Best Burgers and Juicy Lucys in Minneapolis

This is where it began. Matt Bristol started stuffing American cheese inside burger patties at his Cedar Avenue dive bar in 1954, and when a customer bit into one and yelped “that's one juicy Lucy,” the name stuck — minus the “i,” because the sign was already painted. The Jucy Lucy at Matt's is elemental: two thin patties sealed around a molten core of American cheese, served on a plain bun with raw onions and pickles. No lettuce. No tomato. No pretense. The first bite is dangerous — the cheese erupts at roughly the temperature of liquid magma — and that is the entire point. The bar itself is narrow, dark, cash-only (there is an ATM), and unchanged since Eisenhower was president. The fries are fine. The onion rings are fine. You are not here for the sides. You are here because Minneapolis invented a burger and this is the room where it happened. Every local has an opinion about Matt's versus the 5-8 Club. Start here, form your own.

Three miles south on Cedar Avenue, the 5-8 Club has been disputing Matt's origin story since the Eisenhower administration. The bar opened as a speakeasy in 1928 — predating Matt's by decades — and claims its own version of the stuffed burger came first. The key difference: the 5-8 Club spells it “Juicy Lucy” (with the “i”) and offers four cheese options — American, Swiss, pepper jack, and blue — where Matt's offers only American. The patty is thicker and the cheese-to-beef ratio is slightly more generous. The dining room is larger, brighter, and more family-friendly than Matt's cave-like interior. The pepper jack version adds a slow heat that builds through the burger. When the Travel Channel staged a head-to-head on Food Wars, Matt's won by a hair, but plenty of locals prefer the 5-8 Club — especially those who want their Juicy Lucy with blue cheese and a booth. Both bars are correct. That is the beauty of a rivalry with no resolution.

If Matt's and the 5-8 Club are the old guard, Blue Door Pub is the generation that grew up eating Juicy Lucys and decided to see how far the concept could stretch. The menu is a catalog of stuffed burgers with names like the Blucy (blue cheese and garlic), the Jiffy (peanut butter, pepper jack, bacon, mayo, and pickles), and the Mount Blucuvius (ghost pepper cheese, fried avocado, spicy bacon, and cilantro-lime sauce). The base burger is solid — hand-pattied, properly seasoned, and cooked with the cheese fully molten inside — but the creativity is what separates Blue Door from the traditionalists. The Longfellow location on 42nd Avenue South is the neighborhood spot with a patio and a good tap list. The Como Avenue location near the University of Minnesota campus skews younger and louder. Blue Door proves that the Juicy Lucy is not a museum piece — it is a format that rewards experimentation.

Ray J's does not appear on most tourist itineraries, and that is part of why it works. This family-owned Northeast bar on Central Avenue has been serving a straightforward, well-executed Juicy Lucy since 2013 — a hand-formed patty stuffed with American cheese on a buttery, lightly crisped bun. The patty is thick enough to hold its shape without squeezing the cheese out, and the bun has just enough structure to absorb the juices without disintegrating. No gimmicks, no reinvention, no line out the door. Ray J's also has 32 craft taps, wings that won a WCCO best-in-state poll, and shuttle service to Vikings and Gophers games. It is the kind of bar where the burger does not need a backstory because the execution speaks for itself. If you want a Juicy Lucy without the wait at Matt's or the tourist energy at the 5-8 Club, Ray J's is the move.

The Parlour Burger is the burger that made Kyler Murray drive straight from his Vikings contract signing to 730 Washington Avenue. It is a house-ground blend of chuck, ribeye, and brisket with butter folded into the mix, formed into two thin, irregular patties, smashed on a flat-top until the edges are lacy and crisp, then stacked with white American cheese on a soft egg bun. That is it. No sauce. No pickles. The meat is the entire argument, and the argument is overwhelming. The texture is what separates Parlour from every other smash burger in the city — the crust shatters against the soft, almost creamy interior of each patty. Parlour is a basement cocktail bar in the North Loop, and the burger is priced like it knows what it is. You will pay more here than anywhere else on this list, and you will not care. Now available at seven locations including U.S. Bank Stadium and Target Field, but the North Loop original is where you should eat it first.

Red Cow has been Minneapolis's answer to the elevated pub burger since 2013, and the formula still works: a custom-ground patty served on a brioche bun with toppings that are thoughtful without being fussy. The signature burger with raclette cheese and caramelized onions is rich without being heavy. The 60/40 burger — 60 percent Angus beef, 40 percent ground bacon — topped with cheddar, mustard, and more bacon is pure indulgence that makes no apologies. The truffle fries with parmesan are the correct side order. Red Cow has four Twin Cities locations, three in Minneapolis proper: North Loop at 208 North 1st Avenue, Uptown on Hennepin Avenue, and 50th & France. Each has a slightly different vibe but the same kitchen standards. The North Loop location pairs best with a neighborhood walk. Red Cow is not trying to reinvent the burger. It is trying to execute one perfectly in a room where the cocktails and the wine list are also good, and it succeeds.

