Beirut takes its burgers seriously. A new roundup of the city's burger scene shows just how deep the options run, with more than a dozen spots in the capital and its suburbs worth planning a meal around — several of them clustered in the nightlife districts of Mar Mikhael and Monot.

The headline act is Buco in Saifi Village, chef Tarek Alameddine's gastro-bar that turned a burger concept into one of the region's hottest tables. It landed a place on the Middle East & North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants list this year, and the menu goes beyond patties to inventive starters and serious cocktails. There are now outposts in Batroun and Dbayeh too.

At the other end of the spectrum, the smash burger wave is in full swing. Bunman in Mar Mikhael does crispy-edged Angus patties on soft potato buns with a tightly edited menu, while Smash'd (Achrafieh and Dbayeh) and Cheese on Top — which has spread to five locations including Hamra — built their followings on melted cheese and no-fuss portions. Smoking Bun, a tiny Mar Mikhael shop, has quietly become a cult favorite.

Several names have crossed over from elsewhere. Big Mike's, originally a cult hit in Batroun, now serves premium Australian Wagyu beef burgers in Monot. BRGR.CO, a veteran of Lebanon's burger scene, has returned to Faqra Club in the mountains with its gourmet classics. The Terrible Prince, also in Monot, is the sequel to beloved bar The Happy Prince and runs a tight, quality-first menu in an intimate room.

The steakhouse crossover is worth knowing about too: Skirt in Downtown Beirut, better known for premium cuts, turns out some of the city's most underrated burgers using the same beef and precision as its steaks. BBQ Bros applies its American barbecue know-how to smoky, generous burgers. East Village, with branches in Badaro and Achrafieh, has long been a fixture thanks to homemade brioche buns and juicy Angus patties.

Rounding out the list: Father & Bun and The Bros in Mar Mikhael for loaded, late-night comfort food; HUSK in Naccache and Kfardebian for quality meat and local produce in a contemporary setting; Burger Guys and Gilbert's Burger Bites (GBB) in Antelias and Kaslik for hearty, indulgent builds; and The Witty Bun, a small neighborhood favorite in Badaro. Mano Burger in Burj Hammoud keeps things low-key and homemade-feeling, a good excuse to combine lunch with a stroll through that Armenian quarter.

For a visitor, this doubles as a food crawl map. Mar Mikhael alone packs Bunman, Father & Bun, Smoking Bun and The Bros into walking distance — pair it with the area's bars for an evening. Badaro offers a more local, residential vibe with East Village and The Witty Bun, while a day trip to Faqra or Kfardebian in Mount Lebanon can end with a burger with a view. Most of these spots are casual and affordable by Western standards, and the phone numbers in the original listing make booking or ordering ahead easy — useful, since the popular ones fill up on weekends.