Seattle’s Best Burger
(As chosen during our live show at Vermillion Art Gallery & Bar in Capitol Hill)
4. Uneeda Burger
Location: Fremont
Reviewed on: Episode 49
Tristan’s burger: The Classic Burger (add cheddar cheese and bacon)
Tristan says: “You didn’t have the bacon but it stood out more than the Zippy’s burger by far. It was present. You could taste it.”
Tristan’s rating: 89
Kevin’s burger: The Classic Burger (add cheddar cheese)
Kevin says: “Uneeda Burger has been awarded my highest score thus far … by far the best bun we’ve had.”
Kevin’s rating: 94
Finalist and People’s Champ
3. Dick’s Drive-In
Location: Capitol Hill (also Edmonds, Holman Road, Lake City, Queen Anne and Wallingford)
Reviewed on: Episode 65
The burger: Dick’s Deluxe
Tristan says: “The best special sauce of any burger we have had, bar none It’s not even close. It’s basically perfect. You’re not getting a lot from the patty; it’s just there. But the cheese and the special sauce, together with the lettuce and the grilled bun … it is an excellent burger.”
Tristan’s rating: 90
Kevin says: “I don’t know if I would say it’s not even close. You know what’s weird about Dick’s burgers? How well they manage to make the lettuce taste with the special sauce. The cheese at Dick’s: outstanding.”
Kevin’s rating: 93
Semifinalists
1. Loretta’s
Location: South Park
Reviewed on: Episode 51
The burger: Tavern Burger
Tristan says: “I don’t think it can be Seattle’s best burger because there’s not much to it, but it’s beautiful in its simplicity. … I think it’s the best secret sauce we’ve had yet.”
Tristan’s rating: 93
Kevin says: “It’s not fancy. It’s pretty simple. … I might say it’s the best value burger that we’ve had. … You can get two for [the price of one fancier burger] and it’s going to fill you up and it’s going to be delicious every time.”
Kevin’s rating: 87 (re-rating: 95)
2. Li’l Woody’s
Location: Capitol Hill
Reviewed on: Episode 50
The burger: The Big Woody
Tristan says: “Exploding with flavor is how I would describe it. I could definitely taste the bacon and that’s what, to me, pushed it ahead of Zippy’s Burger.”
Tristan’s rating: 94
Kevin says: “A very juicy, flavorful burger patty. I thought the mayo and ketchup combo, despite the simplicity, worked well here.”
Kevin’s rating: 94
Quarterfinalists
5. Red Mill Burgers
Location: Interbay (also Phinney Ridge)
Reviewed on: Episode 53
Tristan’s burger: Bacon Deluxe w/Cheese
Tristan says: “I love everything about Red Mill, basically. The only thing I don’t love about it is it’s not open on Mondays. I’m not sure if it’s the best burger in Seattle but it’s very close.”
Tristan’s rating: 92
Kevin’s burger: Cheese Burger
Kevin says: “I think Red Mill has the best combination of cheese and secret sauce of any place that we’ve gone to. There’s a little kick to it, which is nice. It’s very flavorful.”
Kevin’s rating: 93
6. Zippy’s Giant Burgers
Location: West Seattle (also Georgetown)
Reviewed on: Episode 46
The burger: Zip Burger with Cheese and Bacon
Tristan says: “Overall, piece by piece, pound for pound this is easily the best burger we have had yet.”
Tristan’s rating: 92
Kevin says: “If I was going to do this over again, I don’t know if I’d get the bacon. I might mix it up and get something more creative.”
Kevin’s rating: 89
7. Swinery Meats
Location: West Seattle
Reviewed on: Episode 62
The burger: Swinery Burger
Tristan says: “It was a revelation to have this on the Fourth of July. It was a wet burger — almost like a wet burrito, but a burger. The bun was perfect. But I think what set this burger apart from other burgers we’ve had is the meat. You could eat the meat on its on and it would taste excellent.”
