The best burgers in Raleigh

A good burger usually comes down to one decision someone made and then stuck with: grinding the beef on site, cooking over charcoal rather than a flat top, keeping the menu to three burgers. Every restaurant below has made one of those decisions, and all of them are inside Raleigh.

Prices range from a $5 window burger to a $25.75 stack of brisket and pulled pork, and that spread is deliberate. So is the mix of counters, taprooms and full dining rooms.

How we chose

Recognition came first: INDY Week's 2025 Wake County reader poll, the MICHELIN Guide American South published in November 2025, Raleigh Magazine's Best 12 Burgers from April 2025, and Axios Raleigh's Triangle survey. Then we read every current menu on the restaurant's own site, which is how we caught that the Ashe & Co Burger at Whiskey Kitchen, named in one of those lists, is no longer served.

Two well-known Raleigh names did not make it because the burger does not exist: neither Poole's nor Stanbury has one on the current menu. Shake Shack at North Hills was an INDY runner-up and is a national chain, so we left it out. Entries are alphabetical and unranked.

Char-Grill

The oldest of the four Raleigh stores, and the one the company's own locations page calls where it all started in 1959. Every patty goes over an open charcoal flame when you order it, and the company is blunt about the rule: a pre-cooked burger never goes on a bun here. The menu stops at burgers, hot dogs, fries and hand-dipped shakes, and there is no table service to slow any of it down.

Why we chose them

• INDY Week readers voted the chain Best Cheap Eats in Wake County in 2025.
• You order by writing on a slip and dropping it in a slot at the window.
• The lot is small and the drive-thru line backs onto Hillsborough at lunch, so go off-peak.
• Three other Raleigh stores sit on Edwards Mill Road, Atlantic Avenue and Strickland Road.

Address: Raleigh — 618 Hillsborough St.

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The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar

Burgushi is the part of the menu where a burger and a sushi roll turn into one dish, and no other kitchen in Raleigh is running it. Under the novelty is a serious patty: a half pound of Animal Welfare Certified Brasstown Farms beef, raised without hormones or antibiotics and grilled to order, with lamb and bison from Fossil Farms for anyone going further afield. Named builds climb from the Bare Bones through the Big Squeal, the Texas Crunch and a bison Thundering Herd.

Why we chose them

• The Bare Bones starts at $18, and prices sit at the higher end of this list.
• The Bento Box pairs a mini-burger with a four-piece roll for children.
• North Hills garage parking is free, which removes the usual downtown argument.
• The brand started in 2010 and now runs three restaurants, in Charlotte, Raleigh and Orlando.

Address: Raleigh — 4208 Six Forks Rd., Ste. 100, at North Hills

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Gussie's

A bar first, opened in November 2023 by North South Hospitality, with cocktails built on fresh juice, house-made sodas and local draft. The burger that got the attention is the Double Double Smashburger, two sirloin-brisket patties with American cheese, caramelized onion, lettuce, tomato and raw onion. Foxhole Coffee works the same space from 7 a.m., so the room changes character through the day: coffee counter in the morning, bar at night.

Why we chose them

• Raleigh Magazine put the Double Double Smashburger on its Best 12 Burgers list in April 2025.
• The menu is published as images, so we could not confirm that burger's current wording or price.
• The FAQ says there are no reservations and that children are welcome despite the bar.
• The lot directly behind the building is residents only, so use the pay lot across the street.

Address: Raleigh — 927 W. Morgan St.

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LaGana

Three burgers, and that is the entire program. The Textbook is wagyu under the house El Sauce and Yankee cheddar, the Pepper Potts goes au poivre with caramelized onion and blue cheese, and the Caroway takes chili, slaw and spiced mustard. Sides are yuca fries, tots and tostones. The room is small and the same operator runs a separate omakase, so this is a tight, deliberate operation working out of a short menu.

Why we chose them

• INDY Week readers made it the Wake County runner-up for Best Burger in 2025.
• The Textbook is $16, the Caroway is $17 and the Pepper Potts is $18.
• The menu warns that burgers may be served undercooked, which is a real temperature program.
• There is no published phone number, and reservations go through Resy.

Address: Raleigh — 911 North West St., Ste. 105

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MoJoe's Burger Joint

Axios Raleigh and Raleigh Magazine have both sent readers here, and the beef is the reason: premium Sterling Silver, hand-pattied every day by the restaurant's own account, in 6 oz, 10 oz or a one-pound Hall of Fame. Build your own if none of the named ones fit, and there are turkey, veggie and California Bean patties for anyone who is not eating beef. Twelve taps and a list of boozy shakes sit behind the counter.

Why we chose them

• Axios Raleigh included it in a 2023 survey of the best burgers in the Triangle.
• Raleigh Magazine picked the Ranchero for its Best 12 Burgers list in April 2025.
• The restaurant has been on Glenwood Avenue since 2002 and runs late.
• Parking on Glenwood South is the weak point, so walk or take a car service.

Address: Raleigh — 620 Glenwood Ave.

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Neuse River Brewing & Brasserie

Beer comes first here: Belgian-inspired, brewed on site, backed by a from-scratch kitchen that turns out a $16 half-pound burger with roasted garlic aioli, the brewery's own beer cheese, crispy onion and house pickles on brioche. The Brasserie side arrived in late 2019 and turned a brewery into a place you eat dinner. It sits just outside Five Points, and the hours are the part to plan around.

