10 Red Robin Burgers, Ranked

Nothing hits the spot quite like a burger and a brew. Enter Red Robin, a chain famous for its delightfully kitschy, retro Americana decor and classic comfort food, including a whopping 30 bottomless items — most notably, the bottomless seasoned steak fries that are, quite frankly, addictive.

Despite being known for its unique gourmet cheesy patties, Red Robin wasn't always in the burger game. Ironically, the family-friendly chain that we know today started as a Seattle college bar back in the 1940s. The bar adopted its modern moniker in 1969 and started slinging burgers to serve alongside its ice-cold brews. They instantly achieved legendary status all over the city, and thus, Red Robin was born.

I visited my local Red Robin to get a taste of these still-legendary burgers and ranked 10 of them from worst to best. Like many people in the U.S., I'm a hamburger fiend, but I avoided inserting any personal bias into this ranking. Instead, I ranked these dishes based on how well the fixings contributed to their overall flavor, along with a slight focus on creativity and presentation. So, behold the fruits of my fearless burger-eating crusade: a list showcasing the best and the worst cheesy, meaty delights at Red Robin to help you choose your meal on your next visit to the chain. Consider it my selfless gift to your taste buds. No need to thank me, but, you're welcome.

Smoke and heat are a match made in flavor heaven, especially on anything featuring red meat. The Smoke and Pepper burger at Red Robin involves cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickles, black pepper-infused bacon, and — most importantly — the restaurant's signature eponymous ketchup. The Smoke and Pepper ketchup is intended to add layers of flavor outside of just traditional ketchup sweetness and tang, acting as the metaphorical cherry on top of this Red Robin entree.

When it comes to burgers, I'm all about bold, vivid flavors. A burger is essentially a blank, greasy canvas for unique toppings to create inventive flavor and texture mash-ups. That being said, I was most disappointed in the Smoke and Pepper because it just didn't dish out what it was promising, resulting in its dead-last position in this ranking. Before that first bite, I anticipated a hint of heat accentuated by earthy smokiness from black pepper, with a touch of vinegary bite from pickles, all mellowed out by creamy cheese; essentially, a mish-mash of flavors that all melded into one delightful taste profile. Instead, the smoky heat was few and far between in the seasoned ketchup, and the bacon didn't appear to be infused with black pepper whatsoever. Alas, the pickles were the standout feature of this unfortunate hamburger.

Although avocado is more commonly a topping for black bean veggie burgers, the versatile, creamy veggie has its place on beef burgers, too. In the Smashed Avocado 'N Bacon burger, avocado is the star of the show, and it's accompanied by Swiss cheese, hardwood-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and a hint of red pepper flakes.

The texture contrast between crispy bacon and soft, creamy avocado is the Smashed Avocado and Bacon's best feature. Flavor-wise, there's really not a lot going on, especially compared to Red Robin's plethora of much funkier hamburgers. This boring dish needed a bold, fiery sauce or an intensely smoky, spicy, or even sweet ingredient to allow it to compare to the others.

Red Robin's burgers stand out in the vast world of U.S. burger chains because of the restaurant's signature seasoning, which — according to the kitchen manager at my local Red Robin — is found on every single burger patty and on its seasoned fries (you can even find it on Amazon). The sweet and slightly smoky seasoning gave the patty a hint of flavor, but I would have preferred sauce or spicy guacamole (as opposed to just smashed avocado with a touch of red pepper flakes) to complement the seasoning instead of leaving it to do all the flavor heavy lifting.

Who says chains can't be hip to the latest trends? If you've got your finger on the pulse of the world of contemporary American cuisine, you've probably noticed an influx of burgers served with a cup of melted cheese on top. Before diving in for a bite, the cup is lifted, sending a cascading waterfall (cheesefall?) of gooey goodness all over the hamburger. Red Robin hops on the cheesy bandwagon with its Lava Queso burger – a burger with grilled jalapeños, tomato, caramelized onion, and chipotle aioli topped with a cup of queso fundido.

This burger is a lot. The queso, which is dotted with savory and surprisingly spicy house-made chorizo chunks, coats the palette with an explosion of umami and heat. But this burst is only good for the first bite. After going in for more, the saltiness of the cheese becomes overwhelming, and the texture of the dish  — particularly the bun — turns to an unpleasant mush. The intense flavor of the cheese also drowns out the chipotle aioli and veggies, making them virtually useless. The salty flavor could potentially be subdued with a creamy or fresh side, like coleslaw or steamed broccoli.

