Best Burgers in Dallas: The 10 Spots to Try in 2026
The 10 best burgers in Dallas, TX: a 1951 Hillcrest grill, a carhop drive-in, new smash burgers and a Paris bistro, with addresses and dated prices.
The best burgers in Dallas are at Maple & Motor near Love Field, Keller’s Drive-In in Lake Highlands and Burger House on Hillcrest Avenue: three old-school counters and drive-ins that the local press keeps naming, year after year. Want something newer? Burger Schmurger makes the city’s best-known smash burger, and Bar Sardine serves a chef’s cheeseburger on a smashed bun. Below are 10 spots in Dallas and the Park Cities, with addresses, sourced prices, the burger to order at each and an FAQ for visitors.
How I ranked the best burgers in Dallas
I ranked each spot by how consistently the Dallas press that covers burgers most closely puts it on top. I started with the Dallas Observer’s 2026 burger guide, then cross-checked D Magazine’s best burgers guide, its critics’ 2025 burger diary, Visit Dallas and local reporting from CultureMap, PaperCity and the Dallas Morning News. My bias, stated up front: a place that has held its reputation for decades beats a buzzy opening.
I checked addresses on October 7, 2026, and dropped anything that has closed (two famous names are at the end). Each price names the outlet that published it. There are no star ratings. I don’t have dated review counts for most of these places, and an invented score is worse than none. The ranking covers Dallas proper plus the Park Cities; Richardson, home of the Dallas Observer’s 2025 Best Burger, gets its own section.
Best burgers in Dallas at a glance
Short on time? Here are the 10 picks, where they are and what to order.
| # | Restaurant | Neighborhood | Signature burger |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maple & Motor | Northwest Dallas / Love Field | Brisket-and-chuck cheeseburger |
| 2 | Keller’s Drive-In | Lake Highlands | No. 5 (double, poppy-seed bun) |
| 3 | Burger House | Hillcrest, near SMU (Park Cities) | Double cheeseburger with seasoned fries |
| 4 | Wingfield’s Burgers | Oak Cliff | Half-pound pressed burger |
| 5 | Adair’s Saloon | Deep Ellum | Cheeseburger with yellow mustard |
| 6 | Burger Schmurger | Old Lake Highlands / East Dallas | Smash burger |
| 7 | Rodeo Goat | Design District | Sugar Burger |
| 8 | Bar Sardine | Snider Plaza, University Park | Smashed-bun cheeseburger |
| 9 | Doda Burger & Sushi | Old East Dallas | Doda Burger (American wagyu) |
| 10 | AllGood Cafe | Deep Ellum | The Grape tribute cheeseburger |
Map of the best burger restaurants in Dallas: Maple & Motor (Love Field), Keller’s Drive-In (Lake Highlands), Burger House (Hillcrest), Wingfield’s (Oak Cliff), Adair’s Saloon and AllGood Cafe (Deep Ellum), Burger Schmurger (East Dallas), Rodeo Goat (Design District), Bar Sardine (Snider Plaza) and Doda (Old East Dallas) (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0)
The 10 best burger restaurants in Dallas, TX
1. Maple & Motor: the most famous burger in Dallas
Maple & Motor is the most decorated burger in Dallas. Jack Perkins, a former teacher, opened it with Austen Wright in 2009. Four years later, Zagat named it the best burger in Dallas and one of the 25 best in the US, as CultureMap reported. Guy Fieri had already been through for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2011.
The patty is a brisket-and-chuck blend, and the sources don’t quite agree on the fat: CultureMap says about 25%, while Visit Dallas describes a half-pound burger with a 70/30 blend. Either way, expect a rich burger. Order at the counter. Nobody comes to your table.
- Address: 4810 Maple Avenue, Dallas, TX 75220 (Northwest Dallas, near Love Field)
- Phone: (214) 522-2400
- Order: the cheeseburger, to taste the brisket-chuck blend
Bacon cheddar tater tots with jalapeño at Maple & Motor, the Dallas burger joint near Love Field, photographed in April 2011 (Photo: David Berkowitz, CC BY 2.0 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/25897810@N00/5646929430))
2. Keller’s Drive-In: the old school burger joint where you eat in your car
Keller’s Drive-In is the reason to have a car in Dallas. Carhops bring the burger to your window, and a beer if you want one, at the corner of Northwest Highway and Abrams Road. How old it is depends on who you ask: the Lake Highlands Advocate says Jack Keller opened it in 1965, while a recent Dallas Observer headline calls it a staple “for almost 75 years.”
