Best Burgers in Austin: Campus to Food Trucks

The best burgers in Austin split between old campus counters and the city’s food-truck culture. Dirty Martin’s Place has served its Kum-Bak cheeseburger on Guadalupe Street, beside the University of Texas campus, since 1926, in its original building. For newer burgers, look along South Congress, in East Austin, around Sixth Street and Rainey Street, and in the food-truck parks of South Austin.

Austin eats burgers the Texas way: big sesame buns, jalapeños and, on many menus, queso or smoked brisket on top. Two chains are part of local identity. Whataburger, born in Corpus Christi in 1950, is the state’s late-night reflex, while P. Terry’s, founded in Austin in 2005, built a loyal following with a short menu of simple burgers. Food trucks fill the space in between, so a smash burger often comes from a trailer rather than a dining room.

Burgers in Austin: key facts

• Neighborhoods to explore: West Campus and the Drag, South Congress, East Austin, Sixth Street, Rainey Street and South Lamar.
• Oldest counter: Dirty Martin’s Place, open on Guadalupe Street since 1926.
• Texas toppings: fresh or pickled jalapeños, queso, brisket and thick-cut onion.
• Food trucks: many of Austin’s burger cooks work from trailers grouped in food-truck parks.
• Currency: US dollar (USD); Texas sales tax is added to the menu price at the register.

Every guide we publish on Austin is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. For other cities, browse all our burger restaurant guides.