What to Know

  • Pasadena Cheeseburger Week
  • Jan. 26-31, 2026
  • Several Crown City restaurants will have deals or special burgers on their menus
  • You can have your say during the Cheeseburger Challenge, when you get to pick your favorite
  • Pasadena takes pride in the invention of the cheeseburger, which is traced to Lionel Sternberger and the Rite Spot; the cheeseburger’s centennial was honored in 2024

Cheeseburgers may seem like the perfect and ultra-classic July icons, which makes sizzling sense: Patties aplenty grace grills across the land on Independence Day, various warm-weather holidays, and throughout the summer at weekend barbecues.

But if you’re in the Crown City, and you’ve recently celebrated New Year’s Day, your hankerings may just be cheeseburger-based, and with fine and flavorful reason: Pasadena Restaurant Week, also known as Pasadena Cheeseburger Week, is a tasty January tradition.

Tasty, and restaurant-supporting, too: Lending love to Pasadena eateries following the pandemic and the fires of early 2025 has been a kind-hearted focus for many diners in recent times.

Cheeseburger Week has no rules, really, but honoring the memory of the Rite Spot, where the delectable dish originated, and Lionel Sternberger, the dreamer of the cheeseburger, is a good way to approach the savory stretch.

That stretch begins Jan. 26, and concludes Jan. 31, and perusing the participating restaurants, and finding out what special burgers they have on the menu or if they’re offering money-saving deals, is a solid approach.

The Cheeseburger Challenge also asks devoted cheeseburgerists to voice their opinions, so have your say and create some well-earned noise for those places serving the best burgers, IYO.

Pie ‘N Burger, that time-honored California Boulevard stalwart, is always one of the stars of Pasadena Cheeseburger Week, but other favorites include Clearman’s Northwoods Inn, Mijares Mexican Restaurant, The Kitchen, and Magnolia House.

Yep and for sure, the week can cast a wider view, which means that some eateries are outside of Pasadena but still within the San Gabriel Valley.

The restaurants are listed on this site, with more to be added, quite possibly.

The interesting history of the Rite Spot, and more about how to make the most of Pasadena Cheeseburger Week, are on the grill and ready for condiments (meaning, yes, they’re also live, on this page, and ready to be perused).