1
Google
Burgers•Toronto•$
The Burger's Priest
The Burger's Priest has a reasonable claim to being the restaurant that rewired Toronto's burger expectations.
burgerscheap eatsquick
Read restaurant page
9.2
Based on 5774 reviews
GuideUpdated June 7, 2026
The Best Burgers in Toronto (2026)
From The Burger's Priest's cult griddle to Kensington's smash shops, a flame-grilled late-night counter, and a halal hidden gem — the Toronto burgers worth the trip, each individually reviewed.
The best burgers (2026) in Toronto are The Burger's Priest, The Burgernator, Crack Burger Toronto, and more. Start with The Burger's Priest if you want the strongest overall first pick.
By TastyPals Editors•8 ranked picks•Published June 7, 2026•Updated June 7, 2026
Google
Top picks at a glance
Who this guide is for
Toronto's burger scene runs deeper than any single style: griddled In-N-Out-inspired patties, Kensington Market smash shops, flame-grilled char, and halal counters turning out brioche-bun burgers from unlikely addresses. This list spans the range, and every pick has been individually reviewed rather than ranked by star count alone.
Quick picks
The Burger's Priest
Burgers • Toronto
The Burger's Priest has a reasonable claim to being the restaurant that rewired Toronto's burger expectations.
The Burgernator
Burgers • Toronto
The Burgernator has occupied the same Kensington Market corner since 2013, and its reputation is built on a premise that is straightforward but not lazy: burgers made from a custom blend of freshly…
Crack Burger Toronto
Burgers • Toronto
Crack Burger has built a genuine following in Kensington Market on the back of a deliberately minimal menu and a smash patty that, by all accounts, tends to derail conversations mid-bite.
Editorial details
Author: TastyPals Editors
Published: June 7, 2026
Last updated: June 7, 2026
On this page
How the restaurants compare
Google
The Burger's Priest
Toronto • Burgers
9.2/10
TastyPals score
Price
$
Best for
cheap eats
Mood
Casual
Google
The Burgernator
Toronto • Burgers
8.8/10
TastyPals score
Price
$
Best for
cheap eats
Mood
Casual
Google
Crack Burger Toronto
Toronto • Burgers
9.8/10
TastyPals score
Price
$
Best for
cheap eats
Mood
Casual
Google
Ozzy's Burgers Toronto
Toronto • Burgers
9.0/10
TastyPals score
Price
$
Best for
cheap eats
Mood
Casual
How we chose
We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →
Room tone
Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.
Food fit
We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.
Useful range
The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.
8 ranked picks
The Burger's Priest — The Burger's Priest has a reasonable claim to being the restaurant that rewired Toronto's burger expectations. Opened well over a decade ago and still drawing lines, it built its reputation on a smashed, griddled patty with a clear In-N-Out spiritual influence — thin, crusted, no-nonsense — and wrapped the whole operation in a self-aware religious theme that extends into a secret menu the regulars treat like scripture. The fact that it has sustained a cult following this long, at price-level-one, suggests the formula is more than a gimmick.
The menu is deliberately tight, which is part of the point. The Classic Double Cheeseburger is what diners consistently point to as the anchor — griddled patties, American cheese, the kind of straightforward build that earns loyalty through repetition rather than novelty. The secret menu is where the personality comes out: the Tower of Babel is reportedly one of the more ambitious stacks on offer, the kind of dare that regulars pass along to newcomers. Then there is the Option — a portobello mushroom, breaded and fried, stuffed with cheese, functioning as the so-called veggie choice. By most accounts it punches well above what anyone expects from a burger shop's non-meat alternative, which is probably why it gets recommended to meat-eaters as freely as vegetarians. Fries and shakes round out a menu that knows exactly what it is and does not try to be anything else.
This is a counter-service, cash-and-carry kind of place — casual lunch or a late-night burger run rather than a long dinner. Go in knowing the Classic Double is the baseline, ask someone about the secret menu, and the Option is reportedly worth ordering regardless of your usual habits. View restaurant →
The Burgernator — The Burgernator has occupied the same Kensington Market corner since 2013, and its reputation is built on a premise that is straightforward but not lazy: burgers made from a custom blend of freshly ground chuck that is never frozen, produce sourced locally, and sauces made in-house. In a neighbourhood full of casual eats competing on vibes as much as food, this is the spot that burger-focused diners reportedly make a specific trip for — and the longevity backs that up.
