Where to Eat the Best Burgers in NYC

With its endless well of choices, NYC is nothing short of a burger bonanza. The trick is to find and eat the good ones.

Cheeseburger at JG Melon in NYCPhoto by2foodtrippers

Hamburger lovers have a happy place in New York City. Actually, they have a lot of happy places.

Historically famous for its bagels and pizza, the city has quietly become a hub for some of the best hamburgers in the world. These juicy gems can be found everywhere from smash patty burgers at retro counters to ginorumous burgers at fancy schmancy restaurants. In fact, some of the city's top eateries now serve burgers at premium prices that easily exceed $30. And, sadly, a side of fries is often extra.

Don't despair if you can't justify big bucks for a hamburger or if you're unable to score a reservation at the hot NYC restaurant du jour. There are still New York City burgers that clock in under $10 and many are served at restaurants where reservations aren't a must.

Our Picks for The Best Burgers in NYC

We ate a lot of hamburgers when we lived and worked in NYC and we've made it our mission to eat more each time we return to the Big Apple. With a diverse range of sizes, shapes and flavors, these burgers never bore us. In fact, we have no problem eating a different hamburger every day during a week-long visit.

These are our favorite hamburgers in Manhattan and Brooklyn:

1. Red Hook Tavern - Best Hamburger in NYC

You may be surprised that our pick for the best New York City hamburger is in Brooklyn instead of Manhattan. We were surprised too, especially since getting to Red Hook is quite the schlep. But choosing Red Hook Tavern for this honor was a no brainer once we bit into a dry-aged Red Hook Tavern burger. That burger was nothing short of a monstrous, juicy masterpiece.

Open since 2019, Red Hook Tavern is one of New York City's great gastropubs with a bustling saloon vibe and a menu filled with elevated pub dishes including one of best wedge salads we've ever eaten. Billy Durney first achieved fame for his smoked meat at Hometown Bar-B-Que, also in Red Hook, and now his burger is in the spotlight.

Thick and juicy, Durney's dry-aged patties are perfectly cooked to a mid-rare pink before they're simply adorned with American cheese and raw white onion slices. Crinkly potato rounds are a welcome addition that complete the dish.

Pro Tip: Save room for dessert and walk over to Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie where you can eat a key lime tart with a view of the Statue of Liberty. If you're feeling frisky, order a Swingle. Hand-dipped in molten Belgian chocolate, the frozen key lime tart is like a popsicle but more decadent.

Price Level: High
Reservations: Recommended
Burger to Order: Dry-Aged Red Hook Tavern Burger

2. Minetta Tavern - Ultra Luxe Tavern Burger

Minetta Tavern is a classic New York tavern with excellent food and two famous burgers on its menu. Topped with cheddar cheese and caramelized onions, the Minetta Burger is great. However, it's the restaurant's Black Label Burger that ranks as one of the richest single bites of burger bliss in the city. Both hamburgers are served on brioche buns and come with fries on the side. Interestingly, the more expensive Black Label Burger is cheese-free as not to disturb its tasty melange of 'prime dry aged beef cuts'.

Operated by one of New York's great restaurateurs, Keith McNally, Minetta Tavern is an iconic NYC restaurant with a history that dates back to 1937. Originally a West Village hangout for some of the city's most noteable writers, the historic restaurant lost its luster over the years. Things changed in 2009 when restauranteur McNally took the reins. Not only did he transform the tavern into a modern American bistro with French accents, but he also added two of the city's best hamburgers to its menu.

Pro Tip: While you can request that cheddar be added to your Black Label Burger, we say skip the cheese and enjoy the burger's big, fatty, beefy flavors without distraction.

Price Level: Premium
Reservations: Necessary
Burger to Order: Black Label Burger

3. Hamburger America - Smash Patty Phenom

Unlike most chefs who achieve fame after they pay their dues in the kitchen, hamburger aficionado George Motz opened Hamburger America after he achieved multimedia fame with books, a documentary and a Travel Channel show. That early fame hasn't dimmed Motz's carnivorous passion. In fact, it was on full display during our mid-day lunch.

While Motz didn't physically cook our hamburgers, his enthusiasm was palpable as he mingled with patrons who fillled all eleven counter stools at his Soho luncheonette. (There's booth seating at Hamburger America too.) After missing out on eating at the restaurant soon after it opened in late 2023, we were happy to snag two of those stools and eat three of Motz's signature hamburgers.

