Where to Eat the Best Burger in Metairie (2026)

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Hooters in Metairie is a sports-bar stop, full stop. The original chicken wings are the reason to come, and the bar-area setup works well enough for a game and a beer with friends. The room runs at a low-energy register on most visits, and the service is functional rather than attentive. If wings and cold drinks are the goal, the kitchen delivers; if the burger is the mission, there are better options in Metairie.

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Five Guys keeps its focus narrow: a straightforward cheeseburger or bacon burger, hand-cut Cajun-style fries, and counter service that moves when the line cooperates. The burger is generous and the fries come in quantities that exceed the bag. Promotional app offers have caused friction at the counter, and a few service complaints have circulated, so cash-in-hand ordering is the cleaner path. For a filling, no-ceremony burger in Metairie, it does the job.

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Ground Pat'i is a New Orleans-area chain with roots going back to the eighties and nineties, and this Metairie location off Veterans Memorial Boulevard has regulars who treat it as a weekly stop. The fried chicken draws as much praise as the burgers. It is a sit-down room with table service, which distinguishes it from the counter-service competition. The corner location is awkward to navigate by car, but for a classic local burger-chain meal, the kitchen holds up.

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Burger Nerds runs a counter-service format with a short, focused menu and a room that has real personality. The queso burger is the standout order, and the chicken sandwich has its advocates. The milkshakes are among the better ones in the Metairie burger field. Staff reads as genuinely friendly across the board. For a casual lunch that leans local rather than corporate, this is the Metairie counter to know.

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Shake Shack arrived in Metairie carrying the Madison Square Park origin story and a national footprint that now stretches well beyond the East Coast. The ShackBurger is consistent with every other location: tight construction, good beef, soft potato bun. The frozen concrete custard is the differentiator. Crinkle-cut fries hold up. For a New Yorker comparing notes, this location tracks true to the brand. It is a chain, and the room feels like one, but the execution is reliable.

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Ben's Burgers is the lowest price point on this list, and the kitchen earns the repeat business. The house burger with sauce and onions is the signature, and the chili cheese fries are a reliable side. Chicken nuggets keep the younger crowd coming back. The staff is the consistent bright spot in the kitchen here, with regulars citing it as a weekly destination. Consistency on the temperature of the meat has slipped on some visits, so timing the order fresh is worth noting.

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Joe's Cafe near the Causeway is on this list under the burger guide banner, but the honest call is to come for the donuts. Glazed, powdered, turtle, and bow tie varieties come out fresh, and regulars have been known to build a three-times-a-week habit around them. King cakes run in season. This is not the burger destination in Metairie, but if a hot donut off the fryer is on the agenda, Joe's delivers.

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Knuckleheads is the neighborhood bar that happens to cook above-average bar food. The chili draws steady praise. The hamburger with shoestring fries is the bar-food standard, and the kitchen's output varies with who is on the line that shift. The room runs warm, the bartenders know the regulars, and the crowd is there for the game as much as the meal. Expect a neighborhood sports bar with a kitchen that mostly delivers, not a destination burger room.

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Smashburger operates out of the mall corridor in Metairie, and the counter-service format fits the lunch-break crowd that works nearby. The Classic Smash and the All American Double are the standard orders; smash fries are seasoned and hold up. The ownership here is present, and regulars note that the owner remembers names, which gives the room more personality than most mall-adjacent counters carry. Results on the double burger have been uneven, but the baseline is solid for the price.