8 Wahlburgers Burgers, Ranked Worst To Best

Some restaurant chains are famous because of their longstanding reputation. Others earn that recognition purely by serving exceptional food. Then there are the places that make headlines because of their famous founders. Wahlburgers, started in 2011 by the trio of brothers — chef Paul Wahlberg, actor Mark Wahlberg, and musician Donnie Wahlberg – is a poster child for that final category. But today, we're taking a closer look at the chain's stacked lineup of burgers to see if they're just as impressive as the family that's backing them.

Just looking at the menu alone, I'd say that Wahlburgers knows a thing or two about gourmet, big-mouth cheeseburgers. Its selection ranges from classics with all your usual toppings to elaborate chef-created picks with some unexpected twists — we're talking garnishes like house-made chili-spiced tomatoes, tomato jam, and even pepperoni. Regardless of add-ons, all the burgers feature certified Angus beef, and a few even come smash-style for a nice range of both traditional and trendy handhelds.

Menu offerings can vary at each of the chain's 27 U.S. locations (and even more so at its international locations). But I recently picked up every single burger available at my nearest Wahlburgers in Columbus, Ohio to taste and rank. I took note of everything happening under the bun, from the collaboration of ingredients to the cooking style, to find out A) if the chain has more to offer than just a celebrity name and B) which Wahlburger is best.

A bacon cheeseburger, but give it a Western twist. And also a SoCal twist? I'm a little confused as to what Wahlburgers team was going for here. Given the name, I expected the Angus beef patty, white cheddar cheese, bacon strips, and barbecue sauce. The fresh jalapeños and avocado spread came as more of a surprise. You've got spice. You've got smoky. You've got creaminess. But none of it really comes together in an appetizing way — which is a shame for the juicy beef and buttery bun, which did nothing wrong.

The biggest problems were the sauce and the bacon. Well, those ingredients and the thin brown layer of avocado that I would have left off entirely. The two bacon strips weren't horrible; they just lacked crispiness and flavor. In some bites, it was hard to tell they were even there. Boldness was also a problem for the sauce. It was only a touch sweet, a bit smoky, and not applied generously enough to showcase either of these attributes.

Surprisingly enough, the jalapeños ended up being the best part. At first, I questioned the use of fresh peppers rather than pickled. But they had great taste and vibrancy — a bright spot of heat and crunch in an otherwise jumbled burger.

Wahlburgers doesn't offer any triple burgers on its menu. But there are a couple of doubles, including the most obvious of them all: The Double Decker. It's actually just the double patty version of the chain's signature Our Burger. From the bun to the toppings to the sauce, the two sandwiches are identical; the only difference is the amount of meat.

For me personally, it proved to be too much beef. The certified Angus patties don't look that menacing at first, but they're extremely dense. They take over the entire burger, making each bite seem dry, and the toppings don't do enough to combat them. It's your basic combination of lettuce, tomato, white onions, and pickles. It also uses something called "government cheese" — a processed American cheese that used to be distributed through federal food assistance programs and which pays homage to the Wahlbergs' more modest upbringing. A slather of Paul's signature Wahl sauce is undeniably the best part about the burger. This creamy, spicy mayo-type blend gives the burger its character.

The Double Decker is a definite step up from your standard fast-food cheeseburger (which our taster tried and ranked), and from the chain's BBQ Bacon. But there are other options on the menu that offer more by way of balance and unique flavor.

The Wahlbergs feed into the plant-based craze. The chain has partnered with Impossible Foods to offer its own version of an Impossible Burger. Just one Impossible beef patty is used, but it's impossibly large — extending well beyond the edges of the bun and hardly even fitting into the cardboard to-go box. It looks like beef. It even smells like grilled beef. But the taste and texture give it away as a meaty imposter. It's just a touch more fine-grained and almost meatloaf-like compared to a standard patty, while the juiciness and savory flavor are more subdued.

So as hard as it tries, it's not a dead ringer for beef. But the burger's list of well-curated toppings still made it a more appealing pick than The Double Decker. This isn't just your snooze fest of classic burger fixings. The chain dresses up its faux patty with a star-studded lineup of white cheddar cheese, lettuce, caramelized onions, and house-made chili-spiced tomatoes. Of course, Paul's signature Wahl Sauce also makes another guest appearance. The onions add a rich butteriness to every mouthful, but it was actually the tomatoes that more heavily influenced the taste. Their juices cover everything in a layer of smoky, zesty flavors. They're so much better than standard tomato slices.

Under all this, it is admittedly hard to even tell the patty is an Impossible patty. But I still think a classic burger patty topped with these adornments would have gone a lot further.

The Our Burger is Wahlburgers' flagship menu item, and it's about as stereotypical as a cheeseburger gets. If someone asked you to draw a cheeseburger from memory, I'd bet it would look almost exactly like this — from the orange American cheese right down to the crinkle-cut pickle slices.

So, if it's so standard, how does it manage to outrank three burgers that sound much more exciting on paper? Well, I'll tell you. Flavor-wise, it's not a mess like the BBQ Bacon was. The government cheese, veggies, and sauce all work together cohesively and complement the one burger patty. Speaking of just one burger patty, the choice to not tack on another made all the difference compared to The Double Decker burger. It feels far more manageable and allows you to actually taste the toppings and fluffy brioche bun instead of getting mouthfuls of pure, lightly-seasoned beef. Finally, the reason for the victory over the Impossible Burger is obvious: Fake meat can simply never take the place of real meat. You can dress it up with extravagant toppings, but it still can't compete.

