5 Best Burger Spots in Boston

At Mr. Bartley’s, Jayson Tatum comes with Swiss cheese and grilled mushrooms. At Tasty Burger, you can order a cheeseburger at an hour when plenty of kitchens have already packed up. Boston’s burger spots cover both a proper sit-down lunch and the meal you remember to have after a night out.

These five include Harvard Square as well as Boston, with choices near Fenway and downtown. Some put the effort into elaborate toppings; others make it easy to order a burger, fries and a shake without turning dinner into a project.

Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage in Harvard Square treats the menu like a running commentary on public life. Alongside the Jayson Tatum, there is a Drake Maye with cheddar and guacamole and a Taylor Swiss with bacon. The joke need not dictate lunch: the Cottage D-Luxe is a straightforward cheddar burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion and mayo.

Read the current menu before deciding which famous person to order. Names and toppings change. You can also build your own burger, which comes with chips, and add fries or onion rings. The double-patty Guy Fieri includes two seven-ounce beef patties, so this is worth checking before ordering sides for yourself.

Tasty Burger’s Fenway location serves until 2 a.m. daily, making it useful well beyond the pregame rush. The Big Tasty combines cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion and sauces; the Rise ’n Shine adds an egg, bacon and spicy ketchup. If you prefer onions cooked, the Patty Melt puts them with cheese on a griddled bun.

The menu also has fries, onion rings and tots, so no one needs to pretend a burger is a complete meal on its own. Ordering for several people? The Sack of 5 lets you choose hamburgers, cheeseburgers or Big Tastys. Check the location before ordering pickup, since the chain has several around town.

Wahlburgers on Brookline Avenue offers a full bar alongside its burgers and shakes. The Our Burger has cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and Wahl Sauce. For more toppings, the BBQ Bacon Burger adds white cheddar, jalapeños, barbecue sauce and avocado spread.

The Fenway menu includes a children’s menu and an Impossible Burger, although that burger comes with cheese as listed. Tell the server about dietary requirements rather than assuming a plant-based patty makes the whole order vegan. Seating is first come, first served; the restaurant uses a text-message waitlist when tables are full. Takeout is another option if you have a game to get to.

Boston Burger Company on Boylston Street is the choice for people who consider a burger and a plain milkshake an unfinished order. Elaborate burgers, loaded fries and its decorated Freakfrappes are the point here. Bring an appetite, then look at the entire order before committing to a burger, sides and one of those shakes for each person.

The Boylston Street location offers pickup and delivery as well as a place to eat in the neighborhood. Check its ordering menu for the current combinations and specials. That is especially useful if an older photo brought you here for one particular burger: the restaurant regularly changes its special offerings.

Shake Shack’s Downtown Crossing branch puts burgers, chicken, shakes and frozen custard on Washington Street. It is a practical stop during a day downtown, particularly when everyone wants something familiar and you do not want a long restaurant meal. This is the New York-born chain’s Boston outpost, rather than a Boston original.

You can order ahead for pickup through Shake Shack, selecting the location and time. The company says its direct ordering prices are lower than those on national delivery apps, so compare the full checkout total before choosing how to order. Check the local menu for limited-run items rather than assuming a national promotion is available here.

For a meal before a game, choose the branch as carefully as the burger. Tasty Burger’s Fenway address is now 86 Van Ness Street, rather than its old Boylston Street location. Our guide to eating near Fenway Park has more options if your group cannot agree on burgers. Eating after a show instead? The late-night food guide separates kitchens still serving from bars that have already stopped.