Best Burgers in Chicago: Taverns and Griddles

The best burgers in Chicago come from taverns and flat-top griddles more than from fine dining. Start with the “cheezborger” at the original Billy Goat Tavern, down on the lower level of Michigan Avenue, then head to the West Loop and Fulton Market, where the restaurants along Randolph Street turned the double cheeseburger into a destination dish. Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lakeview and Pilsen fill in with neighborhood bars and grills.

Chicago’s burger is a working-city burger. The Billy Goat’s counter chant reached the whole country through a John Belushi sketch on Saturday Night Live, and the tavern still serves its patties on a kaiser roll. Fast food has deep roots here too: Ray Kroc opened his first franchised McDonald’s in suburban Des Plaines in 1955, and the company moved its headquarters to the West Loop in 2018. Burgers share the city’s counters with its other griddle classics, the Italian beef and the Chicago-style hot dog.

Burgers in Chicago: key facts

• Neighborhoods to explore: the Loop and Streeterville, the West Loop and Fulton Market, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lakeview and Pilsen.
• Local icon: the Billy Goat cheezborger, a griddled patty on a kaiser roll with American cheese.
• Fast-food history: McDonald’s has kept its global headquarters in the West Loop since 2018.
• Getting around: the “L” trains link the Loop to the West Loop, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Pilsen.
• Currency: US dollar (USD), with menu prices quoted before sales tax and tip.

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