How Big Should A Pub-Style Burger Be?

Head into your favorite pub, and chances are, the food will be just as enticing as the prospect of swigging a craft beer (or several). Pubs are typically known for having more substantial food than bars; they often serve some of the best burgers, pizza, wings, and lighter food for those who want a quick snack. Burgers are a standout at the pub — a pub burger is typically stacked high with meat, cheese, vegetables, and the occasional onion ring, per Delighted Cooking.

Pub-style burgers are distinct from burgers in fast food joints or sit-down restaurants. They might have a wider variety of ingredients — or more elevated ingredients — than a fast food burger would have, and they're typically prepared a certain way as well, HuffPost explains. But the biggest question that often goes unanswered is whether or not pub-style burger patties are larger or smaller than their counterparts at other eateries. If you've never thought about the size of your pub burger, the answer might surprise you.

Pub-style burgers are hard to finish in one sitting, and it's all by design. Pub burger patties typically meet certain specifications — an oval-shaped patty broiled instead of grilled — but their size defines them almost as much as their shape and cooking method. Pub-style burgers are large. Their burger patties should be at least eight ounces, but some are as large as 10 ounces in size, according to HuffPost.

Stack a pub burger high with toppings, and you'll end up with a burger that might verge close to a pound. This might not make much sense initially, but pub burgers were originally complimentary so that bar patrons would stay in the pub and keep drinking (via First We Feast). Although pub-style burgers have expanded from having few toppings to being piled high with cheese and veggies, their original purpose stands — get customers in the pub's door and entice them to knock back a few drinks while they work on eating a large burger.

You might simply call a hamburger a hamburger, but pub-style burgers are just one of many takes on the classic hamburger. Each type has its own delicious qualities that make for a mouthwatering meal, and not all burgers are the same size. Although pub burgers may sound pretty big if you're used to seeing quarter-pounders on the menu at your favorite restaurants, they stack up somewhere in the middle when it comes to patty size. Kobe beef burgers may weigh in at three or four ounces each, and fast food burger patties might be relatively small, but a pub burger is actually about the size of the average "restaurant burger," per Eater New York. 

Also smaller than pub-style burgers are sliders and mini burgers, which despite being often confused, are two distinct burger types. So which burgers are larger than pub-style burgers? Megaburgers, which typically only exist to break world records, and extreme burgers, which typically have large patties and even higher stacks of toppings than pub burgers do, Serious Eats claims. Pub burgers might stack up "average" in size, but their stacks of tasty toppings pack a real punch.