Tristan’s rating: 93
Kevin says: “If you like gourmet-style burgers, you’ll probably love this one. I just don’t.”
Kevin’s rating: 87
8. Great State Burger
Location: Downtown (also Laurelhurst)
Reviewed on: Episode 47
The burger: Double
Tristan says: “Except for the cheese, which I could not replicate at home, it kind of tasted to me like a burger you would make at home. It’s about three, maybe four dollars too expensive.”
Tristan’s rating: 88
Kevin says: “I thought the cheese was phenomenal somehow, melted perfectly, just delicious, so the bites around the edge that were very cheese-filled were so good. Then I got to the middle and it was just a little too much meat.”
Kevin’s rating: 90
Other contenders for Seattle’s best burger
Feed Co.
Location: Central District (also Redmond)
Reviewed on: Episode 60
The burger: Classic Feed Burger (add cheddar cheese and bacon)
Tristan says: “It’s a very basic burger. The star of the show here was perfectly cooked bacon. The bacon pushed it over the top. It was by far the best bacon we’ve had. It was crunchy and smoky. It was excellent. To me, the quality is as good as 8 Oz. Burger Bar for half the price.”
Tristan’s rating: 90
Kevin says: “I’m surprised that you haven’t mentioned the special sauce here, Quinn’s special sauce. Who’s Quinn? Whoever Quinn is, they make a nice special sauce. It’s got the right amount of kick to it.”
Kevin’s rating: 89
Lunchbox Laboratory
Location: South Lake Union (also Bellevue, Gig Harbor)
Reviewed on: Episode 58
The burger: Homage to the Dick’s Deluxe/Classic ‘MeriCAN
Tristan says: “My hot take is why don’t I just eat those burgers? Why am I paying $15 for a burger that’s an homage to a $3 burger? If you put in front of me a Dick’s Deluxe and a Big Mac and you said you could have these or those other burgers, I’m taking those 100 percent of the time.”
Tristan’s rating: 88
Kevin says: “As compared in this class to 8 Oz. Burger Bar or even Giddy-Up, I would say it was clearly a better use of the money. The cheese was perfectly melted.”
Kevin’s rating: 88
206 Burger Company
Location: First Hill (also Downtown)
Reviewed on: Episode 56
The burger: (206) Burger
Tristan says: “I need something to be the star of the show. It’s like the San Antonio Spurs without Kawhi Leonard.”
Tristan’s rating: 85
Kevin says: “There’s no one as good as the bun on the San Antonio Spurs without Kawhi Leonard, unless you’re saying Pop is the bun.”
Kevin’s rating: 90
Kidd Valley
Location: Coulon Park (also many others)
Reviewed on: Episode 59
The burger: Bacon Cheese Burger
Tristan says: “The meat was basically nothing. It was there. It’s not a bad burger. The presentation was good.”
Tristan’s rating: 88
Kevin says: “When we were kids, they seemed like great burgers to us. But now that we have all these other options, they’re replacement level.”
Kevin’s rating: 85
Coastline
Location: West Seattle
Reviewed on: Episode 62
The burger: Special
Tristan says: “It was a totally fine burger. It’s not exorbitantly expensive. If I were in the area and looking for a burger, I would totally go back. I wouldn’t pine for it.”
Tristan’s rating: 85
Kevin says: “I was eating my burger and thinking ‘What does this remind me of?’ And my answer was an extremely well crafted Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonald’s.”
Kevin’s rating: 88
Skillet Counter
Location: Seattle Center Armory (also Ballard, Capitol Hill, Regrade)
Reviewed on: Episode 64
The burger: Classic
Tristan says: “If this burger were $8 instead of $14, it would be close to a lock for me of being in the top eight burgers. The meat was good. There was a special sauce that kind of permeated everything. The pickles were good.”
Tristan’s rating: 87
Kevin says: “I would say the only particular complaint I had with this burger is the cheese kind of got overwhelmed by the special sauce and the patty.”
