Best Burgers in Seattle: 10 Spots to Eat in 2026

The best burgers in Seattle right now are the miso smash burger at Familyfriend in Beacon Hill, the Deluxe at Dick’s Drive-In in Wallingford and the classics at Red Mill Burgers in Phinney Ridge. Round out the list with Taurus Ox’s Lao-style double cheeseburger in Capitol Hill, Local Tide’s beef-and-pork smash in Fremont and five more spots, all ranked below with full addresses. One meal only? Go to Familyfriend. Want the city’s most famous burger? Go to Dick’s.

How I ranked the best burgers in Seattle

I built this ranking from published, dated sources rather than one night out. The backbone is The Infatuation’s guide The Best Burgers In Seattle, updated on August 27, 2026, by Aimee Rizzo and Kayla Sager-Riley. On top of it I added the Eater Seattle Awards, the city’s long-running institutions, and each restaurant’s own pages and history.

Every address and detail below was checked against those sources on October 10, 2026. Where The Infatuation gives a score out of 10, I quote it. I list a price only when a menu or a dated review confirms it, which is why most entries have none. Menus and hours change. Check before you go.

The Infatuation doesn’t score Dick’s or Red Mill. I put them at 2 and 3 anyway. Seventy-two years of Dick’s and three decades of Red Mill tell you more about a burger than a point on someone else’s scale, and leaving them out of a Seattle list would be strange.

Bar chart of The Infatuation scores out of 10 for Seattle burger spots (guide updated August 27, 2026): Familyfriend 9.2, Local Tide 9.0, Tomo 9.0, Taurus Ox 8.8, Pidgin Cooperative 8.8, Perihelion Brewery 8.4, Smash That Burger Co. 8.2, Loretta’s Northwesterner 8.1. Dick’s, Red Mill and Zesto’s have no score in the guide. (Chart: Burger Breton, CC BY 4.0, data from The Infatuation (Aimee Rizzo and Kayla Sager-Riley), https://www.theinfatuation.com/seattle/guides/best-burger-seattle)

Seattle’s scene splits in two. On one side are the drive-ins and counters that have fed the city for decades. On the other is a new wave built on Guamanian, Lao, Filipino-Hawaiian and Japanese flavors. This list keeps both.

The best burgers in Seattle at a glance

Here are the 10 picks in one table, with the neighborhood and the burger to order at each.

Map of the 10 best burger restaurants in Seattle: Familyfriend and Perihelion Brewery (Beacon Hill), Dick’s Drive-In (Wallingford), Red Mill Burgers (Phinney Ridge), Taurus Ox (Capitol Hill), Loretta’s Northwesterner (South Park), Local Tide (Fremont), Tomo (White Center), Pidgin Cooperative (Interbay) and Zesto’s (Rainier Valley). (Map: OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)

The 10 best burger restaurants in Seattle

These are the 10 Seattle burger restaurants worth crossing town for in 2026, ranked from first to tenth.

1. Familyfriend (Beacon Hill): the best smash burger in Seattle

Familyfriend serves the best smash burger in Seattle, and it has the awards to back that up. Elmer Dulla opened this Guamanian restaurant in December 2023. The burger is smashed thin, seasoned with miso and dressed with American cheese and Kewpie mayonnaise.

It won Best Burger at the 2024 Eater Seattle Awards. The Infatuation named it Seattle’s best smash burger that same year and puts it at number one, with a 9.2, in its 2026 guide. There are karaoke nights too, so dinner can easily become the whole evening.

• Address: 3315 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 (Beacon Hill)
• Order: the miso smash burger
• Sources: Wikipedia, The Infatuation

2. Dick’s Drive-In (Wallingford): Seattle’s most famous burger

Dick’s Drive-In is Seattle’s most famous burger stop, and when locals say “Dick’s” they mean the Deluxe. It opened on January 28, 1954, at 111 NE 45th St in Wallingford. It was founded by Dick Spady, H. Warren Ghormley and Dr. B.O.A. Thomas, in a building designed by architect Raymond Peck.

The Deluxe stacks two 1/8 lb patties with melted cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise and chopped pickles. The house rules haven’t bent: no substitutions, and every burger cooked well-done. The beef is fresh, local and never frozen.

Dick’s now runs 10 drive-ins and 2 food trucks around Puget Sound, and an 11th location has been announced on the Tulalip Reservation. It is also known for how it treats staff: a 401(k) matched at 50%, health insurance paid at 100% and a college scholarship program.