Order the No. 5: a double with thin patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato and a Thousand Island-style sauce on a poppy-seed bun. Nothing about it is fancy. That’s the point, and it’s why I’d send a first-time visitor here before anywhere else on this list.
- Address: 6537 E Northwest Highway (at Abrams Road), Dallas, TX (Lake Highlands)
- Order: the No. 5, eaten in your car
3. Burger House: a Hillcrest institution since 1951
Burger House has the oldest documented founding date on this list, and it still uses its original seasoning. Jack Koustoubardis opened it in 1951 and created the seasoning salt (pepper, herb salt and garlic) that still goes on the fries, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Angelo Chantilis and Steve Canellos bought the place in 1982; their sons, Chris Canellos and Sonny Chantilis, run it now. D Magazine lists the double cheeseburger at $6.49, the lowest price we found for any burger in this guide. Get the fries. Here, the seasoning salt is the whole story.
- Address: 6913 Hillcrest Ave, Dallas, TX 75205, one block south of Lovers Lane, near SMU and Snider Plaza
- Order: the double cheeseburger with seasoned fries
4. Wingfield’s Burgers: the best burger in Oak Cliff
Wingfield’s is Oak Cliff’s burger, and the one I’d cross the Trinity River for. Richard Wingfield, a former DISD science teacher, opened it in 1986 inside a Valentine Diner, one of the small prefab buildings made in Wichita, Kansas, from 1947 on.
A half-pound ball of seasoned beef hits the griddle and gets pressed flat under weights. The Dallas Observer has named Wingfield’s the city’s best hamburger joint in its Best of Dallas awards. Don’t plan a Sunday trip: it’s closed.
- Address: 2615 S Beckley Ave, Dallas, TX 75224 (Oak Cliff)
- Phone: 214-943-5214
- Hours: closed Sundays
- Order: the half-pound burger
5. Adair’s Saloon: a Deep Ellum honky-tonk burger
Adair’s is a honky-tonk first and a burger joint second, which is exactly why it belongs here. It opened on Cedar Springs in February 1963 and moved to Commerce Street in January 1983. Decades of customers have covered the walls in graffiti.
The cheeseburger comes with yellow mustard. No mayo. D Magazine lists it at $8.50.
- Address: 2624 Commerce St, Dallas, TX (Deep Ellum)
- Order: the cheeseburger, with a beer and the live country music
Adair’s Saloon on Commerce Street in Deep Ellum, the Dallas honky-tonk known for its yellow-mustard cheeseburger, in September 2012 (Photo: Jay Clark (j.clark), CC BY 2.0 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/8701549@N02/8091653542))
6. Burger Schmurger: the best smash burger in Dallas
Burger Schmurger is my pick for a smash burger in Dallas. Dave Culwell ran it as a pop-up, then opened the first permanent location on April 30, 2025, with Brandon Hays and Phil Schanbaum of This & That Hospitality, in the old Bar None space, according to CultureMap.
Neon, booths, a 1960s diner look. D Magazine lists the burger at $12. There are no reservations, so just walk in.
- Address: 718 N Buckner Blvd, Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75218 (Old Lake Highlands, near White Rock Lake)
- Phone: (214) 272-3343
- Hours: Monday to Wednesday and Sunday 11 a.m.–10 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m.–11 p.m.
- Website: burgerschmurger.com
7. Rodeo Goat: creative burgers in the Design District
Rodeo Goat is for people who think a burger can take fruit. Shannon Wynne founded it with Keith Schlabs and Larry Richardson; the first location opened in Fort Worth in 2012, and the Design District one followed in January 2015.
The menu reads like a dare. The Chaca Oaxaca brings chorizo. The Mike Rawlings layers Irish cheddar, blackberry compote and whole-grain mustard. My pick, the Sugar Burger, goes furthest: candied bacon, grilled peaches, caramelized onions and jalapeño jam. This fall the restaurant is running a “Battle of the Burgers” between the Big Tex and the Honey Bacon Blue.
