The Ultimate Guide to the Best Burgers in Denver

"On this site in 1935, Louis Ballast created the cheeseburger." That's according to a stone marker in front of the Key Bank outlet at 2776 Speer Boulevard. The location was once "Colorado's first drive-in," the Humpty Dumpty Barrel, which Ballast owned when he trademarked "cheeseburger" on March 5, 1935, the marker notes.

Nearly nine decades later, cheeseburgers of all kinds can be found in the Mile High. In fact, there are so many delicious versions of burgers in a wide variety of categories in the metro area that we decided to ditch our usual top-ten list to bring you a full-on guide to beefy satisfaction.

From on-trend, lacy-edged smashburgers to indulgent fine-dining takes and greasy fast-food heavy hitters, here are our picks for the best burgers in Denver:

Traditional Burgers

Sometimes you just want a straightforward burger. No gimmicks, no reservations needed. A typical patty that's not too thick, not too thin, with standard toppings (or maybe something a little playful if the mood strikes).

Carm & Gia Metropolitan, located in Aurora near the Stanley Marketplace, delivers just that. Open since February 2020, it has an expansive menu including a ton of burger options, but the Metropolitan with double American cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles, onions and house Dijonnaise on your choice of brioche or pretzel bun is an exemplary classic burger.

If you want a similar experience with a side of dive-bar vibes, head to the Castle in Littleton (which, yes, does resemble a castle). Grab a seat at the sunken bar and dig into a burger with your choice of cheese. Or, for another nostalgic take on burgers, opt for the patty melt. Bonus: All burgers are buy-one-get-one-half-off on Thursdays.

For a burger-and-beer fix, Denver Beer Co.'s Arvada taproom is where you'll find the Mighty Burger, served from a vintage Airstream trailer inside the building. The standard burger here includes a 1/3-pound patty topped with lettuce, tomato, onion and American cheese on a super-squishy bun, plus a side of fresh-cut fries, for just $9.

Back and even better than ever is Vine Street. The Uptown pub and brewery recently reopened after a four-year hiatus, and thankfully brought back many favorites — including its burgers made with all-natural, vegetarian-fed Colorado beef. While you can go the standard route, our favorite is the Date Night Burger, with bacon, roasted poblano peppers, goat cheese and date purée.

Burgers for Topping Lovers

Is a burger just a vehicle for toppings? It can be, and if loading your buns with customized additions is what you're craving, the Cherry Cricket is a classic pick. Along with the original in Cherry Creek, it now has outposts in the Ballpark neighborhood and Littleton, and it's set to expand to Broomfield in 2025. Each offers a long list of toppings ranging from pimento cheese and green chile strips to grape jam, pineapple, chiles rellenos and scoops of mac and cheese.

The list of add-ons at Bob's Atomic Burgers in Golden is shorter, but we love the experience, which starts by filling out a sheet of paper with your picks for free toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, fresh jalapeños and banana peppers) and those with an upcharge, including grilled mushrooms, guacamole and bacon.

For a custom burger on a budget, head to one of the two Denver outposts of Snarfburger, an offshoot of local sandwich chain Snarf's. Choose from a single, double or vegetarian patty, then go all in with toppings like onion rings, Thousand Island dressing, Hatch chiles, sauerkraut and bologna.

Non-Traditional/Regional Burgers

Like the many regional pizza styles now available in Denver, a lot of places pull inspiration from sources beyond Colorado to create some downright delicious burgers. Rosenberg's owner Joshua Pollack recently launched RosenBurgers, a summer pop-up at the Five Points bagel shop that's serving sliders inspired by New Jersey's White Manna from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays until Labor Day.

Split Lip, inside Number Thirty Eight in RiNo, was our 2022 Best of Denver pick for Best Hamburger, thanks to its playful offerings based on hyper-regional burgers like the Mississippi slug burger loaded with "too many pickles,” the Oklahoma fried-onion burger and the Washington goop burger.

Mexican-style hamburgers (not to be confused with green chile-smothered Mexican hamburgers) are loaded with toppings like avocado, ham and bacon-wrapped hot dogs at Hamburguesas Don Jesús in Sun Valley.

Cochino Taco, which has locations in Englewood and Edgewater, only serves one burger — but it's an impressive creation loaded with American cheese, poblano chiles, onions, lettuce and jalapeño crema, smothered in queso dip and topped with crispy jalapeños.

The 49th Food & Spirits, an Alaska-themed spot on South Kipling Street, opened a second location in Littleton this year. Both offer a lineup of burgers made with a blend of beef and elk, resulting in a still-juicy patty with earthy notes from the game meat.

At Samosa Shop, which now has a permanent home inside Honor Farm on Blake Street, chef Dave Hadley's lamb kebab-inspired take on the smashburger trend is a standout.

