The burgers are better … when they’re cheaper. So, for the latest edition of Specials Board, we’ve rounded up a dozen of the best burger deals in town. Gird your loins.

$12 burgers at Lulie Tavern

The “Whopper” at north-side dive bar Lulie Tavern gives the Hungry’s Jack’s original a run for its money. And on Wednesday – aka locals’ night – it’s just $12, alongside the rest of the burgers, which usually cost up to $19. There’s the Dead Ringer (a buffalo fried-chicken number) and a vegan Whopper, plus $18 jugs of beer to sweeten the deal.

225 Johnston Street, Abbotsford, lulietavern.com

$25 bistro burger at Gemini

The clue’s in the name: Gemini – a three-in-one cafe, wine bar and bottle-o – is a true neighbourhood gem, with impressive chef Sriram Aditya Suresh (of the Saadi pop-ups) at the helm. Every Thursday until mid-September, he’s serving a bistro burger starring a 200-gram patty that butcher North Carlton Quality Meats makes to his specifications. It’s layered with cheese, lettuce, tomato, house-made pickles and healthy slathering of special sauce. Roll up your sleeves.

158 Sydney Road, Coburg, geminimelbourne.com

$20 burgers at The Victoria Hotel

Westside watering hole The Vic is now in the hands of local restaurateur Denis Lucey, but the typical pub specials haven’t gone anywhere. The ideal time for burger lovers to visit is for lunch on Fridays when – from noon to 3pm – there are two options for $20 a pop. One is a Highland Wagyu beef cheeseburger with chargrilled tomato and a thwack of mustard; the other is all about beer-battered haloumi, with baby red peppers.

43 Victoria Street, Footscray, vichotelfootscray.com.au

$11 cheeseburgers at Carwyn Cellars

What’s better than a cheeseburger? A half-price cheeseburger. That’s the Thursday drawcard at Thornbury-favourite bar and bottle-o Carwyn Cellars. From noon to 9pm, both the bacon cheeseburger (with a smashed Cape Grim brisket patty) and the vegie cheeseburger (with a portobello mushroom patty) are $11, on a potato bun with fries.

877 High Street, Thornbury, carwyncellars.com.au

$25 counter meal and drink at The Orrong Hotel

Lunching Monday to Thursday is one way to save some coin at Armadale’s art deco icon, The Orrong. From 11.30am to 3pm, any counter meal is $25, which includes a pot of Carlton Draught or a glass of house wine. The burger is a banger, featuring a 200-gram Angus beef patty, bacon, cheese and spiced pickles. And, naturally, it comes with fries.

709 High Street, Armadale, orronghotel.com

$17 burger night at The Empress Hotel

Been a while since your last beer at Nicholson Street mainstay The Empress? Revisit the pub on Wednesday night when the menu’s three burgers are $17, not the regular $27. There’s grass-fed beef with smoked bacon and bourbon relish; chicken schnitzel with salsa verde; and a v2 vegie burger with beetroot relish. On the side? Shoestring fries.

714 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy North, theempress.com.au

$27 duck-terrine burger at Bar Margaux

Decadence is part and parcel to the experience at French bar and brassiere Bar
Margaux. On Tuesdays, that means crumbing and frying pork-duck-and-pistachio terrine and serving the golden puck in a toasted brioche bun with celeriac remoulade, apple puree and lemony mayo. It’s $27 with fries. While on Wednesdays, $95 buys a pair of diners two signature MGX burgers and a bottle of beaujolais to share.

Basement/111 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, barmargaux.com.au

$16 fried-chicken sandwich at Season Chargrilled Chicken Service

The beloved Good Days brand is behind two Vietnamese venues on Sydney Road. First came the noodle bar, then the banh mi shop, called Hot Bread, which is now
moonlighting as Season Chargrilled Chicken Service to draw in diners from Thursday to Saturday nights from 5pm. Wrap your hands around the $16 fried-chicken-thigh sandwich, either regular or spicy, on a steamed potato bun with coriander gremolata.

644 Sydney Road, Melbourne, instagram.com/season_chicken_service

$24 burger and pot at Railway Club Hotel

Serving top-tier steaks from some of Australia’s best producers is the name of the game at this Port Melbourne stalwart. But it’s not the be-all and end-all. Pull up a stool in the casual public bar for some cracking weekly specials. Tuesday’s $24 burger deal lets you choose between classic beef and southern fried chicken, with shoestring fries and a pot.

107 Raglan Street, Port Melbourne, railwayclubhotel.com.au

$20 burger and pot at Hotel Railway

Since its 2022 rebirth, storied Brunswick boozer Hotel Railway has been consistently pulling punters, with an excellent beer garden and menu that leans Mediterranean. There’s also a good-value Friday worker’s lunch, available from noon to 3pm, that includes a chargrilled cheeseburger (or vegie burger) with a pot, for just $20.

291 Albert Street, Brunswick, hotelrailway.com.au

$18 burger and trivia night at Hobsons Bay Hotel

Hold a pen in one hand and your dinner in the other when trivia and burger nights collide on Thursdays at the Hobsons Bay Hotel, not far from the Williamstown foreshore. Trivia runs from 7pm to 9pm, with participants fuelled by $18 burgers, either with a chargrilled beef patty or a plant-based alternative (with vegan mayo, of course).

28 Ferguson Street, Williamstown, hobsonsbayhotel.com.au

$15 burgers at Arbory Bar & Eatery

Another spot offering 50 per cent off its burgers – one day a week – is the riverside Arbory Bar & Eatery. On Fridays from 11am ’til late, the whole catalogue (double cheeseburger, southern fried chicken or cauliflower burger, beer-battered fish burger, crumbed mushroom-and-halloumi burger) are $15, flanked by crinkle-cut chips.

1 Flinders Walk, Melbourne, arbory.com.au