If you’re searching for the best burger in New York City you’ve come to the right place. During the many years I have spent living in NYC I’ve tried some truly magnificent burgers.
It seems most every restaurant claims to have the “best burger in New York City” so it can be difficult to weed out the good ones from the really great ones. Chefs are constantly innovating with new ingredients trying to separate themselves from the crowd, while others (like an 135 year-old restaurant on this list) keep the classics basically the same for decades.
Whether you’re looking for a gourmet burger at a restaurant fancy enough for an anniversary dinner, or a quick stop joint where you can grab and go I’m sure you’ll find something that suits your fancy on this list. So without further ado – here are the best burgers in NYC.
Visiting New York City? If you haven’t decided where to stay (yet) check out our helpful guide on Where to Stay in New York City (The best neighborhoods for first timers +2 to avoid). Don’t have time? Here’s our favorite hotel in NYC, hands down.
Best Burger New York City
Suprema Provisions
Since opening in 2016 Suprema Provisions has had the West Village in the flavorful palm of their hand. Inspired by eateries in Paris, Rome, and Spain the menu is an eclectic array of is European dishes. Surprisingly enough though, their claim to fame is a burger which many believe to be the best burger in New York City.
The Suprema Burger came with a generous helping of gooey aged cheddar that melted both on the patty and in my mouth. Paired with roasted tomatoes and a black garlic sauce that had me licking my fingers, I cleaned my plate well enough they could’ve reused it for the next guest.
This delicious New York City burger also comes with iberico ham. It was the first time I tried the Spanish ham, but it sure hasn’t been the last time. I must warn the lovers of all things potatoes though, the Suprema Burger does not come with fries. Instead roasted Brussel sprouts accompany the burger, providing a distinct but satisfying crunch to the meal.
Address: 305 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014
Au Cheval
You’ll find Au Cheval halfway down an unassuming alley in Lower Manhattan, but what it lacks in curb appeal it makes up for in mouthwatering entrees and sophisticated swagger. The New York City location is sister to the original Au Cheval diner in Chicago that opened more than a decade ago.
Their burger has long been in the national spotlight and is now the among the best burgers in New York City. A traditional burger with double patties and sharp cheddar, you’ll also get the option to add bacon and an egg. The bacon is thick enough to be a meal itself, and the runny egg bursts on the first bite adding another layer to the burger.
My wife considers this the best burger in New York City, so if I ever mess up bad enough you’ll find me picking one up to go with flowers in hand and a bottle of wine. What can I say?, my wife has great taste in husbands and burgers.
Address: 33 Cortlandt Alley, New York, NY 10013
4 Charles Prime Rib
Another restaurant owned by Brendan Sodikoff (the proprietor of the last burger on this list, Au Cheval) is 4 Charles Prime Rib. The mayor should give this guy a key to the city, he’s responsible for two of the best burgers in New York City. The classy and intimate West Village steakhouse features crystal chandeliers, wood lined walls and leather seating.
You’ll also have the option for bacon and an egg on this burger, so you might think what’s the difference? Well it’s the fact that this burger features a 10 oz double Wagyu patty. Wagyu is among the most expensive beef in the world, and it even tastes rich. The beef naturally tastes buttery and makes 4 Charles Prime Rib a contender for the best burger in New York City.
Address: 4 Charles St #3004, New York, NY 10014
Nowon
Nowon is a Korean-American restaurant named after chef’s Jae Lee’s hometown in Seoul. This pocha (Korean for drinking place/comfort food) opened in 2019 and serves up great vibes and memorable dishes. Located in the East Village, you’ll find locals from all five boroughs in search of a bite of the best burger in New York City.
Here you are able to choose between three of the best burgers in New York City. The secret to their cult-like following lies in the use of their kimchi mayo which is featured on all 3.
My favorite of the bunch is the Black Truffle Burger. It comes with 2 stacked patties, mozzarella, onions and seasonal truffle along with the kimchi mayo. Bacon and an egg are also available for addition at an added cost. (I like to add them when I wear my stretchy pants.)
Address: 507 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009
Red Hook Tavern
Brooklyn’s Red Hook Tavern suffered an unfortunate fire that caused some serious damage back in March of this year. This brought the kitchen that produced one of the best burger in New York City to a grinding halt. Fortunately, as I am writing this point, they are back open and ready for business. The wildly popular American eatery has been a New York City favorite since their opening in 2019.
A lot of that popularity can be attributed to the best burger in New York City, the Dry Aged Red Hook Tavern Burger. It’s the most simple burger on this list, consisting of a thick patty, white onions, and American cheese. Paired with fries and beer however, the beauty lies in its uncomplicated flavor.
