8 Fast-Food Restaurants That Still Cook Burgers On A Grill

Is there anything quite as delicious as a chargrilled burger cooked expertly over an open flame? While burgers cooked on a flat-top grill may be equally delicious in a different way, there is something special about the smoky flavor that comes from a grilled burger. When you cook burgers over an open flame, you create a crust that seals in all that juicy goodness, resulting in a one-of-a-kind taste.

In the interest of making a large number of burger patties to serve fast-food customers, quick service restaurants that still grill burgers often use kitchen equipment such as conveyor belts to grill multiple patties at the same time. These conveyors send the burgers along a belt over an open flame, grilling them perfectly with sear marks on both sides. However, it's becoming more and more rare to find charbroiled burgers in a fast-food setting.

Burger King is the largest burger chain still offering charbroiled burgers, but it's not the only one out there. We've searched the nation and discovered eight fast-food restaurants where you can still get a burger cooked on a grill. Read on for where to go the next time you get a craving for a grilled burger.

Burger King, the second-largest fast-food burger chain in the world, has long been known for its iconic flame-grilled burgers. On its website the company states, "At Burger King, we have been flame-grilling since the day we started in 1954. That's right since day one. We only use real fire to give you the beef patty you deserve." Burger King's burgers are made using 100% beef, with no fillers, preservatives, or additives. The most popular burger sold at Burger King is the Whopper, a flame-grilled beef patty on a sesame seed bun topped with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and sliced onion.

Burger King wasn't always called Burger King. When the company began in the 1950s, it was known as Insta-Burger King, named after the oven it used to make burgers, the Insta-Broiler. Today, the Insta-Broiler is gone, replaced by the flame-broiler, leading to a name change in 1961. By the 1970s, Burger King was established as the second largest burger joint behind McDonald's.

A Burger King employee posted a video on TikTok, letting us see the flame broiler behind the scenes. The video shows burgers cooked on a conveyor belt and dropped into a tray where they are taken out and assembled. This gives the burgers a distinct flame-grilled flavor, making them stand apart from competitors. One person on Reddit said, "The secret is the broiler, a flame grilled burger is just better." Another commented, "I LOVE the broiler taste of the Whoppers!"

Wilber Hardee opened the first Hardee's in 1960 in Greenville, North Carolina. After seeing the success of a recently opened McDonald's in the area, he decided to take advantage of Americans' newfound love of fast-food hamburgers. However, Hardee wanted to give his customers a slightly different burger than McDonald's offered. He installed Char-grills in his restaurants and sold a simple menu of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, apple pies, milkshakes, and sodas. The grilled burgers and uncomplicated menu hit the spot, and the company went public in 1963. However, Hardee sold his company for only $20,000 that same year after losing controlling shares to his business partners during an alleged night of heavy drinking.

Today, there are Hardee's restaurants in 31 states with most located in the Southeast. North Carolina, the state where it all began, has the most with 214 restaurants as of 2024. Although Hardee's stopped charbroiling burgers for a time, the restaurant returned to cooking the patties over an open flame beginning in 2003, using Wilber Hardee's original recipe. The current menu has expanded quite a bit since its original days and now offers a variety of choices such as the Frisco Burger, Bacon Cheeseburger, and many others. Fans of Hardee's seem to enjoy the charbroiled difference with one commenting on Reddit, "The western bacon cheeseburger was so good. The patty was beefy, juicy, with a bit of char." Another Reddit user said, "Hardee's wins in the burger department. The charbroiled gives the meat flavor."

For over 80 years, Carl's Jr. has been offering burgers grilled on an open flame, since 1941 when Carl Karcher opened the first Carl's Jr. as a pushcart hot dog stand. Four years later, Karcher and his wife expanded from the pushcart stand and opened a full-service restaurant, which they named Carl's Drive-in Barbeque. On the menu in that first restaurant were the now iconic charbroiled burgers. By the 1950s, the Karchers moved into the fast-food business with two quick-service restaurants that still offered the same charbroiled burgers, but at a speedier pace. Carl's Jr. may appear similar to Hardee's, which makes sense since the two are owned by the same parent company. While Hardee's is popular in the South, Midwest, and East, Carl's Jr. is West Coast-based. 

Today, Carl's Jr. has grown to over 1,000 locations across 15 states. The chain offers a wide variety of charbroiled burgers including options such as a Teriyaki Burger, Western Bacon Cheeseburger, and Spicy El Diablo. The burgers are known to be massive and piled high with a variety of toppings. The chain is also the only restaurant that can sell a "Western Bacon Cheeseburger," which it trademarked in the 1980s. The Western Bacon Cheeseburger, sold as a single or double, is a large charbroiled burger with bacon and melted cheese, piled high with onion rings and smothered in barbecue sauce.

With only nine locations across six states, this quick-service restaurant is a smaller chain than some of the others on this list. The chain began when Lattimore "Lattie" Michael started selling his premium quality burgers out of a grocery store in Mississippi in 1987. Michael quickly expanded his burger joint into a fast-food drive-thru restaurant chain known for its burgers grilled over an open flame. Business was once booming at Back Yard Burgers with nearly 200 restaurants in the 2000s, until the struggling chain filed for bankruptcy in 2012. In June of 2023, Back Yard Burgers filed for bankruptcy for a second time and has closed more restaurants since that date. 