Kevin’s rating: 85
Blue Moon Burgers
Location: Fremont (Kevin)/Capitol Hill (Tristan), also Alki and South Lake Union
Reviewed on: Episode 53
The burger: The Double Cheeseburger Love
Tristan says: “I thought the burger tasted fine. The bun was fine. I think the overall experience was just fine.”
Tristan’s rating: 85
Kevin says: “My review noted overall awfully plain and pretty ‘meh’ to me.”
Kevin’s rating: 85
EDITOR’S NOTE: We reviewed Blue Moon before owner Charlie Olson admitted participating in a text exchange where employees were described using a racial epiphet.
8 Oz. Burger Bar
Location: Capitol Hill (also Ballard)
Reviewed on: Episode 54
The burger: The 8 Oz.
Tristan says: “The quality of everything was very high. I thought it was the No. 1 bacon. … I don’t think the best burger in Seattle could be a place that I wouldn’t visit more than biennially.”
Tristan’s rating: 88
Kevin says: “It’s just not my thing. If you rank these places by my likelihood of going back, it’s at the bottom. If I did go back, I would probably get my burger done medium rare instead of medium.”
Kevin’s rating: 80
CaliBurger
Location: U District
Reviewed on: Episode 45
The burger: Cali Double (Cali-Style)
Tristan says: “The other thing you have to live with when going to CaliBurger is the guilt about going to CaliBurger, which is clearly a knockoff of a much better restaurant.”
Tristan’s rating: 79
Kevin says: “They have not quite replicated the secret sauce, particularly on the fries.”
Kevin’s rating: 88
The People’s Burger
Location: Stadium District (also other locations as Food Truck)
Reviewed on: Episode 57
The burger: Classic
Tristan says: “In general, I think this may be the worst burger we’ve had yet. Nothing really stood out.”
Tristan’s rating: 80
Kevin says: “I really wanted to like this burger. It’s a good-looking burger. And then you eat it and it’s just not there.”
Kevin’s rating: 83
Giddy Up Burgers
Location: Freelard (between Fremont and Ballard)
Reviewed on: Episode 48
Tristan’s burger: Stuffed Pig
Tristan says: “The burger itself tasted excellent in the past. This time, it was flavorless — almost completely flavorless. There was nothing going on with the burger.”
Tristan’s rating: 75
Kevin’s burger: Kit N’ Caboodle
Kevin says: “To me, the haystack onion rings were the standout. I thought a little low on the sauce even though it had both barbecue and ranch sauce.”
Kevin’s rating: 86
Katsu Burger
Location: Georgetown (also located in Bellevue, Capitol Hill and Lynnwood)
Reviewed on: Episode 44
Tristan’s burger: Classic (add bacon and cheddar cheese)
Tristan says: “I was expecting this to be something completely out of the ordinary, but it was more or less just a burger. Maybe the katsu on the patty added a little bit of extra flavor but it wasn’t enough for me.”
Tristan’s rating: 76
Kevin’s burger: Samurai Select (Grass-fed Beef katsu, bacon, pineapple, wasabi mayo, tonkatsu sauce)
Kevin says: “I would say the wasabi mayo was the most flavorful thing of this entire burger to me.”
Kevin’s rating: 82
Costco
Location: Sodo
Reviewed on: Episode 61
The burger: Cheeseburger
Tristan says: “It was basically a non-starter, the burger patty. It tasted basically like nothing. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t finish the entire burger.”
Tristan’s rating: 70
Kevin says: “It was bad. I cannot recommend that anyone eat this burger.”
Kevin’s rating: 50
Bonus Review: Steak n’ Shake
Location: Downtown
Reviewed on: Episode 55
The burger: Signature Steakburger
Tristan says: “I can’t get behind a burger that doesn’t have secret sauce. Ketchup is great. I just need something else, though. It was a totally fine burger. It doesn’t stand out at all.”
Tristan’s rating: 80
Kevin says: “I ended up paying $17, which is like what you’re paying at some of the nice burger restaurants on this list.”
Kevin’s rating: 85