Kansas is filled with great places to get hamburgers, some
of them nearly 100 years old. Every restaurant included in this list of
the Top Eleven Burgers in Kansas has been sampled by our editors on at
least two occasions, if not many more.
#11
Bowman's Nu Grille Cafe restaurant
in
Fort Scott, Kansas is the kind of classic place and food that
I am always looking for. Nu Grill opened in 1946. The front room has a
nice old counter where you can watch the food prepared and there are three
additional dining areas.
The made to order cheeseburgers with grilled onions are
thin, but well cooked and tasty. They are available in regular, jumbo and
double jumbo.
Nu Grille Cafe, 24 N. National Avenue, Fort Scott, Kansas
66701 (620) 223-9949 |
#10
Beef Burgers are are a locally popular sandwich in the Fredonia,
Kansas area.
Beef Burger Bob's
first opened in Fredonia, Kansas in the 1950s as the Iceberg Drive In.
Bob and Tony Babcock bought the Iceberg in 1972. Over time they expanded
it into a restaurant and renamed it with the nickname that their customers
had given to Bob. After 37 years, they moved to a smaller location in nearby
Neodesha,
Kansas. The new location has just 5 tables.
Beef burgers are loose meat sandwiches, much in the spirit
of NuWay and Maid-Rite. But beef burgers are not as crumbly and hold together
better. In addition to the beef burgers, the regular burgers, onion rings
and Suzy qs are all great.
Beef Burger Bob's, 621 Main Street, Neodesha, Kansas 66757
(620) 325-5500 |
#9
Snack Shack on Johnson Drive
in Mission, Kansas merges two great burger traditions. The building
began as a Valentine Diner which opened in 1952. It was once called Whopper
Burger, but from 1985-2020 it was the third location of the small Kansas
City, Missouri Town Topic chain. Meanwhile Snack Shack was operated by
the Tolle family on Santa Fe in Overland Park for over a decade, out of
a storefront with just counter seating for 12 people and a smaller kitchen.
The Tolles acquired this building in 2021 and Snack Shack
opened in April 2022. Both the buildings in their old location and this
new one have great history and tradition.
The specialty burger that stands out is the Bobby Burger
which has two 1/4 pound patties, four slices of cheese, grilled onions
and jalapenos. It used to be two 1/3 pound patties, but a half pound of
well cooked ground beef is still plenty.
Snack Shack, 6018 Johnson Drive, Mission, Kansas 66202
(913) 381-3200 |
#8
Following the first release of our Best Burgers in Kansas, several
places were recommended to us. We have visited many of those restaurants.
Some of them made it onto our list of Unique
Kansas Restaurants, but Smitty's
Carry Out in Kingman, Kansas was the first of those places
which made this list.
Smitty's Carry Out serves great burgers. They don't ask
how you want them cooked and they all come well done, but they are juicy
and flavorful. The hand formed hamburger patties are 1/3 pound and
there are options for up to a three patty, one pound sandwich. There is
no extra charge for grilled onions. The hickory bacon cheese burger is
the one shown here, but there are multiple good choices. The onion rings
are as good as they look!
Smitty's Carry Out, 233 East D Avenue, Kingman, Kansas
67068 (620) 532-1883 |
#7
Thomas' Taste of Chicago opened
in Junction City, Kansas in 2017. The owner is attentive as customers
come in and is quick to ask if people have been there before and telling
first time customers about the menu highlights. He says the two most popular
dishes are the gyros and the Chicago Burger, which he describes as the
best hamburger in town.
The Chicago Burger was something I have never heard of
before and sounded a little unlikely, topped with gyro meat, cheese, and
tzatziki sauce. Thing is, it is a great burger these ingredients go together
well. While it isn't known as a Chicago Burger in Chicago, it is something
that can occasionally be found.
Thomas' Taste of Chicago, 105 West 7th Street, Junction
City, KS 66441 (773) 790-1713 |
|
#6
Wichita, Kansas
has many wonderful little places for burgers and Buster's
Burger Joint on the south side of Wichita is our newest discovery.
The small building has a counter, seating for just a few people and a cooking
area with a small grill and 2 deep fat fryers. They normally make fresh
cut French fries, but have temporarily moved to frozen fries. They do a
good job on the frozen fries as well.
