If Habit Burger & Grill isn’t already on your radar, don’t be too surprised if that changes soon. One of America’s fastest-growing burger chains, the California-based brand is expanding its footprint far beyond its Golden State roots, with over 385 locations now open across 14 states. Yelp data shows that consumer interest in Habit Burger has soared this year, and more eyes are on the chain than ever after its Double Char was ranked as America’s best fast-food burger in the latest edition of USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
As someone who has only tried Habit once, I’ve often wondered if the chain’s food is truly delicious enough to warrant its soaring popularity and ambitious expansion goals. So, I recently visited my local Habit store to sample and review what it’s best known for: the burgers.
That’s right! I tried every burger I could get my hands on—with one notable exception: the Santa Barbara Char was listed as temporarily unavailable at my local Habit Burger.
I judged each option on taste, appearance, and texture and then ranked them. This proved difficult, as several Habit’s burgers were so delicious that I had trouble picking a favorite.
Read on for my reviews of each option, starting with my least favorite and ending with the burger that ultimately outshined the others, albeit by a very narrow margin.
Original Impossible
Nutrition: (Per Burger)
Calories: 590
Fat: 24 g (Saturated Fat: 13.5 g)
Sodium: 1,210 mg
Carbs: 44 g (Fiber: 5 g, Sugar: 6 g)
Protein: 27 g
Habit’s Original Impossible burger features a seared plant-based Impossible patty with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayonnaise on a toasted bun. I added an optional slice of American cheese (70 calories) as well. The burger cost me $9.19.
The look: I might have mistaken this for a real-deal beef burger if the shape of the Impossible patty wasn’t so perfect and uniform. That being said, it still looked like a mighty enticing sandwich, thanks to the melty cheese, golden brown sear on the patty, and generous portion of toppings.
The taste: I have absolutely nothing against Impossible burgers, and even enjoy them in lieu of beef sometimes, despite being a meat eater myself. But as the only plant-based option in this taste test, the Original Impossible just didn’t live up to its beefy brethren.
That’s not to say that it wasn’t tasty. The fresh veggies, cheese, and caramelized onions made for a flavorful and filling sandwich that I’m sure anyone who follows a plant-based diet would really enjoy. However, plant-based meat just doesn’t have the deep, fatty, rich flavor that makes beef burgers so delicious and satisfying, which is why the Original Impossible landed in last place.
Teriyaki Char
Nutrition: (Per Burger)
Calories: 640
Fat: 36 g (Saturated Fat: 12.5 g, Trans Fat: 1 g)
Sodium: 2,060 mg
Carbs: 48 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 17 g)
Protein: 25 g
Habit’s Teriyaki Char features a chargrilled beef patty, grilled pineapple, teriyaki sauce, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo on a toasted bun. I added an optional slice of white American cheese (70 calories) as well. The burger cost me $7.39.
The look: You’ll get your hands dirty chowing down on any sandwich at Habit, but the Teriyaki Char was by far the messiest I tried for this experiment. It’s pretty clear why—there are about 20 different elements and most of them add extra moisture to this towering burger. The buns were practically saturated by juice from the charred beef, veggies, and mayo, and the lettuce had already turned soggy by the time I got home with my order.
The taste: Great flavors and unpleasant textures were at war in this burger. The Teriyaki Char was one of the most unique and better-tasting options from this experiment, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the sweet, savory, and tangy combination of beef, pineapple, teriyaki sauce, and caramelized onions. Unfortunately, the tower of overly juicy toppings made this feel like biting into a wet sponge at some points and the extreme messiness really detracted from the overall experience. I think Habit could make this burger a lot more manageable to eat by eliminating some of the unessential elements that bring extra moisture, like the tomato and pickles.
Double Char
Nutrition: (Per Burger)
Calories: 730
Fat: 49 g (Saturated Fat: 16 g, Trans Fat: 2 g)
Sodium: 1,300 mg
Carbs: 32 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 4 g)
Protein: 37 g
The most classic burger at Habit is the Original Charburger, but opting for the Double Char gets you essentially the same sandwich, just with twice as much meat. It also gives you a chance to experience America’s new favorite fast-food burger, as determined by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards for 2024. So, of course, I went with the double for the purposes of this taste test. It features two chargrilled beef patties, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo and cheese on a toasted bun. The burger cost me $7.99.
