The hamburger restaurant Bursalad was chosen as the best burger place in Finland. Owners Laura and Pekka Mäkinen were initially surprised by the huge popularity.
In Hyvinkää, there are already ten waiting customers standing in front of the restaurant Bursalad, despite the cool morning, even though the restaurant only opens in a quarter of an hour.
The restaurant is quite small, as there are only 12 customer seats inside and six picnic tables outside.
The locals laugh when Hyvinkää fills up with hungry people from other parts of the country.
Burger Lovers Finland chose Bursaladi from Värnkää as the best burger restaurant in Finland in 2026. The two-time winner Grill Room Hankasalmi got to lick his fingers this time.
The win has been eagerly awaited, as the restaurant was voted third place in 2024 and second place last year.
A record 21,786 approved votes were cast in the burger restaurant vote organized by the Burger Lovers Finland community and McCain.
Customers have arrived in front of the restaurant before it opens to avoid long queues. Silja Säily
Regular customers and first-timers
People from Hyvinkää Jenna and Jarkko Mattila have eaten at Bursalad several times since the opening of the restaurant, from 2022. They also say that they themselves voted Bursalad as the best hamburger place in Finland.
Today, the double cart has arrived in front of the restaurant in time so that there is no need to wait in line for the food.
– My own hamburgers are next to these, admits Jarkko Mattila.
What makes a restaurant so good that it’s worth queuing? Jenna Mattila says that she liked Bursalad’s taste palette.
Bursaladi’s trademarks are large smash steaks, home-made sauces and a sweet burger bun exclusively tailored for the restaurant.
The restaurant tends to try out special flavor combinations that you wouldn’t think would work at first.
– And crispy ranuts, they are important to me, Mattila adds.
They live in Hyvinkää Irene Engström and Sara Engström-Häivälä trying Bursalad for the first time. The recent victory has attracted them to the place. On the other hand, the title of the best burger restaurant did not come as a surprise to them. The locals have been praising the place a lot for a long time.
According to Engström, this is not the first time that people gather in Hyvinkää in large numbers. The previous weekend, the cosplay event Hypecon was organized in the city, which attracted around 15,400 visitors.
This is what Bursaladi’s burgers look like. Silja Säily
Hard work was rewarded
The owners of Bursalad, Pekka and Laura Mäkinenare delighted with the recognition they have received. Laura Mäkinen says that Pekka Mäkinen in particular has longed for the title of best burger restaurant for a long time. In previous years, they have finished second and third.
– This has been an absolutely incredible thing for us. Now all the posters from this competition have been purchased, says Laura Mäkinen.
Bursalad’s team celebrated their victory with the entire work team with a joint dinner, sauna, party and yard games.
The Mäkisen say that the number of customers has increased dramatically. Fortunately, they knew how to prepare for this as soon as they heard about the victory.
In a day, they managed to sell 500-600 hamburgers. Considering the side dishes, the number of products sold is much higher.
– Last year in July we did such sales readings on good days, which we have now done on weekdays, says Pekka Mäkinen.
The number of people was a little surprising at first, when the kitchen ran out of warm space. Pekka Mäkinen called the kitchen equipment supplier, and within an hour they got half a meter more warm space on the table.
Laura Mäkinen, the founder of Bursalad, works at the cash register of the restaurant herself. Silja Säily
Employees under pressure
After the restaurant opens, the number of people waiting in line increases. The man sitting at the patio table sighs that he has already had to wait 45 minutes for his portion. The visit had to be quick, because you have to go back to work after your lunch break.
For employees, profit means a lot of work. Customers have come to Hyvinkää to try hamburgers from places like Mikkeli and Kotka.
– People keep coming and coming. Our crowd is so small that of course it scares them a little, who are not used to crowds, says Laura Mäkinen.
The Mäkis wouldn’t be able to run the restaurant on their own. In addition to the owner couple, they have two full-time employees. During the summer season, there are ten of them.
Mäkisen wanted to hire local young people to work in the restaurant. The employees who originally came for summer jobs have wanted to continue working alongside the schools.
Restaurant employee Milana Kerro takes dishes to customers at the outside table. Silja Säily
My Story
Mäkisten’s path to becoming a burger restaurant entrepreneur has been a tortuous one. Before founding Bursalad, they owned a lunch and catering restaurant in Jokela. The work was especially difficult for Pekka Mäkinen, who has heart disease.
– Peka’s heart disease came as a surprise, and he experienced a shocking cardiac arrest. It started to change us in another direction. It couldn’t continue like this, because Pekka was overloaded with catering and everything, Laura Mäkinen opens.
The couple decided to give up their workload in order to lighten the catering, and they only served lunch to customers. This turned out to be unprofitable, and Mäkisten’s restaurant suffered financial problems.
Half a year after Peka’s cardiac arrest, Laura Mäkinen’s brother died. The subject is still sensitive to him. The brother’s death was the last rivet that set the change in motion.
The Mäkis wanted to stay in the restaurant business. The customers liked the hamburgers made by Pekka Mäkinen during the corona period already in the lunch restaurant, so the transition to making only hamburgers seemed natural.
The founders of Bursalad, Laura and Pekka Mäkinen, have longed for the title of winner for a long time. Silja Säily
The Mäkis sold the lunch restaurant business and moved to lower-cost premises in Hyvinkää. They opened Bursalad in November 2022. Only the Mäkisets themselves work as restaurant employees.
The small restaurant, located on the outskirts of the city, was initially intended to sell food mainly through delivery services. This did not happen, because six months later, Burger Lovers Finland named Bursalad number nine on the list of the best burger restaurants.
– The door started to open so that we were able to employ more people, Pekka Mäkinen recalls.
The Mäkises were the first to hire their own son in the kitchen. In the end, this guy also got on the payroll during the first summers.
The Mäkis say that the burger restaurant has turned out to be their thing. At the same time, financial worries have subsided.
The work is still hard, and you can sometimes do it until late at night.
– The allure of novelty is still there, and it’s not annoying to go to work in the morning when you know you’re doing something right, says Laura Mäkinen.
However, Peka’s heart disease is currently in a stable phase, although it may get worse at some point. He doesn’t let his illness discourage him.
– I’m living the best time of my life, and I don’t think anything bothers me, Pekka says.
Bursaladi’s rolls are exclusively customized for the restaurant. Silja Säily
The crowd is increasing
By the afternoon, Bursalad’s yard has been filled with customers. The parking spaces have been reserved for a long time, so some customers are content to park their cars on the side of the road.
According to Pekka Mäkinen, cars left on the side of the road have garnered a few complaints from locals. Mäkisen want to develop new solutions in the future so that there is enough space for everyone. Now they have received permission to use the parking lot of the kindergarten next door during the summer.
Bursalad is clearly a meeting place for locals. In front of the restaurant, groups of friends exchange hugs and coworkers shake hands.
Diners sitting outside resent the cool weather. I hope midsummer brings sunshine.
The group of friends sitting at the next table finally gets their portion.
– A hamburger has its own stomach, says the young man and takes another bite of his burger.
Canopies have been erected in the yard of Little Bursalad, under which customers can dine. Silja Säily