Where to Eat Australia’s 10 Best Burgers

It’s a bunfight as Larissa Dubecki tries to track down the where to eat Australia’s best burgers.

Wagyu burger, $24, at Rockpool Bar & Grill

The big kahuna of burgers, this is Neil Perry’s fine contribution to the oeuvre: Blackmore Wagyu, brioche bun, gruyère cheese, red onion and zucchini pickles and smoky bacon. Australia’s best burger? We think so.
Crown Casino, 8 Whiteman Street, Melbourne. 66 Hunter Street, Sydney. Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood.

Cheese and bacon burger, $10.90, at Burger Project

Consider it entry-level Neil Perry, which still means exceptional: grass-fed Cape Grim beef ground into hand-made patties, Breadtop bun, cheese, lettuce, tomato. The update of the fish and chip shop burgers of yore.
Lower ground floor, 19 Martin Place, Sydney. World Square, 644 George Street, Sydney.

The Denise burger, $11.50, at Huxtaburger

All of the burgers are named after Cosby Show characters, which naturally makes Denise the hot one. Jalapeño and sriracha mayo top out an American-style burger, with Victorian grass-fed beef, Breadtop milk bun, and house-made sauces (except for the Heinz tomato ketchup and French’s mustard).
106 Smith Street, Collingwood. Rear 357 Collins Street, Melbourne. 203 High Street, Prahran. 681 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn. Eastland, 171-175 Maroondah Highway, Ringwood.

Grilled beef and cheese burger, $12, at Chur Burger

The burgers are better at this fast-and furious joint with an excellent beef patty topped with cheese, tomato jam, mustard mayo and house-made pickle in a glossy sesame seed-topped brioche bun. Add a side of sweet potato fries and off you go.
48 Albion Street, Surry Hills. 1 O’Connell Street, Sydney. Shop 5/123 Eagle Street, Brisbane. 20 Constance Street, Fortitude Valley.

Sunrise Surprise, $12.50, at Fancy Burger

Pineapple lovers rejoice, for here you will not be laughed at for giving your burger a tropical spin. South Australian beef, avocado, tomato, lightly grilled pineapple and herby mayo with lettuce, red onion and relish.
17 Synagogue Place, Adelaide. 237 Main Street, Blackwood. 402 Magill Road, Kensington Park.

Bacon Double Cheeseburger, $19, at Short Order Burger Company, Fremantle

It might be a bit difficult wrapping your lips around this high-altitude burger but it’s worth the effort (and the spillage factor) with the patty cooked to perfect pink and slapped between a brioche bun with smoked mozzarella, American cheddar, caramelised onion, maple candied bacon, aïoli, their own barbecue sauce and pickles.
The Mantle, 1 James Street, Fremantle.

The Bronx, $12.50, at Five Point Burgers

You’ve got to be tough getting a seat at this buzzing North Sydney joint with a former Fat Duck chef (Tomislav Martinovic) behind the menu. And you’ve got to be tough surviving the Bronx – a thick beef patty grilled smash-style to medium-rare, two slices of oozy American cheese, onion jam and pickles, iceberg lettuce, bacon and mustard and tomato sauce, all on a white fluffy milk bun.
124 Walker Street, North Sydney.

Oz Burger, $15, at the Merrywell

Merrywell sticks to the US approach, cooking their fat beef patties to a pink and juicy medium-rareness rarely seen in Australia. That said, go the Oz – with cheddar, pineapple, pickled beetroot and a runny-yolked fried egg on floury bun.
Crown Casino, Whiteman Street, Southbank.

Double Patty Smash, $12, at Rockwell & Sons

Exactly as the name says: you get two fat grass-fed beef patties, rolled in a ball and “smashed” on the grill, pink inside and charry outside, topped with melt-friendly Kraft Singles cheese slices, a tangy salmon-pink “special sauce” and pickles on brioche.
288 Smith Street, Collingwood.

The Mary’s Burger, $15, at Mary’s

The burger menu at Mary’s might be short but it makes every bit count, including the American-style namesake with its “trash can bacon” – bacon the kitchen crew have smoked in a bin. The burgers are made from chuck, brisket and rump, the buns are soft and fluffy without being too sweet. Sweet.
6 Mary Street, Newtown.