• Original address: 111 NE 45th St, Seattle, WA 98105 (Wallingford)
• Order: the Deluxe, no changes
• Official site: ddir.com
• Sources: Wikipedia, Seattle Met

3. Red Mill Burgers (Phinney Ridge): a Seattle classic with national fame

Red Mill Burgers is the sit-down classic of Seattle burger culture, with a name that goes back to 1937. The original Red Mill opened on Capitol Hill that year and closed in 1967. The brand came back in Phinney Ridge in 1994, then added a second location in Interbay.

Its press shelf is long. Red Mill has been on The Oprah Show and Man v. Food (February 2009), made GQ’s list of 20 hamburgers to eat before you die, won Seattle Weekly’s Best of Seattle 10 years running and took K5 Evening’s Best of Western Washington in 2025.

• Phinney Ridge: 312 N 67th St, Seattle, (206) 783-6362. Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday noon to 8 p.m.
• Interbay: 1613 W Dravus St, Seattle, (206) 284-6363
• Closed: Mondays
• Official site: redmillburgers.com
• Sources: Wikipedia

Red Mill Burgers at 312 N 67th St in Phinney Ridge, Seattle: the red brick building with its painted windmill mural, photographed from the street in November 2015. (Photo: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle\_-\_Red\_Mill\_Burgers\_on\_Phinney\_01.jpg)

4. Taurus Ox (Capitol Hill): the Lao burger

Taurus Ox makes the Lao burger, and it is the best reason to eat a burger in Capitol Hill. Chefs Sydney Clark, Khampaeng Panyathong and Jenessa Sneva opened this Lao restaurant in December 2019. Their smashed double cheeseburger comes with pork jowl bacon, jaew tomato sauce, taro stem and a lemongrass-pork rind mayonnaise.

The Infatuation ranks it number three in 2026, with an 8.8. The team turned its first space into Ox Burger at 1523 E Madison St, built around a Lao Burger with house pork belly, jaew bong mayo, pickled red onion and taro stem. According to Hoodline, Ox Burger has also run a residency at Fair Isle Brewing in Ballard (936 NW 49th St) since late May 2026, Sundays 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Mondays 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

• Address: 903 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112 (Capitol Hill)
• Order: the double cheeseburger
• Sources: Wikipedia, The Infatuation on Ox Burger, Hoodline

Taurus Ox, the Lao burger restaurant at 903 19th Ave E in Capitol Hill, Seattle: the shingled storefront with its ox logo on the window, January 2023. (Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle\_in\_January\_2023\_-\_080.jpg)

5. Loretta’s Northwesterner (South Park): the tavern burger

Loretta’s Northwesterner is where I would send anyone who wants a tavern burger in Seattle, eaten in a proper South Park bar. Owner Scott Horrell, who also runs the 9 Lb. Hammer in Georgetown, named it after his mother. The patty is thin and grilled over charcoal, then topped with cheese, pickles and special sauce.

The Infatuation gives it an 8.1. That undersells it as a bar burger. Go for a drink and a burger, not a chef’s plate.

• Address: 8617 14th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108 (South Park)
• Order: the tavern burger
• Sources: The Stranger, The Infatuation

6. Local Tide (Fremont): a $12 beef-and-pork smash burger

Local Tide’s smash burger costs $12 on its online menu and scores a 9.0 from The Infatuation. Victor Steinbrueck started Local Tide as a Pike Place pop-up in 2017 and moved into a Fremont counter in 2020. Three years later, The New York Times named it one of Seattle’s 25 best restaurants.

The burger blends beef and pork, then adds caramelized onions, American cheese and house mayo on a toasted brioche bun. Look for the counter in the Cedar Speedster Building.

• Address: 401 N 36th St, Suite 103, Seattle, WA 98103 (Fremont)
• Price: $12.00 per the online menu
• Sources: Wikipedia, The Infatuation

7. Tomo (White Center): mini steam burgers

Tomo serves mini steam burgers on Hawaiian rolls, the most chef-driven burgers on this list. Chef Brady Williams, formerly of Canlis, opened this 28-seat, Japanese-influenced American restaurant in September 2021. In 2022 it was a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Wine Program and number 30 on Esquire’s list of the year’s best new restaurants.

The burgers come with caramelized onions. The Infatuation lists them at 6 for $28 and scores them a 9.0. Tomo has a Seattle mailing address, but White Center is at the southwest edge of the Seattle area, so plan the trip.

• Address: 9811 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106 (White Center)
• Price: 6 mini burgers for $28, per The Infatuation
• Sources: Wikipedia, The Infatuation

8. Pidgin Cooperative (Interbay): a Filipino-Hawaiian quarter-pounder

Pidgin Cooperative makes a Filipino-Hawaiian quarter-pounder with annatto aioli, cheddar and atchara, the pickled green papaya relish. Brothers Seth and Zachary Pacleb run it as a worker-owned cooperative that grew out of a ramen stand at a farmers market.

