This is perhaps the number-one choice for serious burger aficionados along with old-school arcade gamers, the menu populated with the names of legends of the genre. The fries, hotdogs, burgers and shakes are top shelf, but it’s the vegetarian iterations that really hit the mark. The 1 Up mushroom burger is packing a roasted crumbed flat mushroom that’s fried to order, American cheese, tomato, red onion, tangy house-made green tomato relish, lettuce and mustard, and the secret cocktail-style 8bit sauce in a sesame seed-topped soft bun. The Zelda, meanwhile, has a chickpea, corn and quinoa patty sharing a brioche bun with house beetroot relish, avocado, lettuce and grilled haloumi.

Making fine use of the kitchen at Saving Grace bar, Burger Boys has been growing in reputation since first firing up the grill last year. Hit the bar and tuck into the killer vegetarian Mt Fuji: a panko-crumbed mushroom, slaw and wasabi mayo on a brioche (or gluten-free) bun, while the vegan burger sees a patty made with mushroom, beetroot, coconut oil and plant proteins sharing a toasted pumpkin bun with ‘cheese’, ketchup, American mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickles and vegan mayo.

The wagyu burger at Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar & Grill has a cult following so it’s probably no surprise his Burger Project has been a hit since its inception, and it’s not only thanks to the beef burgers. The mushroom burger, starring a crumbed confit field mushroom along with cheddar, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickles and Perry’s relish-like secret sauce, is stunning. This joint is far from a side project – and this is a real-deal burger that should be a must for meat-lovers as well as the vegetarian crowd.

L’Burger boasts a staggering five vego burgers, all served on toasted milk buns – sometimes red, sometimes black. The meat-free likes of Garden My French with a crunchy butternut, goat’s cheese and beetroot patty and the Riviera with a gently spiced mixed bean, mozzarella and sweet potato patty sandwiched with jalapeño, corn and avocado salsa and grilled mushrooms are super hits, while L’Vegan with a broad bean, pea and spinach patty, grilled zucchini and red capsicum and vegan mayo, which also comes in a spiced version is plant-based joy.

The Green Lion, launched in 2016 on the first floor of the Old Australian Pub, is the country’s only fully vegan pub and it has become something of a pilgrimage for plant-loving fans of American diner-style eats. Its menu reads like a typical pub offering with everything from schnitties and lasagne to pizza and tacos, but it’s the 11 burgers that sell faster than hotcakes. The star is a vegan spin on the ever-popular Big Mac. The clue is in the name – the Green Mack packs two soy-based patties, coconut-oil ‘cheese,’ lettuce, onion and pickled-spiked ‘mayo’ in a sesame seed bun. It’s a triumph

This drinking saloon-cum-restaurant has two menus – vegan and regular – that duel it out to pique your appetite. With nine plant-based burgers in ‘milk’ buns to shoot for, The Hold has just about all your vegan guilty pleasures covered. If the Mexican Fiesta with spiced jackfruit and guacamole doesn’t knock your hat off, The Captain Jack will. It channels traditional American-style burgers with its soy-based ‘meat’ patty, crisp coconut ‘bacon’, coconut-oil ‘cheese’, mac ’n’ cheese onion fritter, Bourbon barbecue sauce, American mustard and Detroit pickles. Wash it down with a vegan beer.

At the forefront of the resurgent burger craze, Mary’s rocked onto the Sydney stage with a finely wrought smoky burger in one hand and a shot of Jack Daniels in the other when it first opened in 2014. On the menu from the beginning, the ’Shroom burger (pictured) sports slow-roasted field mushroom, onion, two slices of American cheese, lettuce and Mary’s signature sauce. More recently, it has added plant-based ‘meat’ that bleeds, but this is no lab experiment. The house-made patty is a mix of eggplant, cauliflower, tofu, tempeh, mushrooms and onions with beetroot delivering the bloody appearance. It comes with vegan cheese and a vegan version of Mary’s sauce. Mary’s also offers a vegan version of all its other burgers.

Soul Burger was in the vanguard of plant-based burgers, switching from a regular burger joint to vegan in 2015. It has a vast offering of plant-based interpretations of meat and fish. Its ‘beef’ is custom-made by V2 Burger, as seen in the Cheese Please burger along with vegan ‘cheddar’, mustard mayo and piquant Westmont pickles. It vies for star status with the in-demand Southern Fried ‘Chicken’, while ‘pulled pork’ takes advantage of the fleshy attributes of grilled jackfruit. It shares a bun – brioche (made with coconut cream) or wholewheat– with apple slaw, peri-peri sauce and ‘aioli’. Who needs meat when you have jackfruit? .