a little. But even the burgers without the bacon jam—like the Craver covered with confit red peppers—are great. They’re a tad messy, but they give each burger a diaper-esque wrapping job that saves your lap from sauce drippings. We don’t usually cover pop-ups unless they are consistent, clear about posting their schedules, or just very good. Cowy Burger is all three, and you can usually find them at a bar (like The Corner) or brewery (like J Wakefield).
There are a lot of factors that go into making a burger taste good, but perhaps the biggest one is the beef. If you agree with this fairly obvious statement, then the Proper Sausages burger is for you. They’re one of the best meat shops in town, so it makes sense that the wagyu patty they use tastes incredible, and is cooked to a perfect medium rare. They could serve that thing on two slices of stale white bread and it’d probably still be on this guide. But, thankfully, they accentuate the meat with a sturdy bun, a juicy slice of heirloom tomato, and some local lettuce.
Like Proper Sausages, Babe’s is a butcher shop in Palmetto Bay. So, yes, the patty is predictably delicious. But theirs is more of an old school burger—they keep it pretty simple with just American cheese, pickles, and sriracha mayo. The bun is one of those squishy burger buns that gets steamed the longer you leave it in its wrapper. There are no fancy tricks going on with this one, but every bite is classic burger perfection. This should be in the dictionary under the word “burger,” in case you’re listening, Merriam and/or Webster.
Sunnyside Cafe is a tiny little North Miami spot with the soul of a diner (which is why it’s on our diner guide). But the best thing they make are their "baby burgers." Each teeny, adorably named burger comes with diced griddled onions, American cheese, a pickle or two, and squishy buns. You get a little bit of everything in each bite—plus, you get to feel like Hagrid when you eat one. The side of fries it comes with are super crispy too.
La Birra Bar is a fast-casual burger spot in North Miami with a borderline overwhelming amount of options, but the correct choice is their golden burger. This place doesn't have much personality inside. You're not coming here to have fun. You're coming for a quick burger—but what a burger it is. It’s got two patties covered in melted American cheese, very finely diced onions, and a sauce binding everything together. But the best part about this burger might be the buns they bake themselves. They’re soft, sturdy, and never soggy—kind of an absolutely perfect burger bun.
We haven’t had a conversation about Miami’s best burger without someone mentioning Pinch. And that someone is us. It’s just undeniably good. And you won’t get mad at the burger’s thick patty, even if you prefer the thinner smashburger style. It’s really juicy and has a somewhat looser texture than the other burgers on this guide. Caramelized onions and a brioche bun add just enough sweetness, and the addition of bacon for an extra few bucks creates an enjoyable sweet and salty juxtaposition. It’s a messy, two-handed burger for sure—but well worth borrowing your neighbor’s napkin for.