The menu centers on customization across a few well-defined tiers. The Burgernator — the namesake and the spectacle order — is reportedly three beef patties housed between two grilled-cheese sandwiches, held together with a knife through the middle, loaded with caramelized onions and sautéed mushrooms. It is the kind of construction that photographs well and, by most accounts, delivers on the absurdity. The Burger of Mass Destruction is the 6oz path for anyone who wants serious beef without committing to the full circus. The Lamb Burger rounds out the lineup for diners who want something outside the beef lane, and the House Fries are consistently cited as the right call alongside either. What separates all of it from the current smash-burger wave, according to those who follow this stuff, is the fresh-ground patty and the house-made sauces — details that reflect a kitchen that takes the basics seriously rather than leaning on novelty.
Practically speaking: this is a hearty, affordable lunch rather than a light meal, and the $-level pricing makes the quality-to-cost ratio genuinely hard to argue with. Come with an appetite, decide before you get to the counter whether you are going full Burgernator or building your own from the 6oz options, and plan accordingly. View restaurant →
2
Google
Burgers•Toronto•$
The Burgernator
The Burgernator has occupied the same Kensington Market corner since 2013, and its reputation is built on a premise that is straightforward but not lazy: burgers made from a custom blend of freshly ground chuck that is never frozen, prod…
burgerscheap eatsquick
Read restaurant page
8.8
Based on 3134 reviews
Crack Burger Toronto — Crack Burger has built a genuine following in Kensington Market on the back of a deliberately minimal menu and a smash patty that, by all accounts, tends to derail conversations mid-bite. The Baldwin Street storefront is small, the owner is reportedly disarmingly friendly, and the whole operation is organized around a single conviction: do one thing with enough focus and people will find you. They have, and they keep coming back.
The menu centers on the Crack Burger — a double smash built on two 3oz AAA beef patties, American cheese, bacon, and the house crack onions, which appear to be the signature move that gives the place its name and its reputation. Diners consistently point to the caramelized, lacy edges of a well-executed smash as the thing that separates it from the broader Toronto burger crowd. For anyone who wants heat, the Jalapeño Crack Burger is the variation to know about. The fresh-cut fries are made in-house — not an afterthought — and the menu is short enough that there is essentially no wrong call. The whole project is about restraint and repetition rather than novelty, which is precisely why the regulars trust it.
Practically speaking, this reads as a lunch spot or a quick-stop situation rather than a place to linger — the format does not really invite it. Crack Burger is closed Mondays, so plan accordingly. If you are genuinely hungry, the double format of the Crack Burger is worth leaning into rather than hedging on. The smash patty is the point of the whole exercise; order around that and you are in good shape. View restaurant →
3
Google
Burgers•Toronto•$
Crack Burger Toronto
Crack Burger has built a genuine following in Kensington Market on the back of a deliberately minimal menu and a smash patty that, by all accounts, tends to derail conversations mid-bite.
burgerscheap eatsquick
Read restaurant page
9.8
Based on 913 reviews
Get the App
Save these spots to your Toronto list
Keep the shortlist handy in the TastyPals app and find similar restaurants across Toronto.
Personalized city picksCleaner shortlistsBuilt for iPhone and Android
TastyPalsTonight
Your taste. Our picks.
Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
For tonight
Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
Keep exploring in the app when you want a tighter shortlist
Ozzy's Burgers Toronto — Ozzy's Burgers has held down a spot in Kensington Market since 2017 on a short list of commitments that are easy to respect: never-frozen beef, hand-cut fries, house-made organic sauces, and a fully halal kitchen. In a city where every new burger counter seems to be running the same smash-and-melt playbook, Ozzy's is known for leaning into signature builds with actual personality — and for treating the vegan and vegetarian side of the menu with the same care as the beef side, which is still rarer than it should be.
The beef burgers with names — the Mustang Sally and the Purple Rain — are what the menu centers on, and they're the reason most people show up. They're high-concept in the way that Kensington generally rewards: a little weird, a little committed, not trying to be something fancier than they are. The Lamb Burger is the move for anyone who wants to step off the standard cattle path, and by most accounts it's not an afterthought — it's a legitimate reason to go. On the plant-based side, the Portobello Veggie Burger has a reputation for being a real option rather than a reluctant concession to dietary restrictions. Round things out with a milkshake; diners consistently flag the shakes as worth adding to the order.
