The best burger restaurant in town.
Burts, well it does a very good burger indeed. Spoiler alert — I don’t actually think this is the best burger in town. But it’s absolutely the best burger restaurant in Newcastle.
What do I mean? Isn’t a burger restaurant an oxymoron? Doesn’t a burger represent the lynchpin of grab and go fast food? Why would I want a knife and fork? And does the restaurant in a burger setting matter anyway? Isn’t it just about the meat and bun? Burts addresses all of this. I think the setting, and the ‘everything else’ does matter, and therein is the tension between Patty Melts and Burts, my two favourite burgers in Newcastle.
I’ve thought about this far too much and I — just about — prefer Patty Melts’ burger. But it’s everything else that Burts does.
From the fries to the soft serve. It’s all intentional, a designed, considered experience. In a good way, as you’d expect from the Flint team. Not content with owning pizzas in Heaton, they’re taking even more of the fast food spend by blitzing the burger market, too. As with the best-in-class pizzas at Flint, the team has made sure that the core product has been practised, honed, and has enough due care and attention to make it stand out.
There’s a few starters to bump your spend well north of the £15 burger & fries cost. They’re worth it, pushing Burts into real restaurant territory. Get the pickles while you wait, deftly and freshly fried and showered with cheddar. Get the tenders if they’re on. Crisp, saucy, and better than most dedicated chicken places. Get the corn ribs, speckled in Old Bay. And definitely get the frequently changing salad. They’ve ranged from a chopped ranch, to the twist on a Caesar below. If you were thinking it’d balance the fat and salt of the burger, wrong. The fried chicken skin crumb, and silky dressings will fix that.
The fries are nigh-on perfect, with beef dripping doing all of the heavy lifting. These are big and beefy and not overly salted and seasoned like you get in those takeaways masquerading as restaurant places. They’re banging.
Finally — the real sleeper hit is the soft serve. Your dessert stomach will thank you for ordering it. Plead for the brown butter version. It’s just enough to tickle your sweeter side, it’s decadent, it’s intensely creamy. For something as simple and one note, it was one of the best sweets I’ve had in 2025. Speaking of which…
You’re here for the burgers, naturally. Jeez they’re impressive. The buns. The Buns. Christ these are good, pillowy doesn’t even touch it, they’re barely there, steamed and glossy. A close call, ‘cos I loved when Patty Melts was making them in-house (now by Zee’s), but these are just the best burger bun there is. Keeping the focus on the beef.
Four burgers for your choosing, plus a By the Bay Mushroom veggie choice. A monthly-ish special which has included short rib, Oklahoma, and… tartiflette. Yep.
Honestly, I mean look at it, it’s a lovely, lovely smash burger. There’s an enormous whack round the chops of beef. It might be the beefiest burger in town, and not too greasy, with additive toppings, not just three mayos.
For me, Patty Melts just pips it with a thicker patty. The pursuit of frilly crust renders the burgers here 🤏🏼 thin for me, which is a shame as they’re that good. Patty’s retains a couple of extra mm and it makes all the difference. You might prefer the ridiculously-smashed approach. It’s still an absolute banger — just that girth of Patty’s, it’s more meat than anything. Neither of these burgers are ‘dirty’. That’s a good thing.
That said, the Oklahoma here, christ. 10/10.
The real benefit of Burts vs. Patty Melts is that you can sit in here and have a nice glass of wine. It’s a pleasant place to spend an hour, very Heaton, trendy as hell. But you’d bring your dad here. You maybe wouldn’t at Billy Bootleggers. Drinks are great. There’s 3 or 4 wines on by the glass and they’re all well selected and spot on with a burger. No Sauvvy B, no merlot, well-chosen wines, good cocktails. The homemade cherry soda is also worth a shout out — it’s super tart, and if you watch the effort going in here, worth the £££.
On another day, I might flit to saying this is the best burger in Newcastle. Ultimately — it doesn’t matter. It’s great to have both. My advice for anyone who likes to eat some smashed mince between two bits of bread is support both places, make your own comparison while making yourself very happy indeed. There have been so many attempts at burgers over the last decade in Newcastle, and Burts is up there with the very, very best.
Contact: burtsburgers.co.uk
Address: 208 Heaton Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5JT
Opening: Wed 16:00–20:30, Thurs–Sat 12:00–20:30 (check as liable to change)
