Burger Lounge (The Lagoon)
Beef Hater Burgers; by the time I reached this venue I was almost done with beef for a lifetime. Thankfully, in this gorgeous setting reminiscent of a harbour, they offered the Beef Hater; a selection of three burgers which adequately filled any void remaining in my stomach.

Chicken, fried chicken and grilled salmon were a welcome relief to the offerings from other locations. The salmon burger, with a hint of tartar sauce and mayo, tomato and lettuce, was a refreshing choice; its slightly pricier cost forgiven for the beauty of the atmosphere in which it was eaten.

For lovers of traditional style burgers, Burger Lounge is right up your alley, with its wonders such as ‘The Royal’, ‘Deep Heat’, ‘Chromatic’, ‘Lava’ and ‘Kofta’ burgers.

Johnny Rockets (Al A’ali Shopping Complex and The Lagoon)
The Route 66 Double; when dining in a traditional, authentic diners like Johnny Rockets, with its memorabilia and mayhem of dancing servers, you really want to try something aptly name after traditional Americana.

For that, nothing is better than the Route 66 burger. If the smiley faces of ketchup piped for your fries by your waiter does not put a huge smile on your face, then the burger itself will. With single or double patties the ‘66’, named after the famed US highway where roadhouses and diners are plentiful, the burger comes with toppings that are well-seasoned. This burger is moist and luscious, and perfectly sized for a meal when accompanied with fries and a good old-fashioned milk shake.

Johnny Rockets rocks it in the family category as well with its music, fun and value for money.

Elevation Burger (Seef Mall)
The Elevation Burger; this burger scores with my primary dining rule; eat where the locals eat. New but already busy, Elevation Burger is clean, crisp and has certainly elevated the burger scene to new heights.

With a mantra of ‘ingredients matter’, you expect great things — and they delivered, resoundingly. The Elevation Burger is a double-meat patty made with 100 per cent organic, grass-fed free-range beef. Despite the size of the burger I just felt good eating it. Delicious and well-seasoned, the burger had that home-made touch.

Perhaps it was the coarseness of their burger, but it reminded me of the great burgers my mother used to make — simply delicious. Thin straw fries and fresh lettuce with a true crispness add to the experience.
For those with a real appetite go for the ‘Vertigo Burger’ and for those not into meat there is a ‘Veggie Burger’ and even a ‘Half Guilt Burger’ to make you feel good about yourself!

Hard Rock Café (Exhibition Road)
Hickory BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger; serving happy customers since 1971! How could you ever question that burgers cannot be amazing? Quite rightly, the burgers at Hard Rock Café are called ‘legendary’, because they are.

The biggest issue here is how many times to return so that you get through the entire menu. ‘S.O.B. Burger’, ‘The Big Cheese’ and ‘Caramelised Onion’, ‘Mushroom Swiss’, these are all delicious. But, for me, the best has to be the ‘Hickory BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger’ because of its depth of flavour.

Basted with Hard Rocks’ own hickory BBQ sauce, this burger fills a void like few others. A big burger, on a good-sized bun, smothered in caramelised onions, hickory BBQ sauce and topped with bacon and cheddar cheese, it is perfection, and served with piles of fries.

Considering the great atmosphere, the music and the big screens, which accompany the burger, it is by far not the most expensive burger in town. But it’s also served with the biggest side order of entertainment value.

Marriott Executive Apartments (Juffair)
The Marriott Burger; a classic bacon and cheddar burger with seven ounces of pure Angus chuck steak. This is perfect because of the natural balance of lean meat to fat. It also has great flavour and is infinitely more consistent than the plethora of trim product patties out there. Simply adorned with fresh lettuce, ripe tomato, crisp fries and the classic pickle, the cheddar and bacon burger outsells all other flavour profiles combined.

Burgers are considered the original all-American food, but the pedigree of this American culinary icon has roots in Europe.

Hamburg, Germany was a jumping-off point for early 20th century immigrants to the US, and the grilled meat patty in bread often served in this port city may have been just the memory of home these early citizens needed in their new country. Fast forward 100 years and the hamburger is a worldwide menu staple. In fact, Marriott hotels, globally, serve over two million hamburgers a year.

Chili’s (multiple locations)
Oldtimer; this mouth-watering burger is probably the closest thing you’ll find at Chili’s to an ordinary burger, but it’s done extraordinarily well. With a topping of mustard, shredded lettuce, tomato slices, pickles and diced onions, this is an all-time favourite of the restaurant’s patrons. You have the option of adding cheese, crispy beef bacon and chilli if you would like to give your meal an interesting twist.

Chili’s grill their burgers to medium, medium-well and well-done. So, you have the advantage of getting the meat done the way you like it. Remember these are only for the big-mouthed. Save up an appetite for delicious patties served on a sesame seed bun with home-style fries.