Roam Artisan Burgers at 1923 Fillmore St is a rustic-industrial burger spot built around one idea: a better-for-you burger made with high-quality, sustainably sourced ingredients. It is one of the most popular lunch and dinner stops on Fillmore.
Two friends and a business plan
Roam was started by Joshua Spiegelman and Lynn Gorfinkle. Spiegelman, who grew up in Marin and lived in Spain and Japan, wrote the original business plan for a healthier burger place after studying nutrition during his MBA at UCLA. Gorfinkle, who ran a cooking school, shared his passion for delicious, sustainable food. They first talked about the idea in 2004 and reconnected in 2009. Roam celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2025, and both founders credit the Japanese idea of kaizen, small and constant improvement, for its staying power.
What to order
The beef is pasture-raised and grass-finished, and ingredients come from local farms. Choose from beef, turkey, bison or a house-made veggie burger, with gluten-free buns and lettuce wraps available. The turkey burger, topped with gruyere and caramelized and crispy fried onions, has been featured on the Food Network. Favorites also include the Tejano burger, a spicy fried chicken sandwich, the zucchini and onion haystack and a farmers market salad. Fries are cooked in sunflower oil, and the shakes are made with Straus Dairy milk, plus house-made sodas and local beer and wine.
Built to be sustainable
Roam’s dining rooms are finished in reclaimed and salvaged wood, and it has long run recycling and composting programs. Its used fry oil has been turned into biofuel for city buses.
