BC’s Best Burgers

Every food emporium, from the strip-mall franchise to the neighbourhood pub to the hill-top restaurant, offers some variation on the classic meat patty on a bun. These are just a few of our favourite BC burgers. Please add yours in the comments!

While most people prize a burger for the juiciness of meat, the quality of bun, and the selection of toppings and sides, others put just as high a priority on price, service and atmosphere.

This list is by no means definitive. We concentrated on some of the newer, hungrier burger joints but we would also like to give honorary mentions to Vancouver mainstays Red Onion and Moderne Burger. And while we’re at it, let's give a shout-out to Vera’s, Max’s Burgers, Fatburger and even White Spot, all of which have their adherents.

Romer’s Burger Bar, Vancouver

Romer’s prides itself on its "all-natural" ingredients, including Angus beef and Fraser Valley pork.

But the city’s foodies are giving the restaurant top marks for a variety of well-executed creations, including The Standard ($9), the Port & Stilton (port-braised onions and Stilton cheese, $10) and the Man’s Man (applewood bacon and amber ale cheddar, $11).

Other options include Portobello mushroom, salmon, Ahi tuna and free-range chicken, all served on a lightly griddled brioche bun.

Splitz Grill, Whistler/Vancouver

This Whistler mainstay opened a second location in Vancouver in 2008, and instantly made fans for its DIY ethos.

Splitz lets you choose your own toppings while your patty is grilled in front of you. A spicy lentil and Bison burger with baba ganoush are among the recommended constructions. Try the secret Splitz sauce, too (approx. $10 for a burger).

Fish House, Vancouver

As burger connoisseurs will be the first to tell you, sometimes the best examples are found in the unlikeliest places.

The Fish House in Stanley Park offers a prime rib burger that local foodies consistently place head-and-tail above competitors.

Unfortunately, at $16.25, it’s also one of the priciest on this list.

Hamilton Street Grill, Vancouver

The Hamilton Street Grill burger brings together house-ground Angus beef, house-smoked bacon, and aged cheddar on a Kaiser bun and served with Kennebec frites ($16).

It’s the only burger on the menu but local burger lovers give it top marks.

Fray, Vancouver

Blink and you’ll miss this neighbourhood diner, which features booths, board games and local beer.

The signature Fray burger comes with Pemberton B.C. beef, freshly ground in-house, with homemade mayonnaise and market salad for $10.95, but other choices include a New Whiskey Jack Burger (with Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, caramelized beer onions) and a quinoa burger.

Save-on Meats, Vancouver

Proving you don’t have to break the bank to get a good burger, Save-On Meats gives you hand-ground chuck steak, butcher shop bacon and melted cheddar in a bun with a side of fries, coleslaw, mash or green salad, all for $6.

At that price, it’s a way better burger than it needs to be.

The Pink Bicycle, Victoria

Voted Best in City for Best Burger the last three years running, The Pink Bicycle sources mostly local ingredients for its menu.

The Pink Bike Cheese Burger features Vancouver Island naturally raised Hereford beef from Springford Farm, along with smoked cheddar and Pink Bike sauce.

Other burgers include the Blue Cheese Lamb Burger, the Moroccan Veggie Burger and the Metchosin Mutton.

Burger 55, Penticton

Grab the clipboard and design your own at this Penticton burger stand.

Angus beef and house-made sauces, a selection of cheeses and sides such as Sweet Whiskey Onion Rings make for a delicious lunch or dinner at a reasonable (approx. $10) price.

Mrs Riches, Nanaimo

This Vancouver Island staple’s slogan is "Creative edibles and drinkables at reasonable prices in a not-so-boring atmosphere!"

The diner has a road-trip/Amercana kitsch ambience and is famous (locally) for its Mountain Burger: one pound of prime ground beef as well as ham, bacon strips and a fried egg in a big bun. It’s $25.99, but you can get more moderate creations for under $12.

La Brasserie, Vancouver

Hand-ground AAA beef, double smoked bacon, aged white cheddar, arugula, truffle mayo, home made spicy ketchup, and crispy fried shallots add up to one of the best – and, at $17, priciest – burgers in town at La Brasserie.