Best Burgers in San Jose, California

The best burgers in San Jose, California, are easiest to find downtown, where San Pedro Square Market and the SoFA District on South First Street hold the densest mix of bars and counters. Beyond the center, look along Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen, around Santana Row on the west side and in Japantown, just north of downtown.

San Jose is the largest city in Silicon Valley, and its food owes more to the communities that settled here than to any burger tradition. Japantown is one of only three historic Japantowns still standing in the United States, and the Story Road area is the heart of one of the country’s largest Vietnamese American communities. San Pedro Square Market, open since 2011 beside the Peralta Adobe, puts many of these cuisines under one roof, with live music most nights. The SAP Center, home of the San Jose Sharks, sits a short walk west of the downtown bars.

Burgers in San Jose: key facts

• Areas to explore: downtown and San Pedro Square, the SoFA District, Japantown, Willow Glen, Santana Row and Little Saigon along Story Road.
• Food hall: San Pedro Square Market, opened in 2011.
• Getting around: VTA light rail crosses downtown and Japantown; Caltrain stops at Diridon Station.
• Currency: US dollar (USD); California sales tax and tip come on top of menu prices.
• Not to be confused with: San José, the capital of Costa Rica.
• What our guides check: opening status on the date of publication, a named signature burger and a dated price.

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