- Address: 1926 Market Center Blvd, Dallas, TX 75207 (Design District); a second Dallas location is in Casa Linda
- Website: rodeogoat.com
- Order: the Sugar Burger, or whichever burger is in this season’s battle
Rodeo Goat under construction in the Dallas Design District in December 2014, a month before the creative-burger spot opened at 1926 Market Center Blvd (Photo: Chase Venters, CC BY 2.0 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/129257179@N06/16013452655))
8. Bar Sardine: a Paris bistro with a smashed-bun cheeseburger
Bar Sardine turns the smash burger inside out: the bun gets smashed, not the patty. Vandelay Hospitality opened this Parisian bistro in Snider Plaza on December 20, 2024. Executive chef Eliott Azoulay trained at École Ducasse and cooked at La Fontaine de Mars and at Le Petit Nice, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Marseille.
The beef is ground in-house. The burger comes with white cheddar, barbecue mayo, onion, pickles and potato chips, and the chef told the Dallas Observer they sell about 50 a day. Of the recent openings, this one has the most serious kitchen behind it.
- Address: 6805 Snider Plaza, University Park (Park Cities)
- Order: the cheeseburger
9. Doda Burger & Sushi: wagyu burgers from a sushi chef
Doda is the strangest burger on this list, and I mean that as a compliment. Chef and co-owner Alisher Yallaev moved from Uzbekistan at 19 and cooked at TAO in Los Angeles and Azumi in Baltimore before opening this burger-and-sushi spot in the former Invasion space. The burgers are American wagyu on buns baked every day, according to the Dallas Observer.
The Doda Burger stacks lightly pickled cucumber, pepper jack, pickled onions, jalapeños and slaw-style lettuce, under a heavy hand of black pepper.
- Address: 4029 Crutcher St, Dallas, TX 75246 (Old East Dallas, near Baylor)
- Order: the Doda Burger
10. AllGood Cafe: a tribute to a lost Greenville Avenue burger
AllGood Cafe brings back a cheeseburger Dallas thought it had lost. Owner Mike Snider serves a tribute to the burger from The Grape, the old Greenville Avenue restaurant: a 10-oz chuck patty with bacon, white cheddar and horseradish-dill pickles, at $15 according to the Dallas Observer.
It only goes on the menu at 5 p.m. Make it dinner, then stay in Deep Ellum for a show.
- Location: Main Street, Deep Ellum, Dallas
- Order: The Grape tribute cheeseburger, after 5 p.m.
Deep Ellum, the Dallas neighborhood east of Downtown and reachable by DART light rail, home to the burgers of Adair’s Saloon and AllGood Cafe (Photo: Renelibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=136940957))
Honorable mentions and closed spots
Two more Dallas burgers came close, and two famous ones are gone for good.
- Snuffer’s (Lower Greenville): Pat Snuffer opened it at 3526 Greenville Ave in 1978. It says it invented cheddar fries, at the request of SMU students. The building was torn down in April 2013, rebuilt and reopened.
- Chophouse Burger (Downtown): 1501 Main St, listed by Visit Dallas.
- Closed: Knife Dallas. John Tesar’s steakhouse at The Highland hotel was known for The Ozersky burger. It closed on August 31, 2025, according to CultureMap, but some tourism guides still list it.
- Closed: Off-Site Kitchen. Nick Badovinus’s Trinity Groves spot closed in 2020 and has not reopened.
Loaded cheddar fries at Snuffer’s, the Dallas restaurant that claims to have invented them for SMU students, photographed in March 2011 (Photo: chunkysalsa, CC BY 2.0 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/45716136@N00/5575539403))
Best burger around Dallas: Richardson
The Dallas Observer gave its 2025 Best Burger award to a place outside the city limits. Shady’s Burgers & Brewhaha is at 2701 Custer Pkwy, Richardson, TX 75080, about a 20-minute drive north on a normal day. It’s worth the drive. It isn’t in Dallas, though, so it stays out of the ranking.
