Bastard Burgers

Bastard Burgers was started by a group of friends in Luleå, in the far north of Sweden, in 2016. Their first restaurant had seventeen seats and was described by a local journalist as “a hole in the wall”. Inspired by New York street food, they sprayed graffiti on the walls, covered every surface with stickers, bought beef from a farm in Norrbotten and sold out of burgers every other day.

From there the chain grew very fast: forty restaurants from Boden to Malmö by 2020 and more than seventy within ten years, with branches in Norway, Finland and, from 2023, New York. It keeps its northern, slightly rebellious identity, with loud music, streetwear and Swenglish slogans, and runs regular collaborations with breweries, hot-sauce makers, the burger site Burgerdudes and the Swedish punk band Millencolin.

The burgers are made with Swedish beef on sesame brioche buns, with 55-gram patties stacked as doubles and triples on several of them. Alongside New York and Oklahoma styles there are local touches such as a Västerbotten cheese dressing and the jalapeño-and-cucumber Luleå Cheese. Almost the whole menu can be ordered plant-based, and the chain launches a new meat and a new vegan signature burger every month.

More than 70 restaurants across Sweden, plus Norway, Finland and New York.

• Franky's (Sweden, since 2014). A Stockholm burger bar that began as a tiny street grill, home of Sweden’s best classic cheeseburger. Also built on beef, cheese and a double stack.
• Rekas Burgers (Sweden, since 2019). Malmö’s smash-burger favourite, with beef from its own butcher’s and a place among the world’s best burgers. Also built on beef, jalapeños, cheese and a double stack.
• Bunsen (Ireland, since 2013). The Irish burger bar with a menu that fits on a business card: four burgers, three kinds of fries, done perfectly. Also built on beef, cheese and a double stack.
• MEATliquor (United Kingdom, since 2012). A burger van turned into a dark, loud London bar famous for the Dead Hippie. Also built on beef, cheese and a double stack.