The Infatuation scores it an 8.8 in 2026. The atchara does the job pickles usually do: it brings acid against the cheddar.

• Address: 3909 18th Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119 (Interbay)
• Order: the quarter-pound burger
• Sources: Seattle Refined, The Infatuation

9. Perihelion Brewery (Beacon Hill): the brewery burger

Perihelion Brewery’s Beacon burger is the pick for a burger and a beer in Beacon Hill. It comes with cheddar, thick pork belly and chili aioli, and The Infatuation scores it an 8.4. Nor is it a new favorite: Yelp’s Seattle burger ranking, reported by KOMO in 2019, already had it at number two.

• Address: 2800 16th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 (Beacon Hill)
• Order: the Beacon burger
• Sources: The Infatuation, KOMO News

10. Zesto’s (Rainier Valley): the hotlink burger

Zesto’s is a Rainier Valley drive-thru known for its hotlink burger. A grilled patty is topped with a red hot link sausage, split and grilled, then American cheese, pickles and lettuce on a sesame bun. No other city does this one, and for me that alone justifies the detour to the south end.

• Address: 7111 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118 (Rainier Valley)
• Order: the hotlink burger
• Source: The Infatuation

Backup picks if your first choice is full

If one of the 10 is closed or packed, Smash That Burger Co. in Fremont is the best backup. It is a mustard-yellow food truck at 1050 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103, serving Oklahoma-style onion smash burgers with a jalapeño option (The Infatuation: 8.2). Also on my shortlist: Ox Burger in Capitol Hill, Big Max Burger Co. in Queen Anne and, if you are staying on the Eastside, Broiler Bay Burgers in Bellevue, outside Seattle itself.

Where to find the best smash burger in Seattle

Smash burgers drive Seattle’s new wave, and three of the top six spots on this list serve one: Familyfriend for miso, Taurus Ox for Lao flavors and Local Tide for a beef-and-pork blend. For a fourth, Smash That Burger Co. does the Oklahoma onion version from its Fremont truck. To compare with other American cities, read our guides to the best burgers in New York, the best burgers in Dallas and the best burgers in Miami.

Burgers in Capitol Hill, Seattle

Taurus Ox, at 903 19th Ave E, is the burger to eat in Capitol Hill. The same team’s Ox Burger is nearby on E Madison St, but it is missing from The Infatuation’s 2026 guide, so check that it is open before you go. Dick’s also has a walk-up counter on Broadway, the one in the photo at the top of this guide. Red Mill’s original location was in Capitol Hill from 1937 to 1967.

Cook a cheeseburger at home

Can’t get to Seattle? Our Jack in the Box Ultimate Cheeseburger copycat recipe walks you through a fast-food classic in your own kitchen, and its photo was taken in Seattle. Everything we publish on the city is on our Seattle burger hub, and guides to other cities are in the restaurants section.

FAQ: best burgers in Seattle

Where can I eat the best burger in Seattle? Familyfriend in Beacon Hill (3315 Beacon Ave S) has the best burger in Seattle. It won Best Burger at the 2024 Eater Seattle Awards and is number one in The Infatuation’s 2026 guide, with a 9.2.

What is the most famous burger in Seattle? The Dick’s Deluxe from Dick’s Drive-In is Seattle’s most famous burger. Dick’s has served it since the chain opened in Wallingford on January 28, 1954: two 1/8 lb patties, melted cheese, lettuce, mayo and chopped pickles.

Is Dick’s Drive-In worth it, and what should I order? Yes, for the history and the simplicity. Order the Deluxe as it comes: Dick’s makes no substitutions and cooks every burger well-done, using fresh, never-frozen local beef.

What is the best smash burger in Seattle? Familyfriend’s miso smash burger is the best smash burger in Seattle. The Infatuation named it the city’s best in 2024. Local Tide (9.0) and Taurus Ox (8.8) come next.

How much does a burger cost in Seattle? Prices vary widely, and few are published. Local Tide’s smash burger is $12.00 on its online menu, and Tomo’s mini steam burgers are 6 for $28, according to The Infatuation. In the US, sales tax and tip come on top of menu prices.

What is the Lao burger at Taurus Ox and Ox Burger? At Taurus Ox, it is a smashed double cheeseburger with pork jowl bacon, jaew tomato sauce, taro stem and lemongrass-pork rind mayo. Ox Burger’s Lao Burger uses house pork belly, jaew bong mayo, pickled red onion and taro stem.

Where can I get a burger near Pike Place Market? None of the 10 picks is at Pike Place Market. Local Tide started there as a pop-up in 2017, but it now serves its $12 smash burger in Fremont, at 401 N 36th St.