America is no longer home to the best hamburger – beaten by unlikely European country

America no longer has the best hamburger in the world.

The US is home to the world’s largest fast food chains, from McDonald’s to Wendy’s. It’s also where they’re believed to have originated.

But according to the ‘Michelin Guide for Burgers’, a European chain has won the title of ‘best burger in the world for 2024’.

It is the first time the gong has gone to a restaurant outside of America. New York’s famous Pizza Loves Emily topped the list last year, but dropped to number two.

Hundred Burgers, a chain of seven restaurants from Spain, won the title of the world’s best burger for 2024, according to the ‘Michelin Guide for Burgers’

Pizza Loves Emily in New York was No. 2

The best hamburger is not even found in Germany, where many believe their ancestors invented the dish in the city of Hamburg, but in Spain.

Hundred Burgers, with four restaurants in Valencia and three in Madrid, has taken first place in the World’s Best Burgers 2024 ranking.

The restaurant owes its fame to its 120-day aged beef, which some say ‘melts in your mouth’, and its ‘super crispy’ bacon.

“For us, this recognition is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream,” said Álex González, co-founder of Hundred Burgers, in an interview with Infobae Spain.

“We founded the company with the goal of creating a burger that would be a world reference, and never in our wildest dreams did we consider being voted the best burger in the world. It’s a huge honor.”

They have achieved this through years of research and hard work.

In 2017, González and co-founder Ezequiel Maldjian traveled to New York for a four-day tour of the city’s 15 best burgers.

Originally, the goal was to improve the burgers at González’s mother’s restaurant, but the trip inspired them to open their own burger shop.

In 2020, Hundred Burgers opened its first branch and quickly won the award for ‘best burger in Spain’.

Other top contenders in the burger rankings include Au Cheval, with locations in Chicago and New York, Holy Burger in São Paulo and Funky Chicken Food Truck in Stockholm. Burger & Beyond, from Manchester and London, narrowly missed out on the top five.

Ranking of the world’s best burgers 2024 – from ten to one

10. Soul Coffee Beer – Valencia

9. AMBOY Quality Meat and Delicious Burger – Los Angeles

8. Bleecker – London

7. Pastis – New York

6. Burgers & Beyond – London and Manchester

5. Funky Chicken Food Truck – Stockholm

4. Holy Citizen – São Paulo

3. Au Cheval – Chicago and New York

2. Pizza Loves Emily – New York

1. One Hundred Citizens – Valencia & Madrid

Au Cheval, in Chicago and New York, was No. 3

Earlier this year, a report named the best American city for pizza, but it turned out it wasn’t even a city known for the dish.

New York City and Chicago normally rank at the top when it comes to the best pizza, and Detroit has been on top for the past two years.

But it was Denver, Colorado, that can lay claim to being the best for pizza, according to a comprehensive study that looked at EIGHT measures. See the box below for their full methodology.

In short, the researchers looked at the average price, the number of restaurants and how well they were rated, plus a so-called ‘pizza passion’ score.

In these areas, the Mile High City rose to the top 50 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas by Smart real estate.

NYC did receive an unwanted distinction: the most expensive pizzas in America, with a large pepperoni costing nearly $34.