Best Burgers in Porto Alegre: The Xis Guide

The best burgers in Porto Alegre are found in Cidade Baixa, the city’s bar district, in Bom Fim next to Redenção park, and in Moinhos de Vento for newer gourmet kitchens. Here the burger question starts with the xis, the oversized pressed sandwich of Rio Grande do Sul.

The name xis is simply how gaúchos say the X of the cheeseburger, itself a nod to the English word cheese. The sandwich is built on a wide bun, about 18 cm across, with a beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, corn, peas and mayonnaise, then pressed flat on the griddle. Porto Alegre’s most famous version is the xis coração, filled with grilled chicken hearts. It belongs to the same meat-loving gaúcho culture as churrasco, and a lancheria serving xis late at night is part of every neighbourhood.

Burgers in Porto Alegre: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Cidade Baixa, Bom Fim, Moinhos de Vento, Menino Deus and the Centro Histórico.
• Local specialty: the xis, a pressed sandwich about 18 cm wide.
• Signature filling: coração de frango, grilled chicken hearts.
• Where to eat it: the lancherias, casual sandwich bars that often stay open late.
• Meat culture: gaúcho churrasco, with chimarrão, the local mate, never far away.
• Currency: Brazilian real (BRL).

Every guide we publish on Porto Alegre is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. To compare the xis with burgers elsewhere, browse our burger restaurant guides.