10 Vancouver Burgers To Add to Your Bucket List

One of Vancouver’s best restaurants also has one of the city’s best burgers. For the BLVD Burger's extra-juicy patty, chef Alex Chen chops — rather than grinds — brisket, short rib, and chuck for what he calls "a flavour bomb combo of an artisanal burger." It comes on a milk bun with aged cheddar, house-made tomato relish, caramelized onion, lettuce, and red onion and is served with hand-cut fries. Boulevard’s chefs Alex Chen and Roger Ma have both won multiple awards, including the Canadian Culinary Championship and Iron Chef.

Bin 4 serves up gourmet burgers of all kinds — beef, chicken, tofu, bison, ahi tuna, pork, lamb, chickpea, or lentils — plus a new burger invention monthly. All emphasize local ingredients (both meats and veg) and come from an allergy-friendly kitchen that will cater to your needs. Also on offer are thick red onion rings, fries, house-spiced potato chips, and, yes, salads if you must. Save room for the flourless chocolate cake. The restaurant is co-owned by three burger lovers — Sarah and Dan Blackmore and Michael Ringland — with six locations across BC. The seventh opens spring 2022 in Burnaby.

Menus at The Victor, Parq Vancouver’s top restaurant, emphasize surf and turf. While the steaks certainly tempt, the burger shows off the talent in executive chef Garett Blundell’s kitchen. It’s made with Brant Lake’s Wagyu beef — Alberta-raised and both grain- and hormone-free. Wagyu beef is highly-marbled with fat, which results in a burger with melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. To make the dish even more decadent, it comes with house-made black truffle dressing and triple-cooked fries. If you like, ask for it tuxedo-style with foie gras. Be sure to get a wine pairing recommendation from The Victor’s extensive wine list, including by the glass from one of the country’s largest Enomatic wine systems. Your knowledgeable server will have pairing recommendations from The Victor’s extensive wine list, including by the glass from one of the country’s largest Enomatic wine systems. Or choose from their local craft beers and classic or cutting-edge cocktails.

The Mahony burger is the burger version of a classic roast beef dip sandwich — it’s made with Angus beef, smoked cheddar, house-made red onion marmalade, and rosemary garlic aioli. Most importantly, if you order it with the optional whisky peppercorn jus — and you should — the burger is cut in half and plated with the cut sides right in the jus (perhaps making you wish all burgers came with dip). If you prefer vegetarian, order the Mahony with the Impossible Beef patty instead. You can choose a regular bun, lettuce wrap, or a gluten-free bun. All handhelds are served with fries, but you can upgrade to a Mahony salad which has arugula, green beans, watermelon, cucumber, feta, toasted pumpkin seeds and a minted yogurt dressing.  The Mahony Burger is the burger version of a classic roast beef dip sandwich — it’s made with Angus beef, smoked cheddar, housemade red onion marmalade and rosemary garlic aioli. If you order it with the optional whisky peppercorn jus, the burger is cut in half and plated with the cut sides right in the jus (perhaps making you wish all burgers came with dip). If you prefer vegetarian, order the Mahony with the Impossible Beef patty instead. You can choose a regular bun, lettuce wrap, or a gluten-free bun. All handhelds are served with fries, but you can upgrade to a Mahony salad which has arugula, green beans, watermelon, cucumber, feta, toasted pumpkin seeds and a minted yogurt dressing.

