Café Margaret Double Bay: World No. 3 Burger

Café Margaret is the all-day café chef Neil Perry runs with his wife, Samantha Perry, at 30-36 Bay Street, Double Bay, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Its American cheeseburger ranked No. 3 in the World’s 101 Best Burgers 2026. No Australian burger placed higher. The build is short: a 160 g patty of CopperTree Farms brisket and chuck, ground daily, priced at A$29 when the ranking came out in June 2026. The café opened on Saturday 1 November 2025 in the space that used to be Perry’s bar Next Door, and it turned one on 1 November 2026.

Café Margaret Double Bay at a glance

Café Margaret is an all-day venue on Bay Street serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a grab-and-go counter, outdoor seating, walk-ins and dinner bookings. It sits next to the Perrys’ seafood restaurant Margaret and near their Italian restaurant Gran Torino. I checked every fact below against Broadsheet, Concrete Playground and Time Out Sydney on 1 November 2026; each section links its sources.

Sources: Broadsheet listing (updated 18 March 2026), Concrete Playground opening preview (30 October 2025) and Time Out Sydney (3 June 2026). I could not find an official website or a published menu, so check Instagram for hours before you go.

What is in the Neil Perry burger at Café Margaret?

The Café Margaret American cheeseburger is a 160 g hand-formed patty of CopperTree Farms brisket and chuck, cooked medium, topped with melted American cheese, rose mayo, onion and pickles in a milk bun. That spec comes from Perry himself, in his description of the burger to Time Out Sydney in June 2026. Fresh chilli and bacon are optional extras.

Why the burger works

The Café Margaret burger works because it is a short, classic American build that lets the beef carry it. No lettuce, no tomato, no stack of sauces: a medium-cooked patty, cheese, pickles, onion and one sauce. Perry’s own summary, quoted by Time Out in 2025, is “Only the best ingredients”. That sounds like a slogan. The spec backs it up: one named farm, a daily grind, and a thick patty cooked medium rather than smashed thin. The café also sells a separate caramelised onion smash burger, which tells me the cheeseburger’s medium cook is a deliberate choice, not a default. That restraint is what I find most convincing about it.

Patty weight: 160 g or 200 g?

The patty weighs 160 g according to Neil Perry, and that is the figure I use. Perry gave 160 g in his descriptions to Time Out in both 2025 and 2026. One Broadsheet article in May 2026 printed 200 g, without a quote. Until the venue publishes a menu, the chef’s own number wins.

Is the beef dry-aged?

Nobody close to the burger has confirmed it. One syndicated news story paraphrased Perry as using “the highest quality dry-aged beef”, but the spec he gave Time Out in his own words says only that the beef is ground daily, and Café Margaret’s own channel says nothing about ageing. I leave dry-ageing out until it is confirmed.

How much is the Café Margaret burger?

The Café Margaret cheeseburger cost A$29 at the time of the June 2026 ranking, the last published price. That is up from A$25 at Next Door in September 2025, according to Time Out Sydney: a 16% rise in nine months. There is no menu online, so I could not re-check it on 1 November 2026, and it may have moved again. For scale, the Grill’d burgers in Sydney run from A$14.50 to A$18.90, so Perry’s costs between about A$10 and A$14.50 more. For one farm’s beef ground daily, I think that premium is fair. For a cheap weekday lunch, it is the wrong burger.

Price of the Café Margaret American cheeseburger: A$25 at Next Door in September 2025, A$29 at Café Margaret in June 2026, the last published price. Data: Time Out Sydney (Chart: Burger Breton, CC BY 4.0, data from Time Out Sydney (https://www.timeout.com/sydney/news/sydneys-best-burger-just-ranked-among-the-top-10-in-the-world-091425))

Other burgers and dishes on the Café Margaret menu

The cheeseburger is not the only burger at Café Margaret: the opening menu also listed a crispy fish burger with gochujang and kimchi, and a caramelised onion smash burger. For breakfast, the signature is a bacon and egg roll with double-smoked bacon and chipotle mayo. The “ultimate” steak sandwich, made with CopperTree retired dairy cow, café de Paris butter and chips, was A$49 at opening. Sources: Broadsheet and Concrete Playground.

• American cheeseburger: the ranked burger, A$29 in June 2026
• Crispy fish burger: gochujang and kimchi
• Caramelised onion smash burger: the thin-patty option
• Bacon and egg roll: double-smoked bacon, chipotle mayo
• Ultimate steak sandwich: retired dairy cow, café de Paris butter, chips, A$49 at opening

Café Margaret in the World’s 101 Best Burgers 2026

Café Margaret’s American cheeseburger ranked No. 3 in the World’s 101 Best Burgers 2026, behind two UK burgers and ahead of every other Australian entry. The list is published by Upper Cut Media House, the London team behind World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants. Eleven Australian venues made the 2026 list, according to Broadsheet (29 May 2026) and Secret Sydney (4 June 2026).

