Burgers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are spiced up with extra garnishes like deep fried shrimp or gorgonzola, others are doused in sauces like Guinness gravy or pineapple jam, others still are stacked high with three chunky rounds of patty. But the fundamentals of a good burger are always the same – top-quality filling, a perfectly baked bun, melty cheese and a tangy relish to bring it all together. And now the British burger joints that have mastered those fundamentals are competing for top prizes at the British Burger Awards.
Not to be confused with the National Burger Awards, the British Burger Awards are back for a second year, and its list of finalists for 2026 has just been unveiled. For each region of Britain there are 10 finalists (you can read about the London ones here). There are three different national categories, each with 10 nominees: Burger Restaurant of the Year, Street Food Burger of the Year and King Burger of the Year.
The shortlist for Britain’s Burger Restaurant of the Year features Manchester’s So Famous, which serves halal smash burgers until 4am every single night. It’s up against the likes of Cardiff’s Grazing Shed, Leeds’ Hooyah Burgers, Durham’s Craft Burger and Southampton’s Drip’d Burger & Co.
We’ll find out all of the regional and national winners of the British Burger Awards in November 2026. Read on to see if your fave is in the running.
Finalists for the British Burger Awards 2026
Burger Restaurant of the Year
- So Famous (Manchester)
- Cosy Club (Liverpool)
- Drip’d Burger & Co (Southampton)
- The Grazing Shed (Cardiff)
- Saints Sizzle (St Andrews)
- Oceans 11 (Kilmarnock)
- Craft Burger (Durham)
- Hooyah Burgers (Leeds)
- Cowshed Burgers (Scarborough)
- The Barn (Leicester)
Best of Scotland
- Burger Island (Burntisland)
- Saints Sizzle Classic Hamburgers (St. Andrews)
- three brothers (Glasgow)
- Homestead Smokehouse (Ayr)
- Burgers and Beers Grillhouse (Edinburgh)
- Butta Burger Edinburgh (Edinburgh)
- Roo’s Leap (Montrose)
- Burger 7 (Coatbridge)
- The Keg (Paisley)
- Dennistoun Bar-B-Que (Glasgow)
Best of Northeast England
- Ati’s Home of Smash (Sunderland)
- Spice Hut (Newcastle)
- 40 Ounce (Gateshead)
- Meat:Stack (Newcastle)
- Tango (Durham)
- Lola Jeans (Newcastle)
- The Staiths Cafe (Gateshead)
- Craft Burger (Hartlepool)
- Simply Smash Burgers (Durham)
- Wings’N More (Newcastle)
Best of Yorkshire
- Mr Ts (Leeds)
- Cowshed Burgers (Scarborough)
- Burgsys (York)
- Hooyah Burgers (Leeds)
- Lou & Joe’s Burger Company (Holmfirth)
- Spark (York)
- Smashed and Pulled (Sheffield)
- Karoo (York)
- HOWDY! (Bradford)
- Big Buns (Leeds)
Best of Northwest England
- Big Buns Burgers (Burnley)
- Bürgshake (Lancaster)
- B.U.N (Manchester)
- Billy Bob’s (Preston)
- Kings Castle (Blackburn)
- Grand Daddys Diner (Manchester)
- Burgerism (Salford)
- Briskys (Rochdale)
- Bunzys Burgers (Altrincham)
- Shiraz BBQ (Liverpool)
Best of East Midlands
- Hickory’s Smokehouse (Nuthall)
- The Beefy Boys (Nottingham)
- The Barn (Leicester)
- BVRGRY (Nottingham)
- Big Juicy Burgers (Leicester)
- Smash n Burger (Derby)
- Boo (Nottingham)
- BOUFFAGE (Heanor)
- Burgerhood (Derby)
- Hungrilla Gourmet Grill (Nottingham)
Best of West Midlands
- Libertine Burger (Leamington Spa)
- Grill N Shake (Oldbury)
- Burger Shop (Worcester)
- Grill Box (Halesowen)
- HANBAO (Birmingham)
- Burger-Me-Up (Birmingham)
- Bonehead (Birmingham)
- 7Bone Burger Co. (Coventry)
- Wall Street Burgers (Birmingham)
- Rodeos BBQ (Wolverhampton)
Best of East England
- Butch Annie’s (Cambridge)
- Love Thy Burger (Colchester)
- Smokeworks (Cambridge)
- Loaded (Ipswich)
- The Good The Bad And The Hungry (Diss)
- Bun X at Micawbers (Norwich)
- Hmmburger (Newmarket)
- Carlsburger (Thetford)
- The Copper Smokehouse (Lowestoft)
- The Grill Plug (Cambridge)
Best of Southeast England
- Big Boy’s Kitchen (Slough)
- Blip (Reading)
- Philly’s Burger (Oxford)
- Blacks Burgers (Epsom)
- The Boring Burger (Guildford)
- 365 Smash Burger & Bar (Bicester)
- Rio’s burgers (Newbury)
- Bunz (Milton Keynes)
- Burger Daddy BBQ Smokehouse (High Wycombe)
- Zephyr Burgers (Plymouth)
Best of Southwest England
- Guru J’s (Cheltenham)
- Burger Theory (Bristol)
- Burgers and Barrels (Bath)
- Boston Burger (Chippenham)
- Burgers & Brews (Carterton)
- Burger Master (Gloucester)
- Burger Guys (Bristol)
- Flipside Gastro Burgers (Broadway)
- Burger Star (Cheltenham)
- Asado (Bristol)
Best of Wales
- Smoked Out (Bridgend)
- Hickory’s (Rhos-on-Sea)
- Burger Freakz (Swansea)
- Hills (Brecon)
- GOODBGR (Cardiff)
- Hub Box (Cardiff)
- Daily Beef (Carmarthen)
- Got Beef (Cardiff)
- Castle Burger (Llangollen)
- Harvey’s New York Bar & Grill (Llandudno)
Street Food Burger of the Year
- The Craft Diner (Dunkeld)
- Boss Hogg (Chelmsford)
- Craft Burger (Cambridge)
- Between Buns (Royston)
- Josef’s Burger Van (Salisbury)
- Badboyz grill (Blackwood)
- The Ladz (Cardiff)
- BRGR (Bridgend)
- Sharkbite Burgers (Cwmbran)
- Crown Street Food (Leamington Spa)
King Burger of the Year
- Smokin Griddle (Swansea)
- Wall Street Burgers (Birmingham)
- Hangry Moose (Worcester)
- Bull Burgers (Birmingham)
- Tin Can Kitchen (Newport)
- Super Smash (Oldham)
- Kraft Burger (Liverpool)
- BURGERHAIN (Blackpool)
- So Famous (Manchester)
- BURGER STOP (Sale)
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