September 21st, 2026
On the North American continent, none of the big three nations have official “national” dishes. But there are a few that will always come to mind for us. In the True North, our friends in Montréal have got us covered with poutine. Down in Mexico, we think that burritos and tacos certainly make a strong argument. The middle child, the United States? Well, while the name does sound awfully German, it couldn’t be anything other than the hamburger.
From all corners of the continent, right to Hamilton, Ontario, we have so much diversity in cuisine. You want something well known like Italian? We’ve got you covered. Looking for something a little more niche? Basque perhaps, or Mongolian? There will be somewhere that has the dish you’re after. But just as the best Brazillian BBQ is in Brazil, and the best baguettes are of course fresh off the rack in France, it’s those national staples that we do better than any other continent. All of these unofficial “national” dishes can be enjoyed in the Downtown Hamilton BIA, and if you asked us what would be our standard for a hamburger in Hamilton, we’d say remove a couple of vowels and you’re there.
HAMBRGR on King William Street is a quintissential dedicated burger restaurant. You might see a chicken sandwhich or hotdog on the menu as well, but the crux of it is you’ll be devouring something delicious between bread. The location was the first of what has now become three restaurants in the Niagara Region. Opening in 2015, the now decade-old HAMBRGR has been so successful they opened a second location on Ottawa Street in 2017, and then a year later opened their first location outside of the city in St. Catharines.
What we tried
When we went to HAMBRGR it was a first time for several of us. I know this philosphy is going to be quite contradictory from what we would usually encourage people to do. Typically, we would encourage you to always try something new, pick the wildest thing on the menu. HAMBRGR have an excellent range on their menu after all, including several other options for those not feeling a burger. To try something really special, ask for their ‘Monthly Chef Smash.’ In september, this beast is the ‘MAC DADDY.’ They shoved a grilled cheese in the middle of a burger. We did say it was really special! But no, in this instance, something I think everyone should do upon visiting a burger restaurant for the first time is try their staple burger. This gives you the perfect point of comparison, and, if you’re getting really scientific, gets you as close to a ‘control’ as you can without extra variables. In HAMBRGR’s case, it’s The Fake Shack.
It’s got everything you want in a ‘control’ burger, from a double patty smash burger, to cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and burger sauce. We went for lunch and all got BRGR Lunch Boxes which come with a side of fries and onion rings. Honestly, this might be the best burger in Hamilton! Now, before you write to the Downtown Hamilton BIA with strong words about your preferred burger spot, hear us out. Look, we get it, as we mentioned earlier, burgers are something that Canada and the rest of North America are experts at. It’s not often you have a bad burger, whether that’s at a restaurant, a family gathering, off your own BBQ, or heck, even the occasional fast food burger on a road trip, they will be what you expect and hit the spot perfectly. That’s excatly why trying The Fake Shack was so special, whether it was the way it was cooked (we enjoyed the medium/medium-rare patties), the proportions of each ingredient, nothing overpowering anything, or the fact that the fries were unexpectedly so good! It’s really hard to say what sets this burger apart. Sure, maybe you wouldn’t go here on date night before the opera, but if someone said they were craving burgers, this is where I’d tell them to go!
One of our team also had the vegetarian version of The Fake Shack. Even with the absense of cheese, and the swap for the Black Bean Falafel Burger, there was glowing reviews all around! Any substitution you need is handled with care, and just as delicious as the other options, so you know you’re not missing out.
In addition to our burgers, a few of the team had to pair them with a burgers best friend, beer. They serve your classics in cans and bottles, such as Moosehead Lager, and plenty of great options on tap too! From the Great Lakes Brewery comes the BRGR Beer, a collaboration between the brewery and HAMBRGR. Once again, we feel like this lager was, in the best way possible, the true “bog standard” which made for the perfect pairing with our classic hamburger. It went down a treat, absolutely no notes!
The Verdict
HAMBRGR has been around for over a decade because they do their hamburgers right. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be in business this long. While we played it safe this time around, and encourage everyone to have a go of what we tried, we’re sure the rest of the menu and all of their wild monthly creations would be worth a treat too.
The restaurant does several promotions including the lunch special that we highly reccommend, a Happy Hour to take the edge off a long day at the office or on the tools, and much more! We think that this restaurant is a place that you won’t just go to once. Try it today!
📍 49 King William Street
🌐 https://hambrgr.ca/
📸 Tag them on Instagram: @eathambrgr
For requests to feature in our next blog post, please email Joseph at joseph@downtownhamilton.org.