The 21 Best Burger Joints in Atlanta

From double-stacked beef to traditional sliders, this city has got you covered.

Who doesn’t like burgers? Well, we can tell you about a place that loves burgers, and that’s the city of Atlanta. You can get them all around the world, and you can find different variations wherever you go, but the 404’s restaurant scene has some of the country’s, and the world’s, very tastiest—from the Vortex’s many options of bacon-stacked beef to the traditional cheese sliders at Little’s Food Store. So, whenever you’ve got a craving for a delicious burger, head to one of these spots in Atlanta.

The Companion

West Midtown
$$$$

Located on the Northwest side of Atlanta, Companion has some serious food selections. For $13 you can purchase the Tower of Power, the Patty Melt, or The Steinbeck, which is covered with pimento cheese, jalapenos, and bacon. Pair your burger with a draft from their beer list, or if you're feeling fancy purchase some red or white wine or choose from one of their specialty cocktails.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

This throwback restaurant is nestled in the heart of Midtown Atlanta, and has several beers on tap, and even more options for wine and spirits. The outside patio has become popular with locals, and the food is something that is talked about across the entire Southwest region. Cypress Street has one of the most eclectic burgers around on their menu, specifically the Pickleback, which is covered in Jameson whiskey glaze, and their Krispy Kreme if you’ve got a sweet tooth but still have the burger craving.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Lucky’s Burger & Brew

Multiple locations
$$$$

Named after the two owner’s golden retriever, the establishment started out as a spot for dog lovers 12 years ago. Now with three locations throughout the metro Atlanta area, Lucky’s has some great tasting sandwiches, salads, and wings. The entire menu is delicious, but it's their freshly prepared burgers that have become the spot’s staple. For you bacon enthusiasts, you can enjoy the Memphis Blood Hound, the Undertaker, the Pedigree or Lucky’s Cadillac Stacker. All the burgers come with the option of beef, turkey, chicken, black bean, or an Impossible patty—so bring an appetite.

Bocado Burger

Alpharetta
$$$$

Birthed after the closing of Atlanta’s Bocado last year, this burger joint looks extremely unassuming from the outside—and the interior isn’t much different. The cafeteria-style main room is always packed with patrons eager to get their eat on. Bocado Burger is a haven for finger food, with most of the menu listing sandwiches, burgers, and fries (and salads for the “healthy” folks). The Mushroom and Swiss, the Southwestern, and the Burger Stack are all must-haves if you hit this restaurant in Alpharetta. The drinks aren’t bad either, and all their mixed drinks are available for nine bucks and under.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Ssam Burger

Buckhead
$$$$

This Asian-fusion restaurant puts a unique twist on the traditional burger. The Kimcheese Burger is stacked with housemade kimchi, cheese, BBQ, and Ssam sauce (and the Crazy Ninja is one the the best chicken sandwiches in the city). The pineapple and bacon covered Aloha Burger is also a good option, and one can never go wrong with their Seoul Burger. There’s also $6 Thai milk tea to wash everything down.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Little's Food Store

Cabbagetown
$$$$

Burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches – that’s what you get when you go to this restaurant. The food store, however, has produce, wine, and more, so it’s a bit of a one-stop shop. If you’re hitting the grill for a delicious piece of meat, you won’t be disappointed. Their burgers are prime cut with fresh market toppings and Boar’s Head cheese. The hand-cut fries and onion rings also make for a perfect partner to your burger.

NFA Burger

Dunwoody
$$$$

Yes, these burgers are found in a Dunwoody gas station, and that’s exactly why you need to go. Owner Billy Kramer and his team don’t allow you much flexibility. There’s one burger option: the Classic Burger. It’s a double patty with pickles, American cheese, and “sassy sauce” on a potato roll. There’s a single patty kids’ option if you’re not that hungry, and you might want to keep an eye out for specials. Don’t forget a side of tots.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Village Burger

Multiple locations
$$$$

If you find yourself in Dunwoody, Tucker, Johns Creek, or Cumming with a burger hankering, you’ll want to find the nearest Village Burger. Choose a double or a single patty (beef is the best choice here but you can do turkey or veggie, if you’d like) and then customize it. There are plenty of free toppings to choose from (grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, etc.) and some extras like bacon and chili.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Yes, Hero is a donut shop first, but did you catch the “bun” part of the name? Those buns have the option to hold burgers. And the burgers are delicious. Not too big but still juicy and fresh-tasting. But you should also get a donut.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

H&F Burger

Old Fourth Ward
$$$$

Is it even an Atlanta burger list without H&F Burger? If you’ve been in Atlanta long enough, then you remember when Holeman & Finch’s burgers were the hottest, IYKYK ticket around. Then they spun off this burger concept, and, well, it’s still awesome even though they’re cranking out way more than 24 per evening. Expect a patty with a slightly crispy exterior that’s been topped with American cheese, bread and butter pickles, and red onion.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Whiskey Bird

Morningside
$$$$

Whiskey Bird is best known for its delicious Asian-fusion, but the veggie burger became a sleeper hit of the pandemic menu. The meatless burger is topped with sharp cheddar, red onion, pickled carrots, WB sauce, takoyaki, and served on an Alon’s bun.

