Thankfully, the Gold Coast’s got plenty.

But who will take out the crown for 2018 after vegan burger joint Feed the Earthlings shocked the city when they took out top spot in 2017s best burgers on the Gold Coast.

Here are the 10 best burgers for 2018, as voted by you

10. Lester and Earl

1097 Gold Coast Hwy, Palm Beach

“Burgers are one of those things that if you were stuck on a tropical island, they’re the one food you’d pick.”

Lester and Earl owner John Dunlea couldn’t have said it better, and his trick to the dream burger is perfect produce.

“There’s a lot of great burgers out there, but a lot of crazy ones — we don’t mess with it. We use good old-school product from a really good butcher. It’s all beef brisket and chuck steaks. We also use a really good milk bun and quality condiments.” Lester and Earl also made a saucy splash when they announced the option of pouring a jar of melted cheese over any burger ... genius.

9. Ze Pickle

37 Connor St, Burleigh Heads

It’ll be six years of Ze Picklin’ this year for Aaron Wilson, Joey Day and Nathan Zuckerman and from day one they’ve been open that burgers are not healthy — the more calories the better.

So you can imagine Aaron’s disgust when one of his own added a healthy option to the menu. “We added a secret ‘Not So Hidden’ menu, which is just on the reverse side of our menu and it’s just all stuff we’ve created from creating our own tweaked burgers over the years.

Anyway, Nath made one with lettuce instead of a bun, which is embarrassing to have on the menu. Mine is wagyu beef pattie, American and Swiss cheese, smoked pastrami, mustard, mayo and a mac and cheese deep-fried patty for good measure.

“Funnily enough it outsells the lettuce wrap by a billion. Yeah, I’m about 130kg now.”

8. Burger Trip

2711 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach

Burger Trip owner Tavis Gorman says his burger menu takes diners on a 40,000km road trip mirroring the one he took across Europe, Asia and the Middle East almost eight years ago. The Broadbeach eatery’s menu features globally-inspired burgers including The Leaning Tower, an Italian burger with pressed focaccia and grilled eggplant; The Colossus, a Greek-style burger with lamb patty and haloumi; and The Great Wall of China, stuffed with hoisin barbecue pulled pork.

“People come here and feel like they’ve escaped their routine and have taken a road trip across Europe,” he says.

“There are plenty of burger joints on the Gold Coast, so I had to really think about how I was going to make mine different.”

7. Rocky Ho’s Grille and Diner

8 Lavelle St, Nerang

For those who don’t want to travel down the GC Highway strip for a good burger, Nerang is home to hidden gem Rocky Ho’s Grille and Diner.

Opening its doors on September 27, Rocky Ho’s is a local’s haven with a variety of creative options.

They’ve got your classics of course, plus personalised favourites including the Rocky Ho’s Bronx; a wagyu beef pattie with pickles, jalapeños, spicy Calabrese salami, provolone cheese, tomato, lettuce and finished with their in-house chipotle aioli.

Or give the Fowl Mood on a Turkish bun a go, with crumbed chicken breast, cos lettuce, beetroot, vintage cheese, a touch of Napoli, red onion and the in-house aioli.

6. Brooklyn Depot

The 4217, 10 Beach Rd, Surfers Paradise

While they might be American themed, you can bet that Brooklyn Depot isn’t just another burger joint.

“Brooklyn Depot burgers are hand crafted with the freshest ingredients and we have had the support of locals and tourists since opening almost three years ago,” co-owner Michael Rose says.

“We love designing American inspired burgers and menu concepts which are unique to Brooklyn Depot. Maintaining outstanding service and value is also our passion.

Best-selling burgers included Fuhgeddaboudit with our famous spicy lethal injection, The Brooklyn Classic Burger and of course our Flip the Bird Burger.

“All best washed down with our award-winning handspun milkshakes or even a cocktail or two!”

5. Easy Street Diner

12/2563 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach

You may not have noticed the smooth transition, but around six months ago your friendly Mermaid burger joint changed hands to new owner and hospitality consultant Karl Bachir. Knowing he was already on to a winning formula, he opted to keep things the same and keep his regulars happy.