I list only the top three and No. 10 because the press reports disagree on the lower ranks. Broadsheet says six Sydney venues made the list, yet its own table names seven, and Secret Sydney gives different positions for some venues. I will add the rest once they can be checked against the official list.

A climb from No. 10 to No. 3

The same burger climbed seven places in a year. In September 2025, while it was still served at Next Door, Perry’s American cheeseburger ranked No. 10 in the World’s 25 Best Burgers 2025 by the same organisation, ahead of The Gidley (No. 12) and Charrd (No. 14), according to Time Out Sydney. In November 2025, the World’s Best Burger Places named Sydney the world’s third best burger city, behind London and Copenhagen and ahead of New York and Chicago, and cited Café Margaret’s cheeseburger as Australia’s best (Time Out Sydney, 13 November 2025).

Neil Perry’s cheeseburger in the world rankings: No. 10 in the World’s 25 Best Burgers 2025 (served at Next Door), then No. 3 in the World’s 101 Best Burgers 2026 at Café Margaret. Data: Time Out Sydney, September 2025 and June 2026 (Chart: Burger Breton, CC BY 4.0, data from Time Out Sydney (https://www.timeout.com/sydney/news/two-sydney-burgers-named-among-the-worlds-best-in-global-guide-top-10-060326))

Perry’s own take, quoted in ACM syndication in June 2026: “The Cheeseburger at Cafe Margaret has taken on a life of its own.”

From lockdown takeaway to Café Margaret: the burger’s history

The Café Margaret burger started as a lockdown takeaway in 2021, moved to the bar Next Door in 2022 and has been served at Café Margaret since November 2025. The core idea, an American cheeseburger with pickles and onion, has followed it through all three homes; the 2021 version used ketchup where today’s uses rose mayo.

2021: 200 burgers a day during lockdown

During Sydney’s 2021 lockdown, Margaret sold burgers for takeaway from Wednesday to Saturday, from 12pm, before the restaurant had even opened for dining. Service was capped at 200 burgers a day, first come first served with no pre-orders. It sold out in under 25 minutes, according to Time Out Sydney (6 August 2021). There were three versions:

• American: cheese, pickles, ketchup, onion
• Australian: the American plus lettuce, tomato and beetroot
• Vegetarian: a v2 plant-based patty

Only the American version is confirmed on the Café Margaret menu today. I could not verify whether the Australian beetroot version or the vegetarian burger are still served.

2022 to October 2025: the Next Door years

From 2022, the burger lived at Next Door, Perry’s bar beside Margaret, where kitchen capacity was about 100 burgers a day. Next Door held its final service in the week of 29 October 2025 (Broadsheet). If you search for the “Next Door Double Bay burger”, it is the same burger, now served at Café Margaret in the same space.

November 2025 to now: Café Margaret

When Café Margaret opened on 1 November 2025, capacity rose to about 200 burgers a day and takeaway was added, according to Concrete Playground. Nobody has confirmed whether that cap and the sell-outs still apply a year later, so arrive early if the burger is the reason for your visit.

Who is Neil Perry?

Neil Perry is one of Australia’s best-known chefs: he opened Rockpool in The Rocks in 1989, ran food and beverage for Qantas from 1997 and launched the Burger Project chain in 2014. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2013 and received the Woodford Reserve Icon Award from World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2024.

Chef Neil Perry, founder of Rockpool and Burger Project and owner of Café Margaret in Double Bay, photographed in Western Australia in November 2012 (Photo: D3j4vu, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Neil-Perry.jpg)

Career dates come from Wikipedia, a secondary source, alongside Good Food for the earlier career.

Burger Project: Perry’s first burger chain

Burger Project was Neil Perry’s first dedicated burger chain, opened at World Square in the Sydney CBD on Friday 31 October 2014 with about 100 seats (Good Food). In 2016 the Burger Project stores went into Rockpool Dining Group with the rest of his Rockpool Group. I have not verified which Burger Project stores trade today, so treat it as part of his history, not his current business.

Is Neil Perry still involved with Rockpool?

Not operationally. Neil Perry stepped away from Rockpool Dining Group in July 2020, leaving his role as culinary director and ambassador while staying on as a consultant and shareholder (Gourmet Traveller, Broadsheet). He then focused on Hope Delivery, a charity meal initiative. His current shareholding was not confirmed for 2026. His own restaurants today are all in Double Bay.

