You know the drill folks: Castlegar Burger Month is here! In the same vein as Trail/Rossland Burger Month and Nelson Burger Month, Castlegar is returning with their 2nd Burger Month that runs throughout October!
From October 2nd – October 31st, ten restaurants will offer their most elaborate burger creation and compete for your votes for the best burger in town.
Stay tuned for all burger month info, our own reviews of the ones we’ve tried, and our favourite burgers of the event in the first week of the competition!
Castlegar Burger Month Menu 2025
Castlegar Burger Month Reviews
Our #1 Pick 🏆
Congratulations to the Lionshead for being our #1 pick this year! We loved this tasty creation, and can’t wait to come back for another soon.
The Lionshead Smoke House & Brew Pub ~ The Cluck Gooda Burger
This masterpiece comes stacked with crispy buttermilk fried chicken, an in-house smoked paprika kick, bacon jam for a savoury smokiness—and a mind-blowing crispy cheese layer that pushes it over the edge.
Smoked gouda and sour pickles add just enough extra flavours here to make each bite captivating, with a beautiful crunch from the moist and tender fried chicken.
Just an awesome display of fried chicken mastery served with all the flourishes that show the care an attention that went into this showstopper.
It’s the kind of burger you talk about for the rest of the year and tell all your friends about.
9 Other Amazing Burgers You’ll Love
These are listed in the order we tried them. There’s so many tasty options to choose from. Let us know your favourite in the comments below!
The Bombi ~ Bombi Breakfast Burger
A burger served on French toast? We’re so in.
This is a real burger topped with everything you like in a full Canadian breakfast: bacon, eggs, sausages, and French toast – this burger is a hearty meal that left us totally satisfied.
It’s got plenty of meat, but has plenty of sweet notes to grow with that savoury breakfast too, with maple notes in the sausage and the aioli.
We love maple syrup with sausages and bacon – that sweet combo has real Saturday morning breakfast with dad vibes.
There’s fresh elements here too, with tomatoes and creamy avocado spread to balance out the breakfast meats and the crispy smash-style beef patties.
Breakfast is a well loved meal, and it turns out it’s just as satisfying as a burger too!
The Nineteenth ~ The Belly Tickler
Here’s a Castlegar Burger Month entry with some truly luxurious burger toppings that we can’t wait to tell you about.
The star of the show here is maple glazed pork belly: thick and crispy with a noticeable sweetness that was one of the defining characteristics of this burger.
Top it off with some of the best onions you’ll ever have: honey whiskey caramelized onions. Another sweet element of this burger with rich savoury flavours that were absolutely awesome.
Those two elements were so tasty on their own, but are only part of the picture here. Shredded lettuce, juicy tomatoes, aged cheddar and burger sauce make this the total package.
What we’re left with is a burger with a few different notes: plenty of sweet from the honey onions and the maple pork belly, and the creaminess of the burger sauce, all on a chewy brioche. Yum!
Backeddy ~ The Bacon Popper Burger
If your perfect burger involves spice, crunch, and the joy of cream cheese, The Backeddy is calling your name.
This stacked burger features a jalapeño cream cheese–stuffed patty (yes, stuffed), crispy onions, bacon, arugula, garlic aioli, and to top it all off—an actual jalapeño popper skewered on top like a spicy little crown.
The patty is rich and juicy, with the creamy cheese oozing through in every bite. The cream cheese and garlic aioli keep things nice and saucy, while the crispy onions and arugula add a satisfying crunch and a fresh bite to balance all that richness.
Great size, big flavour, and serious attention to detail—this burger doesn’t just bring the heat, it brings everything. If you’re a jalapeño popper fan, this’ll be your Burger Month jam.
Birchbank Golf Course ~ Whisky BBQ Burger
This entry leans into some of our go-to flavours: tapping into that BBQ bacon comfort zone with crispy onions, juicy tomato, and shredded lettuce, all hugged by a chewy brioche bun.
The patty itself is perfect, with a beautiful seared crust that we just love to see. Biting into this, you get a satisfying crunch of crispy onions and smoky BBQ sauce mingling with that chuck/brisket patty and it’s one of those classic burger combos that we continue to love.
We’ve had this kind of burger before, but it’s the kind of burger that reminds you why the classics became classics in the first place. Crunchy, juicy, perfectly cooked.
Common Grounds ~ The Smokey Gar
Maybe more of a breakfast sandwich, this bagel, egg and sausage entry from Common Grounds deserves a spot in your breakfast routine this week.
Built on a poppy onion bagel, it layers a diner-style sausage patty with melty cheese, chipotle mayo for a kick, and a sharp pop of red onion that cuts through the richness beautifully. There’s tomato, spinach, and bacon here too, making this one loaded meal!
It’s $12.80, so a little cheaper than rest of the pack here, but brings that familiar Saturday breakfast-on-the-go energy. A very tasty and balanced breakfast that we’d pick up any day of the week.
The Grateful Table ~ The Maui Surf Burger
This Grateful Table brings big Hawaiian flavours with a totally radical Castlegar Burger Month entry: shrimp, pineapple, and pulled porkall stacked on one saucy, buttery burger.
Bringing tropical vibes straight to your plate with fresh caramelized pineapple, pulled pork, a buttery Crumbs bun, and cabbage slaw, this one’s a beach party in burger form.