The look: This was undoubtedly one of the more picturesque burgers I tried from Habit. The beef was piled high and layered with melty slices of cheese, while the lettuce and tomato looked fresh and colorful. Even though a lot comes on this sandwich, it thankfully didn’t have the sogginess factor I disliked in the Teriyaki Char.
The taste: I can see why this burger is so popular nowadays. It’s a really tasty, well-executed take on a fast-food double cheeseburger with all the classic fixings. Because it doesn’t feature any over-the-top flavors, the Double Char really allows the taste of the chain’s high-quality beef to shine through as well. It’s salty, slightly smoky from the chargrilled cooking style, and cooked to a nice medium. (You can reasonably expect the more basic Charburger to offer much of the same, albeit half of the meat.)
The Double Char only fell in the bottom half of my ranking because it was up against some really delicious competitors in this taste test, and I found it slightly boring in comparison to my top three picks.
Steakhouse Char Melt
Nutrition information unavailable.
Habit’s Steakhouse Char Melt is a limited-edition offering that hit menus in mid-November, featuring two chargrilled patties, melted white cheddar, caramelized onions, portabella mushrooms, and a creamy peppercorn sauce on toasted sourdough. The sandwich cost me $9.99.
The look: Massive and super craveable. The beef patties were draped in melted cheese, topped with big portabella pieces, and sandwiched between two thick pieces of golden brown bread.
The taste: Rich and comforting. I adore patty melts and anything close to them, and Habit came pretty close to knocking it out of the park with this one. Biting into the melt was a near heavenly experience, thanks to the juicy beef and perfectly toasted bread. Not only were the textures excellent, but the flavor combination of umami-packed mushrooms, savory caramelized onions, cheddar, and beef was also really delicious.
The Steakhouse Char Melt and the two higher-ranking burgers were all so tasty that choosing a favorite was a near-impossible task. But after much thought, this option landed in third because it had two minor flaws: the bread has a sort of fake buttery aftertaste and it needed an acidic element like pickles to balance all the richness from the cheese, beef, and sauce.
BBQ Bacon Char
Nutrition: (Per Burger)
Calories: 630
Fat: 37 g (Saturated Fat: 11 g, Trans Fat: 1 g)
Sodium: 2,040 mg
Carbs: 44 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 14 g)
Protein: 27 g
Habit’s BBQ Bacon Char features a chargrilled beef patty, hickory-smoked bacon, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and cheese on a toasted bun. The burger cost me $7.59.
The look: I’ve found the bacon at some fast-food chains to be pretty sad-looking, but Habit’s bacon was the exact opposite—thick, crispy, and piled on generously. Though slightly messy, the waterfall of cheese, colorful veggies, juicy beef patty, and bacon made this appear super tantalizing overall.
The taste: I was worried that this burger would be incredibly soggy and drenched in too much barbecue sauce, but my fears were unwarranted. There was only enough tangy, smoky barbecue sauce on my sandwich to enhance rather than overwhelm the beef, bacon, and veggies. The end result was a ultra-flavorful yet balanced burger that I would absolutely order again—and maybe even go out of my way for.
This option very nearly edged its way into first place. But even though I can’t really fault it, only one burger blew me away so much that I had trouble putting it down—and it wasn’t the BBQ Bacon Char.
Portabella Char
Nutrition: (Per Burger)
Calories: 760
Fat: 63 g (Saturated Fat: 17 g, Trans Fat: 1 g)
Sodium: 1,910 mg
Carbs: 36 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 5 g)
Protein: 24 g
Habit’s Portabella Char features a chargrilled beef patty, Portabella mushrooms, caramelized onions, White American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and roasted garlic aioli on a toasted bun. The burger cost me $6.99.
The look: This wasn’t Habit’s most eye-catching burger, but it still looked tempting and relatively neatly assembled. Though not visible in the above photo, the top bun hid a solid layer of portabella mushroom pieces and caramelized onions.
The taste: The Portabella Char may look somewhat unassuming compared to Habit’s other burgers, but it’s actually sneakily delicious. The savory and funky flavors of the mushrooms, caramelized onions, and cheese all enhance the beef beautifully, just like they did in the Steakhouse Char Melt. However, the Portabella Char is even tastier because of the lettuce, tomato, and pickles, which add a freshness and balance that the melt lacks.
That’s not to say that the only burger worth trying at Habit is the Portabella Char. The fact that I had so much trouble picking a winner shows that the chain boasts a number of great options. However, the Portabella Char was an undeniable standout in a very strong bunch, and it’s all the more enticing because of its $6.99 price tag—the lowest out of any I tried.
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