Nevertheless, the burgers are always flame-grilled and made with 100% Black Angus beef and topped with onions, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Beyond burgers, the restaurant also serves seasoned fries, milkshakes, hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches. Unfortunately for fans of one of the few flame-grilled fast-food burger options left, Memphis Business Journal reports that Back Yard Burgers is facing possible liquidation in the future. One former employee lamented on Reddit, "As a former GM, it's sad to see such a good brand and concept slowly fall apart. I left in 2008 when Lattimore Michael sold the company because the changes that crippled the business were literally instant."

Portillo's is a Chicago-based quick-service restaurant chain famous for its Italian beef sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs. However, an underrated menu item is the char-grilled burger. Fans of the burgers enjoy the grilled taste, such as this Reddit user who says, "I love the charbroiled flavor that they get on the meat! So delicious. Adding bacon on it is always a great option!" Another commenter agreed saying, "Underrated — love the charr on them." Yet another remarked, "1000x better than in and out. In my opinion they have the best 'fast food' burger you can get anywhere."

The classic Portillo's burger is served on a corn-dusted bun topped with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, sliced red onions, pickles, and ketchup. You can also get burgers topped with bacon or the massive Rodeo Burger served as a single or double on a brioche bun topped with sliced onion, onion rings, bacon, cheese, and barbecue sauce. Portillo's got its start in Chicago as a hot dog stand in 1963 when Dick Portillo invested $1,100 to open "The Dog House" in the suburb of Villa Park. Today, the fast-food chain has over 70 locations across 10 states and continues to expand. Aside from Italian beef sandwiches, hot dogs, and hamburgers, Portillo's also offers chicken sandwiches, salads, Italian sausage, shakes, and its famous slice of chocolate cake.

The Habit Burger Grill has over 300 locations across 13 states. Founded in 1969 in Santa Barbara County, California, it's famous for chargrilled burgers cooked over an open flame. Adam Baird, food and beverage vice president of The Habit Burger Grill, told QSR Magazine that the food is cooked using high heat because "[it] caramelizes the product and marks it very well, so it gets this smoky, fresh-grilled meat effect." 

Aside from burgers, the restaurant offers options you don't often see at other burger restaurants, such as sushi-grade ahi tuna. The Habit Burger Grill prides itself on serving fresh burger patties made with 100% ground beef without fillers or preservatives. Regular customers were once familiar with a secret menu, however, the company made it public about 10 years ago. One of the most popular off-menu options was the Santa Barbara Style Charburger. Now on the regular menu, it's a double cheeseburger with avocado, caramelized onions, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and mayo on grilled sourdough bread.

Although In-N-Out Burger reigns supreme as the top burger joint on the West Coast, The Habit Grill recently took the top title with its Double Char Burger as USA Today's best fast-food burger in the Readers' Choice Awards. One Reddit user said, "I'm a strong believer that The Habit is better overall than In-N-Out. Flame grilled burgers served hot, more diverse menu (tempura green beans and onion rings!!!) and better fries overall (I learned you can ask for extra crispy!!!)."

Grilled is in the name of Burgers Grilled Right (BGR), so you know what you are getting when you order a smoky-flavored burger here. This smaller chain has locations in Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Utah, and Virginia. Along with regular ground beef, BGR has nine meat options on its menu with gourmet choices such as Wagyu Truffle and Bison Chipotle. Once you choose your meat, the next difficult decision is how to have it prepared. You can get The Works, which is a cheeseburger piled high with lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions, and pickles. Or maybe you want the Pretzel Bacon Cheese, a burger topped with applewood bacon, cheddar cheese, and bacon onion marmalade on a pretzel bun.

BGR may not be the most well-known burger restaurant, but the company has its fans. When a Reddit user asked where to find a good burger in Salt Lake City, one person responded, "Burgers grilled right (BGR) in Sugarhouse is one of the best I've had. It's kind of hidden in a back street so I don't think many people know about it, but it competes with all of the other burgers mentioned here, and better than most of them." Meanwhile, a Yelp reviewer said, "BGR never fails! Love the burgers and they're always cooked right."

Dairy Queen opened its first store in 1940 along the historic Route 66 in Joliet, Illinois. The original menu included ice cream cones, sundaes, and ice cream sold by the pint and quart. In those days, you could get a soft-serve cone for five cents. In 1949, shakes and malts appeared on the menu, and by the 1950s the chain began selling hot food options such as burgers, fries, and hot dogs. It also launched its new logo, which stayed the same until it was updated again in 2001. Today, Dairy Queen offers a wide variety of ice cream treats and a full fast-food menu of burgers, fried chicken, and french fries.

Not every Dairy Queen still cooks burgers on a grill, but you may be lucky enough to find a location that does. An employee of Dairy Queen on Reddit explained that while some stores continue to use flat-top grills to make burgers, others use Nieco grills, which are a type of kitchen equipment that cooks burgers over an open flame on a conveyor belt. One employee commented, "We are still cooking ours on a flame grill, nothing changed."