Four Legs made their name at The Compton Arms where they helped create a delicious and fun kind of pub eating. At The Plimsoll, a boozer in Finsbury Park, Four Legs have taken their winning combination of one of London’s best burgers and floral crockery to the next level. The Dexter burger is an outstanding piece of beefy, buttery craftsmanship. It’s all meat, cheese, sauce, and gherkins. No lettuce. If you’re not into McDonald’s-style burgers, you may not like this. But the odds are, you will.

We got very dramatic after eating at this Acton diner. The patties are thicker than most classic smashburgers so you can get away with just one. But they still have crunchy, scalloped edges. It’s a big, messy mouthful, with beef juices that end up pooling on your plate and down pinkies. Which is why their toppings are so genius. The burger sauce is spicy and the crispy shallots add crunch to counter all that fat. It’s got all the comfort of a Big Mac, but No Drama’s burger has finesse too.

Burnt has a halal menu and flavoursome BBQ platters. But the burger is our favourite thing to get. It’s so juicy and buttery that by the final bite, the bottom bun will have all but disintegrated. Hunker down in the archway near Leytonstone station, elbow-to-elbow on a shared table with strangers, and try not to make eye contact as you stretch your jaw biting into your double patty smashburger. The beef is incredibly tender, the onions are well caramelised, and the dill pickles bring some tang.

Arcade, a food hall near Tottenham Court Road station, is where you’ll find Manna and its perfectly formed smashburgers. It’s from the people behind Bake Street, so it’s no wonder the Nashville hot chicken is delicious, but when you’re in the mood for a dressed-up quarter pounder, their smashburger is an excellent move too. Heavy on the cheese, it’s also got plenty of pickles and some diced onion for good measure. Get a side of waffle fries as well, because… waffle fries.

If you’re into burgers, chances are you’re familiar with California-based In-N-Out Burger and its thin patties and not-so-secret menu. And chances are you wish you could try one of their burgers without jumping on an 11-hour flight to LAX. Thanks to Bun & Sum, an LA-style takeaway burger spot, you can have the next best thing in Mile End. The crispy smashpatties are stuffed between soft buns, and topped with everything from brisket or pastrami to a straightforward slice of American cheese.

This Hackney cafe’s fried chicken sandwiches are McDz-like in the best possible way. Soft buns, crisp, pounded chicken, and completely inhalable in under a minute. Flavours, be it a Nashville hot chicken or a spiced fish cutter, are above and beyond anything fast food-related, though. And for beef-lovers, the smashburger—a weekend-only menu highlight—is a perfectly done job, the kind that deserves a promotion.

We have a theory that the worse a restaurant's seating is, the better the burger. And that’s the case with this often-crowded smashburger spot with uncomfortable backless high stools on Acton High Street. The crispy-edged double patty burgers are finished in five—sometimes three—satisfying bites, and the soft bun, tangy pickles, and creamy burger sauce makes it taste like elevated fast food. You’ll consider ordering another one to go as you’re savouring the last meaty bite.

The burger-making station at Smsh Bn in Tottenham Court Road station makes for a pulse-quickening show, as chefs rush around the fast food-style spot, throwing potato bun bottoms in takeaway boxes and filling the huge griddle with perfectly round wagyu patties. It’s fun to watch, but the cheese wagyu smsh bn is even more fun to eat. Two flattened wagyu patties, with onions melted into them, are stacked between gooey layers of melted orange cheese, and topped with pickles and jalapeños.

For those who have never been big fans of the ultra-thick beef patty, a smashburger means finally having all the right ratios. And Buk’s special burger has a thin but substantial, flattened beef patty, a double portion of melted american cheese, plenty of creamy, chilli house sauce oozing over the patty, and sweet caramelised onion to top it all off. This halal burger laughs in the face of the Big Mac.