California Eats guide · checked October 2026California burger stands
19 burger stands across 6 of California's 9 regions, each checked open in October 2026 against its own website, menu or ordering page, or a dated local news story. Walk-up burger stands and drive-ins, each checked open by hand, from Los Angeles to the Central Coast and the desert.
About this list
What's on the menus, most often: burgers, breakfast burritos, milkshakes. Each place lists what its own menu shows.
Our method: for every place we found a 2025 or 2026 source of its own, such as the menu on its website, an ordering page it runs, or a dated story in the local press, and read it in October 2026. A listing that only carries the word in its name, or whose website has gone dark, stays in the app's directory and off this page. No review site fed this list, and it runs by region and town, never by score.
The app sorts the same burger stands by how far each one is from you, and tapping one brings up its Apple Maps card, hours and photos included.
Jump to a region
- Los Angeles (10)
- Orange County (1)
- Inland Empire & Desert (2)
- Central Coast (2)
- Bay Area (3)
- Sacramento Region (1)
City pages: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno, Long Beach, Pasadena, Santa Barbara, Berkeley, Santa Monica, Irvine, Anaheim, Riverside, Bakersfield, Santa Cruz, Napa, Palm Springs, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Stockton, Glendale, San Gabriel.
Los Angeles
10 burger stands, by town.
Astro Burger
5601 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles
Burger stand On the menu: burgers, avocado burger, gyros, Greek salads
Independent family burger stand on Melrose with a Greek side menu.
Burgers Never Say Die
2388 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles
Burger stand On the menu: smashburgers ('The Regular')
Silver Lake walk-up smashburger window that began as a backyard pop-up.
Gus's Drive-In
1657 W 3rd St, Los Angeles
Burger stand On the menu: burgers, fries, Greek specialties, pastrami, fried chicken · Founded 1977
Family-owned Westlake burger stand with Greek dishes, 'since 1977'.
Hawkins House of Burgers
11603 Slater St, Los Angeles
Burger stand On the menu: Whipper Burger (two patties, pastrami, sausage), burgers
Watts burger stand serving oversized burgers.
Lucy's Drive In
1373 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles
Burger stand On the menu: burgers, breakfast burritos, Mexican plates
24-hour La Brea drive-in serving burgers, breakfast and Mexican food.
Original Tommy's
2575 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles
Burger stand On the menu: chili cheeseburger, chili cheese dogs, chili cheese fries, tamales · Opened 1946
The original Tommy's stand at Beverly and Rampart, open 24 hours; the chain has 32 locations in Southern California and Nevada.
The Apple Pan
10801 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles
Burger stand On the menu: Hickory Burger, steakburger, tuna melt, pies · Founded 1947
West LA burger counter; Time Out dates it to 1947.
Lucky Boy Drive-In
531 E Walnut St, Pasadena
Burger stand On the menu: breakfast burritos (all day), burgers, sandwiches · Founded 1961
Pasadena burger and burrito stand established 1961; also at 640 S Arroyo Pkwy and in Sylmar.
Bill's Burgers
14742 Oxnard St, Van Nuys
Burger stand On the menu: bacon cheeseburger, hamburgers · Founded 1965
Weekday-only retro burger counter on the same flat top since 1965.
Irv's Burgers
7998 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood
Burger stand On the menu: Original Roadside Double, pressed-to-order burgers · Founded 1946
Route 66 burger stand first opened in 1946 as Queen's Burgers; revived in 2022 and now a small chain (LA and Nevada).
Orange County
1 burger stand, by town.
Pocket Burger Shack
16873 CA-1, Huntington Beach
Burger stand On the menu: Pocket Burger (1/3 lb, avocado, egg, bacon), breakfast burritos, agua frescas
Roadside burger shack on Pacific Coast Highway in Sunset Beach.
Inland Empire & Desert
2 burger stands, by town.
George's Drive-In
9910 Magnolia Ave, Riverside
Burger stand On the menu: burgers, breakfast burritos, hot pastrami, chili cheese fries · Founded 1974
Family-owned Riverside drive-in founded in 1974 by George and Zaharoula Alexiou.
Trails Drive In
84520 Trona Rd, Trona
Burger stand On the menu: made-to-order burgers, milkshakes, flavored sodas, soft serve · Opened 1958
Desert drive-in on the road toward Panamint and Death Valley; built by Ruth and Clarence Baker, established 1958.
Central Coast
2 burger stands, by town.
Sylvester's Burgers
6455 El Camino Real, Atascadero
Burger stand On the menu: burgers, online ordering menu · Founded 1988
SLO County burger joint 'serving SLO County since 1988' with locations in Atascadero, Los Osos, Oceano, Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo.
The Spot
389 Linden Ave, Carpinteria
Burger stand On the menu: hamburgers, chili fries, tacos and Mexican plates · Opened 1958
Old-fashioned beach hamburger stand; its site says it has served since 1914, and the shack was renamed The Spot in 1958.
Bay Area
3 burger stands, by town.
Pick's Drive-In
117 S Cloverdale Blvd, Cloverdale
Burger stand On the menu: burgers, Pick's red relish, root beer floats, milkshakes · Founded 1923
Restored roadside drive-in; its site says Pick's holds the title of oldest drive-through in California, established 1923.
Beep's Burgers
1051 Ocean Ave, San Francisco
Burger stand On the menu: 1/4 lb Beep's Burger, milkshakes, root beer floats · Founded 1962
Ocean Avenue throwback drive-in serving burgers since 1962.
Gott's Roadside
933 Main St #29, St. Helena
Burger standWine country On the menu: cheeseburgers, shakes, fries · Founded 1999 in St. Helena
The original Gott's, a roadside burger stand on Highway 29; Gott's says it has served the California roadside since 1999.
Sacramento Region
1 burger stand, by town.
Lucky's Drive-in Sacramento
2565 Franklin Blvd, Sacramento
Burger stand On the menu: burgers, shakes, hot dogs, chili · Opened 2024
Curtis Park burger stand; the owners' first location is in Tacoma, WA, and this one opened at the end of 2024.