Honest Burgers triumphs at National Burger Awards debut
National burger brand Honest Burgers has won the 2026 National Burger Awards, securing the victory on its first year competing at the event.
The winning burger, called The Honest, was cooked up at the final by co-founder of the business Tom Barton.
Currently, The Honest can only be found at Honest Burger’s Smash + Grab site in London’s Liverpool Street. It is a ‘smashed’ evolution of the original Honest burger, which is on the menu at all 45 Honest Burgers restaurants across the country. The Honest is made from dry-aged Honest Butchery beef, thick cut Wiltshire bacon, homemade beef and onion relish, XL cheese, Honest pickles and diced onion.
Despite 2026 being the 12th year of the National Burger Awards, it was the first time Honest Burgers had entered the annual competition, marking a massive achievement for the business.
“It’s an amazing accolade,” says Adam Layton, head of food at Honest Burgers. “We’ve never competed at the National Burger Awards before, so coming in first time and taking the trophy means a lot to us. All credit to Tom. The original recipe was all him.
“It’s a good time for us. We’re recalibrating the menu, cutting off some things that are slow movers and doubling down on things that put us on the map. The burger we won with is an evolution of the original Honest, so we just upped every ingredient and the results are obvious.”
L-R: Host DJ BBQ with Honest Burgers head of food Adam Layton and Tristan O'Hana of Dine Out
The live final
Sixteen signature burgers were selected for the final, which were cooked up by chefs from restaurant, pub and street food businesses. Second place in the signature round went to London’s Burger & Beyond, another debutant at the National Burger Awards, while third place was awarded to Newcastle’s Meat Stack.
Elsewhere at the competition finalists took part in a technical challenge where they created the ultimate burger from a selection of sponsor ingredients. This award, entitled Burger Chef of the Year, went to Tom Curtis from Dodo Pub Co.
The Plant-Based Burger of the Year was cooked by Charlie Wood-Jones from Cawsburger, while the Bloggers’ Choice Award, judged by Kate Ovens, The Burger List and Dine With Fari, went to previous National Burger Awards winner Nick Watkins from El Perro Negro.
The 2026 National Burger Awards also saw the return of The Great Shake Challenge, which saw operators battle it out to see whose milkshake creation was named best in the UK. It was won by Greg Olejarka from Crane Feasts.
The National Burger Awards 2026 is sponsored by Americana, Aubrey Allen, Conglom International, Euro Food Brands, Kraft Heinz, Fleet Street, Kerrymaid, Kühne, Lamb Weston, Pepsi MAX, PureOatly, Redefine Meat, Synergy Grill Technology, Tabasco and Tork.
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