Address: 329 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.
anthony bourdain
Bowery Meat Company
Have you ever thought about why we use the saying, “the meat of the matter”? That’s because the meat is what matters most! In anything, the meat is the substance, the staple, the flavor! And meat is the Bowery Meat Company’s (BMC) specialty. It comes as no surprise that this restaurant supplies locals with the best burger in New York City.
The BMC American wagyu burger comes topped with aged Vermont cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and tomato aioli that all melt into each other creating a delectable sauce.
The burger is buttery thanks to the high quality wagyu beef that serves as its centerpiece pairs incredibly with the fluffy bun. It’s a high-quality, tender burger that’s more reminiscent of a pastry rather than run of the mill bar food.
Address: 9 E 1st St, New York, NY 10003
Gramercy Tavern
Gramercy Tavern is an award winning restaurant created by one of the greatest restauranteurs in New York City History. Danny Meyer, the mastermind behind Shake Shack, opened Gramercy Tavern in 1994 and it’s gone on to be a staple of New York City’s dining scene.
There are two distinct dining experiences, each with their own menu. The first is a tasting room, which has a pricey per-person cost and a menu with seasonal offerings. The second is their Tavern, which features traditional a la carte dining in a more casual setting. The Tavern is the one to be seated in, in order to try the best burger in New York City.
Every iconic New York City restaurant has a signature dish and for Gramercy Tavern that’s their burger. A fresh patty combines with smoked onion aioli, bacon and cheese to create a burger that will reappear in your dreams. Pair that with the duck fat potato chips and it’s not hard to see why this is one of the best burgers in New York City.
Address: 42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003
Further Reading: Gramercy Tavern is also listed on our list of the 10 ICONIC New York City Restaurants Every New Yorker Needs to Try!
Minetta Tavern
Dating back to 1937, Minetta Tavern has served the likes of many famous names — Ernest Hemingway and E.E. Cummings, to name a few. But we all know that history alone doesn’t qualify it as one of the best restaurants in Greenwich Village. Far from it, we all know that resting on laurels is the beginning of the end.
But Minetta Tavern adapts with the times. The restaurant was acquired in 2009 by the mastermind behind Balthazar, Keith McNally. Incapable of accepting anything but excellence, he took traditional American dishes churned out of the kitchen to the next level.
The star of the show is the heart-stopping Minetta burger, often considered one of the best burgers in New York City. The patty is made from high quality cuts and the flavor translates with every bite. A simple Google search will take you to countless reviews claiming it to be the best burger in New York City.
Address: 113 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012
Check out Minetta Tavern on our list of 22 Exciting Things to Do in New York City’s Charming Greenwich Village.
Superiority Burger (Veggie)
Enjoying the best burger in New York City is not solely limited to carnivores since there are some pretty mean veggie burgers to be had.
Superiority Burger is a popular (and tiny) vegetarian joint that first opened in 2015 and has boomed since then thanks to delicious dishes. The star of the show of course is their namesake, the Superiority Burger.
This is a casual NYC burger joint where you grab & go, so don’t expect to have seating provided. No need to fret however since Tompkins Square Park is a short walk away.
NOTE: Superiority Burger is temporarily closed while they move to a new, bigger location. They have occasional pop ups while they get their new space ready. I suggest following their Instagram for updates.
7th St Burger
“Smash” styled burgers have seen quite the rise in popularity in recent years. Although nobody can say for sure where the idea first originated it is frequently associated with west coast burger joints like In-N-Out. 7th St. Burger however has many folks saying that the best smash burger is in New York City.
The signature flavor is achieved by smashing the patty as soon as it hits the grill to get the browning effect on as much of the patty as possible. This gives it a crispy, caramelized taste that starkly contrasts the thick and meaty patties a lot of other restaurants use.
The menu is extremely simple. A cheeseburger, a double cheeseburger, an impossible burger and fries. Each burger comes with their signature sauce, grilled onions, pickles and cheese. It’s not uncommon for their to be a line since these are some of the best burgers in New York City, but it tends to move rather quickly since there is no indoor dining.
Address: 3 locations in New York City
J.G. Melon
JG Melon has been around since 1972 and serves locals one of the best burgers in New York City. Think perfectly juicy and flavorful patties sandwiched between buttery buns, it simply doesn’t get better than this. The fries are worth an order and the decor alone warrants a visit.
The interior is tightly packed and full of watermelon-themed paintings and posters, which offer a great distraction as you fight off the hunger intensified by the delicious smells of burgers being delivered to tables around you.
It’s a cash-only establishment frequented by prominent New Yorkers, like former mayor Michael Bloomberg who calls these the best hamburgers in the world. But apparently he’s not the only one, Gigi Hadid and Bobby Flay have also shared similar sentiments, calling it the best burger in New York City.
