5 Of The Best Hidden-Gem Cheeseburgers You'll Find In The Midwest

America's love for burgers is unparalleled, with over 50 billion of them consumed in the United States every year. A large chunk of these sales are driven by top fast food chains such as McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. When it comes to the Midwest, the name that comes up most often is Culver's, the Wisconsin-born chain that's gone from family business to fast food favorite.

Beyond these chains is a whole universe of restaurants, dive bars, and food trucks selling homespun burgers, gourmet burgers, smashburgers, Juicy Lucys, double stacks, patty melts, and more. Given that most neighborhoods are dotted with burger joints, the task of finding hidden-gem cheeseburgers in the Midwest was quite easy. Cutting the list down to five was the real challenge. 

To arrive at this list, we first went hunting on multiple online forums and food blogs for the best cheeseburgers. We added phrases like "hidden gem" and "under the radar" to sharpen the list. We then narrowed this down by only keeping restaurants that had between 300 and 1,500 reviews on Google, along with a 4.5-star average rating or higher. To avoid large chains, we also excluded any brands with over 20 locations. And to steer clear of the not-so-hidden gems, we left out names that regularly make it to lists of "most popular burgers" (like the ones in our list of the best cheeseburger in every state or our list of the best hole-in-the-wall burgers). That being said, the deliciousness of these burgers means they can boast a decent amount of acclaim — especially locally.

Bill's Toasty is a hidden gem in more ways than one. You'll have to make your way to Taylorville, a small town with a population of just over 10,000 located 25 miles from Springfield (which is famous for its unique horseshoe sandwich). It's been around since 1940, but it doesn't have an official website. It's "hidden" in the sense that you're unlikely to end up there serendipitously. What it does have is over 1,300 reviews on Google, with a 4.7-star rating. And the star is the cheeseburger, which customers can't stop raving about.

Hand-written notes from guests lining its wall — from "best burger in America" to "just as delicious today as it was in 1973" — tell the story of many fine meals spanning decades. These days, Bill's Toasty sells its hamburgers and cheeseburgers in different sizes — all of them supersized. One guest on TripAdvisor noted that the small has a quarter-pound of beef, and a regular has a half-pound. The double cheeseburger seems to be a popular choice. "Great little place! Open 24hrs and has fresh food made right in front of you. I got a double cheeseburger and it was huge!" one Google review said. The only complaint, according to a customer, was that it was too big. "Food was EXCELLENT and even with a 7 mile drive our food was STILL hot," they wrote, adding, "... next time I'll order regular cheeseburger because the double is HUGE, couldn't finish lol."

Kelly's Bar in Hamtramck is a local institution, having built a business around serving thirsty workers from the automotive factories in the area since 1917 (it proudly calls itself the oldest dive bar in Hamtramck). It underwent serious upgrades after new owners took over in 2021, which saw the introduction of a highly-praised new smashburger to the menu. 

Kelly's has 400+ reviews on Google with a 4.6-star rating. The locally famous burger consists of two perfectly crispy smashed patties in sesame seed buns, along with cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles, and a special ketchup-mayo sauce. "New-ish owners Garrett Ragsdale and Kiersten Schilinski developed a smashburger that is nearly flawless," a review in the Detroit Metro Times stated, noting that the dive bar used a high-quality meat blend freshly ground to specifications.  

The cheeseburgers have landed well with patrons. "Such a great place, hidden gem where they sell def one of the best burgers I've eaten," a customer wrote on Google, neatly answering the question we set out to answer. On Yelp, a customer echoed these sentiments with a bit more passion. "If I have two great loves in my life it has to be dive bars and burgers," they wrote. "If you are a fan of smashburgers you will not be disappointed. Excellent in every way, charred [exterior], juicy [center], great buns." The chefs at Kelly's have clearly nailed their patty prepping and smashing technique. 

What BrgrBelly lacks in vowels, it makes up for with big flavors. Located in Chicago, a city full of awesome burgers, BrgrBelly's menu manages to stand out with spicy sriracha pickles, a variety of cheeses, and house sauces like truffle aioli and buffalo bleu. There's a reason these have been labelled "burgers that bite back" by its makers. This does not mean that these burgers are being fully loaded for the sake of it. Each one comes out of a kitchen where every single element is made from scratch. 

Unlike some of the other spots on this list with long histories, BrgrBelly has only been around since 2013. In that time, it has racked up an impressive 4.7-star rating across over 1,000 reviews on Google. "If you want a good burger and not just the old hamburger with cheese on a bun, check this place out," one customer wrote. "We had the Too Gouda be True, Amazing Grace, Rising Sun, and my son just a plain Bacon Swiss. All were delicious!" Most of the 700+ reviews on Yelp are just as enthusiastic, with one of them saying the burger they ordered was absolutely delicious. "It comes with havarti cheese, bacon, blueberry compote, & aioli sauce. It was so juicy, the bun was toasted nicely, and the blueberry compote gives the perfect sweetness to the burger." Another said the burgers were off the chain. "I don't know how these guys consistently make burgers that taste like unicorns, and twinkle stars. But they do it."

While the Midwest contributed to the cheeseburger's reinvention with the Juicy Lucy, it's all about the smashburger today. And few spots get as much love for their smashburgers than Archie's Flat Top in West Allis, Wisconsin. If BrgrBelly is all about bold experiments, Archie's Flat Top wears its simplicity on its sleeve.

Archie's proudly states that it does things old-school. Opened in 2023, the restaurant has built its reputation on a simple menu of beers, burgers, and hot dogs. Archie's serves three versions of its smashburgers. The No. 1 has one beef patty with cheese and onions between potato rolls. The No. 2 is the same, but with an extra patty. Its signature burger, The Archie, sounds like something Jughead would've loved: two patties, onions, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and a special sauce.

Archie's has 800+ reviews on Google, with a 4.7-star average. Reviews across platforms paint the picture of a place that's universally loved by patrons. "Archie's Flat Top may be one of West Allis' newer spots, but it already feels like a classic," one customer said on Reddit. Reviewers on Google are equally effusive. One wrote, "This might be one of my favorite burger places now. I got the big arch and my partner got the bodega chopped cheese sandwich. It was amazing. They were huge."

Crowley's Dive Bar opened in 2023 and has expanded to four locations, all in Ohio, in just three years. Given this early trajectory and the amount of love it gets online, our sense is that this one will not remain a hidden gem for very long. Crowley's describes itself as being an "unapologetically, unglamorous" neighborhood dive. The original Eastlake location has over 500 reviews with a 4.6-star rating. 

While it might be a dive bar at heart (and it's increasingly hard to define what qualifies as a dive bar these days), its menu does not reflect that. The food is experimental — case in point being the Tom's Hawaiian Burger, which features a beef patty, ham, grilled pineapple, provolone cheese, and more. But the most-loved (and most-reviewed) item is the Smash Burger, which has two patties with government cheese, lettuce, sauteed onions, and burger sauce. "Best Burger in the whole world," a review on its own website says. "The patty is smashed perfectly and is the perfect size. The onions are very flavorful. But the best part is the sauce."

The sentiment is echoed by fans on Google, where one customer wrote: "One of the best smashburgers I've ever tasted. [Top] notch atmosphere, great music, amazing friendly staff. I've never seen an entire room of patrons as happy as this. What a vibe." Considering the great reviews and quick expansion, this gem of a restaurant might not remain hidden for very long.