“I haven’t really changed anything, they already had such a good thing going on,” he says.

“People love the burgers because there’s so much time and effort that goes into each one. The meat comes in fresh from a local butcher, the sauces are made from scratch, the buns baked daily, the tomatoes are cut an hour before serving. People can see and taste the effort we put in and I think they appreciate what we’re doing.”

Karl says the menu favourites are the Truffle Royale with house-made truffle sauce and the fresh marinated Chicken Deluxe.

4. Longboards Laidback Eatery and Bar

Q1, Northcliffe Terrace, Surfers Paradise

Opening December 2012, there’s strong evidence Longboards led the burger trend.

“We were the first truly dedicated burger joint on the GC to open up right before burgers became so popular here,” owner Justin Allie says.

“We decided to go with burgers because it's the type of food that makes people happy, you can get extremely creative with burgers and people are always happy to come in multiple times and try something different and always have a different flavour experience.”

Longboards has garnered international attention for its Phat Bastard 1.8kg burger challenge, but if you’re not keen for almost 2kg of beef and buns there’s also the popular Mini Phat to try out.

3. Betty’s Burgers and Concrete Co, Surfers Paradise

12-14/3240 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise

The legend of Betty’s Burgers is one of those stories that everyone knows, but nobody quite knows how.

In case you don’t, Betty Wallace owned a cafe and takeaway in Noosa in the 1970s where she sold her legendary $1 Betty’s Burger.

Fast forward to late 2014 and three mates, David Hales, Nik Rollinson and chef Michael Tripp have opened their own Betty’s Burgers in the same town, but the namesake is actually David’s own grandmother — it turns out ladies named Betty just have a knack for burgers!

They opened the Surfers store in 2015 with the same formula — no-fuss burgers, a succinct menu and an old-school look, feel and service.

2. Betty’s Burgers and Concrete Co, Robina

19 Robina Town Centre Dr, Robina

Proving they’re not just a quick-bite burger shack, in October 2016 Betty’s opened up their second Gold Coast location in The Kitchens at Robina Town Centre.

Touted as an “urban marketplace” and celebration of fresh, local produce, Betty’s felt no pressure to change anything on their to-the-point burger menu, with their Betty’s Classic — angus beef, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and special sauce, the Crispy Chicken — Southern fried chicken, lettuce tomato and special sauce, the Pork Belly burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles and sriracha mayo and for the vegos, the Shroom Burger with crispy mushrooms, gouda and gruyere cheese, lettuce, tomato and special sauce.

1. Feed the Earthlings

6/2723 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach

From a handwritten sign at an Ashmore shop to three booming locations at Burleigh, Broadbeach and Capalaba, Feed the Earthlings is proof the vegans are a force to be reckoned with.

This is the second time they’ve topped the Gold Coast Bulletin’s best burger poll, so what’s their secret?

“If you could eat the same thing that tastes exactly the same that didn’t involve cruelty why wouldn’t you?” owner Teaki Page questions.

“There are a lot of different reasons why people don’t eat meat like cruelty, health, the environment — animal agriculture has a huge impact — so there are a huge amount of people who are trying to make changes to their diet.

“Just because people decide to make ethical choices, it doesn’t mean it’s easy to change what they like eating just like that. It just means if they do start educating themselves and making lifestyle changes, our food makes it easy.”

As veganism continues to gain popularity, meat alternatives and experiments have too.

Feed the Earthlings make their “beef” patties on-site and Teaki swears by them.

“We make the burger patties ourselves, they’re based on textured vegetable protein, which is basically extracted from soybeans so it becomes like a dry mince, then you rehydrate it, mix that with different flours, herbs, spices and sauces and stuff.

“We have six burgers — my favourite is the standard cheeseburger. I honestly think it’s just the most divine burger ever.

“We’re still obsessed with our burgers. We get our own food Ubered to our house. We’ve got five kids and if we say ‘OK, what do you want for dinner?’ they all say ‘Feed the Earthlings!’”