Best Burgers in Glasgow: Finnieston to Southside

The best burgers in Glasgow are concentrated along Argyle Street in Finnieston, the run of bars and restaurants west of the city centre often called the Finnieston strip. The West End around Byres Road, Hillhead and Ashton Lane, Merchant City in the centre, and Shawlands on the Southside complete the map.

Many of Glasgow’s best-known burgers come out of bar and pub kitchens, served with a pint rather than in a dedicated burger restaurant. The city also has a strong claim in British food history: chicken tikka masala is widely said to have been created at the Shish Mahal restaurant in the 1970s, a reminder of how much the South Asian kitchens of Glasgow shape local taste. A Glasgow burger has also taken the top prize at the UK-wide National Burger Awards.

Burgers in Glasgow: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Finnieston, the West End (Byres Road, Hillhead, Ashton Lane), Merchant City and the Southside around Shawlands.
• The burger strip: Argyle Street in Finnieston, a short walk from Kelvingrove Park.
• Student crowd: the University of Glasgow keeps the West End busy with casual places to eat.
• Currency: pound sterling (GBP), paid in Bank of England or Scottish-issued notes.
• Getting around: the Subway, a single loop line, links the centre, the West End and the north of the Southside.
• What our guides check: that a bar’s kitchen is serving when a venue says it is, since pub kitchen hours often differ from bar hours.

Every guide we publish on Glasgow is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. Our other cities are all listed in the burger restaurant guides.