SEAGuide
The Seattle Smashburger Power Rankings
photo credit: Nate Watters
Seattle smashburgers are sprouting up left and right like beef-based sunflowers. And it seems like what once was an anomaly in Seattle's greater burgerverse is now running this town. Good thing that a truly great smashburger—with its lacy edges, volcanic american cheese, and abundance of tangy sauce—wields the power to make us happier than the protagonist in a pharmaceutical commercial. These are the best smashburgers in Seattle, ranked.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Nate Watters
#1
Your Order: Kewpie Burger And Truffles Fries ($15.25)
This is the best burger in Seattle. Through the transitive property, that also makes it our city’s finest smashburger. Here you have a stack of juicy-salty patties that embody the beefiness of brown gravy, with a frizzled circumference that adds a nice crackle. Yet all that miso-backed meatiness doesn’t get in the way of the american and minuscule chopped pickles and onions suspended in kewpie. It’s the leading role of this Beacon Hill Guamanian spot’s menu, and it has everything you want—and nothing you don’t.
photo credit: Nate Watters
Your Order: Oklahoma Smash ($10.50)
This mustard-colored trailer parked outside Rooftop Brewing in Queen Anne serves onion-pressed Oklahoma-style smashburgers that possess serious pleasure-to-have-in-class energy. The craggy edges of these fantastic patties orbit the bun like a meaty ring of Saturn. Spice-flecked special sauce adds necessary sodium and tang, chunky pickle hunks cut through the grease, and thin slivers of singed onions scraped off the flat top are perfectly strewn around. And if you're a pepper fan, grab the Ultimate Jalapeño, kicked with pickled and fried jalapeños.
photo credit: Nate Watters
#3
Your Order: Smashburger ($9.00)
The burger at a seafood joint often ends up being a consolation prize for people who aren't into fish—but Local Tide's smashburger is the best dish on the menu. The smashed beef and pork patty has all the juiciness of dumpling filling, and harmonizes perfectly with jammy caramelized onions, a bit of mayo, and american cheese on brioche. This is where we'd drop a mic for a dramatic effect, but that's not good for the equipment.
photo credit: Nate Watters
#4
Your Order: Lao Burger ($15.00)
This Lao restaurant on Capitol Hill proves that things like taro stem, spicy lemongrass-y pork skin mayo, jowl bacon, and cilantro deserve real estate on a smashburger. In addition to all those ingredients, Taurus Ox’s double stack also has a bunch of provolone and gets served on a soft pub bun. The result is a specimen with fresh herbs, nuttiness, and just enough pork fat. If you’re in a hurry, note that you can secure a replica at fast-casual sibling Ox Burger.
photo credit: Aimee Rizzo
Your Order: Burger ($6.00)
Every Thursday at 11am, the deli counter at this Greenwood grocery store transforms into a burger joint, complete with griddle hisses and Maillard reaction smells wafting throughout the cereal aisle. And the smashburgers are a tour de force. Even after warming under a heat lamp, the lacy patty keeps its Butterfinger-like snap, shredded lettuce stays crisp, and yellow american fuses to the thousand island-y special sauce. If you want a just-seared one, try pretending to peruse the nearby wine displays until a new batch is ready.
photo credit: Nate Watters
#6
Your Order: The Fair Burger ($9.00)
This burger truck at Future Primitive in White Center has a few different great “smashies,” but we love the Fair Burger—a double stack of extra-thin patties with crispy wayward edges, a bunch of translucent onions smashed into the meat, and gooey munster cheese. The bottom bun here is a bit more toasted than typical smashburgers, but it gives structure and avoids a situation where you are basically just eating a meat and cheese Uncrustable.
photo credit: Chona Kasinger
#7
Your Order: Saint Cheeseburger ($9.00)
The smashburger at this University District bakery is one to seek out if you prefer a breadier bun-to-other-stuff ratio. The sweet, eggy Hawaiian bun complements the meat, and the patty crust buckles like a potato chip without taking away overall moistness. Monstrous globs of fresno chili-spiked kewpie mayo weave throughout for a hit of heat and creaminess.
photo credit: Andrew Valantine
Your Order: Burger And Fries ($16.50)
Some smashburgers are just a little snack. But the patties at this Pioneer Square bar are sizable. They’re also pressed, not WWE slammed—which means you’ll get a nice crust while the middle manages to stay a little thick with a pink tint. There’s a slick coating of garlicky pepper-specked burger sauce, a confetti pile of crisp shredded iceberg, and a tasty blanket of american so thick that you almost lose sight of the patty.
photo credit: Nate Watters
Your Order: Smashburger ($7.00)
Ballard Smoke Shop is one of the neighborhood's oldest dive bars and it’s the kind of place where bar stools have permanent ass prints from the regulars. While you’re here (solidifying your very own ass print) order the smashburger. A thin, juicy patty topped with american cheese and pickles stays perfectly tucked within a soft sesame seed-speckled bun that adds a nutty and toasty touch.
photo credit: Nate Watters
#10
Your Order: The D.A.M Burger ($18)
The D.A.M. Burger holds down the fort as the one and only burger on a menu of great sandwiches at this Ballard shop—and it takes the job very seriously. This double-decker dry-aged patty comes with a glue of “USA chez” (a.k.a american cheese), some sweet vinegary pickles, and a lot of grainy housemade Mean mustard. It’s savory, tangy, a little sweet—and even better with a side of the shop’s salt and pepper potato skins.
