In the past few years, Yangon has acquired a ton of new cars, new buildings, new overpasses, and — most importantly — new restaurants. From Japanese food courts to pet cafés, the city is rapidly becoming home to a plethora of establishments that bring with them a new cuisine or the hottest food trend. But hipster food trends aside, we all have those moments when after a long day at work, all we want to do is chomp down on a classic cheeseburger. Luckily, Yangon is home to some pretty dang mouthwatering burgers, even for vegetarians and vegans.
If you’re a burger fanatic, here’s our list of restaurants in Yangon that serve amazing burgers. From the gourmet MMK15,000+ patties to the fast food joints, if a burger’s what you want, then a burger’s what you’ll get.
AJ’s Bar & Grill
132 Anawrahta Road
Both the “classic” burger and the AJ’s Signature burger sound deceptively simple, but are melt-in-your-mouth orgasmic. Whichever you go with, each bite of an AJ’s burger drips with juice from the thick patties, which when paired with the perfectly seasoned fries, make it easy to see why the place is in a lot of people’s top 5 when it comes to Yangon’s best burgers. If you feel like deviating from the rest of the crowd, they also do a blue cheese burger that comes with perfectly caramelized onions and a side of arugula salad, as well as a surf and turf burger.
Craft Café
1. 33, Corner Of Nawaday Street and Bo Yar Nyunt Road, Yaw Min Gyi Ward
2. Yangon International Airport Terminal 1
Almost everyone who’s tried a burger from Craft will tell you that they didn’t realize that such a cheap burger could taste so good. And yet it is, and it does. Craft does two basic burgers — a chicken burger and a beef burger — with the only difference being the meat patty inside. The fillings include lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a fried egg (which is usually considered an extra topping at almost any other burger joint, so bonus points there). In addition to the burger itself, your K4,500 will also get you a nice side of fries and a small house salad.
Union Bar and Grill
42 Strand Road
Union was the mad scientist behind last year’s Ohn No Kauk Swe burger, and although the creative concoction is no longer part of their menu, the burgers that are still on offer are among the best in the city. We’ll warn you upfront: Union’s burgers are pricey. The namesake Union burger costs K16,000, while their umami burger or bacon double cheeseburger will set you back around K18,000. That said, the Union burger comes with both bacon and a 5oz black angus beef patty, so if you’re really craving some quality meat, then the hefty price tag might just be worth it. Their spicy chickpea burger is also a big hit with vegetarian customers, and is made with a spiced chickpea patty, onion marmalade, and salsa verde.
The Brunch Society
143/149, Sule Pagoda Road (ground floor of Sule Plaza)
If you one day wake up thinking that you’d love to have a burger for breakfast, then the Brunch Society is the place to be. Priced at K10,000, their breakfast burger is made up of a fluffy brioche bun that contains a beef patty, bacon, mushrooms, and a fried egg. Alternatively, they also serve classics such as a BBQ beef burger, a bacon cheeseburger, and (our favorite) a mushroom cheeseburger. The patties are thick, the cheese is aplenty, and all burgers come with a side of perfectly cooked fries. What more could you ask for?
Healthy Me
Corner of Bogyoke Street and 37th Street
While the words “burger” and “healthy” are often not synonymous with one another, Healthy Me actually does one that’s as healthy as you can get for a burger. Their flourless oat burger is ideal for burger loves who are vegetarian/vegan, or can’t handle gluten. You can choose whether you want to include meat — choose between beef, chicken, tuna, or fish fillet — or go full-on vegetarian. Whether you go down the meat route or not, the rest of the burger is chock full of delicious grilled fruits and vegetables including tomato, pineapple, and green and red peppers, not to mention the accompanying free iced lemon tea. Who would’ve thought that a salad bar would be home to such a delicious (and nutritious!) burger?
Father’s Office
Bo Aung Kyaw Street between Anawrahta Road and Mahabandoola Road
If you’re trying to find a place that will accommodate both vegetarians and meat-lovers, all of whom just want to sink their teeth into an A+ burger, Father’s Office is a good call. Their classic cheeseburger is straightforward yet tastes exquisite, and is perfect for diners who, at the end of the beer, are just looking for a very good cheeseburger to wash down with a nice tall glass of beer. Alternatively, their pulled pork burger, served with a red cabbage coleslaw, will appease any mega pork-lover. For the table’s vegetarians, the Vege Lovers burger contains caramelized onions, grilled peppers, feta cheese, and pesto assembled between two fluffy sesame buns.
Yangon Bakehouse
1. Ground floor of Pearl Condo Block C, Kabar Aye Pagoda Road
2. Junction City 5th Floor
Yangon Bakehouse only does one type of burger, and no, it’s not your traditional cheeseburger, so if that’s what you were in the mood for, check out some of the other places on this list. However, if homemade ciabatta bread, goat cheese, and onion jam are your jam, then the aptly-named Bakehouse Burger will be right up your alley. And of course, the bakehouse is a social enterprise that trains women from disadvantaged backgrounds to help them earn their own livelihoods, so every kyat you pay goes towards an amazing cause. Help out others and get to stuff our faces with a delicious burger? Yes, please!
