The 15 best burgers in San Diego, and what to order at each

San Diego has no shortage of opinions about burgers, so we didn't start with ours. We started with San Diego Magazine's Best Restaurants lists for 2026 and 2025 (critic's and readers' picks), the magazine's March 2025 roundup of 12 burgers, The Infatuation's San Diego reviews and its September 2026 happy-hour guide, Axios San Diego's January 2026 cheap-burger ranking and the Michelin Guide. Then we checked every place on its own website or menu on November 4, 2026. Two spots from the 2025 magazine list are left out: we couldn't confirm Majorette's kitchen is still serving, and Wavy Burgers' founder has since joined The Friendly's team. No restaurant paid or asked to be here.

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Leaflet | © OpenStreetMap contributors

Award winners

1. 1Rosemarie's (Mission Beach) — 2026 critic's pick; also in Ocean Beach and Encinitas
2. 2Rosemarie's (Ocean Beach) — Same menu, second location
3. 3Rosemarie's (Encinitas) — Newest location
4. 4The Friendly — Readers' pick 2025 and 2026
5. 5The Friendly Tavern — Serves beer; location-only specials
6. 6Tanner's Prime Burgers — USDA Prime beef; open daily 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
7. 7Copper Kings Burgers (San Marcos) — House-baked milk buns
8. 8Copper Kings Burgers (Oceanside) — Opened 2026

Chef and butcher burgers

1. 9The Wise Ox — Dry-aged burger, beef fat fries
2. 15North Park Beer Co. (Bankers Hill) — Smash burgers, one to four patties
3. 16Valley Farm Market — Grocery-store kitchen counter
4. 17The Grill at Torrey Pines — Drugstore Hamburger

Classics

1. 10Rocky's Crown Pub — Since 1977; 21+
2. 11Hayes Burger (Barrio Logan) — Also at 3460 Adams Ave, Normal Heights
3. 12Hayes Burger (Normal Heights) — Second location, opened 2024
4. 13Hodad's (Ocean Beach) — Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
5. 14The Balboa Bar & Grill — Opens 4 p.m. Mon-Thu, noon Fri-Sun

Happy hour and cheap

1. 18The Lion's Share — Happy hour Tue-Sun 4-6 p.m.
2. 19Eat Crispy Burger (Convoy) — Also La Jolla, Encinitas, National City, Oceanside, SDSU
3. 20Herb & Sea — $20 Happy Meal, Tue-Fri 5-6 p.m.

Pins are approximate, geocoded from each restaurant's posted address. Checked November 4, 2026.

See these on the full San Diego map

The award winners

1. Rosemarie's (3852 Mission Blvd, Mission Beach; also 1774 Sunset Cliffs Blvd in Ocean Beach and 608 S. Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas). San Diego Magazine's critic named it the best burger in the city in 2026, and both the critic and readers picked it in 2024. It started as a pop-up and does big sliders, so you can order a few and try more than one. The Infatuation's favorite is the RosieMac, a Big Mac riff with two wagyu patties, caramelized onions and special sauce; the elote fries are the side reviewers mention most. Open daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Drawback: the Mission Beach shop is tiny, so plan to carry your sliders a block to the boardwalk.

2. The Friendly (4592 30th St, North Park). Readers voted it San Diego's best burger in both 2025 and 2026. The order is the dirty flat top: a crispy-edged patty with American cheese, buttery grilled onions and garlic aioli. It also sells pizza by the slice and stays open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Founder Brandon Zanavich died in 2025; his team still runs it, plus The Friendly Tavern at 2632 University Ave, which serves beer and runs specials you can't get on 30th Street. Drawback: no modifications, loud music and hard street parking.

3. Tanner's Prime Burgers (510 Vista Way, Oceanside). Chef Brandon Rodgers, who cooked at three-Michelin-star Benu, and rancher Eric Brandt opened it in April 2024, and the Michelin Guide added it in May 2025. Every patty is USDA Prime from Brandt Beef, smashed with beef bacon, caramelized onions and New School American cheese; fries are cooked in beef tallow. San Diego Magazine's critic picked it in 2025, and it was runner-up in 2026. Open daily 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Drawback: there's almost always a line, and it's about 40 miles north of downtown.

4. Copper Kings Burgers (925 W. San Marcos Blvd, San Marcos; 326 N. Horne St, Oceanside). A pandemic pop-up turned two restaurants, runner-up for best burger in San Diego Magazine's 2025 list. Everything is made in-house: Japanese milk buns baked every morning, beef ground from whole cuts, even the American cheese. The Oceanside location opened in 2026 as a full-service restaurant and bar with a patio; San Marcos pours beer and wine, shows live sports and has a dog-friendly patio. Drawback: both are in North County, a 35- to 45-minute drive from downtown.

