Best Burgers in London

Any of you who follow me on Instagram will know my favourite naughty indulgence of a Friday night, is to head out with friends for burgers, shakes and a cocktail or two. It's been over a year now since I moved to London, and in that time I have definitely got the burger thing down. Next time you're in the capital, here are my reccs.

Five Guys

Best For:  The fast food option. This is greasy american fast food at it's best, we're talking plastic cheese, sesame seed buns, and tasty tasty meat. You honestly don't even need chips here, the burgers will fill you up enough, trust me. So so good, the perfect mid-shopping trip pick-me-up, handily located just off Leicester Square.

Give it a miss if: You're allergic to nuts, since everything is cooked in peanut oil. Or if you aren't into fast food, but I promise, this ain't no McDonalds.

I Order: The Bacon Cheeseburger with BBQ sauce, mayo, tomato, lettuce and grilled onions, and a Strawberry Fanta (my all time favourite soft drink). If I'm still hungry (unlikely) I'll have some chips too.

Burgers & Cocktails

Best For: Burgers and Cocktails? No seriously, they have a small but quite different array of Burgers, the sloppy joe fries and Mozzarella sticks are fab too, and I wholeheartedly reccommend ordering a jug of Strawberry & Lime Mojitos, even if you aren't usually a mojito fan (they add Strawberry and Lime Rekorderlig Cider which makes it taste incredible). A good stop for after work drinks and burgers, or for a leisurely lunch with friends. Handily situated just off St Christopher's Place, rather close to Selfridges.

Give it a miss if: you're in a rush or on a diet. The staff in here are fab, but it's not the best for quick service. If you aren't in a rush you won't mind since everybody is lovely, but just a tad slow. 

I Order: a good old cheeseburger, and then go wild with sides. I love the sloppy joe fries and mozzarella sticks, and if it's too early for a mojito, the cookies and cream shakes are amazing.

Handmade Burger Co.

Best for: choice. The menu is home to over forty different burgers, but they encourage you to take the best bits of each and create your own. They've got beef, chicken, lamb, stuffed burgers and bunless burgers. All the food is really fresh too, you can taste the herbs in the burgers, and the chips are so soft and fluffy they're unreal. We had a lengthy chat with the owner in there this weekend, who told us how all the chips are freshly made in the kitchens every morning, and that none of their food is frozen. All their chicken is halal too. Soft drinks are bottomless as well, which is good cause you'll need it to wash down the food.

Give it a miss if: you want to be waited on. It's all Nando's style here.

I order: the peppered beef burger, which has caramelised onions & peppercorn sauce, one portion of chips to share (they're huge) and onion rings. Wash it all down with a Lemon Meringue Sundae.

Giraffe

Best For: if you can't make up your mind. This place isn't strictly a burger place, just home to a few good'uns. So if you fancy a burger but your whole party doesn't, this is your place. They do Bar Buddies too in the evenings where drinks are half price.

Give it a miss if: you're after a fancy burger. Since it's not technically a burger restaurant, the choice is limited but good.

I Order: something different every time. 

GBK

Best for: a good value lunch. During the week they do a lunch menu with a burger and side for £5.95, meaning it totally fits my student budget. The burgers are good, but I go here for the skinny fries with HeiHei salt, yummmmm.

Give it a miss if: you're a fan of Byron. You're Team GBK or Byron, you can't be both.

I Order: A cheeseburger, skinny fries, homeslaw & a Strawberry and Elderflower Fizz. 

ShakeShack

 Best For: the shakes, duh. Honest to god the milkshakes are amazing. I love the basic strawberry milkshakes here, but I'm also a fan of the Salted Caramel Concrete, which is like frozen custard (read: frozen calories). I love the cheese sauce on the fries too, and the burgers are yummy.

Give it a miss if: you're after a gourmet burger. They're nice, but they're basic. Also the hot dogs are good, but very small, they aren't a meal!

I Order: A cheeseburger, cheesy fries, and a strawberry milkshake.

Meat Liquor

Best For: burgers. Hands down my absolute favourite, if you don't mind queuing to get in (I've been on a friday night and only had to queue for 15 minutes outside, and then wait 10 minutes at the bar, which is fine because they bring around onion rings and chicken wings while you wait), this place is home to my favourite burgers in London. The burgers come in delicious toasted brioche buns, and are the tastiest things you will ever taste, the chilli cheese fries are incredible, and the onion rings are the biggest and best onion rings you will have in your life. I love watching the overenthusiastic barmen making drinks too. There's an awesome atmosphere in this place, it's definitely my favourite Friday night spot.

Give it a miss if: you don't like queuing, loud music, and dark rooms. It's all part of the atmosphere in the place, but it is noisy and you will have to shout across the table. 

I Order: a cheese and bacon burger, chilli cheese fries, loads of onion rings, and a Jameson and Coke.

Well now I'm hungry. I hope you guys found this useful, and maybe it'll give you a few ideas for where to lunch next time you're in central London.

Where are your favourite places to get burgers?