A burger is greater than the sum of its parts. Not just because eating buns or raw onions on their own is pretty lame, but because a burger is a mood. It’s what you order when you want to eat with your hands after a particularly long day, after a few particularly strong drinks, or as is often the case at the moment - after both. We can’t say that burgers travel better than, say, pizza, but when you’re in the mood, nothing else will do. Order for pickup or delivery from the 23 places on this guide.
THE SPOTS

Bateau makes the best burger in the city, so the fact that you can get one for takeout (pickup-only) is a huge deal. You will have to cook it yourself, though, because this steakhouse is selling a DIY kit that has everything you need to make two burgers. Pick it up, follow their instructions, and you’ll have a big mound of perfectly-seared ground beef, caramelized onion jam, and aioli on a homemade bun. If you add some tallow to your order, you can even make your own Bateau-inspired French fries.

One of the best new burgers in town is at a seafood restaurant. Local Tide’s delicious smashburger is made with a juicy combination of beef and pork, a layer of velvety caramelized onions just as thick as the patty, American cheese, house mayo, and a spongy brioche bun. The meat’s so flavorful on its own that we could eat it plain, and the accompanying ingredients are ideal supporting characters.

In Bellevue, there’s a little burger joint that smells like fryer oil and serves the best charbroiled cheeseburger in the Seattle metro area. These are juicy and taste terrific with bacon and fry sauce on one of their huge sesame seed buns. And while we love their onion rings, the thin batter makes them not travel very well. So be sure to eat them in the car, or just stick with fries (dunked in a lot of fry sauce).
Burgermaster has been one of our most frequented restaurants for burgers lately. Maybe that’s because, generally, their dining experience has remained relatively unchanged during the pandemic. You just sit in your parking spot, someone comes to take your order, and then you’re face-to-face with some tasty cheeseburgers, crunchy onion rings, and creamy milkshakes for you to eat in your vehicle.

If drippy, topping-heavy burgers are your thing, the ”Beacon Burger” at Perihelion is an ideal meat sandwich. The cheddar, thick pork belly, and chile aioli work better together than Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor in the tap dance sequence in Singing In The Rain.

We’re usually stopping in this Bainbridge Island sandwich shop for a club sandwich or pastrami on rye. Now, they’re operating as a burger joint called “Sacka-Burgers,” serving classic smashburgers, homemade veggie burgers, fries (including fried oyster mushrooms and asparagus), funnel cake, and soft serve. For information and to place an online pickup or delivery order, head to their new website.

A shackburger with crispy edges and American cheese is one of the great simple pleasures of this world. And we can confirm that it’s still delicious after sitting for a bit in the backseat of a car. We can’t say as much for a frozen custard concrete, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t order one of those, too.

It’s no secret that Bait Shop serves outstanding fish and chips. But don’t ignore the double cheeseburger, which is exactly what you want while sipping on a frozen to-go tiki drink. With two thin Bateau patties, American cheese, pickles, onion, lettuce, and burger sauce on a sesame bun, it’s a pretty perfect option if you’re just in the mood for a high-quality, filling burger.

The best thing at this new Queen Anne restaurant from the team behind Eden Hill is the double cheeseburger, with wagyu beef, smoked cheddar, secret sauce, and caramelized onions on a big brioche bun. It pairs really well with their crispy shoestring fries, and if two patties are a bit much for you, they’re selling a single version, too. Pickup and delivery are available, and you can place your order here.

Katsu Burger
You’d think that deep-fried beef would get soggy in transit, but the panko-breaded burger from Katsu always stays nice and crisp, even when covered in Japanese curry sauce or nori ranch. These sandwiches are straight-up mountainous, but extremely satisfying when you’re in the mood for eating an entire meal that came from a fryer basket.

The excellent burger at Frank’s is proof that seafood louie sauce can enhance a lot more than just crab salad. This delicious thing also has cheddar, bacon, and pickled onion, and the result is a burger that’s equal parts salty, smoky, sweet, and sour. It’s available for pickup only, but you can order in advance here.

The Lao smashburger from Taurus Ox is one of the best things we’ve eaten in recent memory, and it should make you very happy that you can pick it up or get it delivered from 12-8pm on Tuesday through Saturday. With the combination of jowl bacon, two thin patties, nutty provolone, pickled onions, taro stem, spicy mayo made from fried pork skin, and a fistful of cilantro on a pub bun, this burger is definitely something you want to eat on the couch instead of getting a first-degree burn from a hot pocket.

Coastline Burgers
If you had us choose between the burgers on homemade buns from Coastline or their crispy shoestring fries, it would be tough - but there’s nothing stopping you from ordering both. They’re open for delivery and takeout, and you can place your order here.

Usually, you expect a coffee shop to smell like espresso. But at Bite Box, when you walk in it immediately smells like braised meat. That’s because they make a terrific burger topped with chipotle aioli, spicy pickles, and yes, braised oxtail ragu. Right now, it’s available for pickup, and you definitely should spend an extra $4 to add bacon and gruyere.

This counter-service burger spot in First Hill serves great burgers for takeout and delivery with a ton of topping combinations, from portobello and swiss to bacon, jalapenos, and pepper jack. It’s an excellent choice because you have a lot of options, but you can always default to a great plain old burger with cheese, too.
Harry’s serves a cheeseburger that’s stacked with all the usual suspects, including a perfectly-toasted bun (in fact, we think it looks exactly like the burger emoji). And since they’ve transformed their dining room into a wine bottle shop, you can grab something to open at home if you’d like, too.

We typically enjoy our Loretta’s tavern double inside of Left Bank, our favorite wine bar on the same block. But you can still get one of these burgers with American cheese and special sauce to take home. They taste like something you’d get at the best backyard barbecue of your life and they actually travel surprisingly well. You can reach them at 206-251-2821 to call in your burger for pickup.

This West Seattle pasta spot has a takeout menu that’s changing every day (check their Instagram for more information), which means their used-to-be-Happy Hour burger isn’t available all the time. But when it is, you should order it. It’s a tasty thick patty with bacon, white cheddar, and lettuce on a soft bun, and don’t forget to add some old bay fries to your (pickup-only) order.

Little Big Burger
The burgers at this Cap Hill spot are, you know, good. But the real sleeper hit is their chicken burger, made with ground chicken infused with chipotle spices and topped with fry sauce and Tillamook cheddar. It’s delicious, and you can get it for delivery or pickup right now, too. And we know this isn’t a french fry guide, but their truffle fries are f*cking phenomenal potato innovations.

Pick Quick serves one of our favorite burgers, and you don’t even need to get out of your car to grab one. The patties are very thin and stackable, the buns have an ideal toast on them, and they also have soft serve malted milkshakes. If you don’t even want to leave the house, they’re also delivering.

First off, we’re fans of Two Doors Down for offering complimentary burgers for laid-off restaurant industry workers every Monday. But we also love this place because their burgers are great, and right now, they’re open for takeout and delivery. We highly advise you to build your own burger and make sure it has some garlicky hopped mayo on there.

Dick's Drive-In
We’ve all stood in line at 1am at Dick’s before, wishing they delivered. Now they do - so you can wait for your Dick’s deluxe while scrubbing through Netflix instead of standing in the parking lot convincing your drunk friend not to go through with earlier claims that they’re going to “catch a local sidewalk pigeon and teach it to tap dance.” Read more about how Dick’s delivery works here.