UK's best burgers crowned following London's Burger Fest event
Royal patty
A couple of weeks ago we gave you the nod about greater London’s foodie Burger Fest, and the full list of the festival’s big UK Burger Championship winners has now been announced.
7bone Burger Co. won Burger Fest’s best burger award and, sorry Londoners, this place only has restaurants outside of the capital.
It has locations in Brighton, Reading, Southampton and elsewhere, and is known for its 40-day “dry aged’ burger patties. It also serves chicken burgers and wings, and plant-based options.
Plymouth’s Zephyr burgers claimed the second-place prize, while Please Sir! One Bite came third. It has locations in Broadstairs, Whitstable and Canterbury.
It’s a complete change-up this year. At 2025’s Burger Fest the three winners were Meatcastles, Black Bear Burger and Strip Club Street Food.
There was also a separate award for the best chicken burger of the show, which went to Chicken George Jnr., with restaurants in Bedford and Hitchin.
The Critics award went to Smiths of Bourbon, based in Cheltenham, while Dash Burger picked up the Industry Award and Baps Belfast the Traders award.
Burger Fest 2026 was held between 12th and 14th July at Richmond Athletic Ground, and saw upwards of 20 burger traders compete in the UK Burger Championships.
As part of the deal, the burger brands had to offer at least one burger capped at £10 — although there were predictably plenty of more elaborate (and massive) ones that went well above that.
The UK has a bustling burger scene, and these awards fill out the picture of the must-not-miss burgers out there established a few months ago with the National Burger Awards.
7bone was among those celebrated at that awards, as were a host of London-based establishments.
One name that repeatedly appears on these lists is Bleecker, which did not compete at Burger Fest 2026.
Another that did, though, was Black Bear Burger. It sits at number two on the recently-revealed World’s 101 Best Burgers, and runs a few spots cross London, including in Brixton, Shoreditch and Camden.
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