For the summer edition of Cape {town} Etc Magazine, I was tasked with writing about the best burger spots in Cape Town. Behind these brilliant burgers, I found some wonderful stories and personalities, too.
Smokin’ Joe’s
‘I’m a big boxing fan, well, a big Muhammad Ali fan,’ says Yusuf Bassa, laughing . We are sitting outside his permanently packed burger joint on Kloof Street, right opposite Zuney Wagyu, in peaceful camaraderie rather than any competition. Where Zuney does Wagyu and pulls a good pint, Smokin’ Joe’s (an alcohol-free, halal restaurant) focuses on high-quality classic beef, ground in-shop and served fresh.
With the Ali, Rocky Balboa-clad wallpaper, knockout burgers make sense. ‘And Smokin Joe?’ I asked. ‘Well, that’s me,’ explained Bassa, nicknamed Smokin Joe for his tutelage done in smoking market stalls, serving up burgers. And let’s not forget Joe Frazier’s importance to boxing heritage.
Bassa began Smokin’ Joe’s in Durban after trying a burger overseas and deciding that there was nothing quite like that in South Africa yet. While his two establishments run smoothly up East, it’s Smokin Joe Junior, down here in the Western Cape, that has become Bassa’s baby. Serving up an epic, concentrated menu of smash-styled burgers, fries and loaded fries to the most affluent of the Kloof Street cruisers, students, the petrol attendants across the road and someone like me, just looking for the best burger spots around town, there is a knockout burger for everyone.
Smokin’ Joe’s burgers are among the best in the city; in fact, they were rated the 12th best burger joint in the world by Big 7 Travel in 2022. But they are also some of the best priced. All of the five burger options come with chips, a rarity at a burger joint these days, and Bassa is committed to keeping prices affordable while still focusing on producing the best quality patties around. I tucked into a Smokin’ Joe’s burger and then a few bites of my girlfriend’s Royale with Cheese. I can’t wait to try the other three.
Only Fools
‘When I moved to Seapoint, I would want to go grab a beer and some chow with my mates at a nice bar, not a dive, and that didn’t really seem to exist at the time,’ says Jonathon Halliday, owner of Only Fools, a bar that happens to make some of the best burgers in the city.
So while someone has likely said, ‘you have to try the burger at Only Fools’, the warm ambience of the shop at 82 Regent Road finds its roots as a bar. With a well-curated wine list, a selection of cocktails, beer on tap and an over-23, walk-in only policy, there is a distinctly refined atmosphere to Only Fools. But you have to try the burger.
The kitchen is small – it’s the only space they had, Halliday explained – and so is the menu: a classic burger, chicken burger and vegetarian/vegan option. But simplicity done right is special. Every day, these burgers are made fresh in the shop, with patties popped between soft toasted potato buns and offered to customers at a set price of R95. A range of sides can be added as extras; the loaded fries are an indulgent experience but, for me, the classic beef burger remains the main attraction.
The hum of Regent Road travels through the window bar seating, while the main floor of the bar is filled with bigger tables to accommodate larger groups keen on lunch and dinner. Deep into the shop, elevated couch seating offers a quiet, cosy corner to tuck into a burger or spend the night sipping on cocktails. From the simple, superb quality of the burgers to the carefully assembled drinks list and the thoughtful use of the space, Only Fools offers a polished take on a drink and a bite. Keep an eye out for their expansion to a second story in 2025.
Zuney Wagyu
‘Born out of a belief that there is a connection between how food is raised and prepared and how food tastes.’ Zuney’s differentiator in Cape Town’s thriving burger scene is not just their delicious Wagyu patties (or Wagyu-infused onions or Wagyu tallow fries) but their commitment to ethically sourced meat that travels from their farms to their customers’ mouths.
Co-founded by Henning Klopper and Devin Wells, Zuney Burgers is a family-owned business and owes its origins to an excess of Wagyu beef from the cows on their family farms in Zuney Valley, in the Eastern Cape. Klopper invited me and a few friends to come and try the burgers, and over a pint of Jack Black Lager fresh from the tap at Zuney, explained his and Wells’ idea to use the extra beef from these ethically raised cows to start a burger joint that remains as sustainable as possible along the production line.
Cooking their onions in Wagyu oil tallow and taking a similar approach with the fries, their concentrated menu squeezes the most out of the high-grade local beef. Whether you choose the ‘Classic’, the ‘Cheese’ or the ‘Wacon’, you get a rich, flavourful, wonderfully textured American-style smash burger with distinctly South African-grade beef. And for those wondering, you can even choose the ‘Vegan’.
Positioned one shop down from the popular bar Blondie, Zuney adds to the energy at the middle of Kloof Street and makes for a wonderful pre- or post-night out indulgence (staying open until 1am from Thursdays to Saturdays). The service – from the security outside to the smile at the point of sales – is warm and welcoming, and despite the lightning turnaround time, one never feels rushed in the small, vibrant space, as new customers flow in and out for a burger and a beer.
Zuney meat is of an exceptional standard, and the quality is continued throughout the establishment, in service and atmosphere. Don’t eat half of your girlfriend’s Wagyu fries after yours; one helping is more than enough.
BRASH Burger
It was dark kitchens or a burger truck for the BRASH boys, and the advice before making either endeavour was, ‘Don’t do it.’ According to Gabe Wulfsohn and Benji Fisher, the young co-founders of BRASH Burger, people close to them who were already successful in the culinary space had cautioned against entering a tough market. Anyway, they went ahead and put their money together to buy a food truck and make something that, far from a novel dish, would never really go out of fashion: A cheeseburger. In this case, as their name may suggest, smash burgers.
BRASH began with this simple product, doing pop-ups at restaurant-event space The Electric, as well as TEXAS, a weekend-only bar and events space. Despite an overwhelming introduction to the realities of the service industry, trying to churn out 70 burgers for friends and family at their first event, the boys decided to stick with it and try to master the craft. There is a lot, I was very seriously told, that goes into the pickle-to-sauce ratio and taste, the blend of pure beef, the glaze of a brioche and the crust of a patty.
The attention to detail worked. Combine a quality product with slick social media content, engaging personalities and a stylish collaboration with Float Apparel and all of a sudden, cheeseburgers become not just tasty but actually quite cool. The right people, the right burger, the right time, and very quickly, the food truck was offered the opportunity to move off its wheels and into the big leagues. Backed by the brothers who own Ariels Modern Italian and Jarryds Eatery in Sea Point, you can now find BRASH burgers sitting proudly at 90 Regent Road, pumping out pristine smash burgers seven days a week.
Inspired by the best smashburger joints in Europe, the UK and the US, the retro-styled diner has kept it slick and simple in design and menu, offering THE CLASSIC and THE MACKDADDY.
While clever marketing, stylish design and timely investment have allowed BRASH to grow so rapidly in just over a year (taking home Burger Joint of the Year at the Luxe Awards), the burgers are genuinely very good. And, on any given day, you will find one of the founders front of house, adding the personal touch that made BRASH so endearing to begin with.
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Picture: Smokin Joe’s
