FESTIVE SEASON FEASTS

Round-up of the best burgers

The Financial Mail’s take on SA’S top cheeseburgers: It’s hallowed ground for Cape Town hipsters and if you’re not there working on your first novel or blog over a cortado, you may feel a little out. That said, put your cool-kid inadequacies aside and go to this Bree Street diner just for the cheeseburger. The bun is made from brioche, the patty is perfection and you’d better order a side of chips too. They’re a deep-fried carb dream.

Clarke’s Bar & Dining Room

We’d go as far as to say that they make the best burgers in SA. Which is just as well because that’s all you can actually go to this Rosebank restaurant for. Get a takeaway double cheeseburger with “the works”. These are of the authentic American “smash burger” variety (the meat is literally smashed together on the grill) and will remind you of what they’re supposed to taste like. Shvitzing about betraying the

Banting brotherhood? Get the bunless burger. It’s all the good stuff, nestled in an envelope of virtuous iceberg lettuce.

Jerry’s Burger Bar

Yes, it’s a chain and yes, the interiors are sort of nondescript in a mildly industrial and underwhelming way (though we do like the nod to sailor/biker tattoos of yore). But that’s not really important at Jerry’s. It’s all about the burgers. They do crazy stuff that includes a Korean burger loaded with cheese, bacon, kimchi and spicy mayo but they also do the simple things. And they do them well. The Double Cheese Smash gets our thumbs-up and can be found at all of their seven restaurants across Cape Town and Joburg.