This burger might be a little extra for most Red Robin customers, but it still deserves a place on the menu as a unique and incredibly fun dinner option. But one thing's for sure: If you're going to bite the burger bullet and give it a shot, I'm begging you — don't eat it with your hands.

The Banzai burger is easily one of Red Robin's most unique, fun concoctions. As a lover of all things sweet and savory, I was most excited to dive into this hamburger, which comes with grilled pineapple, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and cheddar, all atop a patty glazed with teriyaki sauce.

Pineapple on a burger isn't unique to Red Robin; it's a key ingredient in a traditional Aussie burger, and it's not uncommon on sweet-and-spicy, Asian-inspired vegan burgers. In savory dishes, a sauce or seasoning is needed to tie the fruit in with all the other ingredients. In the case of the Banzai, teriyaki sauce gives it a dose of garlicky saltiness brought to life by grilled pineapple. The teriyaki-drenched patty and pineapple are an excellent combo, but I take issue with the other toppings on this dish.

Tomato felt particularly out of place, as did lettuce, albeit less so. The acidic tomato contrasts with the zesty but sweet pineapple. Opposites attract better when it comes to fruit in savory dishes; instead of lettuce and tomato, a topping of bitter greens (like spinach or kale) would have lifted this burger up a few notches. I also would have preferred a different cheese, such as Swiss or mozzarella, which would have paired better with teriyaki sauce and pineapple.

I always say the spicier, the better when it comes to burgers. A lick of sweet heat can instantly take a comfort food meal from bland and boring to gourmet status, and that's certainly the idea behind Red Robin's Jalapeño Heatwave burger. This burger is decked out with pepper jack, caramelized onions, green chili aioli, and avocado, along with both grilled and fried jalapeños.

I was thoroughly impressed with this entree, mostly because I couldn't believe everything fit securely between the small brioche buns. The sneaky heat wasn't overpowering, and caramelized onions gave it a much-needed dose of rich sweetness to complement the fiery peppers. Cool avocado did a lot to tame the spiciness, making this burger a viable option for those who can only tolerate minimal heat. My only qualm was with the fried jalapeños, which felt overzealous and unnecessary alongside grilled jalapeños. The fried jalapeños made an already greasy burger significantly more oily, turning the bun into a soggy mess and leaving an unappetizing texture behind after every bite.

Every respectable burger joint has an option on its menu that's drenched in barbeque sauce, and the Whiskey River BBQ burger is just that for Red Robin. The Whiskey River BBQ has all the classic fixings: cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. It's made with BBQ sauce and crispy onion straws, creating a burger that's a little bit outside the ordinary but still classic and approachable.

There's a lot to like about this dish, most notably the addition of crispy onion straws. They add a delectable crunch, along with a savory, salty flavor that's destined to be coated in sweet, tangy barbecue sauce. Although the barbecue sauce is this meal's namesake, I found the sauce to be sparse, providing only a subtle smoky flavor. I think a heartier dose of a bolder BBQ sauce would have significantly elevated this entree. It also felt like it was in dire need of some bacon; luckily, Red Robin encourages adding and subtracting ingredients, so be sure to opt for the hardwood-smoked bacon on this burger to give it a boost of smokiness.

As is the case with a barbecue-style option, every burger restaurant needs some sort of sauteed mushroom-style patty. Red Robin's Sauteed 'Shroom burger is about as quintessential as it gets, with Swiss, a pile of garlic mushrooms, and garlic aioli. I appreciate that this burger contains just three simple fixings and doesn't include unnecessary lettuce and tomato. It might not be the most aesthetically pleasing burger (I hope you like the color brown), but it doesn't need to be, and that's what makes it so good.

Initially, I was floored by the sheer volume of mushrooms stacked on this patty. I understand why Red Robin serves each burger with a steak knife pierced through the top; if not, these grandiose meals would never make it to the table in one piece. The equal mushroom-to-beef ratio and garlicky flavors from the creamy, house-made aioli and mushroom seasoning made this dish a delicious, umami-heavy experience. But overall, I found the quality of the mushrooms to be a little disappointing. They had the dense, slightly slimy quality of those from a can, although I can't say for sure if they came from a can or not. Nevertheless, this option would still satisfy any mushroom lover's taste for the flavors of the forest.

Every burger chain has its own classic iteration of America's favorite sandwich: McDonald's has the Big Mac; Shake Shack has its ShackBurger; the list goes on. The Royal Red Robin is Red Robin's interpretation of a classic hamburger. It involves lettuce, tomato, American cheese, bacon, and mayo and comes adorned with a sunny side up egg.