Two Mixed Up started as a food truck in 2021, moved into a small kitchen at B-Dale Club in Roseville, and landed inside Graze Provisions & Libations in the North Loop — with a second counter now open in the downtown skyway at Deluxe Plaza. The trajectory tells you everything: people followed this burger across formats because it is that good. The “Just a Burger” is $18 with fries and features two nicely charred, juicy smash patties with lettuce, tomato, American cheese, and a creamy house sauce that ties everything together. The patties have the right ratio of crust to center — crispy edges, pink and juicy inside. The PBJ burger (peanut butter, jelly, and a smash patty) sounds unhinged but works in a way that will make you question your assumptions about condiments. Two Mixed Up is proof that the Minneapolis burger scene is still producing new contenders worth taking seriously.

Chef Jon Wipfli launched Animales as a seasonal barbecue operation in 2018 and spent years building a cult following through pop-ups and a food truck before opening a permanent 12,500-square-foot restaurant on Fremont Avenue North. The burger is not the headliner — the brisket and ribs earn that billing — but it might be the sleeper best item on the menu. Wipfli applies a pitmaster's understanding of fat rendering and seasoning to a burger format, and the result is a patty with a depth of flavor that most burger joints cannot touch. The crust is dark and savory, the interior stays juicy, and the whole thing comes together on a soft bun that lets the meat dominate. Animales is open Wednesday through Sunday, and the burger is available on the anytime menu. The space has high ceilings, long communal tables, and the ambient smell of smoking meat. If you eat one barbecue burger in Minneapolis, this is it.

Fred and Stacy Navarro opened this English pub on 50th Street in 2012 and filled it with an eclectic menu that spans banh mi sandwiches, Asian-inspired rice bowls, and a burger that regularly shows up on best-of lists. The George Burger features a nicely charred patty topped with aged Widmer cheddar, frizzled leeks, and a mustard cream sauce on a soft, buttery bun. The cheddar melts beautifully, the leeks add texture and a mild sweetness, and the mustard cream gives it a tang that cuts through the richness. The fried green beans on the side are mandatory. George & the Dragon is the kind of neighborhood restaurant where the burger is excellent but so is everything else — the cheesy bacon onion dip, the salads named after British queens, the five-spice pork over jasmine rice. Linden Hills is not a neighborhood known for its burger game, which makes George & the Dragon a genuine surprise every time.

Francis is a 100 percent plant-based burger joint that manages to satisfy people who do not care about plant-based food, which is the highest compliment a vegan restaurant can receive. The burgers are expertly seared with a crust that mimics the Maillard reaction of beef, served on soft buns with toppings like garlic aioli, pickled jalapeños, and house-made sauces. The Garlic Girl burger is the signature — savory, rich, and textured in a way that makes you stop thinking about what it is not made of. The Hunny Dijon Fried Chicken sandwich is equally impressive. Francis also operates the state's only fully vegan full bar, with craft cocktails and a solid beer list. The Northeast location on Central Avenue is the original; the Longfellow location on East Lake Street opened more recently. Minneapolis has no shortage of burger options, but Francis fills a gap that no one else is filling, and it fills it with conviction.

Chef Nick O'Leary built Burger Dive on a simple premise: use a custom beef grind, cook it on a flat-top with serious heat, and serve it in a space that does not take itself too seriously. The House burger is the starting point — a double smash patty with American cheese and a well-balanced sauce on a soft bun — but the menu goes deeper with options like the Nacho burger, the Onion burger (caramelized onions pressed into the patty), and the PBJ burger that seems to be a Minneapolis-wide obsession. Burger Dive operates inside the 1029 Bar in Northeast Minneapolis and has additional locations in St. Paul and at Rosedale Center. The Northeast location is the one with the right energy — dim lighting, a good jukebox, and a burger that costs less than $16 with sides. Burger Dive does not have the name recognition of Parlour or Red Cow, but the burger-per-dollar ratio might be the best on this list.

My Burger has been a Twin Cities chain since 2004, and it occupies the specific niche of “burger that is better than it needs to be for the price.” The patties are never frozen, the beef is well-sourced, and the menu mixes classic builds with enough creativity to keep regulars from getting bored. It is not trying to be the best burger in Minneapolis — it is trying to be the best burger you can get for under $14 without a wait, and on that metric it delivers consistently. The Uptown and Stadium Village locations are the most accessible in Minneapolis proper, and the food truck runs from May through October for catering and events. My Burger is the answer to the question nobody asks but everyone has: where do you go when you want a solid burger, not an experience? Sometimes you do not want a speakeasy cocktail bar or a dive with a backstory. Sometimes you want a good burger, fast, at a fair price. My Burger understands that.