At neighbourhood favorite Fable Duner, go classic with the beef Main Street burger or veggie with burgers of sockeye salmon or mushroom miso. For the adventurous, try the Hot Mess with its seared onions, mushrooms, jalapeños, and double cheese — one of the cooks made it for his own lunch and it was such a hit, it made it onto the menu. If you like it zippy, try the Broadway Burger with kimchi, or the Spicy & Wet, which is tossed in Fable’s own Dang hot sauce (sauces retail at $6 per bottle). Keep your eye out for burger specials too, like the pizza burger with a smash beef patty, pepperoni, mozzarella and house-made pizza sauce on a pretzel bun. Whichever burger you choose, Fable sources its beef from local Beefway, uses Kennebec potatoes for the French fries, preserves its own jalapeños and pickles, and makes its own ballpark mustard and other sauces.  At Fable, go classic with the beef Main Street Burger or veggie with burgers of sockeye salmon or mushroom miso. For the adventurous, try the Hot Mess with its seared onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, and double cheese — one of the cooks made it for his own lunch and it was such a hit, it made it onto the menu. If you like it zippy, try the Broadway Burger with kimchi or the Spicy & Wet which is tossed in Fable’s own Dang hot sauce (sauces retail at $6 per bottle). Keep your eye out for burger specials too, like the Pizza Burger with a smash beef patty, pepperoni, mozzarella and housemade pizza sauce on a pretzel bun. Whichever burger you choose, Fable uses Kennebec potatoes for their French fries, preserves their own jalapenos and pickles, and makes their own ballpark mustard and other sauces.

Dockside is the place to be if you want water views on the quieter side of Granville Island. There are two burgers on offer at both lunchtime and happy hour. The Angus burger has optional cheddar, mozzarella, caramelized onion, mushroom, and/or bacon, and the Beyond Burger is veggie. Both are served with iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion, and special sauce on a sesame brioche bun. At happy hour, accompany your order with fresh-cut potato chips or truffle-Parmesan fries.

Though focussing on more classic Mexican fare, El Guapo also has several burger options. Choose the green chile beef burger with Monterey Jack or the Handsome burger which has two “slim” beef patties, American cheese, and pickles on a potato bun. Both have some Mexican flair with habanero mayo. For a vegetarian "burger," there’s grilled zucchini on ciabatta with pan-fried halloumi, avocado, tomato, lettuce, and charred poblano pepper.

A favourite dish at this West Van neighbourhood gem is the Feast burger, coming with your choice of ground Alberta beef or FFC (Feast fried chicken) and served with mayo-based, mildly spicy “schmear,” crispy bacon strips, applewood-smoked cheddar, pickles, caramelized onion, tomato, and lettuce. Feast’s French, European-trained chef uses a special blend of fresh herbs in his patties and ensures they’re neither pressed nor covered when cooking so that the meat isn’t steamed and there’s no loss of moisture. For burger fans who want to avoid meat, choose either the brunch halibut burger or the veggie burger with marinated portobello, Emmental, and chile honey. All burgers are served on a certified-organic brioche bun from Granville Island’s A Bread Affair (there’s a gluten-free bun too), or you can sub lettuce. For burger fans who want to avoid meat, choose either the brunch halibut burger or the veggie burger with marinated portobello, Emmental and chili honey. You can add a fried egg or avocado to any burger. Feast’s burgers are served on a certified-organic brioche bun from Granville Island’s A Bread Affair (there’s a gluten-free bun too), or you can sub lettuce. For your side, choose the day’s soup, the gathered greens salad or Parmesan fries (with optional truffle oil). The kids’ menu has a mini version of the Feast Burger.

If you just want a little bit of burger before or after touring the latest at the Vancouver Art Gallery, order the bison-beef slider; if you’re hungry, order the plate of three. Whichever you choose, the plate comes with pickled cabbage — reflecting the restaurant’s Asian-fusion roots — and crispy shallots. Pair either with edamame, miso cauliflower bites, or gluten-free potato croquettes with truffled mayo. The kids’ menu has a beef slider served with potato wedges.

Downtown’s Gyoza Bar serves Japanese comfort food, including the Marukatsu burger. This casual restaurant is part of the Aburi family of restaurants — founder/CEO Seigo Nakamura created the Mexican-Japanese fusion cuisine called Marukatsu, which Gyoza Bar first began serving as a pop-up concept in summer 2020. Marukatsu combines Japanese katsu (deep-fried cutlets dipped in panko) with Mexican influences like pico de gallo and sour cream and even burritos. You can order your Marukatsu burger with either chicken or pork, both from the Fraser Valley. It’s served on a brioche bun with tonkatsu (Japanese barbecue) sauce, sliced cabbage, and basil onion pesto. For a bit of green, it comes with ingen fry — tempura-battered and lightly fried crispy green beans.