And yes, shrimp and pork is a real Hawaiian combo—and it goes together well, adding a flavour that we’ve never had before in a burger.
It’s great to see an international mash-up from the world travellers among us. Sweet, saucy, with a hint of heat—this burger brings a totally unique vibe to burger month.
Grand Buddha Bistro ~ Bangkok Street Burger
With a mix of their signature Southeast Asian flavours, Grand Buddha serves up a burger that’s all about freshness. Think fresh basil and a crisp cilantro-lime dressed slaw that adds a bright, zesty lift to the sweet chili glazed patty. It’s layered, balanced, and full of clean flavours.
The patty is mildly spicy and a bit sweet, served on a lightly charred bun, adding a great flavour to the mix.
This is the one for people who like their burgers to be refreshing. There’s also a peanut satay sauce version which we didn’t try, but we can imagine that being great as well if you’re not into the cilantro-lime.
Maple Mirch ~ Savory Crunch
Crispy hash brown shreds. Green peppercorn sauce. No sugar, all sass. The Savory Crunch burger is a burger built very intentionally to steer away from some of the sweet elements that can dominate burger month and instead let the savoury flavours shine through.
Built on a soft brioche bun, this burger brings in an Angus patty, sharp cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onions. But don’t expect to see any onion jam here—these are thin, subtle, and intentionally kept savoury to let the other ingredients shine.
And they do! The standout here is the crispy potato shreds – finely shredded potatoes fried to a delicate crunch. It’s a refreshing take on a crunchy ingredient; a category usually reserved for onion strings. Paired with a zesty green peppercorn sauce that’s unlike anything we’ve had on a burger before (seriously—it’s peppery in a way that reminds us almost of fresh bell pepper), this burger brings layered flavour profile that’s a great balance of textures and creative flavours. .
It’s a big, satisfying burger with lots of nuance—especially if you love a good crunch and a sauce that’s wonderfully different!
B’s Eatery ~ The Tipsy Burger
It’s been a hot minute since Castlegar had an Arby’s, but we’re so nostalgic for the days where you could find a killer roast beef sandwich in this town.
Well here we are in 2025 with B’s Tipsy Burger: a roast beef sandwich that hits in all the right ways.
A stack of house-prepped roast beef, layered high on a brioche and topped with gooey cheese sauce that’s also made right in house. Very much a meat focused sandwich with a generous cheesy flair.
Crispy onions and arugula add some extra flair to this classic sandwich combo for a tasty package made with care. We’re so excited to see an entry like this show up for Castlegar Burger Month, and it hits just right for this roast beef sandwich fan.
Castlegar Burger Month 2025 Competitors
Get ready for a tasty competition that’s sure to tickle your taste buds! Ten of Castlegar’s finest culinary establishments are set to battle it out for the title of Best Burger in Town during Burger Month. Here’s the contestants:
- The Lions Head Pub: With its classic pub fare, amazing patio, and Tudor decor, the Lions Head Pub is sure to bring a big smokehouse flavour to Burger Month.
- The Grateful Table: This popular Greek restaurant is likely to put their experience working with Mediterranean flavours to work here.
- Grand Buddha Bistro: A new contestant this year, Grand Buddha Bistro will showcase their expertise working with Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean flavours to work.
- Birchbank: After a strong showing in Trail/Rossland Burger Month, Birchbank is back in the running for the Castlegar Burger Month crown.
- The Backeddy: Leaning into their strengths serving classic pub fare, The Backeddy’s burger is sure to be a standout with a fun setting and lively English pub vibe.
- The Nineteenth: This upscale establishment will undoubtedly offer a gourmet burger experience, if last year is anything to go by – it was one of our favourites.
- Maple Mirch: The winner of last year’s competition, Maple Mirch will undoubtedly bring their special sauce to the competition with world fusion flavours that we can’t wait to try.
- B’s Eatery (Chances Casino): Grab dinner and entertainment all in the same spot, watch a sports game, or try your luck at the casino.
- Common Grounds: One of Castlegar’s most popular coffee spots that has also earned a reputation for fantastic breakfast and lunch fare.
- The Bombi: This popular Castlegar breakfast spot will bring years of breakfast creativity to the competition for their first burger month.
Price:
Each restaurant presents a one-of-a-kind burger for $18 (plus tax). If you’d like to support the businesses behind these creative burger creations, get a side and a drink as an add-on.
How to Vote
Votes will be tallied after the competition closes October 31st! You can vote online once a day per person, or in-person via a ballot given to you by your waiter at each of the participating restaurants.
Rank your favourite burger from 1 to 5 in three categories:
- Presentation
- Taste
- Originality
If you vote for your favourite burger you’ll be entered to win a $25 gift certificate to each of the participating restaurants!
Winners will be announced in November. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the announcement!
2024 Castlegar Burger Month Winner
The 2024 Castlegar Burger Month champion was the Maple Mirch – Masala Date Burger!
We loved the Masala Date Burger last year, with its croissant bun, sweet and savoury date sauce, and curry flavours.
It was so good, it actually won the competition in ALL THREE categories: presentation, taste, and originality! Huge congratulations to Maple Mirch!
Share the Fun!
Call your friends and head out to eat your burger month favourites online using the hashtag #castlegarburgermonth2025
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