The finalists for this year’s highly anticipated National Burger Awards have been revealed and Manchester has been recognised for having one of the best burgers in the UK. Joining fifteen other finalists is the newly opened Mollie’s in the St John’s area of Manchester, which has officially been ranked among the best in the country by the National Burger Awards.
Budget-luxe and design-led hotel and diner brand, Mollie’s, opened its third and largest site to date in Manchester, in December 2025. Located in the Old Granada TV Studios in Manchester, the first purpose-built television studio in the UK, Mollie’s occupies 100,000sq ft of the 1950s landmark. The restaurant at Mollie’s offers a modern take on the retro-American diner, serving up their Double Cheeseburger, consisting of an aged double patty, American cheese, burger sauce, house relish and pickles, which could win at the National Burger Awards.
The National Burger Awards final: live cook-off, technical challenge, plant-based burger round and The Great Shake Challenge
The 2026 event will see 16 chefs from burger operators across the hospitality sector take part in the live final, cooking up their signature recipes for a panel of industry judges. The line-up this year includes previous winners of the competition, such as Bleecker, Danny’s Burgers, and El Perro Negro, as well as welcoming National Burger Awards debutants in Burger & Beyond, Honest Burgers, and Dover St Counter. Meat Stack will represent Newcastle at the cook-off in London, while there are also returns for popular burger outfits such as 7bone, Mollie’s, The Boring Burger, and Fat Hippo.
As well as cooking up their signature burgers, finalists will take part in a technical challenge where they must create the ultimate burger from a selection of sponsor ingredients. They will then participate in a plant-based burger round. The 2026 National Burger Awards will also see the return of The Great Shake Challenge, in which another selection of leading operators will battle it out to see whose milkshake creation will be named best in the UK.
The 2026 National Burger Awards finalists
Bleecker – Bacon Double
Burger & Beyond – Bacon Butter Burger
Danny’s Burgers – The Frenchie
Dodo Pub Co – The Longhorn Burger
Dover St Counter – Cheeseburger
El Perro Negro – The Top Dog
Fat Hippo – The Louve Loot
Honest Burgers – The Honest
Meat Stack – West Coast Classic
Mollie’s – Mollie’s Double Cheeseburger
Oowee Diner – The Camembert Cream
Roddy Burger – The Gazza
7bone – Loyal to the Bone
SoBe Burger – Double Bacon Black Garlic
The Boring Burger – The Boring Burger
The Flavour Trailer – The Drip
The National Burger Awards final will take place at Big Penny Social in Walthamstow, London on Tuesday 24th March 2026.