10 Best Burgers in New York City

Photo by Finn on Unsplash

10 Best Burgers in New York City

The burger has come a long way since its origins around the 1900s as a beef patty between two slices of plain bread.

It was popularized by fast-food restaurants and has gone through many renditions with chefs putting their own takes on it — and it’s not stopping anytime soon.

There are so many fat, smashed, doubled and uniquely blended patties, they are almost resistant to comparison. But the very fancy, simple and elaborate burgers in New York City all have one thing in common: they’re so good they override our desire for any other menu item, time after time. 

In the last decade, the New York City burger scene has really taken off. Food critics and New Yorkers alike love seeking the next new thing, paying close attention to how each chef puts their twist on the old school classic

So, what makes a good burger?  quality beef, the right bun and a proper protein-to-bread ratio.

Here are the 10 best burgers in New York City.

1. Burger & Lobster

Address:  39 W 19th St New York, NY 10011 Avenue Of The Americas & 5th Ave Flatiron

Phone : (646) 833-7532

Working Hours: MON – SUN       NOON – 11:00 PM

                                      SUNDAY            NOON – 10:00 PM                                                          

Photo by Finn on Unsplash

Hailing from London, Burger & Lobster’s signature dish is just like that of its name.

The B&L combo reimagines the surf and turf in the form of a 1.25-pound wild Atlantic lobster, drizzled with your choice of clarified butter or lemon garlic butter sauce alongside a burger with 6 ounces of Nebraska beef, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, and, of course, the secret burger sauce.

If you’re just here for a burger, go all out with the beast burger’s 10 ounces of beef topped with lobster, Swiss cheese, and truffle mayo.

The dry-aged burger is topped with blue cheese. The burger is perfectly cooked, juicy and full of flavour. The fries were very crispy and delicious. The salad provided a light fresh element to the dish.  

Both indoor and outdoor dining are available at Burger & Lobster’s Flatiron location, while the Bryant Park location is indoor only.

2. Le Rivage

Address:  289 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014, United States

Phone : (212) 765-7374

Working Hours: MONDAY           C  L  O  S  E  D   

                                 TUESDAY          NOON – 11:00PM

                                 WEDNESDAY   11:30AM- 11:00PM

                                THURSDAY        NOON – 11:00PM

                                 FRIDAY               NOON – MIDNIGHT

                                SATURDAY        11:30AM- MIDNIGHT

                                 SUNDAY             11:30AM – 11:00PM

                                  SUNDAY            NOON – 10:00 PM                                                          

Le Rivage offers you a cosy, romantic French country atmosphere where traditional French cuisine is expertly prepared for your pleasure. Fresh flowers embellish each table, daily.

Prices are delightfully affordable with incredibly rewarding selections; a true bargain in the heart of the theatre district.

Enjoy a delicious, French onion soup burger in the old-world, rustic atmosphere of longtime French bistro Le Rivage.

Served on a soft English muffin and topped with stewed onions, Emmental cheese and mornay sauce, this double patty was the winner of the 2013 NYC Wine and Food Festival.

Le Rivage is also a Burger Bash winner with their French Onion Soup Burger.

3.  Burger Joint

Address:  119 W 56th St New York, NY 10019

Phone :   (212) 708-7414

Working Hours: MON – SUN       11:00AM – 11:00PM

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Tucked away in what’s now the Thompson Central Park New York hotel. Finding it is part of the charm of this tiny, loud, crammed burger joint. Sometimes the lines out the door will help you find it.

The original opened in 2002, serving flame-grilled burgers with the works ; lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, mayo, ketchup — to droves of hungry tourists and New Yorkers alike.

The burgers are beef or plant-based char-grilled, made fresh to order, and you can have the works on your burger. The fries are potato or sweet potato to satisfy your fancy.

This legendary spot has a lot of history! Every celebrity you can think of has signed their name on the wall, from Howard Stern, Iron Mike Tyson, Piers Morgan, Ringo Starr (The Beatles), Rihanna, 50 Cent, the list goes on!

4. Lure

Address:  142 Mercer St, New York, NY 10012 Houston St & Prince St, SoHo

Phone :   (212) 431-7676

Working Hours: SUN – THU        11:30AM – 10:00PM

                                      FRI – SAT           11:30AM – 11:00PM                                     
Web       :   lurefishbar.com

At the Soho spot known for its elegant cruise ship-like interior, most diners come for the raw bar, oyster selection, and sushi, but the award-winning Lure burger is not to be missed.

 The burger’s fame and status all came about when former executive chef Josh Capon won the NYC Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash with this burger and continued to win it four more times.

Though Capon has departed, the burger remains and comes “Bash style” with caramelized onion and bacon jam or “Lure style” with fried onion rings.

Capon himself shared the burger’s secret recipe, but you have to try it in-person for the full experience.

