The wild new London burger joint that proves smash burgers aren’t dead yet

Time Out recently took a trip to Victoria’s Hanbaagaasuuteeki and discovered some of the best burgers in London right now. 

The Asian-inspired burger joint, which boldly opened right by branches of Bleecker and Shake Shack last year, has nine different burgers on the menu and the beef patties are breathing new life into the world of the smash burger – surely the most ubiquitous patty in town. 

We tried the shrimp kong baga, which features a lacy and smashed beef patty which is then topped with deep fried shrimp, 1000 island-style dressing, melted cheese and crispy seaweed. There’s also a smashed blue-cheese burger which comes with kimchi and green apple slaw. Both are deeply delicious. 

‘A drop-in spot with high stools, counter-top tables and bright red splashes of colour, it feels a lot like hallowed West Coast burger joint In-N-Out with a K-pop twist,’ reads our Time Out review of the restaurant. ‘There are many, many burger bars in London, and Hanbaagaasuuteeki isn’t like the others. That can only be a good thing.’

Wondering about that name? It apparently comes from the Japanese for ‘hamburger steak’. 

Read the full review of Hanbaagaasuuteeki here. 

Check to see where Hanbaagaasuuteeki ranks in our list of the 13 best burger restaurants in London, which features plenty of other smash burger joints, from the Shoreditch outpost of French import Dumbo, to Jupiter Burger in Hackney, and Heard in Borough and Soho (which is soon teaming up with Michelin star restaurant Akoko for a special bunch of West African-inspired menu items).

Hanbaagaasuuteeki is open daily from 11.30am until 11pm, and can be found at 36 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 0RE.