It's a good burger that's cooked well and is all-around classic, and is one I would recommend. However, Wahlburgers spins up a few more that build on its success.

I went back and forth on whether I liked The Our Burger or Our Burger Smash better. Ultimately, I landed on the Smash as my favorite between the two, but it was a close call. The most significant difference is the cooking method used for the patties. Whereas The Our Burger uses a traditional burger-flipping style, the Our Smash uses a smash burger method where the patties are squished down on the grill to achieve a crispy crust and a flatter profile. It actually features two smash patties. However, it still feels like a similar amount of total meat to the OG, since the patties are so thin. The Smash Burger also leans on the same combination of ingredients, including government cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and Wahl Sauce.

So with a comparable amount of beef and identical toppings, everything boiled down to a slight difference in flavor. Our Smash Burger has a slightly richer, greasier taste all-around. You also get that light crunch from the charred edges of the patty, which works together with the onion and pickles to give the burger another layer of texture.

You are looking at more calories with the Smash Burger – 900 compared to The Our Burger's 700. So if that's a concern, stick with the original. But if you're more focused on flavor, the Our Burger Smash is your best bet.

Part sandwich, part cheeseburger, The Super Melt is one of the more unconventional options in the taste test. However, it holds its own against Wahlburgers' traditional big-mouth burgers.

The handheld comes with two Angus beef patties, so it is rather sizable. I think just one half would have been enough to curb my hunger. The patties seem to be in more of a smash style, though, so they're not too overwhelming. Where the melt really shines — and even surpasses the Our Burgers — is in the garnishes. Ooey-gooey government cheese is back, covering both the bottom and top slices of bread. Thick-cut pickles also make a return, but this time accompanied by caramelized onions, a house-made mustard sauce, and strips of bacon. It leaves off the lettuce and tomatoes and feels more indulgent than the lower-ranked sandwiches. I'm always on board for some added bacon (when it's done right), and the sweetness of the onions is a great match for the umami notes in the beef.

All things considered, it's a classic take on a patty melt, and a tasty one at that. My only hangups were with the bread and the mustard. Clearly, the bread was toasted for a bit too long, leaving it burnt and crunchy, and leaving me pining for a soft, buttery bun instead. Additionally, while the mustard was fine, it couldn't help but remind me of a McDonald's burger (which our taster tried and ranked).

According to the Wahlburgers website, this is Mark Wahlberg's burger of choice. It makes sense. This burger certainly has some good range, and is comedically large. It captivated me from the start and wound up as one of my favorite acts at the burger joint.

O.F.D. isn't a hint at the burger's toppings (like a B.L.T.) It actually stands for "Originally from Dorchestah" – a nod to the Boston neighborhood where the Wahlbergs grew up. It starts as a two-beef-patty burger that's layered with Swiss cheese and bacon. Where things really get interesting, though, is with the restaurant-style sauteed mushrooms and slather of tomato jam. As was the case with The Double Decker, this is still a lot of meat. Probably too much meat, even if it's cooked well. But the bold, more adventurous toppings help shift the focus away from the mountain of beef. I'm always up for the rich and earthy taste of mushrooms on a burger. They pair so well with the Swiss cheese. Beyond that, the bacon added a touch of smoky saltiness (despite its limp texture), and the tomato jam surprised me. Really, it's just a glorified marinara sauce. But it contributes a tangy sweetness to the burger that ties together all the savory flavors.

For that, I say thank you to Mark for the solid recommendation. It's good. Just not as good as the next burger.

I never would have thought of plopping pizza toppings on a hamburger, but the Wahlbergs did. They came out with their pizza burger, dubbed the Pepperoni Smash, in 2025. That makes it one of the newest items on the menu, but it had no problem beating out other longer-standing burgers in the taste test.

After trying this, I would petition to have pepperoni take over bacon's usual spot on cheeseburgers. They're sliced and piled in a mound under the bun and carry the flavor with loads of umami, spice, and greasiness. It may sound like a weird combo with the two smash patties, but the pepperoni enhances the beef's flavor rather than trampling it. The provolone cheese grounds the burger while garlic butter and a rosemary tomato jam finish it off with even more Italian-inspired flavors. The jam is similar to a tomato sauce, as it was in the O.F.D. burger, but it's more herbaceous here. Because this burger uses smash patties rather than regular ones, it's not as overwhelmingly meaty as The Double Decker burger or the O.F.D. The patties are thinner, so you can still have your beef and enjoy your toppings, too. Plus, the caramelization around the edges is like a crispy reward.

My husband and I both took one bite of this burger and instantly knew we had a winner. It'll be my order the next time I find myself at Wahlburgers.

The only Wahlburgers location in my area of Columbus, Ohio happens to be located in the Hollywood Casino. So, I journeyed past the slot machines and blackjack tables to get to the real jackpot: the juicy burgers. I ordered every single burger option on the menu. I ordered them as is and asked for them to be cooked medium. I think The Our Burger ended up marked as well-done, but that didn't make a significant difference in taste. Once my large order was complete, I took them all home to try.

The first thing I was looking for was beef quality, and that was consistently good across the board. The meat had good flavor, whether it was cooked normally or smash style. I did tend to prefer burgers that were smash style, or that included just one patty, though; others seemed a bit too beefy for me. After that, my attention turned to the toppings. I looked for ingredients that made sense together, but also that added something unique to the burger. Classics like the Our Burger were fine, but some of the more creative burger builds like the O.F.D. and Pepperoni Smash were what ultimately won me over by elevating a standard cheeseburger with well-curated and unexpected flavors.