Practically speaking, this is a price-level-one operation — you're not dropping serious money here. The house sauces and fresh beef are the consistency play, and the menu's built-in gluten-free and vegan range makes it genuinely workable for mixed groups. Come with someone who eats differently than you do. Order one of the signature beef burgers, and don't skip the shakes. View restaurant →
4
Google
Burgers•Toronto•$
Ozzy's Burgers Toronto
Ozzy's Burgers has held down a spot in Kensington Market since 2017 on a short list of commitments that are easy to respect: never-frozen beef, hand-cut fries, house-made organic sauces, and a fully halal kitchen.
burgerscheap eatsquick
Read restaurant page
9.0
Based on 3396 reviews
Firefly Burger Toronto — Firefly Burger on Yonge Street has built a reputation around a cooking method that sounds almost contradictory: Black Angus beef smashed on a flat-top for crust, then finished on a grill for a hit of barbecue char. Whether that two-stage approach actually delivers the best of both worlds is something diners debate, but the technique is deliberate and distinct, and the burgers are reported to be generously portioned — a meaningful differentiator in a downtown corridor where a lot of smash-burger spots are running small and pricey. The place is halal, which expands its reach considerably in this part of the city.
The menu centers on three signature builds: the Firefly (the namesake, the baseline), the Backfire (reportedly for those who want more heat), and the Kamikaze (the bigger, more loaded stack). The real talking point, though, is the sauce list — Tunisian thyme, a Chili Lava, and a Bucharest sauce with a nod to Romanian cooking. That roster is what gives Firefly its faintly Mediterranean-via-Eastern-European identity, which is a genuinely unusual angle for a burger counter and consistently what regulars point to when they explain why they come back. The hand-cut fries round things out, and by most accounts they pull their weight rather than playing second fiddle.
This is a price-level-one spot, which means the expectation is fast, filling, and affordable — and Firefly appears to deliver on all three. Best approach: treat the sauce list as the actual menu. The Firefly burger is the sensible starting point, but picking something unfamiliar from the sauce column is where the kitchen seems most interested in making an impression. Come with an appetite; the portions are known to be substantial. View restaurant →
5
Google
Burgers•Toronto•$
Firefly Burger Toronto
Firefly Burger on Yonge Street has built a reputation around a cooking method that sounds almost contradictory: Black Angus beef smashed on a flat-top for crust, then finished on a grill for a hit of barbecue char.
burgerscheap eatsquick
Read restaurant page
9.4
Based on 1977 reviews
The Burger Shop — The Burger Shop is the Queen West outpost from the team behind Top Gun Burger, which already tells you something useful: this isn't a first attempt at smash burgers. The kitchen reportedly carries over the same core technique — 4-ounce chuck-and-brisket patties pressed hard onto thinly sliced onions on a hot griddle, building the caramelized, lacy crust that separates a smash burger done right from everything else. That blend of chuck and brisket is a deliberate choice, and the onion-crust method is clearly the thing the whole menu is built around. The room is small and casual, the price point is low, and the focus is tight.
The Mushroom Smash — a double beef patty with mushroom, onion, and cheddar — is consistently singled out as the one that shows what the kitchen is doing, stacking the caramelized onion crust against earthy mushroom and melted cheese in a way that diners keep coming back to. The Double Onion Smash is the purist's read on the same idea: beef, onion crust, no distractions. The Veggie Smash is on the menu as a genuine plant-based alternative rather than an afterthought, which is worth knowing if you're coming with a mixed crowd. Round things out with an order of Fries — straightforward, and by most accounts a proper companion rather than a side note.
This is a quick Queen West lunch or an early-evening stop when you want something specific done well at a price that doesn't require any justification. The format is simple, the pedigree is real, and the menu makes the decision easy. Start with the Mushroom Smash and an order of Fries — that's where the reputation is. View restaurant →
6
Google
Burgers•Toronto•$
The Burger Shop
The Burger Shop is the Queen West outpost from the team behind Top Gun Burger, which already tells you something useful: this isn't a first attempt at smash burgers.
burgerscheap eatsquick
Read restaurant page
9.6
Based on 433 reviews
The Burger Monk (Flame Grilled) — Most burger spots in Toronto have gone all-in on the smash patty, so The Burger Monk's commitment to flame-grilling is a genuine differentiator — and, according to consistent reporting on the place, the point of the whole operation. Stationed on a St. Clair West corner, it runs improbably late into the night, which puts it in rare company as a post-midnight option in the west end. The patties are sourced entirely from Canadian beef, and the kitchen's whole argument is that the open flame delivers a char-grilled quality that the flat-top crowd has collectively agreed to give up.
