Best Burgers in Boston: Pubs and Squares

The best burgers in Boston are pub burgers. Most come from bars and taverns around Fenway Park, the Back Bay, the South End and the Seaport, and from across the Charles River in Cambridge and Somerville, where Harvard Square, Central Square, Kendall Square, Union Square and Davis Square draw a large student crowd. Allston and Brighton, two neighborhoods full of students, add casual counters of their own.

Boston eats seafood first: lobster rolls, clam chowder and fried clams define the city’s menus, and the North Shore adds its own roast beef sandwich. The burger fills the space between them, ordered at the bar with a local beer before a Red Sox game or after class. The city has no burger style of its own, which makes the basics the real test: a seasoned patty cooked to the temperature you asked for, a bun that holds together and fries cut in house.

Burgers in Boston: key facts

• Neighborhoods to explore: Fenway, the Back Bay, the South End, the Seaport, Allston and Brighton.
• Across the river: Harvard, Central, Kendall, Union and Davis squares in Cambridge and Somerville.
• Local competition: lobster rolls, clam chowder and North Shore roast beef sandwiches.
• Getting around: the T, Boston’s subway, runs the Green Line to Fenway and the Red Line to Cambridge and Davis Square.
• What our guides check: doneness as ordered, bun structure, house-cut fries and a dated menu price.
• Currency: US dollar (USD), with menu prices shown before meals tax and tip.

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