Close Icon
Gear IconImportant Reminder:The City Guide app will be sunsetting on December 15, 2024, with the web version to follow in early 2025. Please visit our FAQ to learn more or to download our Swarm app.
Learn more
CC: important burgers in NYC
American Cut is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

1. American Cut

8.5
363 Greenwich St (btw Harrison & Franklin), New York, NY
Steakhouse · Tribeca · 97 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: In-House Burger, $14 There’s dry-aged rib-eye in the blend, onions caramelized in bourbon, and beer cheese made from Fontina, Cheddar, and Brooklyn Lager.

Maialino is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

2. Maialino

2 Lexington Ave (at Gramercy Park N), New York, NY
Italian Restaurant · Gramercy Park · 460 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Late-Night Burger, $15 Nick Anderer’s Italian take (Gorgonzola, house-cured pancetta, escarole on rosemary brioche) is available only between 10:30 p.m. and midnight and only in the front barroom.

Raoul's is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

3. Raoul's

8.9
180 Prince St (btwn Thompson & Sullivan St), New York, NY
French Restaurant · SoHo · 166 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Burger au Poivre, $19 Competition is fierce for the dozen daily orders.The patty’s pepper-crusted, the cheese is triple-crème Saint-Andre, and the sidecar of au poivre sauce puts it over the top.

two8two Bar & Burger is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

4. two8two Bar & Burger

8.1
282 Atlantic Ave (at Smith St), Brooklyn, NY
Burger Joint · Boerum Hill · 171 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Pub Burger, $13.50 The signature five-ounce burger with roasted poblanos..

The Spotted Pig is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

5. The Spotted Pig

314 W 11th St (at Greenwich St), New York, NY
Gastropub · West Village · 838 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Char-Grilled Burger, $21 Some say this dish earned the Pig its Michelin star. The short-rib-heavy half-pound patty stands up to its mantle of salty-creamy Roquefort.

The Breslin Bar & Dining Room is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

6. The Breslin Bar & Dining Room

16 W 29th St (btwn Broadway & 5th Ave), New York, NY
Gastropub · NoMad · 688 tips and reviews
Grazin' is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

7. Grazin'

56 Reade St, New York, NY
Burger Joint · Tribeca · 10 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Uncle Dude, $21 Like the owner’s Hudson Valley farm, whence comes the meat, this restaurant is Animal Welfare Approved and might possibly serve the most guilt-free burgers on the planet.

Reynard is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

8. Reynard

80 Wythe Ave (N 11th St), Brooklyn, NY
American Restaurant · Williamsburg · 160 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Gruyère Burger, $19 Whole animals from upstate farms like Kinderhook and Slope are broken down by an in-house butcher every week.

El Colmado Butchery is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

9. El Colmado Butchery

53 Little West 12th St (Washington Street and 10th Avenue), New York, NY
Tapas Restaurant · Meatpacking District · 14 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Hamburguesa with Bacon and Cheese, $16 Seamus Mullen’s “butcher’s burger” hits all the obligatory locavore notes and all the hoped-for organoleptic ones.

Telepan is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

10. Telepan

72 W 69th St (at Columbus Ave), New York, NY
New American Restaurant · Lincoln Square · 86 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Bacon Cheeseburger, $28 prix-fixe lunch or $32 prix-fixe brunch only The Cheddar is Cabot, the bacon is Nueske’s, the brioche bun is housemade, and the beef comes from a family-run Missouri farm.

Umami Burger is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

11. Umami Burger

158 N 4th St (btwn Bedford Ave & Driggs Ave), Brooklyn, NY
Burger Joint · Williamsburg · 52 tips and reviews
Umami Burger is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

12. Umami Burger

432 6th Avenue (btwn W 9th & W 10th St), New York, NY
Burger Joint · Greenwich Village · 408 tips and reviews
Emily's Pork Store is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

13. Emily's Pork Store

8.2
426 Graham Ave (Withers), Brooklyn, NY
Butcher · Williamsburg · 14 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Emmy Burger, $19 Juxtapose it with equally bold, bordering on baroque accoutrements like Grafton Cheddar, cornichons, charred onions, and the Korean-inspired “Emmy” sauce.

