Rudy

I've been coming to Rudy for years now and it's the definition of the smash burger done right. If you haven't tried shake shack or In N Out this is Canada's version of those franchises in terms of style of burger. The sear and crispy edges with the melted American cheese in between a soft potato bun is everything. If you want a meatball on a bun with no feels then go to the other burger joints but Rudy does the smash right consistently.

The smash burger craze is in full flight in Toronto, and when the mood strikes we’ve found no better place to go than Rudy - specifically their College Street location. The burgers are consistently, mouth wateringly delicious. Quality beef is seared perfectly to crispy edged, Maillard Reaction scrumptiousness. This is the secret to a great smash burger. The flattening of the meat onto a hot griddle ensures that more meat is in contact with the high heat - creating a browned, charred and toasty flavour. And smashing the meat properly in the first few seconds of contact with the griddle ensures that the juices are locked in, creating that perfect combination of crispy and juicy that makes a good smash burger crave-worthy. And the Rudy smash burger is crave-worthy indeed. Their burgers are garnished with just the right amount of toppings to complement - but not overwhelm - the perfectly seared meat. We highly recommend that you “tattoo” your burger - as in, add bacon (because bacon makes everything better!). We don’t know where Rudy sources their bacon, but daayyyuuummm it’s fantastic. Rudy also make a mean chicken burger (The Valentino - as in Rudy Valentino - get it?!? lol), and the fries are scrumptious. We hear that their poutine is off-the-charts good but we can’t vouch for that personally as we’ve not had the poutine - yet! Also from the “We hear it’s great but we haven’t tried it yet” list: pickle chips and milkshakes (we love, love, love that they do only the holy trinity of flavours - chocolate, strawberry and vanilla!). Why haven’t we tried these yet, you may ask? Simple. We’re addicted to the tattooed Big Rudy and straight up fries, and no matter how hard we try to break out of that delicious rut we just haven’t been able to get there. But we’re gonna - someday!

Quality has definitely gone downhill. There was barely any meat in my burger, just a dried out, paper thin “patty.” Rudy used to be my favorite burger in the city, which is the only reason I gave 2 stars… the last couple times I went missed the mark, and this last time was thoroughly disappointing.

Hands down the best smash burger in the city - and I've tried them all. Flavour, quality and cooking method all on point. Patty is thin and crispy on the outside but still really juicy. Amazing flavour. Zara did a great job of convincing us to try everything and we are glad we did. Even bigger shoutout to the chefs who perfected everything in our order. Can't wait to go back, see you soon!

Awesome burgers at a really reasonable price! Their burgers are simple, classic and just what you would expect. The staff there are friendly. It does get busy sometimes so be sure to order ahead.

Pretty good smash burgers. I got a combo which included the Rudy (smash burger with cheese), the Rude Dude (double cheeseburger) and, a poutine, 2 pop and a brownie. I also got the milkshake. The burgers were pretty good and much better fresh. The poutine and milkshake were standard and good too. Surprisingly the brownie was actually really good. Overall I'd go back.

This place has great burgers, flame broiled. They have a cozy sitting area and the perfect window spot for a single dinner on their lunch break. Oh and you can choose between large cut fries and thin cut.

Best burger I've ever had! I love the crispy bits on the edges, while the inside is still juicy and flavourful. There's a perfect amount of rudy sauce - enough to add some zing, but not too much that the burger taste is lost. The poutine was surprisingly incredible as well - curds were squeaky and gravy was savoury. Better than some poutine-focused places to be perfectly honest. I don't know what else to say, if you like burgers, you can't not come to Rudy at least once.