To be clear, we didn't intend to eat three hamburgers at Hamburger America. We initally ordered two - the Classic Smash Burger and Motz's Oklahoma-style Fried Onion Burger - plus an order of fries. However, after watching the guy next to us scarf down three burgers including one oddly topped with peanut butter, we went crazy and ordered an off-menu patty melt known as The Chester. All three of the juicy, classic burger beauties we ordered were made with ground chuck sourced from Schweid & Sons in New Jersey.

Sitting at the counter was like attending a hamburger sporting event with a front row view of burger chefs working flat top grills with finesse. As to which was the best hamburger, we agree to disagree. One of us favored the smash burger topped with mustard, diced onion, dill pickle and cheese. He was clearly wrong since our fried onion burger was a meaty masterpiece enhanced by its melty blend of American cheese and gooey caramelized onions. The patty melt was tasty too.

Pro Tip: Arrive on a weekday at an off-peak time to avoid a long wait for a stool at Hamburger America's burger bar.

Prices Level: Affordable
Reservations: Nope - First Come, First Served
Burgers to Order: Classic Smash Burger, The Chester and George Motz's Fried Onion Burger

4. 4 Charles Prime Rib - Holy Grail Cheeseburger

If you're a TikTok fan, then you already know four things about 4 Charles Prime Rib. First, you know that its cheeseburgers are the holy grail in NYC. Second, you know to splurge and add both a farm egg and a bacon slab to that cheeseburger. Third, you know that a loaded cheeseburger at the intimate supper club is luxury priced. And, fourth, you know that scoring a 4 Charles reservation is next to impossible.

Since we knew these four things, our eyes were wide open when we pulled every stop to score a brunch reservation at the clubby West Village hot spot. Then, after we accomplished our goal, we wondered if the 4 Charles cheeseburger would live up to our lofty expectations. Spoiler Alert - it did.

The experience of eating a loaded 4 Charles cheeseburger starts when it arrives at the table. That's when a white-gloved server cracks the egg before cutting the double wagyu burger in half. It's quite the show. For us, though, the real entertainment occured when we bit into the über juicy cheeseburger. It reminded us of the first time we bit into an Au Cheval burger in Chicago but even better.

Ironically, as much as we liked the cheeseburger, it wasn't our favorite dish at 4 Charles. That honor goes to the French Dip sandwich that stole our hearts and filled our bellies. Paired with a bowl of strawberry ice cream, the chocolate cream pie we shared for dessert was great too.

Pro Tip: 4 Charles releases reservations on a rolling basis 21 days in advance at 9AM via the Resy reservation system. If you don't score a reservation on your first try, sign up to be notified when/if tables become available. Beyond that, our best advice is to be diligent and creative.

Price Level: Luxury
Reservations: Good Luck!
Burger to Order: Double Wagyu Cheeseburger with a Farm Egg and Bacon

5. Emily - Hamburger with Pizza on the Side

The concept of ordering a hamburger at a pizzeria is counterintuitive to pizza snobs (like us). However, that's exactly what we did during our dinner at Emily when, we ordered a Detroit style pie and an Emmy Double Stack Burger.

That cheeseburger, the only burger available on Emily's West Village menu, was a messy beast. Its two patties, made with dry-aged grass fed beef sourced from Pat LaFrieda, were topped with caramelized onion, American cheese, spicy sauce and sliced pickles. A pretzel bun provided the burger's finishing touch while waffle fries filled the plate

Pro Tip: The sole hamburger on the menu at the original Emily in Brooklyn comes with one patty instead of two, Grafton cheddar instead of American cheese and waffle fries instead of regular fries. Neither Emily location allows hamburger modifications.

Price Level: High
Reservations: Recommended
Burgers to Order: Emmy Burger (Brooklyn) and Emmy Double Stack Burger (West Village)

6. JG Melon - Ultimate NYC Pub Burger

The JG Melon burger is a classic New York pub burger made tasty with plenty of fat and served simply with a pickle on a generic white plate. The restaurant doubles as one of the classic bars of NYC - a tin-ceilinged saloon with wood floors and bartenders who may have worked there longer than the bar has been serving hamburgers.

Eating at JG Melon, which has been serving its legendary burgers for over half a century, has its quirks. Expect to wait in a queue and bring cash since the Upper East Side saloon doesn't take credit cards. However, you'll forget about those first world hardships as soon as simple yet enormous pub burgers and cottage fries hit your table.

Pro Tip: JG Melon has five burger options: plain hamburger, cheeseburger, baconburger, cheeseburger with bacon and turkey burger. They're all currently priced under the $20 threshhold.