Why we chose them

• INDY Week readers voted the NRBC Burger the Best Burger in Wake County in 2025.
• The kitchen is closed Monday and Tuesday.
• Wednesday and Thursday service runs 5 to 8:30 p.m. only.
• The restaurant takes no reservations and no call-aheads, so go early.
• Your whole party has to be present to be seated during a wait.

Address: Raleigh — 518 Pershing Rd., Ste. 100

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The Pit Authentic Barbecue

Two house-ground brisket patties, not chuck, is where this burger program starts, and most of what goes on top comes off the barbecue side of the kitchen: pimento cheese, crispy onions, bacon, pulled pork, Western BBQ sauce. The dining room is a restored 1930s meatpacking warehouse with full table service, which makes a burger here a sit-down meal instead of a counter stop. Expect to pay for that.

Why we chose them

• Priced at $19.75, the Pit Bacon Cheeseburger comes on an artisan roll.
• The Big Boy Burger is $25.75 and adds brisket and pulled pork to the same base.
• The MICHELIN Guide American South listed the restaurant as Recommended in November 2025.
• These are the top of the price band for a Raleigh burger.

Address: Raleigh — 328 W. Davie St.

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The Players Retreat

The menu says the Certified Choice beef is ground on site and tells you to order the burger rare, which is about as clear a statement of intent as a bar can make. Patties come in 4 oz or 6 oz on Union Special seeded buns, with a brioche upgrade. The named ones run the Bernie, the Gabby, the Pete, a Hawaiian and a Korean burger with kimchi slaw and sambal mayo.

Why we chose them

• Raleigh Magazine picked the Wolfpack Burger, with slaw, mustard and chili, for its Best 12 Burgers list in April 2025.
• The bar opened in February 1951 and turned 75 this year.
• Children eat free here on Sundays.
• The lot is small and it fills for Canes and NC State games.

Address: Raleigh — 105 Oberlin Rd.

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Sam Jones BBQ

A flat-top burger inside a wood-fire whole-hog joint is a surprise, and the 1947 Burger is the best one in Raleigh. The menu calls it the original Skylight Inn Burger, named for the year Pete Jones opened the Skylight Inn in Ayden at seventeen. American cheese, onion, tomato, lettuce, pickles, mustard and ketchup, cooked to order on a griddle. Its own lot sits on the Warehouse District edge near Dix Park.

Why we chose them

• The restaurant took a Bib Gourmand in the first MICHELIN Guide American South in November 2025.
• There are no reservations and there is a counter line, and lunch is when it hurts.
• Order the burger with a side of the Skylight-style cornbread.

Address: Raleigh — 502 W. Lenoir St.

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Standard Beer + Food

The Standard Smashburger is two patties with griddled onions, American cheese, dill pickles and Pop's Russian sauce on a Martin's potato roll, and it has been carrying this kitchen's reputation for a few years now. Beer is brewed on Person Street across more than 30 rotating taps, and the sourcing partners are named openly on the restaurant's own site. The two rooms are not the same experience, and the company says so itself.

Why we chose them

• Axios Raleigh called the smash burger a fan favorite in 2023.
• Raleigh Magazine put the Standard Smashburger on its Best 12 Burgers list in April 2025.
• Person Street is counter service and takes no reservations.
• The North Hills Innovation District room is full service, with reservations and a wine list.
• Named sourcing partners include Raleigh City Farm, Meyer Market, Joyce Farms and Fox and Forage.

Address: Raleigh — 205 E. Franklin St., and 560 St. Albans Dr.

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Whiskey Kitchen

A whiskey bar first, with a burger list of two. The WK Burger is a 6 oz patty with American cheese, WK burger sauce, crispy onions, shredded iceberg and tomato on brioche, and a lamb version with hickory-smoked gouda and vesta aioli sits next to it. Behind the bar is a list that runs to hundreds of bottles across bourbon, rye, single malt, Scotch, Irish, Canadian and Japanese whiskey.

Why we chose them

• Raleigh Magazine included the restaurant in its Best 12 Burgers list in April 2025.
• The burger the magazine named, the Ashe & Co with Ashe County cheddar, has since come off the menu.
• The WK Burger is $20 and the Lamb Burger is $22.
• The Gravel Pit is a semi-private outdoor area used for events Monday through Thursday.
• Service runs to midnight or 2 a.m. depending on the night.

Address: Raleigh — 201 W. Martin St.

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Wye Hill Kitchen & Brewing

Three burgers, and no more: the Wagyu, the Wye Hill and the Farmer's, with beer brewed on site to go beside them. What fills the room is the deck. Visit Raleigh describes the view as a bird's-eye look at downtown, and the outdoor tables are the first thing to go at sunset. The building carries history of its own, from the years before this kitchen had the room.

Why we chose them

• Raleigh Magazine picked the Wagyu Burger for its Best 12 Burgers list in April 2025.
• The restaurant opened in July 2019 in what used to be the Boylan Bridge Brewpub.
• A black bean substitution and an add-a-patty option are on the menu.
• Weeknights are the easy time to get a table outside.

Address: Raleigh — 201 S. Boylan Ave.

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Prices, hours and opening status last checked September 18, 2026. Call ahead where an entry says to.