These are the best classic burgers in Beijing

We risked life, limb and chronic meat sweats on your behalf

From classic cheeseburgers to guilt-free vegan burgers, we tracked down these crackin' burger spots. Keep your eyes peeled for our picks of the best luxe and alternative burgers, and get ready to wrap your mouth around buttered buns, fresh veg and juicy patties.

Now, bring on the classics!

The Single Cheeseburger, Fat Burger

A blast of 1950s Americana

With an interior straight out of a Bazooka Joe comic – and old-school American diner food to match – Fat Burger is our go-to for classic American griddle-fried beef patties. Packed thin and grilled under weights like a proper greasy spoon, these juicy medallions slide down way too easily. Stack your burger as many as three patties high, but be warned: the buttered bun, lettuce, tomatoes and onion add up and before long you’ll be rolling out the door like a proper American. 45RMB.

Drinks please What could be more American than a malted milkshake? Wash down your burger with a thick vanilla shake for a meal straight out of the film Grease.

Itis Burger, Home Plate BBQ

The country-style king

The powerful smell of applewood smoke that emanates from Home Plate’s Sanlitun location should be indication enough that these guys take their meat seriously. Two all-beef patties, hand-ground daily and lightly seasoned, get a good licking from the flames and come piled high with cheddar cheese, thick-cut slices of house-smoked bacon and a mound of fried pickles. 98RMB.

Add on Don’t sleep on the all-American treat that is the fried pickle. An extra order never goes amiss.

Classic Cheese Burger, Was Park

The hole-in-the-wall

You can find hungry Beijingers gorging on these diner-style griddle-fried beef patties day and night, hunched over tiny plastic tables down Beixinqiao way. Output is slow and sides are limited, but for 40RMB you can’t beat Was Park’s greasy poetry. Skip the fries (25RMB) and save room for an extra-lukewarm Yanjing. 40RMB.

Pro Tip Don’t forget to clean up after yourself. Was Park’s sign clearly reads, 'Clean your s**t or else I do charge 10RMB per head!' Consider yourself warned.

The Cheeseburger, Great Leap Brewing #12 Brewpub

The double-decker gut-buster

Great Leap has a reputation for quality eats as well as fine brews, and the Sanlitun brewpub churns out some of the city’s best-loved burgers. The Cheeseburger comes piled high with two griddle-seared all-beef patties, smothered with slices of American cheese and served on a warm, buttered sesame seed bun. Graced with a generous pour of Fancy sauce (aka Thousand Island dressing) and thick-sliced pickles, this is really two burgers in one. 60RMB.

Pro tip Make it a working lunch and get a pint of Pale Ale #6 on the house (weekdays 11.30am-2pm).

The Classic, Slow Boat Brewery

The un-fussy feast

You'll find one of Beijing’s all time favourite burgers at Slow Boat's awesome Sanlitun location. We’re talking freshly ground beef, lightly seasoned and grilled to perfection. It’s the simple things like a house-made pickle spear and a cold beer that make life worth living. 45RMB.

Don’t forget dessert Well, sort of: save room for a pint of creamy vanilla porter from one of Beijing’s best breweries.

For more alternative gluttonous delights than you can shake a cheese fry at, hit '阅读原文' below.

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