This just-opened Zeppelin Station vendor has raced straight out of the gate to become a front-runner in the “best new burger” category. With a résumé that includes stints at Husk in Nashville and Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, chef Nick Graves (who also operates Lea Jane’s Hot Chicken at Avanti Food & Beverage) has just about perfected the classic double cheeseburger, using an 80/20 grind sourced from Lombardi Brothers Meats, Blue Point buns, and a mustardy special sauce. But he also makes three other versions — including a vegetarian umami bomb with mushrooms, Swiss, and roasted-garlic aioli — as well as crunchy-fluffy wedge fries accompanied by mushroom ketchup.  

This charming newcomer to the Cole neighborhood wears its European influence on its sleeve — or rather its double cheeseburger, topped with gruyère and French onion aioli. A side of black-garlic aioli gives its fries a nifty twist too. 

Tap & Burger now has two siblings in DTC and Sloan’s Lake, but it was the LoHi flagship that earned beef-loving locals’ loyalty a decade ago with creations like the Shroom Luva’s smothered in mushrooms, Swiss, and white-truffle aioli, along with frequent specials. This month, it’s celebrating its 10-year anniversary with the unveiling of a new signature that may as well be called the Onion Luva’s: featuring both raw and fried onions as well as French onion soup–flavored mayo, this burger is layered with confit bacon, Emmental cheese, and Bibb lettuce on a potato roll and served au jus for good measure.

Owlbear has been lauded far and wide for its brisket over the past few years — most recently in Food & Wine, which included the RiNo spot on its 2020 list of the best barbecue joints in the U.S. So it should go without saying that pitmaster Karl Fallenius’s brisket burger makes the grade. Flavored with a house rub incorporating coffee, brown sugar, and celery seeds, among other spices, it comes in a Martin’s potato roll with American cheese, special sauce, pickles, onions, and optional pork belly when available — unless and until it sells out, that is (word to the wise).

The Johnny Burger at this historic institution is a local favorite. Served with a tray of condiments including pickles, it comes with grilled onions and three cheeses, including jalepeño cream cheese — and though prices have gone up over the years, it’s still less than $10.

The dozen or so extravagant concoctions at this delightful little Aurora stop run the gamut from the Black & Blue with a blue cheese–stuffed patty, grilled portobellos, and chipotle-date relish to the Del Mar with carnitas, queso Chihuhua, roasted poblanos, and escabeche — and those are just the beef burgers. The kitchen also makes them with turkey (including the Pilsner with mole, plantains, and crema), lamb, and even shrimp, accompanied by crisp-tender skin-on fries. 

This lunch and happy hour destination on the 16th Street Mall (with an outpost in Westminster) brings a variety of inventive options to pair with shakes from its own onsite ice cream parlor. The Perfect Burger often lives up to its name stacked with gruyère cheese, bacon-onion jam, pickled red onions, red leaf lettuce, and a roasted-garlic aioli; another staple is the Boss Hog with pulled pork, bacon, cheddar, and barbecue sauce.

From his days at the much-missed Rebel Restaurant to the present, chef Bo Porytko has built a cult following on his talent for transforming the familiar into the fanciful, reimagining poutine with tripe or turning tamales into terrines. His double cheeseburger, by contrast, is an earnest homage to the diner standard — and it’s a whopper, from the meltingly caramelized onions to the paper-thin pickle chips to the satisfying bits of char on both meat and bun. 

Frank Bonanno’s old-school dive is probably best-loved for its Minneapolis-style Juicy D, which stars a thick patty stuffed rather than topped with cheese, but all the buns here are fun-filled — from the breakfast burger with bacon, hash browns, and an egg to the Greek burger layered with tender sliced gyro meat, crumbled feta, dollops of tzatziki and tapenade, and a warm salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. 

This 75-year-old cornerstone of Cherry Creek showed it was still at the top of its game in 2019 when its 303 Burger — topped with a chile relleno, pork green chile, and white cheddar on a brioche bun — was named the Judge’s Choice in the Denver Burger Battle. Though the newer Ballpark location can’t match the history of the Second Avenue original, it offers the same extensive list of toppings (corned beef, sauerkraut, peanut butter, and all).

Inspired by the namesake fast-food chain loved by Officer’s Club co-founder Sterling Robinson, the Big Boy Bacon Burger is sheer decadence in the form of two patties piled high with a mess of cheddar cheese, bacon, and shoestring fries. Chickpeas, pepper Jack, buffalo sauce, and basil crema grace the vegetarian version.

With multiple locations, this local franchise offers multiple variations on the American original. Beef, bison, and turkey patties can be stacked with combinations like pancetta, provolone, and giardiniera. Park Burger is also an excellent place to take vegetarian friends — the kitchen prepares its own veggie patty and is known for overflowing sides of truffle-parmesan and sweet potato fries.

With three locations in the Hale and Lowry neighborhoods as well as Englewood, Chop Shop brings gourmet standards to a quick-casual, family-oriented environment. It offers a house-ground beef burger served with American cheese, house pickles, tomato, butter lettuce, spicy aioli, and a side of chips. For $1–$1.50 extra, diners can add toppings like avocado or 72-hour cooked onions. The vegetarian alternative stars a patty made with smoked tofu, lentils, mushrooms, and goat cheese.