The flame-grilled beef burger is the anchor, and most accounts treat it as the right place to start. But what keeps The Burger Monk in regular rotation for people, based on what diners report back, is the range around it. The crispy chicken burger is consistently flagged as a genuine contender rather than an obligatory menu entry. Wings come with a real roster of sauces rather than a token choice. And then there's the cheesesteak poutine — which, by all accounts, is the kind of loaded poutine that doesn't need to be a side order to justify itself. It's reportedly the dish that turns first-timers into regulars on its own.
Practically speaking, this is the kind of place where the late-night reality matters as much as the menu. If you're in the west end past midnight and want something beyond fast food, the options narrow fast — and The Burger Monk is specifically built for that window. Come with the flame-grilled burger as your anchor, and plan to add the cheesesteak poutine regardless of whatever else you order. View restaurant →
7
Google
Burgers•Toronto•$
The Burger Monk (Flame Grilled)
Most burger spots in Toronto have gone all-in on the smash patty, so The Burger Monk's commitment to flame-grilling is a genuine differentiator — and, according to consistent reporting on the place, the point of the whole operation.
burgerscheap eatsquick
Read restaurant page
9.8
Based on 1294 reviews
B Boyz The Burger Architects — B Boyz The Burger Architects is the kind of operation that makes Toronto's halal burger scene look smarter than most people give it credit for — a burger counter operating out of a Thorncliffe Park convenience store, where the whole setup sounds like a punchline until you start reading what regulars actually say about the food. Everything on the menu is halal, and the kitchen works with locally sourced ingredients, which matters more in this price bracket than it usually gets credit for.
The menu centers on a tight roster of burgers built on brioche buns, and the conversation almost always starts with the fried chicken options. The spicy fried chicken burger is the one diners consistently push first — reportedly the move for anyone who wants heat alongside the crunch that fried chicken burgers live and die by. The standard fried chicken burger covers the same ground for those who want to ease in. For beef, the B Boyz Classic is the reference point — a patty that's reportedly freshly made and juicy, the kind of straightforward burger that doesn't need a paragraph of modifiers to justify itself. The fries have their own following and are widely called out as a genuine strength rather than an afterthought.
The practical reality worth knowing before you go: this is a small team doing made-to-order cooking, and a single burger can reportedly take around twenty minutes. That's not a complaint so much as a condition of the whole thing working — the wait is the price of something made fresh in a room that was never designed to be a kitchen. Thorncliffe Park isn't a detour most people make by accident, but if you're going, lead with the spicy fried chicken burger and don't show up in a hurry. View restaurant →
8
Middle Eastern•Thorncliffe Park•value
B Boyz The Burger Architects
B Boyz The Burger Architects is the kind of operation that makes Toronto's halal burger scene look smarter than most people give it credit for — a burger counter operating out of a Thorncliffe Park convenience store, where the whole setu…
Halal comfortdinnertakeout
Read restaurant page
9.0
Based on 741 reviews
Explore next
Related guides
Guide • toronto
Best Restaurants in Toronto 2026
The definitive Toronto restaurant list — Alo at the top, Edulis close behind, and ten picks that span a 40-year institution, a wood-fire Mexican kitchen, a West African tasting menu, and the east end bistro everyone is suddenly talking about.
Read guide
Guide • toronto
The 15 Best Date Night Restaurants in Toronto
The Toronto restaurants that make a date feel shaped, warm, and worth remembering without leaning too hard on cliché.
Read guide
Same guide in other cities
Get the App
Save these spots to your Toronto list
Save these spots to your Toronto list in the TastyPals app, then explore similar restaurants when you want a tighter shortlist for the night.
Personalized city picksCleaner shortlistsBuilt for iPhone and Android
TastyPalsTonight
Your taste. Our picks.
Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
For tonight
Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
Keep exploring in the app when you want a tighter shortlist