After lots of research, I am sharing my picks for the best burgers in Wicker Park.
One of the things that we love about Wicker Park is that there are so many incredible restaurants. Today I am sharing eight of my favorite places to get a burger.
The Best Burgers in Wicker Park:
Mott St.
The Mott St. burger is made with two chuck patties topped with American cheese, shoestring sweet potatoes, miso butter onions, hoisin aioli, picked jalapeños, and dill pickles. It isn’t the symphony of flavor you might expect from a burger but it is a true delight. The sweetness of the miso butter onions and the sweet potatoes contrasts beautifully with the slight spice from the jalapeños and the vinegar notes from the pickles. If you haven’t tried this, please do.
There are a few rules when it comes to this burger. It’s available only until 7pm. But, it is available at the bar all night. Just plan accordingly. The burger is also available at Mini Mott located at 3057 W Logan Boulevard and at Time Out Market in the West Loop.
The burger is exceptional, but the rest of Mott St.’s menu is too. I recommend splitting the burger so you can try other menu items like the oyster mushrooms in miso butter, fire chicken with rice cakes, and the wings in their everything sauce.
Pub Royale
The recent burger trend in Chicago is thin patties, which makes me appreciate the thicker patty on the Pub Royale burger even more. This burger is topped with cheddar, spicy pickles, and a spicy aioli. We usually split the burger whenever we go to Pub Royale. The rest of the menu features Indian classics like butter chicken and chana masala.
The Perch
Of course, I have to include our favorite neighborhood restaurant. This burger is made with Pat La Frieda sourced beef. The Perch lets you choose your cheese. Per one of the servers suggestions, I switched from the classic cheddar to goat cheese and haven’t gone back. It’s unexpected (and slightly messy) but I love how the tangy of the cheese pairs with the juicy burger. If you want a classic burger, this will satisfy your craving.
We love The Perch because the menu has a great mix of options, the staff goes above and beyond to be nice to Gwen, they have plenty of space to social distance, and the kid’s menu is free from 4pm-6pm every day!
Little Victories
This burger is under the radar – for now. It’s a personal favorite. The Little Victories burger is a wonderfully executed classic burger. The burger is made with a 6 ounce smash patty, American cheese, shredded lettuce, garlic aioli, fried onions, and pickles. If you want, you can add an extra patty, bacon, or an egg. I think it’s perfect as is.
If you need proof of how delicious this burger is: when Charles’s family came to visit, one night we got burgers from both Mott St and Little Victories. The burgers tied in voting for which is best. This goes to show how different they are, and how wonderful they are.
I need to add that I love this bar. It’s just full of great vibes and good times.
Wazwan
After a successful pop-up, Wazwan has settled into a permanent location on Division Street. The Wazwan burger is made with a mix of angus and brisket topped with smoked gouda, mushrooms, napa cabbage, and fermented scallion aioli.
Their fried chicken sandwich is one of the best in Chicago, so I recommend bringing a friend and sharing the burger and the fried chicken.
Lawn Hamburger
Lawn Hamburger on Ashland has a menu offering nine different burgers ranging from the classic to burgers with blue cheese and pear or mushrooms, goat cheese, and honey. This place brings it when it comes to sides – they have fries, cheese fries, truffle fries, mozzarella sticks, and onion rings.
Big and Little’s
A local fast food joint with a menu featuring tacos, sandwiches, and poke in addition to six burgers. Options include a burger topped with shredded al pastor pork, a burger topped with lamb gyro meat, and some classics. This is our go-to if we want to quick takeout burger and fries.
Small Cheval
Small Cheval is the burger-centric sibling restaurant to Au Cheval which has arguably the best burger in Chicago. Small Cheval serves up burgers, fries, and shakes without the super long wait times.
Tell me, which are the best burgers in Wicker Park? I would love to hear your opinion.