What is with the UK’s current obsession with smash burgers?

What makes a burger a smashed one?​
Smash burger are specifically ones where the patty has been pressed down onto the griddle, giving it at characteristic crispy, caramelised crust.

But MEATliquor has been doing this for over a decade. Why are we talking about it now?​
It’s true, as MEATliquor notes on its social accounts, it has been ‘smashing burgers since 2011’. But it’s only recently that the concept of the smash burger has made its way into the UK mainstream.

How so?​
Social media’s power to influence the restaurant market has played a significant role. As Restaurant ​noted back in January​​, the hype around smashed burgers is palpable. Even in the US, where a fresh burger craze would seem unlikely given how the food has become part of the country’s social fabric, smashed burgers are officially a thing as​ the ever-growing popularity of 7th Street Burger and George Motz’s Hamburger America, both in New York, testify. The most prominent example to date on these shores is Supernova​​, which opened in London’s Soho last year and has been creating queues of eager foodies desperate to try its thinner, crispier patties ever since. Now, a growing roster of new operators are looking to take a bite out of the market.

Like whom?​
In recent months, the likes of Supra Burger (main picture), SMSH BN and Temper Burger have arrived on the scene. Then there’s the host of international operators targeting the UK, which include the aforementioned 7th Street Burger, and cult Copenhagen restaurant Gasoline Grill, both of which have hosted sell-out pop ups in the capital this summer. Others have laid down permanent roots, such as Junk, the Parisian smash burger brand that has just opened its first London outpost on Soho’s Old Compton Street. Similarly to Supernova, Junk’s menu is short and to the point, featuring one core burger that comprises a smashed beef patty topped with American cheese and homemade sauce, which can be ordered in different sizes from small (one patty) to XXL (five patties, pictured above).

Is this exclusively a London trend?​
Naturally, the capital is where much of hype is concentrated, but the rise of the smash burger in the UK is by no means exclusive to London. Take Fat Phill’s, the Amsterdam-founded smash burger brand that has signed a franchise agreement with Freshly Baked to develop the brand with a target of opening 100 restaurants nationwide. Then there’s the appropriately-named Smashburger, the US brand that arrived in the UK back in 2016. In its first year, Smashburger, which is operated in the UK by MSG Group, established several outposts across England and Scotland in the likes of Milton Keyes, Brighton, Dunfermline and Newcastle, but hasn’t opened a restaurant since. Until last week, that is, when it returned to the expansion trail with a new opening in Cambridge.

This is unlikely to be a passing fad then?​
Restaurant ​recently caught up with Junk founders Majed Mansour and Wissem Ben Ammar and they certainly see a lot of white space for further growth, not just in London and the UK but also internationally. In their eyes, the simplicity of the product, which strips out nearly all of the extra fillings synonymous with burgers, such as lettuce and tomatoes, is an appeal to both diners and operators. They are not alone in their view. Gourmet Burger Kitchen, the long time bastion of bulkier burger creations that need to be served with a cocktail stick to be held together, has now launched its own extensive smash burger menu; and last year Honest Burgers raised almost £3m to launch a QSR smash burger brand that’s expected to lay down permanent roots in the coming months.

So, it’s smash burgers for the win…​
Actually, it’s not just the burger market that’s getting in on the action. Last week, fast-casual Mexican restaurant group Tortilla announced that it would be adding a cheeseburger flavoured ‘smash burrito’ to its menu (see above picture), which will see a tortilla stuffed with ground beef seasoned with tomato ketchup, mustard and a range of spices. It forms part of a new ‘smash range’, which will be available for a limited time only and also feature smash tres tacos; a smash quesadilla; and smash nachos queso. It probably won’t be long before we start seeing smash burger pizzas, either. How long the hype lasts remains to be seen, but the soaring popularity of the smash burger shows no immediate signs of flattening.