7 Venues Serving Extraordinary Burgers from Berlin to Dubai

The 28th of May is International Burger Day – the perfect reason to enjoy a dish that has gone far beyond its humble fast food origins. The burger today is both a cultural icon and a classic of simplicity that chefs the world over seek to perfect. Here are 7 venues from Europe to the Middle East where you might just decide you’ve arrived in burger heaven.

The Königs-Burger

Venue: The Curtain Club at The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin

The Königs-Burger from The Curtain Club at The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin (Photo: Marriott International)

Sme of history’s greatest culinary creations were very happy accidents, from burrata (mozzarella byproducts) and arancini (leftover risotto) to eggs Benedict (an on-the-spot hangover cure) and tarte tatin (disguising some overcooked apples). The Königs-Burger at The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin’s Curtain Club comes into this category. When staff at The Curtain Club’s sister venue, the boundary-pushing POTS restaurant, were producing the classic German dish Königsberger Klopse – veal, beef and pork meatballs served in a tangy caper cream sauce – they had some ground beef left over and passed it to their Curtain Club colleagues. The Königs-Burger was duly born, a celebration of the meat’s quality, expressed as two perfectly seared smash patties, melted cheese, and – in a nod to the burger’s Königsberger Klopse provenance – a finely balanced caper sauce.

The Wagyu Neobiani / The Mini Wagyu Beef Foie Gras Burger

Venue: Smoki Moto at Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

The Mini Wagyu beef foie gras burger from Smoki Moto at Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Dubai (Photo: Marriott International)

The world is riding a wave of enthusiasm for Korean cuisine, and understandably so. The Asian nation’s food is an irresistible melding of sweet, savoury and sour, complemented by a toothsome range of textures running from crunchy to silky, often on the same plate. Korean steakhouse Smoki Moto, located at Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, expresses the sheer joy of Korean cuisine with its Mini Wagyu beef foie gras burger, a mouthwatering combination of the legendary Japanese beef marinated in soy and formed into a patty, served with yuzu-laced radish pickle and, for a fusion twist, seared foie gras. The kimchi fries are the perfect complement.

The Premium Highland Wagyu Beef Burger

Venue: The Hyde Bar at The Park Tower Knightsbridge, a Luxury Collection Hotel, London

The Premium Highland Wagyu Beef Burger from The Hyde Bar at The Park Tower Knightsbridge, a Luxury Collection Hotel, London (Photo: Marriott International)

The burger is essentially a series of layers. Three of them at the most simple: 2x bread and 1x beef patty. Next complexity level up? Add slices of lettuce and tomato. Then perhaps cheese, maybe bacon. The Premium Highland Wagyu Beef Burger from The Hyde Bar at The Park Tower Knightsbridge, a Luxury Collection Hotel, London takes layers to the next level, with a sliver of 24-carat gold leaf and a slice of seared foie gras that propel this burger into a whole new dimension of elegance. The meltingly soft brioche bun, meanwhile, is made in house, as is the relish, lovingly created in small batches for the highest quality control. 

The Netz Burger

Venue: Netz at The Heritage Hotel, Autograph Collection

The Netz Burger from Netz at The Heritage Hotel, Autograph Collection (Photo: Marriott International)

People eat with their eyes first. That’s why making a visual impact is so important and can set one chef’s creations apart from the next. The Netz Burger from the eponymous restaurant at Dubai’s The Heritage Hotel, Autograph Collection makes a statement with its charcoal-infused brioche bun – immediately, you know you’re in for something out of the ordinary. The bun’s subtly smoky flavour cedes way to an exquisitely juicy Angus beef patty sourced from Australian herds renowned for their flavoursome meat. Rounding off the experience are fresh lettuce, creamy mayonnaise and sweet caramelised onions.

The Harbour Burger

Venue: Harbours at JW Marriott Hotel Marina

The Harbour Burger from Harbours at JW Marriott Hotel Marina (Photo: Marriott International)

One of the reasons the burger has captured our culinary imagination is that it’s far more than the sum of its parts. In a burger to remember, however, every one of those parts is special. One classic burger ingredient that sometimes gets overlooked is the tomato: not at Harbours restaurant in Dubai’s JW Marriott Hotel Marina, where even the tomatoes are carefully selected, ripened to perfection by that inimitable UAE sunshine. The richly flavoursome patty, meanwhile, is from grass-fed Angus cattle, the lettuce is organic, the pickles are homemade and the brioche bun is, of course, freshly baked.

The Maple Crown Burger

Venue: Gullivers Restaurant at Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel

The Maple Crown Burger from Gullivers Restaurant at Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel (Photo: Marriott International)

Cooking and competition go hand in hand, which is precisely how the mouthwatering Maple Crown Burger came to be. When a friendly contest was held among the kitchen staff at Gullivers Restaurant in Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel to produce an outstanding burger, young chef Katerine won the day with her Canadian-inspired Maple Crown Burger. Here a premium Angus beef patty is topped with a generous layer of sweet and smoky maple-glazed bacon, smoked cheddar and Katerine’s signature BBQ sauce - sweet, tangy, and with just the right touch of heat.

The Cast Iron Burger

Venue: Cast Iron Grill at Hamburg Marriott Hotel

The Cast Iron Burger from Cast Iron Grill at Hamburg Marriott Hotel (Photo: Marriott International)

Eating a burger in Hamburg, the city so associated with the culinary icon's origins, is bound to raise expectations. Thankfully, the Cast Iron Burger from Hamburg Marriott Hotel’s Cast Iron Grill meets them with aplomb. The patties themselves are a smoky flavour sensation, seared on a 450-degree grill, while the buns are lovingly created in a local bakery before having the restaurant’s Cast Iron logo added to them – it’s the kitchen’s confident seal of approval. Marinated red onions and a very special chipotle sauce finish off this elegant burger to perfection.

Published: May 12, 2025

Last Updated: May 27, 2025