Price Level: Moderate
Reservations: Nope - First Come, First Served
Burger to Order: Cheeseburger

7. Ear Inn - Classic Dive Bar Burger

Established in 1817, The Ear Inn has many stories to tell for those willing to listen. Some of those stories involve its status as the city's oldest drinking establishment while others involve its historic 18th century building, its quirky sign and its auspicious former residents. It's also home to some of the city's best burgers.

We're fans of The Ear Inn's Pat La Frieda Burger which is made with eight ounces of meat sourced from the vaunted NY area meat purveyor. It's caramelized on a flat top, cooked medium rare and served with both salad and home fries. Other burger options include a lamb burger topped with tzatziki sauce and a veggie burger.

Pro Tip: Check out The Ear Inn's music schedule and plan your visit accordingly.

Price Level: Moderate
Reservations: Not Normally Necessary
Burger to Order: Pat La Frieda Burger

8. Shake Shack - Best Fast Food Burger

We could be snooty and prentend that we don't love the burgers at Shake Shack but that wouldn't be truthful. It's been our favorite American fast food restaurant since we first visited the original location back in 2007. And, while we like Shake Shack's standard ShackBurger with its angus beef blend patty, melted cheese and special sauce, we're partial to the SmokeShack. That big boy burger is topped with applewood-smoked bacon, chopped cherry peppers and special sauce.

Yes, we know that Shake Shake is a chain restaurant with locations throughout the US plus more in Asia, Europe and Mexico. However, we consider Shake Shake to be a New York hamburger joint since its original location is in Manhattan. Plus, Shake Shake founder, Danny Meyer, is a New Yorker.

Confession: We recently ate a Shake Shack burger on the same day that we ate burgers at George Motz's Hamburger America. Surprisingly, Shake Shack's smash patty burger more than stacked up despite the chain's status as an international hamburger chain with more than 400 shops. Impressive!

Pro Tip: Pair your hamburger with crinkle cut fries and a black and white shake for the full Shake Shake experience.

Price Level: Affordable
Reservations: Nope
Burger to Order: SmokeShack Burger

9. Pastis - French Bistro Burger

Located in the formerly seedy Meatpacking district, Pastis isn't a typical burger joint. Re-opened in 2019 by Keith McNally and Stephen Starr, it's a French-style brasserie notable for its hip clientele, a snazzy zinc bar and a menu filled with dishes more typically eaten in Paris than in Manhattan. That menu includes a burger and it's a doozy.

Make no mistake - Pastis' Cheeseburger à l’Américaine is an all-American concoction (per its name) that features two beef patties, cheese, pickles, onions and special sauce. We've heard that Pastis' seeded buns are baked at McNally's Balthazar which is a good thing unless you follow a gluten free diet. If that's the case, maybe you should order a Salad Nicoise or Steak Frites instead.

Pro Tip: Burn off some burger calories by taking a walk on the nearby High Line.

Price Level: High
Reservations: Recommended
Burger to Order: Cheeseburger à l’Américaine

10. The Grill - Cheeseburger with a Perk

The Grill's cheeseburger is only available for lunch and it's not cheap. But, despite those limitations, it's a solid cheeseburger that comes with a major perk - eating in the magnificent dining room designed by Philip Johnson. That room, located in the Seagrams building, became famous when the legendary Four Seasons restaurant occupied the space. As grand as ever, it's a slice of New York history that justifies the cheeseburger cost of admission.

You may not be familiar with The Grill since it's not typically included in NYC burger lists. The restaurant is a big time steak house that's part of the Major Food Group along with heavy hitters like Carbonne, Dirty French and Sadelle’s. Steaks are the primary draw here for those with big appetites and even bigger expense accounts.

Pro Tip: Don't skip dessert. Mindi's mom deemed The Grill's Lemon Chiffon Cake to be the best cake she ever ate.

Price Level: Premium
Reservations: Necessary
Burger to Order: Cheeseburger

11. Spanish Diner - Global Hamburger with Chops

Most people don't eat burgers at Jose Andrés' Spanish Diner. After all, the casual Hudson Yards restaurant is known for Iberian dishes like Gambas al Ajillo, Croquetas, Gazpacho and Patatas Bravas. But eating a hamburger felt right to us after a day working at the nearby Javits Center. Plus, we couldn't resist eating a hamburger designed by the Nobel nominated chef.

Andrés' Txuleburger isn't a typical burger. It's essentially a six-ounce dry-age ribeye patty that's smashed and topped with American cheese, piparra pickled peppers and plenty of sauce. Fries, padrón peppers and a green salad complete the dish.

Pro Tip: Order a side of bravas sauce if you like dipping your fries in ketchup. It's the closest thing to ketchup on the menu.

Price Level: High
Reservations: Not Normally Necessary
Burger to Order: Txuleburger

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