The 1/3 pound cheeseburgers are
$4.50 for a single or $6.50 for a double. The burgers are great. not particularly
pretty, but juicy, without being very greasy.
Buster's Burger Joint, 1202 E MacArthur
Road, Wichita, Kansas 67216 (316) 524-7800 |
#5
The
Prairie Nut Hut in
Altoona,
Kansas is a unique little bar and grill. It originally opened as the
A&B Tavern in the 1940s or 50s (the present owners are uncertain),
and was well known for serving mountain oysters. It closed in the 1980s,
but it reopened as the Prairie Nut Hut in the mid 1990s, and is a fun place
to get generous servings of hamburgers, chicken fried steak and mountain
oysters.
As good as the mountain oysters at Altoona's Prairie Nut
Hut are, the hamburgers are even better. The Rohr burger (with grilled
onions, mushrooms and Swiss cheese) is as good a burger as I have ever
had.
Prairie Nut Hut, 1306 Quincy Street, Altoona, Kansas 66710
(620) 568-2900 |
#4
The
basic burger at Cronin's Bar &
Grill in Lenexa, Kansas is our favorite burger in metropolitan
Kansas City. The bun is good and toasted. The 1/3 pound burger is only
$9.50 with a side dish (choice of hand cut fries, seasoned fries, skinny
fries, tatter tots, cottage cheese, celery sticks). I like to add cheddar
cheese and grilled onions for 50 cents each. The burger seems even bigger
than it is listed and I often take half home.
Though Cronin's is more bar than
grill, the kitchen does a great job across the menu.
Cronin's Bar & Grill, 12227 West 87th Street Pkwy,
Lenexa, KS 66215 (913) 322-1000 |
#3
Ty's
Diner in Wichita, Kansas isn't a diner, but rather a 60
year old hamburger joint. It is such a popular burger place that people
wait in line most of the few hours Ty's is open each day. But the wait
is rarely more than 15 minutes. The menu is simple and the hamburgers are
hand formed from ground beef that is delivered each morning. The French
fries are cut fresh each day.
Our favorite burger at Ty's is "The Ultimate," a cheeseburger
with pickle, mustard, lettuce, onion, tomato, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms,
grilled jalapenos and bacon.
Ty's Diner, 928 W. 2nd Street North, Wichita, Kansas 67203
(316) 263-1416 |
#2
Kate's in Dodge City, Kansas
is a bar & grill which opened as the Coney Island in 1946. The
building was bought by a man named Kate when his former restaurant, a few
block's away, burned. It has changed hands a few times over the years,
but has been under the current owner for over 20 years.
The chili cheeseburger is served, not on a bun, but open
faced, on two slices of white bread, one on top of the other. The chili
has a few beans, which isn't my first choice for chili on fries, hot dogs
or burgers, but there are few enough that I didn't mind. The flavor of
the chili is just what I look for in a topping and this is one of the rare
places that I don't add black or red pepper to the chili. Not that it was
extremely spicy, it was just flavorful.
Kate's, 305 E. Trail Street, Dodge City, Kansas 67801
(620) 225-9466 |
#1
There has been a restaurant at the location of Bob's
Grill in Pittsburg, Kansas since 1946. It became Bob's Grill
in 1964 and the current owner is the third owner of the Grill. This little
restaurant is open only for breakfast and lunch, closing at 1 PM on Saturdays
and all day on Sundays. Breakfast or lunch are available any time it is
open.
The burger shown is the triple cheeseburger. It is served
with pickle, mustard and onion - grilled onion if you wish. Just a simple
greasy burger, but it is so good!
Bob's Grill, 1014 N Broadway Street, Pittsburg, Kansas
66762 (620) 232-9738 |
Honorable Mentions: There are many other popular
places to get a burger in Kansas, though sometimes it may be more about
the setting and the tradition then the food. Here are reviews of Bobo's
Drive In in Topeka, The Cozy Inn
in Salina, Fritz's Railroad
Restaurant in Kansas City, Grandstand
Burgers in Overland Park, R-B
Drive In in Hutchinson, Gridiron
Café in Hope, Kansas, and
Specks
Bar and Grill in Topeka.
Please send us your favorite locally owned Kansas restaurants
and be sure to tell us what makes them special and what dishes you think
are the best. Email |
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