Old school burger joints vs new wave burgers in Dallas
Dallas burgers split into two camps: institutions that have been at the griddle for decades, and a wave of openings from 2024 and 2025.
| Style | Restaurants | Opened | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old school | Burger House, Adair’s Saloon, Keller’s Drive-In, Wingfield’s | 1951, 1963, 1960s, 1986 | Low prices, thin or pressed patties, car or counter service |
| Modern classics | Maple & Motor, Rodeo Goat | 2009, 2015 | Custom blends, creative toppings |
| New wave | Bar Sardine, Burger Schmurger, Doda | 2024–2025 | Smashed patties or buns, wagyu, chef training |
Whataburger, Sonic and Dallas-style burgers at home
You can make the chain burgers you’ll see along every Dallas freeway at home. Whataburger started in Corpus Christi: try our Whataburger Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger copycat or the Triple Meat Whataburger copycat. Sonic comes from Oklahoma, but its jalapeño burger fits right in; make the Sonic Jalapeño Double Cheeseburger copycat.
Best burgers in Dallas: FAQ
Where can I eat the best burger in Dallas?
For a classic, go to Maple & Motor (4810 Maple Ave), Keller’s Drive-In (6537 E Northwest Hwy) or Burger House (6913 Hillcrest Ave). For a newer style, try Burger Schmurger in East Dallas or Bar Sardine in Snider Plaza.
What is the most famous burger in Dallas?
Maple & Motor’s brisket-and-chuck cheeseburger. Zagat named it the best burger in Dallas in 2013, and it appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2011.
What is the oldest burger joint still open in Dallas?
Burger House on Hillcrest Avenue, founded by Jack Koustoubardis in 1951, has the oldest documented date. Adair’s Saloon dates to 1963, as a honky-tonk first. Keller’s Drive-In opened in 1965 according to the Lake Highlands Advocate, though a Dallas Observer headline suggests it is older.
Where can I find a smash burger in Dallas?
Burger Schmurger, at 718 N Buckner Blvd, is the city’s dedicated smash burger shop. At Wingfield’s in Oak Cliff, a half-pound ball of beef is pressed flat under weights. Bar Sardine smashes the bun instead of the patty.
How much does a burger cost in Dallas, with tax and tip?
Menu prices in this guide run from $6.49 (Burger House double cheeseburger, D Magazine) to $15 (AllGood Cafe, Dallas Observer). Dallas adds 8.25% sales tax at the register, and at sit-down places a tip of 18 to 20% is customary on top. A $15 burger ends up around $19.
Burger prices in Dallas compared: $6.49 at Burger House, $8.50 at Adair’s Saloon, $12 at Burger Schmurger and $15 at AllGood Cafe, menu prices before sales tax and tip (D Magazine, Dallas Observer) (Chart: Burger Breton, data from D Magazine and Dallas Observer)
Can you eat a burger in your car in Dallas?
Yes. At Keller’s Drive-In in Lake Highlands, carhops bring burgers to your car, and beer too. The No. 5 is the one to order.
Which Dallas neighborhood is best for burgers?
Deep Ellum has two picks, Adair’s Saloon and AllGood Cafe, and it’s easy to reach on DART light rail. The Design District has Rodeo Goat, and Oak Cliff has Wingfield’s. Lower Greenville is home to Snuffer’s. For most of the others, you’ll need a car.
Was the hamburger invented in Texas?
Athens, Texas, about 75 miles southeast of Dallas, says a cook named Fletcher Davis served one of the first hamburgers there in the 1880s. Several other American towns dispute it. More on that history is on our Dallas burger page.
Do I need a reservation at Dallas burger restaurants?
Usually not. Most spots on this list are counter-service, drive-in or walk-in. Burger Schmurger doesn’t take reservations, and Maple & Motor has no table service.
Are Burger House and Bar Sardine in Dallas?
Both are in the Park Cities. Bar Sardine is in Snider Plaza, in University Park, a separate city from Dallas. Burger House on Hillcrest Avenue has a Dallas 75205 postal address.
More burger city guides
This guide is the Dallas entry in our burger restaurant guides from around the world. For another American city, read our guide to the best burgers in Miami. Our Dallas city page gathers everything we publish on Dallas burgers.
