Goiko

Goiko started in Madrid in 2013, when Venezuelan-born Andoni Goicoechea opened a small burger restaurant built around the kind of messy, heavily loaded burgers he loved. It caught on almost immediately, spread across Spain, and became one of the country’s most recognisable restaurant brands in barely a decade.

The menu reads like a joke that turned into a business model. Burgers are named after actors and inside references, and the bestseller is the Kevin Bacon, with bacon chopped into the beef. The portions are big, the cheese flows freely, and the whole place leans into being fun rather than refined.

Well over a hundred restaurants across Spain, with a growing presence in other European countries.

• Peter Pane (Germany, since 2016). The German burger-and-cocktail chain that split from Hans im Glück. Also built on beef, bacon, crispy onions and cheese.
• Sunset Boulevard (Denmark, since 1996). Denmark’s biggest home-grown fast-food chain: a sandwich shop from Odense that became a burger chain with a béarnaise habit. Also built on beef, bacon, crispy onions and cheese.
• Holy Cow! (Switzerland, since 2009). The Lausanne gourmet burger chain built on Swiss beef and Swiss cheese. Also built on beef, bacon, crispy onions and cheese.
• Byron (United Kingdom, since 2007). The London chain that led Britain’s gourmet burger boom, then shrank back to a handful of restaurants. Also built on beef, bacon, crispy onions and cheese.