5. The Wise Ox (2855 El Cajon Blvd, North Park; also 7750 El Camino Real in La Costa). Chef Brad Wise's butcher shop (from the Trust and Fort Oak group) was San Diego Magazine's 'best overall burger' in its March 2025 roundup, and the critic's pick for best sandwiches in 2026. Order the No. 7, a dry-aged burger with havarti, bacon and house pickles, with beef fat fries. Drawback: it's a counter at a butcher shop, not a restaurant, so seating is limited.

The classics

6. Rocky's Crown Pub (3786 Ingraham St, Crown Point). Open since 1977 and barely changed: a short menu of 1/3 lb and 1/2 lb burgers and fries, plus beer. On November 4, 2026 its site listed a 1/3 lb cheeseburger at $10.50 and a 1/2 lb at $13.00, and a weekday lunch special (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) of a 1/3 lb cheeseburger, fries and a soda or pint for $21. Rocky's now takes credit cards, after decades of cash only. Drawback: it's a bar, so everyone must be 21 or older.

7. Hayes Burger (2060 Logan Ave, Barrio Logan; 3460 Adams Ave, Normal Heights). Opened in April 2020 at the foot of Chicano Park and grew a big enough following to add a second shop in 2024. The menu is short: California-style smash burgers in a few sizes, fries and a grilled cheese. Drawback: the Barrio Logan shop has only a few seats, and listings show it closed one or two weekdays, so check hours first.

8. Hodad's (5010 Newport Ave, Ocean Beach). Newport Avenue's famous burger stand, still run in the spirit of the late Mike "Bossman" Hardin, and a fixture of San Diego burger lists for well over a decade. Open daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. There's a downtown location too (hodadsdowntown.com). Drawback: lines out the door on summer weekends, and it's closed on Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and September 30 (Bossman Day).

9. The Balboa Bar & Grill (1863 Fifth Ave, Bankers Hill). A small cocktail bar with a short burger list: the Classic (onions, pickles, American cheese, ketchup and mustard), the Original with lettuce and aioli, and a BBQ bacon burger. Patties are never frozen and fries are hand-cut Kennebecs. San Diego Magazine reported the burger at $8 during happy hour in 2025. Drawback: it opens at 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, so no weekday lunch.

Chef, butcher and brewery burgers

10. North Park Beer Co. Bankers Hill (3095 Fifth Ave). Each of the brewery's taprooms has its own menu, and the Bankers Hill one has the smash burgers: one to four patties, or a BBQ bacon version. In 2025 San Diego Magazine reported a weekday lunch deal of a quarter-pound burger, fries and a 16 oz beer for $18. Drawback: that lunch price is from 2025, so check the posted menu before you go.

11. Valley Farm Market (6902 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla). A family grocery founded in Spring Valley in 1956 opened this Windansea outpost in 2019, and the kitchen counter in back grills a double wagyu smash with melted cheese and caramelized onions. The Infatuation calls it one of the best deals in the neighborhood, reporting $16 with fries. Drawback: the kitchen closes around 7 p.m., and you eat in a market, not a dining room.

12. The Grill at Torrey Pines (11480 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla). The casual restaurant at The Lodge at Torrey Pines has served the Drugstore Hamburger, a tribute to old soda-fountain burgers, for years; you eat it on a patio overlooking the golf course. San Diego Magazine put it at $29 in 2025, and you can add a fried egg. Drawback: that's the most expensive burger on this list, and some OpenTable diners say the view outshines the food. Staying nearby? See the best hotels in La Jolla.

Happy hour and cheap

13. The Lion's Share (629 Kettner Blvd, downtown). A dark cocktail bar with taxidermy on the walls and a game-meat menu, near the Santa Fe Depot. The Infatuation's September 2026 happy-hour guide lists a $19 wagyu burger topped with wild boar bacon jam, with a beer, Tuesday to Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. It's open until 2 a.m. Drawback: it's loud and dim, and parking downtown is hard; take the trolley to Santa Fe Depot.

14. Eat Crispy Burger (4898 Convoy St and five more: La Jolla, Encinitas, National City, Oceanside and the new SDSU shop at 5120 College Ave). A locally owned smash-burger chain founded in Encinitas in 2022, with fresh Angus beef and fries in beef tallow. Axios San Diego's Kate Murphy named its $7.99 All-American her go-to cheap burger in January 2026, with a combo add-on for $4.99 more. Drawback: it's fast food; come for value, not atmosphere.

15. Herb & Sea (131 W. D St, Encinitas). Not a burger joint, but The Infatuation's September 2026 happy-hour guide points to its $20 Happy Meal: a beef-and-pork smash burger, frites, West Coast oysters and a glass of bubbly, Tuesday to Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. Drawback: it's one hour, four days a week, and people line up for it. More deals like this: the best happy hours in San Diego.

Hungry for something else? See the best burritos in San Diego, the best new restaurants of 2025 and 2026 and where to start with San Diego breweries.