Smash burgers are finally in full bloom in the Bay Area this year. Some people feel the technique is an overrated gimmick and others claim it’s the burger living up to its fullest potential. However you see it, the dish has been simmering in the minds of the bay’s best chefs and started taking on new forms. While there are some spots just jumping on the trend, we think there’s lots of exciting paths for these flat crispy patties.
Our Favorite Traditional Smash Burgers
A traditional smash burger is made by pressing down on a beef patty ball until it’s as thin as possible. A good spot will get them nearly paper thin and leave it untouched until a dark crust develops. Toppings are the same as any other burger — onions, pickles, cheese, and burger sauce. The best smash burgers come from shops making their own beef blends to control the coarseness, fat content, and flavor.
Laundromat SF holds burger nights on Wednesdays where they crank out 300 burgers in a single night. Their smash burger is loaded with two patties, a special sauce, pickles, and onions on a potato roll. This spot is as much about the vibes as it is about the food — records play on turntables all night. Get there early to avoid waiting hours in line.
Emerald Mallard is a buzzy new restaurant out in Felton, CA — way out by the Santa Cruz mountains in case you’re wondering. We wouldn’t be putting it on this list unless it was one of the best burgers we’ve ever had, trust us it’s worth the trip. We like that they offer the burger Oklahoma-style, which means the burger is smashed into a bed of thinly sliced onions. It’s served with an extremely savory burger sauce on a Martin’s potato bun.
The Burger Shop dishes out a Halal smash burger with crisp, juicy patties. Both sides of the buns are griddled to incorporate extra toastiness. You build your own burger here with add-ons, but if you’re really hungry a triple burger is available. Don’t forget to add grilled onions and bacon.
Lovely’s is an Oakland burger joint that’s inspired by flavors of the East coast. Their hit burger is the chili willy topped with chili, pickled jalapeño, onion, mustard, special sauce, and American cheese on a potato bun. We like that they offer Impossible burger patties as a vegetarian option — there’s even an option to make it vegan.
Beep’s is a no-frills burger spot that keeps it simple with just lettuce, tomato, and Beep’s sauce. They’re available in two options — ¼ pound or ½ pound. We suggest adding American or cheddar along with bacon, avocado, and egg, if you want the full burger experience.
Our Favorite Unique Takes
Smish Smash set a high bar for the smash burger when they opened in 2020. Their traditional smash burgers are incredible, but we love their unique collabs and creations even more. They’ve incorporated birria, pastrami, and even spam into their smash burgers. We appreciate that they go the extra mile to fine tune the toppings on their burgers instead of just swapping out the patty.
Hash n Dash is a South Bay pop-up that makes it more socially acceptable to order a smashed patty for breakfast. It’s essentially a Mcgriddle made with a smashed sausage patty and loaded with burger sauce, cheese, onions, and a touch of syrup. Keep an eye out for their specials.
WesBurger is one of our favorites because they’re always innovating their burgers. The chashu smash, for example, uses Japanese ingredients like pork belly, yuzu kosho slaw, and charred scallion mayo. Another great example is the Elvis burger stacked with caramelized banana, bacon, and peanut butter.
Looking for more burger discourse? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Burgers in the Bay Area.