5. Porter House Burger Company

Address:   4608 W Market St Greensboro, NC 27407

Phone :   (336) 617-7145

Working Hours: MONDAY           11:00AM – 9:00PM

                                 TUE – WED        C  L  O  S  E  D

                                 THU – SAT        11:00AM – 9:00PM       

                                 SUNDAY             11:00AM- 8:00PM                         

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

You can never go wrong with potato buns. Chef Michael Lomonaco uses a soft potato roll for his Bar Burger with two patties and melted cheese, which comes with sweet red-onion jam, pickled jalapeños, and a delicious homemade special sauce.

The Grilled Cheese Burger, which is a 1/2 lb beef patty with grilled onions, Monterrey & cheddar cheese on grilled sourdough bread is awesome.

The burger is cooked perfectly and the flavour of the patty itself is impressive.

They have a build your own burger option.

The place is neat and clean

6.  Shake Shack

Address:  1333 Broadway, New York City, NY 10018-7204

Phone :   +1 646-230-0696

Working Hours: MON- SUN        11:00AM – 10:00PM    

So many burgers to choose from fall in love with the gluten-free buns! They have great burgers and fries that are affordable.

Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack, started off as a seasonal hamburger stand such as one might find by a lake in the Midwest, has grown into an international chain.

It has also arguably defined the new New York style of burger: griddle-cooked, American cheese-topped patties served on potato rolls, greasy as hell but delicious.

7.      HALL

Address:  17 W 20th St New York, NY 10011

Phone :   +1 646-230-0696

Working Hours: MON- SAT         11:00AM – 9:00PM      

                                       SUNDAY                  C  L  O  S  E  D

Photo by Kyle Mills on Unsplash

HALL is a chic Japanese bistro by day and an intimate cocktail bar by night.

Its unassuming storefront holds the key to eight burgers with combinations as you’ve never seen before.

The A5 wagyu steak burger stacks five slabs of wagyu steak atop of a wagyu patty, while the black cod burger is coated in miso charcoal crust paired with tartar sauce, plus Hudson Valley foie gras finds harmony with a wagyu patty glazed with Sansho pepper.

 Limited-time burger specials come in the form of wagyu brisket with barbecue sauce, as well as Maine lobster with a wagyu or shrimp patty with lobster bisque sauce.

HALL is the stop for burgers outside the confines of beef.

8.      PJ Clarke’s

Address:  915 Third Ave New York, NY 10022 Midtown East

Phone :   (212) 317-1616

Working Hours: MON- SUN        11:30AM – 10:00PM    

Photo by Aleisha Kalina on Unsplash

A true old New York establishment, P.J. Clarke’s has been serving its patrons beers and burgers since 1884.

The Clarke Burger is served no-frills with tomato, lettuce, and onion, with a plethora of toppings available including a fried egg, béarnaise sauce, four different varieties of cheese, avocado, double smoked bacon, and sautéed onion.

 But the crowd favourite is the “Cadillac,” named after jazz icon Nat King Cole had a taste of the ground chuck beef patty with double smoked country bacon, onion, and American cheese, and proclaimed it “the Cadillac of burgers.” 

All burgers are served with dill pickles and a slice of onion underneath as a nod to when the burgers were served on paper plates and the onion soaked up its juices to keep the plate dry.

9. Emily

Address:   35 Downing St New York, NY 10014

Phone :    (917) 935-6434

Working Hours: SUN- THU         NOON – 10:00PM

                                       FRI – SAT           NOON – 11:00PM           

Image by Carlos Carlos Alberto from Pixabay

Their famed double-stack burger, the Le Big Matt, was named ‘#1 Best Burger in Nashville’ by The Tennessean and Nashville Lifestyles.

One cannot tell what is in this establishment’s burger. You experience it as one cohesive unit of human emotion: joy, love, and fear that nothing else will ever come close to this.

There’s no other burger like this in NYC, so if you want to experience it for yourself, get here early – a lot of other people want to eat it too.

 (And if you really need to know about those ingredients, they are dry-aged beef, onion, melted cheddar, “Emmy sauce,” and a warm pretzel bun.)

The menu also highlights a selection of approachable salads and sandwiches served on pretzel buns.

10. Cozy Royale

Address:   434 Humboldt St Brooklyn, NY 11211

Phone :    (718) 349-3989

Working Hours: MON- SUN        5:00PM – 11:00PM       

Photo by Fábio Alves on Unsplash

The team behind one of our favourite butcher shops, The Meat Hook, opened this sister restaurant as a place to show off their meats and this burger is the showpiece.

 It comes simply topped with Tarentaise cheese that is naturally semi-hard but melts beautifully atop a mess of meat, onions, pickles, and mayo.

This burger is all about the quality of the meat and the simple accents.

Cosy Royale might periodically change up the toppings, like adding shredded lettuce and tomato, but the quality of the meat and the melty Tarentaise remain.

Yes, New York City is a hamburger town, and the city loves to eat them whether expensive or budget-friendly in every part of town.

Some options on this list are NYC icons, while other newfangled ones have become must-tries. From no-frills diner burgers to those coated in miso charcoal we have pointed for you the direction, now go out and enjoy.