Best Burgers in Seattle: Drive-Ins and Pubs

The best burgers in Seattle start with Dick’s Drive-In, which opened in Wallingford in 1954 and has grown to about ten locations around the metro area with the same short menu of burgers, fries and shakes. For sit-down burgers, look in Capitol Hill, Ballard, Fremont, Phinney Ridge, the University District and around Pike Place Market.

Seattle’s burger is the casual counterweight to a food scene better known for seafood, coffee and its own fast food, teriyaki. Dick’s sets the local benchmark: a thin patty, walk-up windows and a burger built for eating in the car or on the curb. Washington State supplies the signature produce, the sweet Walla Walla onion, grown in the southeast of the state and served sliced raw on burgers or fried as rings in summer. For a slower burger, Seattle’s pubs and taverns pair one with a pint from a local brewery.

Burgers in Seattle: key facts

• Neighborhoods to explore: Wallingford, Capitol Hill, Ballard, Fremont, Phinney Ridge, the University District and Pike Place Market.
• Local institution: Dick’s Drive-In, founded in Wallingford in 1954.
• Regional ingredient: Walla Walla sweet onions from southeastern Washington.
• Competing local fast food: Seattle-style teriyaki, served in small counters across the city.
• Getting around: Link light rail serves Capitol Hill and the University District; buses cover Ballard and Fremont.
• Currency: US dollar (USD); Seattle’s sales tax is among the highest of any large US city and is added before the tip.

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