Are smash burgers the new poké bowls? They have become the new industry standard, and for very specific reasons

«Five or six years ago there were far fewer places serving smash burgers, and most of them were abroad. Now, on the other hand, Milan seems to have nothing but spots like this», says Giano of the celebrated food content creator duo Cosa mangiamo oggi?, in a video in which they attend the opening of the second location of Dumbo in Milan, a Parisian burger chain specialising in smash burgers. «We're super happy they've become "Milanese" too — no more trips to Paris for us». Anyone living in Milan, Turin or Rome will have noticed: in recent years, the new burger joints opening across these cities have increasingly been serving so-called smash burgers — a format that arrived in Italy largely thanks to the chain Burgez. In short, much like what happened in 2015–2016 with the arrival of poké bowls, which swept through every town in the country.

These sandwiches are distinguished above all by the cooking method applied to the meat patty, which — as the name suggests — is pressed firmly onto a scorching hot griddle, flattening it and triggering the Maillard reaction, responsible for the golden, flavourful crust that forms on the burger. The selection of other ingredients that characterise smash burgers — at least those that genuinely draw on the American tradition from which they originate — tends to be very simple: unlike the gourmet burgers that were fashionable until a few years ago, the smash burger «typically isn't packed with stuff» — in other words, it doesn't have «a thousand ingredients», as Giano himself puts it.

Why smash burgers have become so popular

The success of smash burgers in major cities is no accident: they are sandwiches designed to be eaten in just a few minutes, even at lunch (standing up or on the go), while still being filling enough to replace a full meal — not to mention being considered extremely tasty. For the patty to develop the Maillard reaction properly, in addition to the right technique and equipment, the meat needs to be fairly fatty, and a generous helping of melted cheese — almost always cheddar — is typically added on top of everything else. The result is a very flavourful and rather photogenic sandwich — two qualities that have contributed to the product's widespread appeal.

In recent years, a thriving online community has also grown up around smash burgers. Social media is home to hundreds of videos analysing every stage of preparation, from how much pressure to apply to the meat to the correct cooking times. In Italy, among the most closely followed accounts are those of Mochohf, who launched the chain Meat Crew in 2023, and Jack Ballarini, founder of Buns (with locations in Verona and Mantua), one of the pioneering venues in the genre. Among the go-to addresses for smash burger enthusiasts are Smashy in Turin, Donts in Rome, and in Milan, Regrub, Street, Dumbo, Chuck's and Fonzo's NYC, alongside various other spots in both major urban centres and smaller towns (such as Patty in Modena).

In some respects, the growing popularity of smash burgers represents a fairly sharp departure from just a few years ago, when the dominant model was the gourmet burger. Back then, the goal was to impress: thick patties, sometimes slightly pink in the middle, original flavour combinations, often locally sourced ingredients, and menu names that referenced their provenance. These sandwiches, however, were frequently so towering as to become unwieldy to eat, tending to fall apart at the first bite. The smash burger, by contrast, has shifted the focus from the quantity of ingredients to the quality of the cooking. It remains to be seen whether this represents a lasting shift or a passing trend that will eventually level off: after all, the gourmet burger, not so long ago, seemed like the definitive standard for the industry, before being overtaken within just a few years.

The origins of the smash burger

In the United States, the revival of the smashed format is generally traced back to 2017, with the opening of Burgers Never Say Die in Los Angeles. Since then, the city has become the reference point for the genre, with many dedicated venues including Chris N Eddy's, Burger She Wrote and Easy Street Burgers. From 2021 onwards, the phenomenon also took hold in New York, where this technique had traditionally not been widely practised. In-N-Out, the Californian chain that has been preparing its burgers this way for decades, also benefited from the trend and has served as a model for many others in the industry, thanks to its no-frills menu.

The origins of the smash burger may, however, go back considerably further. According to the American magazine Slate, this format may have appeared as early as the late nineteenth century, when it was popular particularly among working-class people because it was cheap and quick to prepare. Its widespread use came to an end in the 1940s: with the large-scale arrival of frozen meat, major fast food chains adopted more standardised cooking techniques, and the smashed format was largely set aside.

According to experts, the peak period of smash burger popularity in the twentieth century — before their decline — would therefore have fallen in the 1920s and 1930s: for this reason, several food historians regard it as the quintessential American hamburger. Although there is no real consensus on when the format actually originated, many agree that a decisive contribution came in 1921 from White Castle, one of the first fast food chains, which chose to serve all of its burgers in this style.