82Smash
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Smash Score✓ Certified Smash
Santa Barbara's best burger, voted by the city's own readers. Wagyu beef from the family's own cattle ranch, smashed Oklahoma-style on a cast-iron griddle. Best paired with one of their award-winning Belgian-style ales.
Photography courtesy of Third Window Brewing Co. / Facebook.
Third Window Brewing Co. opened in 2016 inside The Mill on East Haley Street, founded by Kris Parker - grandson of Fess Parker - with a vision to craft Belgian-inspired beers using the unique terroir of Santa Barbara. The smashburgers came later, born in 2020 when COVID regulations required food service at breweries. But what started as a necessity became Santa Barbara's most celebrated burger: the Parkers' own FP Ranch wagyu herd, previously supplying their Los Olivos hotel restaurant, found a new home on the cast-iron griddle.
The Original Smashed Cheeseburger uses double wagyu patties sourced from the Parker family's own cattle ranch - animals raised on spent brewing grains and grape pomace in the Santa Ynez Valley. Smashed Oklahoma-style with thinly-sliced onions seared directly into the crust, finished with American cheese and house-made pickles on a soft potato roll. The result earned Santa Barbara's Best Burger readers' award in 2024 and a full Infatuation review - rare recognition for a brewery burger from a national food guide.
Third Window Brewing Co. is primarily a brewery and beer garden. This score reflects the Original Smashed Cheeseburger specifically; in-house smashburger availability is Thursday through Sunday, while Monday through Wednesday features rotating pop-ups.
The 2-point competition bonus reflects the 2024 Santa Barbara Independent Best Burger readers' poll win.
The Original wagyu smashburger comprises two crispy (nearly incinerated) patties melded together with cheese and sliced onions, which spill out from the burger's soft potato roll - exactly what you want while day drinking.
The high-brow Wagyu/low-brow American cheese formula became an instant hit. Burgers sport that satisfying seared crunch.
Third Window Brewing Co. is the local trendsetter of the delicious smashburger movement. Readers praised the wagyu patties as 'practically transcendent.'
Parker estimates he has personally smashed more than 100,000 burgers since beginning during the pandemic. The restaurant uses approximately 600 pounds of ground beef weekly.
The smashburger at Third Window Brewing is undeniably among the best meals I've ever had. This isn't an exaggeration; I find myself dreaming about it throughout the week.
The uberdelicious wagyu smash burger was a standout - alongside the smoked chicken wings and weekend-only wagyu brisket.
The smashburger was a big disappointment after it was touted by our friend who recommended eating here.
Michelline and Kris frequently work the cast-iron griddle themselves, churning out four burgers every 90 seconds.