Butchers Diner isn’t a regular 24-hour burger joint – it’s a carefully curated burger bar, take-away and meat store. It’s an American-style diner (complete with checked floor tiles) that creates burgers with bags of flavour. Line your pockets with cash though as they don’t accept cards. 10 Bourke St, Melbourne, www.butchersdiner.com/

To say the burgers at Skipping Girl are epic is an understatement. We’re talking soft brioche buns, loads of condiments and burgers so big you can barely hold them in your hands. The 16,000 skips with three wagyu beef patties is a favourite, but we reckon the winner is the buttermilk fried chicken burger. Oh, and if you want fries with that, the triple-cooked chips are beauties. 70 William St, Abbotsford, www.skippinggirltakeaway.com.au/

Given the number of Melbourne University students seen hanging around at this joint, there’s going to be a lot of students graduating with qualifications in burgerology. The university theme carries on to the burgers’ names (think Fratboy and Ivy League), and like any great modern uni hangout, the burgers here are fairly cheap and incredibly tasty. 802 Swanston St, Carlton,

Vegetarians deserve to have their burgers well and truly pimped and Hello Sam offers the ultimate meat-alternative burger. The Truffle Shuffle with a mushroom arancini patty, American cheddar, lettuce, caramelised onion and truffle mayo is truly inspired. 760 Chapel St, South Yarra, http://www.hellosam.com.au/phone/index.html

Rockwell and Sons is so cool it almost hurts. This is fine dining but between two burger buns. Go for the double patty smash burger with Kraft cheese (trust us, it works), bacon, special sauce on a pillowy seeded bun. 288 Smith St, Collingwood, www.rockwellandsons.com.au/

The transition from food truck to restaurant has been super smooth for Beatbox Kitchen, and if possible, the burgers are even better. We love the house-made buns and can’t get enough of the Raph burger (grass-bed beef) and the Chilly Billy burger, which packs just the right amount of punch. 692 Sydney Rd, Brunswick,

Fish and chips tend to dominate the eating options in this neck of the woods, but seek out Changz Canteen, where Japanese-style milk buns elevate the humble burger to something very special. 256 Glen Eira Rd, Elsternwick, https://changzcanteen.com.au

The burgers here are seriously decadent and seriously good, but make sure you leave some room for the burger that begs to be Instagrammed –Nutella Dreams –a toasted brioche milk bun filled with oozy Nutella, vanilla ice cream and icing sugar. 89 Station St, Fairfield, https://www.burgerroad-fairfield.com.au