Available for Delivery/Takeout
Available for Reservations

The Vortex Bar & Grill

Little Five Points
$$$$

The Vortex’s irreverent ambiance can once again be enjoyed in its full glory. You could go for one of their famed Bypass burgers… but maybe take it easy. The Pickle Rick is delicious and probably won’t land you in the ER. At a heavenly $10 price point, the burger comes topped with fried pickles, whiskey pimento cheese, applewood smoked bacon, and an unforgettable Szechuan sauce.

Wrecking Bar Brewpub
Photo courtesy of Wrecking Bar

Wrecking Bar Brewpub

Inman Park
$$$$

The fact that you’re grabbing a burger from a place that brews its own beer is alluring enough, but let’s get into the specs. It’s made using grass-fed beef from White Oak Pastures, whose juiciness and flavor mix perfectly with Vermont cheddar, vine-ripe tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and Wreck Sauce. If this sounds perfect as is, wait until they add the bacon slices.

Fred's Meat & Bread
Fred's Meat & Bread | Photo by Kevin Alexander

Fred's Meat & Bread

Krog Street Market
$$$$

Chef Todd Ginsberg created the burger stack at Bocado. He left in 2012 and opened The General Muir, where he created an updated version. Now at Fred’s, one of Ginsberg’s Krog Street Market stands, you can get a faster (but still delicious) double-pattied burger of crispy seared ground beef on bread from his TGM Bread company—in four to seven minutes—simply accented with American cheese, mayo, and bread & butter pickles.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

SluttyVegan ATL

Multiple locations
$$$$

Burgers don’t have to be a red meat fest, and while some of the most unique burgers—lamb, blended chicken, etc.—aren’t available due to restaurant closings, Slutty Vegan is still here for those who desire a plant-based burger. Enter the One Night Stand, a plant-based wonder featuring vegan bacon, vegan cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, all on a vegan Hawaiian bun. And you can forget their signature slut sauce.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Grindhouse Killer Burgers

Multiple locations
$$$$

We love the Cowboy Style, but the truth is that the Apache Style is Grindhouse's current champ. The Apache comes with pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, New Mexico green chiles and lettuce, and you can get it double-pattied for $9.24—or keep it at a junior (which is enough) for a more reasonable $7.49. Temporary hours and ordering methods vary location to location, so be sure to check Grindhouse’s site for the most up to date information.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Muss & Turner's

Vinings
$$$$

The way the white Cheddar cheese lays between the shiny French bun and a single six-ounce patty of grilled Riverview farm beef reminds you of the security blanket you grew up clinging to for happiness in your youth. Then you feel the burn of the poblano pepper underneath the beef, which is coolly balanced by a layer of cilantro aioli. And you realize you’re a grown-up, and even happier with life than you were as a kid. This is the burger of adulthood.

Available for Delivery/Takeout
Available for Reservations

Farm Burger

Multiple locations
$$$$

A lot of what could be called “burger farms” started popping up in ATL a few years ago, but few have survived and thrived like Farm Burger. They’ve got a few delicious variations, but the No. 1 is a strong standard, with its aged Vermont white cheddar, caramelized onions, and house sauce, which are all great as a group but are greater when you add local bacon for two bucks. If you need a second option, try the No. 3 made with pasture-raised pork.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Barleygarden Avalon

Alpharetta
$$$$

You can't simply forget that Barleygarden, being a beer garden and all, also enlists Chef Kevin Outz of The Spotted Trotter charcuterie and butcher shop. His flavorful opus of a burger, the Braut Burger, is sadly not on the quarantine menu, but the double patty BG SteakBurger isn’t anything to scoff at either. Also remember there are plenty of taps flowing, and being that it's the Hop City gang choosing the brews, you should grab a growler and have a global awakening before your food coma.

Available for Delivery/Takeout
Local Three
Photo courtesy of Local Three

Local Three

Buckhead
$$$$

The Local Three/Muss & Turner's gang is known for pulling off highbrow and lowbrow dining experiences at the same time. The McDowell is a nod to the famous Mickey D's knockoff from Coming to America, and in this burger, L3 makes its rendition of a Big Mac. There's no ridiculous three-floors of bread, but there are two quarter-pound beef patties with a special sauce, American cheese, pickles, onions, and iceberg lettuce. Of course, this version is approximately 10,000 times better since the ingredients are super fresh and the beef is Angus, but you'll still want to crack a burger-in-cheek joke about “the golden arcs” after your first and final bites.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q

Candler Park
$$$$

It’s technically what the name suggests, although it’s also so much more. See, Fox Bros. already had a brisket sandwich, but it figured it would flip the format by offering a “burger” that’s actually made of chopped brisket (thus the quotation marks). Then Fox added bacon, tomato, red onion, pickles, melted pimento cheese, and jalapeño mayo.

Available for Delivery/Takeout
Okla Jones is an Atlanta-based journalist who writes about food, fine arts, and entertainment. His work also appears in ESSENCE, Creative Loafing Atlanta, and Consequence of Sound. Follow him on Instagram at @coolhandoak.
Lia Picard is an Atlanta-based journalist writing about food, travel, and a variety of other topics. Her work appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wine Enthusiast, and CNN Travel.
Mike Jordan is a contributor for Thrillist. 
Joshua Robinson is an Atlanta-based contributor for Thrillist.