Hidden Gem Burger You Said I HAD To Try 🍔

I resisted going to Big Sky Burgers for a while. Not because it sounded bad — it sounded great — but because I get a lot of "you HAVE to try this place" comments, and most of the time, the place is fine. Good, even. Just not the revelation people make it out to be. Big Sky kept coming up, though, and eventually the volume of comments got loud enough that I drove out to Garrison Street in Lakewood to see what was going on.

It's a small spot. Nothing about the exterior is going to stop you in your tracks. If you're expecting some slick, Instagram-ready burger counter, adjust your expectations before you pull in. What you're getting is a neighborhood place with a genuinely interesting concept — burgers that pull from Asian flavors in ways that actually make sense on a burger, not as a gimmick. New ownership under a guy named Sam has apparently tightened things up considerably, and based on what I ate, I believe it.

What Makes This Different

The burger itself is the story. Denver has solid options — Twansburger's smashburger is doing the double-patty, crispy-edge thing well, and Split Lip has the Washington goop burger if you want something with a little more chaos to it. Big Sky is operating in different territory. The Asian-influenced builds here have a coherence to them. The flavors aren't competing — they're working together, which sounds obvious but is genuinely hard to pull off when you're fusing cuisines on a bun.

I tried one of the signature burgers, and the balance was what got me. The sauce-to-patty ratio was right. The bun held up. The meat had actual flavor, not just char. These are low bars that a lot of burger places somehow fail to clear, and Big Sky cleared them with room to spare.

What Works, What to Know

The fusion angle is real and it's the reason to come. If you drive out to Lakewood expecting a standard smashburger or a classic diner-style situation, you'll be confused by the menu in a good way. This is worth reading carefully before you order — not every item is going to be for everyone, but if you're open to it, the combinations they're running are pretty creative without being weird for the sake of weird.

Lakewood isn't a neighborhood most Denver people find themselves in on a random Tuesday, so this does require a specific trip. I'd say it's worth it if you're already heading west, or if you're the kind of person who takes burger recommendations seriously. My wife came with me and she's pickier about burgers than I am — she was on board by the second bite. The place wasn't crowded when we went, which made the whole thing relaxed and easy. I'd imagine weekends pick up.

Parking is a non-issue, which is a relief after trying to find spots near some of the places I cover in Capitol Hill or RiNo. The address is 1958 S Garrison St — easy in, easy out.

Worth the Drive?

Denver's burger scene has been getting more competitive over the last few years. Grandpa's Burger Haven in southwest Denver is still doing the old-school stand thing and doing it well. Twansburger is executing the smashburger formula at a high level. Big Sky is carving out space that's genuinely its own — the Asian-American burger concept isn't something you're seeing done this way anywhere else nearby that I know of.

I was skeptical because the comments section told me to go, and the comments section has sent me on some disappointing detours. This wasn't one of them. Sam and his team are doing something worth paying attention to out there in Lakewood, and if your comment was one of the ones that got me out there — you were right.