Upscale Burgers

Ordering a burger at any upscale steakhouse is a safe bet — those places know quality beef, after all. But some fine-dining spots take their burgers beyond the typical lettuce, tomato and onion build. The most indulgent burger in town can be found at chef Ludo Lefebvre's Chez Maggy, inside the Thompson Hotel. Its Burger à la Française is topped with American cheese, smoked mayonnaise and beer-braised onions, and comes dripping with pepper gravy and pickled mustard seed — fork and knife highly recommended.

The fun and funky French-inspired Brasserie Brixton also offers an indulgent burger, a double patty with its signature sauce and Gruyère — though you can eat this one with your hands.

Annette, inside Aurora's Stanley Marketplace, added its burger as a to-go option during the pandemic, but diners loved it so much, it's stuck around — though now you can only get it during happy hour, which is available all night on Tuesdays and 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The 7x wagyu beef patty comes on a housemade English muffin and is topped with chow chow sauce, cheddar, sour pickles and roasted garlic aioli.

Fast-Food Burgers

Fast-food joints are where burgers gained global fame, and the nostalgia that comes when you pull one from a grease-stained paper bag makes quick-service versions irresistible — even if they're not of the highest quality. We'll save the debate about which national chain makes the best burger for another day.

Instead, we like to keep it local when the fast-food burger craving hits, and nowhere satisfies quite like Crown Burgers. The casual, kitschy spot with a drive-thru has been around since 1987. For a pure taste of nostalgia, the Junior cheeseburger does the job, but at the opposite end, there's the Royal, stacked with pastrami in addition to all the standard burger toppings, or our new favorite, a burger smothered in your choice of red or green chile (or both).

We also love stacking up the large patties at the metro area's two Burger Havens. Both were once part of the local Jim's Burger Haven chain; now, only the Thornton and Westminster locations bear that name, while Grandpa's Burger Haven on South Federal Boulevard split off to do its own thing around 1980.

Bar Burgers

A cold beer, a shot and a burger: That traditional combo is best enjoyed at an old-school dive, and Denver has no shortage of places to do just that.

The most iconic is My Brother's Bar on 15th Street, which has been a watering hole since the 1870s and is famous for being a favorite of the Beat generation. It's currently owned by a longtime employee, though not much has changed at the bar in recent years — including the burgers, which are served wrapped in parchment paper with a personal condiment caddy.

Not quite as old but still well-worn is the Candlelight Tavern on South Pearl Street, where the simple bar burger comes with a bag of Lay's potato chips. The same modest side is offered at Bud's Cafe & Bar, down south in the town of Sedalia. The burgers at this no-frills, cash-only pit stop are served on a steamed bun with pickles and onions, along with a bag of Lay's on the side. There's ketchup and mustard on the tables, too, but as the tabletop menu says, "No French fries, damnit."

Bringing the bar burger tradition to the modern day is the Crypt on East 17th Avenue. This Uptown spot with a punk/metal edge serves a mostly vegan menu, but the signature burger, a 1/4-pound patty with Swiss and American cheese, housemade dill pickles, onion and leek aioli, is a notable exception.

Smash Burgers

There's no denying that the burger-of-the-moment is the smashburger — though there are definitely different levels of smash techniques. One signature of the style, though, is the simple toppings — typically just cheese, pickles, onions and a special sauce.

On the thicker end of the spectrum, we love the double burgers at Bodega in Sunnyside and Fat Sully's (yes, the local pizza chain makes a damn good, damn greasy burger).

Steuben's in Uptown has long been a favorite for its happy-hour burger deal and its green chile cheeseburger, but it recently got into the smashburger game, too, with a version dubbed the Crunch Burger, which is served on a bun that's also smashed and griddled inside and out.

Hovering between those thicker smash patties and the super-thin version is Dalton's, inside RiNo Country Club, where the team grinds meat in-house for the ideal fat ratio. The patty is well-caramelized and served on a potato bun with Cooper sharp American cheese, pickles, minced onions and, of course, a secret sauce.

Extreme smashburgers, with lacy layers of beef, first popped up in Denver when Twansburger started slinging them at markets in 2021. Now owner Antoine “Twan” Villaume can be found dishing them up at Finn's Manor in RiNo Wednesday through Sunday.

After a December 2021 fire forced King of Wings in Wheat Ridge to close its kitchen, it launched Snipeburger from its patio, serving super-thin smashburgers topped with its tangy gold wing sauce. When the kitchen finally reopened, wings became the star again, but Snipe lives on at King's newer Golden outpost every Wednesday from 4 to 9 p.m.

Also in the lacy-burger game now is one of the best ice cream shops in town, Right Cream. The pandemic-era startup moved into a permanent home on South Downing Street that came with a kitchen, where owner David Right now makes a limited number of burgers every Thursday.

Did we miss your favorite burger? Send suggestions to [email protected].