Neil Perry restaurants in Double Bay

Neil Perry and Samantha Perry run four venues in Double Bay: Margaret, Café Margaret, Gran Torino and Bar Torino, all within a short walk of each other on and around Bay Street.

Bars on Bay Street, Double Bay, the eastern-suburbs dining strip where Neil Perry runs Margaret, Café Margaret and Gran Torino (photo February 2023) (Photo: -wuppertaler, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AUS\_Sydney,\_Woollahra,\_Bay\_Street\_002.jpg)

Sources: Broadsheet on Margaret, Indesignlive and Time Out Sydney on Gran Torino.

Is Café Margaret the best burger in Sydney?

On the evidence of two global rankings, yes: Café Margaret’s cheeseburger has the strongest claim to Sydney’s best burger right now. It placed No. 10 in the world in 2025 and No. 3 in 2026, the top Australian entry both times. My one reservation is practical. With no published menu and a history of sell-outs, what you pay and whether you get one depends on when you turn up. It is a chef’s burger at a chef’s price. For a cheaper chain burger in the same city, my guide to Grill’d in Sydney covers 25 restaurants, and our guide to the best burgers in Sydney gathers every pick in the city.

Visiting Café Margaret: practical tips

Café Margaret takes walk-ins all day and bookings for dinner, and it offers takeaway for the burger. The only confirmed opening hours are Sunday, 7:30am to 3:30pm and 5:45pm to 7:30pm, according to Broadsheet; check Instagram @cafemargaretdoublebay for the other days.

• Getting there: 30-36 Bay Street, Double Bay NSW 2028, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
• Timing: the burger has sold out fast in the past, so go early in service.
• Booking: book for dinner; walk in for breakfast and lunch.
• Takeaway: available since the November 2025 opening, from the grab-and-go counter.
• Make it a day: pair it with dinner at Margaret or Gran Torino a few doors away.

Map of Café Margaret at 30-36 Bay Street, Double Bay NSW 2028, Sydney, a short walk from Margaret (corner of Bay Street and Guilfoyle Avenue) and Gran Torino (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)

Frequently asked questions about Café Margaret

Who owns Café Margaret in Double Bay?

Café Margaret is owned and run by chef Neil Perry and his wife, Samantha Perry. It is part of their Double Bay group with Margaret, Gran Torino and Bar Torino.

What is in Neil Perry’s cheeseburger at Café Margaret?

It is a 160 g patty of CopperTree Farms brisket and chuck, ground daily and cooked medium, with melted American cheese, rose mayo, onion and pickles in a milk bun. Chilli and bacon are optional extras.

How much is the burger at Café Margaret?

The American cheeseburger was A$29 at the time of the June 2026 ranking. It was A$25 at Next Door in September 2025.

Is Café Margaret the same as Next Door in Double Bay?

Café Margaret replaced Next Door in the same space. Next Door closed in the week of 29 October 2025 and Café Margaret opened on 1 November 2025, keeping the same cheeseburger.

Where does the Café Margaret burger rank in the World’s 101 Best Burgers 2026?

It ranks No. 3 in the world, behind Bleecker Burger and Black Bear Burger, both in the UK. It is the highest Australian burger on the list.

Can you get the Café Margaret burger for takeaway, and does it sell out?

Yes, takeaway was added when Café Margaret opened in November 2025. Capacity was about 200 burgers a day at opening, and the burger sold out in under 25 minutes during the 2021 lockdown takeaway; current sell-out patterns are not confirmed.

Do you need a booking for Café Margaret?

No booking is needed for breakfast or lunch, as the café takes walk-ins. Dinner can be booked.

What other restaurants does Neil Perry own in Double Bay?

Neil Perry runs Margaret (wood-fired seafood, opened 2021), Gran Torino (Italian, opened August 2025) and Bar Torino (opened September 2025), all in Double Bay.

Is Neil Perry still involved with Rockpool and Burger Project?

Not operationally. He stepped away from Rockpool Dining Group, which took over the Burger Project stores in 2016, in July 2020, staying on as a consultant and shareholder at the time.

What is the best burger in Sydney?

By global rankings, Café Margaret’s American cheeseburger is Sydney’s top-rated burger: No. 3 in the World’s 101 Best Burgers 2026. The International, also in Sydney, ranked No. 10.

More Australian burger guides

Café Margaret is one stop in our Australian burger coverage. For more chef-driven and local picks across the country, read my guides to the best burgers in Perth, Royals Chicken and Burgers in Perth and the kangaroo burgers of Ochre in Cairns, or browse every city on the Restaurants hub.