Toronto’s best butcher shop burgers

Chefs pick T.O.’s best backyard barbecue

In our ultimate guide to throwing the most delicious backyard barbecue, we asked five chefs to grill popular barbecue items at home. We kicked things off with chef Mark McEwan grilling up some gourmet burgers from five local butcher shops. Which one blew him away? The midtown spot right around Yonge and Eg.

Winner: The Butcher's Son

“This was the juiciest,” says chef Mark McEwan. “It had excellent texture, great flavour and the meat quality was excellent as well. Overall a delicious burger.” 2055 Yonge St., $4.40/patty

Runner-up: Cumbrae's

“This burger held together very well on the grill,” he says. “The meat was good quality and it was well seasoned. I could taste the smoky grill flavour.” 1591 Bayview Ave., $9.99/lb.

The Friendly Butcher

“This one had a similar flavour to a meatball,” says McEwan. “It was a lean patty with a fine grind, but it could’ve used more fat, perhaps.” 3269 Yonge St., $9.99/lb.

Olliffe

“This one looked like a ground chuck patty and it had a high fat content, which is good,” says McEwan. “It held together well on the grill and had good flavour.” 1097 Yonge St., $5/patty

Magen Meats

“This was a frozen patty. It was fatty but had a very fine grind,” says McEwan. “I could taste the seasoning more than the flavour of the meat itself.” 1118 Centre St., $15/four patties