Address: 1291 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10021
Peter Luger
The unforgettable meats at Peter Luger makes them one of the most iconic restaurants in New York City. Dating back to 1887, this cash-only establishment takes great pride in focusing on perfectly cooked dry-aged steaks and keeps frills to a minimum (luckily for us).
The benefit of their focus on high-quality meats benefits New Yorkers since Peter Luger is not ony responsible for best steak, but what many consider to be the best burger in New York City.
The best burger in New York City is only served before 4:00PM so be sure to stop by for lunch. It’s a straightforward burger, featuring an in house made patty with raw onion. The experienced butchers grind the patties fresh daily and every bite resonates with rich, buttery flavor. There’s the option to add bacon and cheese, and I always add bacon and cheese.
The best way I can describe the experience of eating the Luger Burger is like a rollercoaster. While you’re on the ride you lose track of time, every act is pure instinct. Every drop, turn and climb keeps you ready in anticipation of what’s next, just like every bite of this iconic NYC burger. Only until the ride is over can you take a step back and think, woah, let’s do it again.
Address: 178 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Clinton Hall
Clinton Hall’s name is an ode to Castle Clinton on the southern tip of Manhattan. Originally, Castle Clinton was made to protect the people of New York, and in the present Clinton Hall is protecting New Yorkers from “consuming bad beer”.
I might add – they’re also doing locals a service by providing what many believe to be the best burger in New York City.
Their Double Smashed 19 burger won Insider Edition’s Burger Bash in 2018, rated as not the best burger in New York City, but the country. It comes with two beef patties, a copious amount of gooey cheese, crispy shallots, and buttered pickles on a seeded bun. It will also come with a generous amount of their signature CH sauce.
And for a limited time, there is a Hashtag Burger, celebrating their 100K followers on Instagram. A wagyu beef patty comes with all the traditional fixings on a brioche bun that’s well deserving a spot on the ‘gram. The menu even suggest tagging them on the post! Ha!
Address: 5 locations in New York City
Emily
Okay – it’s a fair question. What is a pizza joint doing on a list of the best burgers in NYC? Emily is a small business founded by husband and wife duo Matt and Emily Hyland. Since opening in 2014 their food has spoken for itself and organically become a New York City favorite
The first time my wife and I had Emily we were in the West Village on our way to a different restaurant (which claimed to have the best burger in New York City). Once we got there we realized it was actually closed. We remembered there was a different restaurant 2 blocks back, so we opted to turn around and try Emily.
We popped in around lunchtime and were seated quickly. The first thing that caught her eye was the burger at the table next to us. It was their exuding their signature orange Emmy sauce, trickling down a perfect pretzel bun. Once we got our food my wife took her first bite and immediately shoved it in my face saying, you have to try this.
What happened next is only comparable to a love story. We shared the rest of it, stopping frequently to wipe our gooey grins and fingers. On the subway ride home we talked about the burger like we would a new friend, saying “I loved that burger” every five minutes or so.
Some might call it a coincidence, I call it fate, it’s become one of our go-to spots thanks to the best burger in New York City.
Address: 2 locations in New York City
Oscar Wilde
Quick history lesson: Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and one of the most popular playwrights in the late 19th century best known for his wit and flamboyance.
Unfortunately, Wilde’s reputation was tarnished after falling in love with a man. As you probably know, in the Victorian era being gay was not only frowned upon, but a crime. So much so that Wilde spent two years in prison because of it.
This Victorian style restaurant is a way to celebrate all that Oscar Wilde stood for. Every inch of the place gets decorated (including the ceiling), minimalism has no place here. Hosting an impressive art collection dating back to the 1800’s you can enjoy a French fireplace from the 1840’s, stained glass from an Irish castle and so much more.
But we’re here searching for the best burger in New York City. The Wilde Bacon Cheeseburger is a 6 oz patty sandwiched between a brioche bun. The chefs at Oscar Wilde are craftsmen, because every time I’ve ordered the burger it is cooked to perfection.
PS: check out all the clocks in the restaurant. You’ll find that they are set to 1:50. The reason? That’s the time that Oscar Wilde died. No corners are cut when it comes to attention to detail here!
Address: 45 W 27th St, New York, NY 10001
Corner Bistro
Corner Bistro is a classic West Village joint that has been a staple (some nights even a necessity) to many New Yorkers for 50 years. Many locals proclaim them to have the best burger in New York City.
Unlike Minetta Tavern, this place feels more casual and you quickly find comfort from the easy-going staff and tasty food. This is one of the best places to visit in the West Village and it’s open as late as 4:00 AM from Thursday to Saturday.
