Smashed Review: London-Inspired Halal Smash Burgers Near Haji Lane

Smashed is a new smashed burger store by The Halal Corner

If you’ve been to this year’s Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar, you’re probably not unfamiliar with the hype around one of their stalls—Smashed. This highly-raved smash burger kiosk has since turned into an actual store at Baghdad Street, just a few streets away from Haji Lane!

Smashed is a new venture by the same team behind The Halal Corner, born from an unexpected visit to a smash burger place in London. In case you didn’t know, smash burgers have been trending in London since 2023, with multiple eateries serving up their own renditon. 

Food at Smashed

Smashed features just three burgers on their menu: Classic Smashed, House Smashed, and Spicy Smashed. You know a place is good when they keep things short and sweet, simple and straightforward.

With their open-kitchen concept, we were able to watch the entire food preparation process. The meatballs were first smashed flat on the hot grill, becoming a nice meat patty.

After a few minutes of cooking, the patties were flipped, before a slice of American cheese was slapped on top of each. As the other side of the patty cooked, the cheese on the top side melted along with the beef fat and juice. You can only imagine how good it smelled. 

Once the patties were fully cooked, they were transferred to the base buns of their burgers—two on each bun, dressed with a generous amount of caramelised onions and pickles. This was followed by a generous squeeze of the respective sauces on the base of the top bun before the burger was sealed with steady precision.

We started our tasting with their House Smashed ($10), which came drenched in their house sauce. 

The first thing I noticed about the burger was how saucy it was—it was dripping everywhere, which can be quite a messy ordeal considering the food was only available for takeaway. Despite the messiness, I quite enjoyed the burger—the sauce had a light tang that resembled mayonnaise, and yet had a pleasant savouriness that blended really nicely with the melted cheese. Though the patties were smashed, they still had a meaty bite to them. They also boasted charred edges that added a nice crisp to the meat.

Next, we moved on to the Classic Smashed ($10), which came drenched in mustard and ketchup. I did not appreciate this burger as much as I did for their House Smashed—I am not a fan of ketchup or the ketchup with mustard combination, and the way that the burger was drenched in all that sauce kind of stole the limelight from the patties.

Our last try was their Spicy Smashed ($12), which also turned out to be our favourite. This burger was paired with their house-made Samabal Balado Sauce, which added a spicy kick to the overall taste of the burger. It reminded me of a spicy Thousand Island sauce.

Staying true to their minimalist approach, Smashed offers just two side options: House Fries for $4 and Dirty Fries for $6. You can also get the sides and a drink as a Combo ($4) top-up to your burger order!

Their House Fries were some of the best fries I’ve had—crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and perfectly seasoned. But what really impressed me was their Dirty Fries—House Fries topped with a generous amount of cheese and bacon. It sounds really basic, but I promise it’s good: the bacon was fried to the perfect crisp with just the right amount of char, topped with the hot cheese and well-cooked fries. 

Drink options at Smashed are either Coke, Coke Zero, Water, or Ice Lemon Tea; they all cost $3 per cup if you’re getting them a la carte.

Ambience at Smashed

Located in the Kampong Glam area, 10 minutes by foot from Bugis MRT Station, Smashed sits by the rows of shophouses. If you look closely, you’d even see their “IShowSpeed approve” poster! FYI: the famous online streamer tried their burgers during his visit to Singapore this year. 

There are no seats in the store, so the food is only available for takeaway as of now.   

The verdict

Smashed serves up some seriously impressive smashed burgers, loaded with sauce, along with fries that are truly mind-blowing—all prepared fresh right before your eyes. If there’s one thing they could improve, it would be expanding their space to include seating, so customers aren’t limited to takeaway.

For more halal burger places to consider, read our The Only Burger review. Otherwise, for more good stuff in the area, for instance, “spinning” gelato with peach oolong and durian flavours, check out our Gelato Garden coverage.

Address: 21 Baghdad Street, Singapore 199066
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 9:30pm
Tel: 9181 1665
Website
Smashed is a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Marcus Neo.
This was a media tasting at Smashed.