Red Robin is well-known for this classic burger topped with a gooey egg. The egg adds a whole new dimension of creaminess, upping the umami and drenching all the fixings in delectable golden goop. The yolk soaks into the bun, not so much that it makes it soggy, but enough to enhance the bread's savory, rich flavor and coat the palate. It has me wondering why an egg isn't a regular component of all standard burgers.

This hamburger may have been worthy of the number one spot if not for the fact that it seemed to be missing a few things. First of all, I believe that all classic burgers should include onion in some form; preferably raw, but grilled is acceptable. The Royal Red Robin could have taken new heights with some sort of secret special sauce, like those famously found on the Big Mac and ShackBurger, to give it a flavor boost. If I were to try this burger again, I'd opt for a more potent sauce instead of mayo, like the chain's famous campfire sauce or chipotle aioli.

It's obvious why the Madlove burger is a fan favorite at Red Robin. The Madlove is everything that the Smashed Avocado 'N Bacon burger should have been. It truly has it all: lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, sweet jalapeño relish, and candied bacon. But that's just the beginning. The most tantalizing aspect of this burger is the cheese. It includes pepper jack, Swiss, and a cheddar-parmesan crisp, which is essentially baked, shredded cheese in a crispy, cracker-like form. The three cheeses combine to form spice, butteriness, and a satisfying crunch.

Although this burger is loaded with toppings, everything works cohesively — well, almost everything. Savory, spicy cheese and earthy avocado combine with the bold, sweet ingredients for a fresh, creamy, zesty flavor profile that sounds like chaos on paper but works beautifully on this masterpiece of a burger. I only take issue with the lettuce and tomato. Lettuce and tomato are a given on most hamburgers, but for those topped with unique ingredients that are carefully developed to create an intense yet harmonious meal, all they do is add filler and a wet texture. The cheddar-parmesan crisp added plenty of crunch already, and jalapeño relish provided all the acidic, tangy flavor that the Madlove needed, making these two superfluous toppings nothing but a nuisance on this burger.

And finally, we arrive at absolute burger perfection, something the other burgers on this list tried for but just couldn't accomplish. The Bleu Ribbon burger, however, managed to achieve the impossible. This Red Robin magnum opus comes with lettuce, tomato, bleu cheese crumbles, crispy onion straws, and chipotle aioli, all doused in zesty steak sauce.

Let's talk about bleu cheese. This type of cheese is incredibly pungent and has the ability to ruin a dish if used in the wrong way or if it's featured too heavily as the meal's main flavor. Red Robin, however, made this piquant cheese work in the Bleu Ribbon burger by balancing it with the sweet tang of steak sauce, the intense saltiness of crispy onions, and the smoky heat of chipotle aioli. There was enough cheese to make it the burger's appropriate namesake, but not so much that it overpowered the rest of the ingredients.

Unlike the lettuce and tomato on the Banzai and Madlove, these quintessential toppings work on the Blue Ribbon. The fresh, crispy veggie flavor is needed to balance out the deep richness of decadent bleu cheese, steak sauce-drenched beef, spicy chipotle sauce, and oily fried onions. Instead of raw or grilled onion, the crispy ones were the best option for an onion-y component. They provided the ideal crunch and touch of oiliness to contrast with the cool, mouth-coating, creamy cheese.

In order to rank these burgers from worst to best, I considered how the toppings on each intertwined to create a cohesive meal, favoring those with creative, unique flavors. I also factored in their presentation, albeit significantly less so than their taste. I chose the best burgers as the ones that were technically the most well executed, and not those that were my personal favorite. The dishes at the top of the list were those with ingredients that didn't mesh well, were bland and boring, or included single ingredients that overpowered the entire meal. Since all options on this list had the same brioche bun, I didn't factor the quality of the bun into the ranking. To get the most accurate, comprehensive understanding of Red Robin's offerings, I chose 10 burgers, primarily fan favorites, with a variety of different flavor profiles.

I consider myself well-versed in the world of hamburgers, having worked as a burger cook in a small Texas restaurant and having a fierce passion for quintessential, timeless American cuisine. Overall, each of these Red Robin meals impressed me. I found them to be much more artisanal compared to other chain burgers. I was particularly impressed by their presentation; each cheesy, veggie-loaded patty that came to my table looked almost identical to the promotional photos on the website and menu. That being said, even the burgers at the top of this list were satisfying, but those at the bottom were the ones that truly stood out and made Red Robin a worthwhile destination for any dedicated burger fan.