I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a juicy burger at midnight?
Corner Bistro gives you the lax environment required to rest your legs and fill your belly with the best burger in New York City. There are plain hamburgers, cheeseburgers, but their crown jewel is their Bistro Burger.
A 1/2 lb patty finds itself at home among bacon, lettuce and tomato. It’s a classic American burger that’s served as a guilty pleasure for locals for years. It’s not hard to see why it’s considered the best burger in New York City.
Address: 331 West 4th Street, New York, NY 10014
Jackson Hole Burger
Celebrity-favorite Jackson Hole Burger has been a popular destination for some of the best burgers in New York City. In fact, the family own business has been a go-to for Jerry Seinfield, the Clintons, Diane Sawyer and many others for 50 years!
At first glance you wouldn’t assume the restaurant is known for making some of the best burgers in NYC, all their locations are unassuming and look like ordinary hole in the wall local joints. You can walk by them 100 times before stepping in to try them, but when you do, holy cow.
The menu consists of regular bar-type fare but of course their claim to fame is the hamburger. It’s not hard to see why so many people regard Jackson Hole burger as the best hamburger in New York City, since they use all natural ingredients and have a strict commitment to using fresh ingredients.
Address: 232 E 64th St A, New York, NY 10021 & 521 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016 + locations in Astoria & New Jersey.
Fun fact: Before her rise to stardom Jennifer Aniston was a waitress at Jackson Hole Burger. She’s one of the many celebrities who claims them as the best burger in NYC.
PJ Clarke’s
Nicknamed the “Cadillac of hamburgers” by Nat King Cole, it should go without saying PJ Clarke’s bacon cheeseburger is one of the best burgers in NYC.
The restaurant has been around for a whopping 138 years and serves upwards of 400 burgers a day. There’s 4 burgers on the menu, but the one that takes the cake is, of course, the Cadillac.
Consisting of double smoked country bacon, American cheese, lettuce, onions & tomato the burger isn’t flashy or extravagant, it’s just damn good. A single bite is all you need to know why locals consider it the best burger in New York City.
Address: 3 locations in New York City
Fun fact: The original PJ Clarke’s on Third Ave. is housed in a holdout building, meaning a property that refused to sell to developers. The 2 story building is dwarfed next their neighbor, 919 Third Avenue, a 47 story office building.
Black Iron Burger
Black Iron Burger (BIB) first opened in 2008 in the East Village but only had a run of a five years before changing ownership. A group of Spanish entrepreneurs and chefs, new to the city and excited to try something new, opted to buy the joint in 2013.
The Spaniards opted to shift the direction of the restaurant by focusing on the quality of the meat used. All the patties are made from all natural, steroid & hormone free meats. The best burger in New York City was not created by accident, they set out to make it from the beginning with skill and precision.
I’d say BIB has delivered one of the best burgers in NYC for health conscious folks. Black Iron Burger wanted to remove the guilt associated with enjoying meats that come from unethically raised animals, and they’ve done well.
The best part is the burger hasn’t lost the appeal of a casual eating. I love to visit, enjoy the best burger NYC has to offer, drink a beer and hangout with friends. It’s a high-quality eatery with high-quality foods that still feels like a local neighborhood joint.
Address: 3 locations in New York City
Nobody Told Me
I was struggling to decide whether or not to include Nobody Told Me on the list of the best burgers in NYC. It’s one of my favorite neighborhood hangouts and I know that once the secret gets out it’ll slip between my fingers.
But alas, I’d be a horrible friend if I didn’t mention Nobody Told Me. The UWS cocktail bar is known for making delectable drinks but my guilty pleasure is Nobody’s Burger.
Double patties sandwiched between a Hawaiian role with cheddar, special sauce and pickles. It’s one of the most delicious burgers in NYC, and I’d argue the best in the Upper West Side.
Address: 951 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025
Best Burger in New York City (Post Summary)
- Suprema Provisions
- Au Cheval
- 4 Charles Prime Rib
- Nowon
- Red Hook Tavern
- Bowery Meat Company
- Gramercy Tavern
- Minetta Tavern
- 7th St. Burger
- Superiority Burger
- J.G. Melon
- Peter Luger
- Clinton Hall
- Emily
- Oscar Wilde
- Corner Bistro
- Jackson Hole Burger
- PJ Clarke’s
- Black Iron Burger
- Nobody Told Me
Map of the Best Burgers in New York City
And there you have it folks! Our list of where to find the best burger in New York City! Let us know if we missed your favorite.
Cheers!
Hello, I am so happy I found this recent list.
I have been in search of two things, a very good meatball and a tasty burger. I will pick 5 places from this list and will let you know. 🙂