Yangon Bus Café
Inside Kandawgyi Park (at the park entrance, ask for directions to the bus café)
In addition to being an Instagram-worthy date spot tucked inside Kandawgyi Park, the Yangon Bus Café also offers two Pinterest-y concoctions that few (if any) other burger-offering joints in Yangon do: a charcoal burger, and a beetroot burger. The homemade buns of the beetroot burger are made of (surprise, surprise) beetroot, giving them a quirky pink-red color. Offering a nice color juxtaposition for that perfect snapchat picture, the stark black charcoal burger follows in the steps of the food trend that’s been making international waves since last year. Apart from the difference in the buns, both burgers contain the same usual ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and beef or chicken patty, and a side of fries.
Jeff’s Kitchen
4A Kan Yeik Thar Street (Chaw Twin Gone)
Jeff’s Kitchen serves both European and Thai food and is a bit of a hidden gem, but a gem nonetheless, especially when it come to burgers. Although they do really good Thai food, their burgers consistently hold their ground when it comes to the restaurant’s bestsellers. If you’re really hungry, the pork burger has double patties and double cheese. For those who like rich flavors, the chicken burger is held together with a rich and creamy mushroom sauce. Feeling adventurous? Get the JK’s burger, which contains bacon marmalade and a mustard-marinated beef patty.
Nourish Café
36/38B Alan Payar Road
For all you vegan/vegetarian burger lovers out there, Nourish is another good call for burgers that are as healthy and organic as a burger can get. The Nourish burger is completely vegan, and comes with a bean and vegetable patty sandwiched between a brioche bun, and includes a side of coleslaw and sweet potato chips. If you want to go even healthier, you can opt for their naked burger salad bowl instead. Having ditched the bun, the patty is placed on top of a delicious bowl of cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and grilled corn. Oh, and if you’re lucky and avocado is in season, you can add it for an extra K1,000.
Fatman Bar & Grill
Corner of Nawaday Street and Bo Yar Nyunt Road
You’d be pressed to find a burger menu in Yangon more extensive than Fatman’s. The Fatman burger comes with two (yes, two!) patties, cheese, bacon, and a homemade BBQ sauce. For the more daring, the heart attack burger contains all the usual condiments along with four (again, yes, four) patties, and a side of coleslaw. You’d be surprised that such a meat-heavy grill place would also cater to vegetarians, but Fatman does. Their vegetarian burger is filled with all the delicious veggies that come with their other burgers, but swaps the meat with a potato croquette patty.
50th Street
9-13 50th Street (between Merchant Street and Mahabandoola Road)
While 50th Street has played around with burgers in the past — at one point they had a vegetarian dal burger — their one and only 50th street burger has never left the menu. As all good burgers do, it comes with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles, and as all great burgers do, it contains freshly ground Australian brisket and a wonderful garlic aioli, all wrapped up in a homemade brioche bun. Perfectly assembled yet oozing with juice in all the right places, it’s clear that the 50th street burger will long be a menu staple. In a post-payday splurging mood? Add blue cheese, bacon, guacamole, or caramelized onions for K3,000 each.
Savoy Hotel
129 Dhammazedi Road (corner of Dhammazedi Road and Inya Road)
Any establishment that has a dedicated Burger Day (every Wednesday, each burger comes with a free bottle of Tuborg beer) will automatically make our list. The Savoy Hotel’s burger menu is a favorite among Yangonites, and it’s not hard to see why. Whether you’re craving a Mexican burger complete with chili con carne and salsa verde, or a Greek burger with feta cheese, tzatziki, and olives, the Savoy can whip it up, along with a side of fries, chili cheese fries, or wedges. For vegetarian customers, there’s the Farmed Four burger, which contains potato, broccoli, lentils, and, of course, a vegetable patty.
Lotteria
1. Corner of Pyay Road and Kan Street (in front of AYA Bank)
2. Waizayandar City Mart, Waizayandar Road
3. No.79/81, Corner of 40th Street & Anawrahta Road
4. Ground floor of Pearl Condo Block C
5. Ground floor of Junction Square
6. Ground floor of Ocean Tamwe Centre
7. Ground floor of Junction 8
8. Corner of Mahabandoola Road and Hledan Street
(Feel free to let us know if we’ve missed your favorite branch.)
While Lotteria specializes in fried chicken, they also have quite a few burgers on offer for those who are looking for a cheap, no-fuss fast-food-chain hamburger. Don’t worry if you’re not really a big chicken person, as they do have a beef and shrimp burger on their menu as well. That said, chicken is their main selling point, and unsurprisingly, their best burgers are the chicken ones. Whichever route you take, you can have the burger on its own, or as a meal with your standard side of fries and a drink.
Burger King
1. Yangon International Airport Terminal 1
2. Yangon International Airport Terminal 3 (domestic terminal)
Everyone knows Burger King, but we would nonetheless be remiss if we didn’t put it on this list. For a while, the only place you could get Burger King in Yangon was if you were flying out of Yangon International Airport (yes, it was located beyond the immigration desks). Its second outlet, however, is now open on ground floor of the domestic terminal and is “publicly accessible,” although it does mean that you still need to make the trek to the airport to satisfy your Whopper cravings. It’s fast, semi-cheap, and offers desserts, drinks, and burgers. It’s Burger King.