Church Street Tavern is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

14. Church Street Tavern

313 Church St (btw Lispenard St and Walker St), New York, NY
Bar · Tribeca · 12 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Tavern Burger, $19 The wild-card addition of beef heart makes this house-ground dry-aged blend, Minetta included. Plus good Cheddar, bacon-onion relish, and a brioche bun.

The Gander is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

15. The Gander

15 W 18th St (btwn 5th & 6th Ave), New York, NY
New American Restaurant · Flatiron District · 62 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Cheeseburger, $16 Jesse Schenker’s lunchtime burger is a beautiful thing: a thick puck of dry-aged beef, loosely packed to allow all those succulent fat molecules enough space to do their job.

Minetta Tavern is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

16. Minetta Tavern

8.9
113 Macdougal St (at Minetta Ln), New York, NY
American Restaurant · Greenwich Village · 621 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Black Label Burger, $28 The Black Label is still remarkably rich and costs only two bucks more than the day it debuted in 2009. Get it with cheese despite scoldy purist dictates.

Cherche Midi is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

17. Cherche Midi

282 Bowery (at Houston St), New York, NY
French Restaurant · NoLita · 88 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Prime Rib Burger, $24 The dry-aged prime-rib patty is cut with chuck and short rib, smothered with melted Gruyère, dressed up with roasted mushrooms, and finished off with a swab of bacon marmalade.

The Brindle Room is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

18. The Brindle Room

277 E 10th St (btwn 1st Ave & Avenue A), New York, NY
American Restaurant · East Village · 192 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Sebastian’s Steakhouse Burger, $15 The key is not the dry-aged beef. It’s chef Jeremy Spector’s much-imitated decision to treat this primo protein as a Greek-diner fry cook might.

Bowery Meat Company is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

19. Bowery Meat Company

8.6
9 E 1st St (btwn 2nd Ave & Bowery), New York, NY
Steakhouse · East Village · 98 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Cheeseburger, $22 this might be the only 30-day dry-aged seven-ounce LaFrieda patty that gets swiped with mustard, In-N-Out-style, before it’s seared on the plancha.

Alder is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

20. Alder

157 2nd Ave (btwn 9th & 10th St), New York, NY
New American Restaurant · East Village · 155 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Cheeseburger, $13 The man grinds his own beef, mixes it with shio kombu (salted kelp) to boost the umami factor, brushes his buns with dry-aged beef fat, and makes his own American-style cheese.

Parm is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

21. Parm

8.6
248 Mulberry St (btwn Prince & Spring St), New York, NY
Italian Restaurant · NoLita · 493 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Patty Melt, $25 The beef they use for this patty melt goes where no patty-melt beef has gone before: into a LaFrieda meat locker, where it’s aged for 60 days. Plus great smashed potatoes on the side.

Commerce is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

22. Commerce

50 Commerce St (at Barrow St.), New York, NY
American Restaurant · West Village · 153 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Cheeseburger, $17 Every detail is spot on, housemade sesame-seed bun, and house-brined bread-and-butter pickles. Weekend brunch and lunch Fridays and Saturdays only.

The NoMad Bar is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

23. The NoMad Bar

10 W 28th St (at Broadway), New York, NY
Cocktail Bar · NoMad · 252 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: NoMad Burger, $18 An elegant bar burger: with the acquiescent bite of a fast-food burger and extra fat in the stealthy form of bone marrow and beef suet ground into the dry-aged blend.

Bar Sardine is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

24. Bar Sardine

183 W 10th St (at W 4th St), New York, NY
Gastropub · West Village · 111 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Fedora Burger, $13 In a nod, perhaps, to the Cuban-style burger variant called the frita, a cache of extra-crispy potato sticks adds textural complexity and audible crunch.

The Commodore is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

25. The Commodore

8.7
366 Metropolitan Ave (at Havemeyer St), Brooklyn, NY
American Restaurant · Williamsburg · 322 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Cheeseburger, $7 The sort of saucy, fully dressed two-hander that expresses a commitment to condiments and a reliance on napkins.

El Quinto Pino is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

26. El Quinto Pino

401 W 24th St (at 9th Ave), New York, NY
Wine Bar · Chelsea · 112 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: El Doble, $12 If gussied-up, ethnicized burgers are rarely good, this is the Basque-inspired exception. It comes with Idiazábal cheese, pickled onions, cornichons, and “salsa especial.”

Txikito is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

27. Txikito

8.3
240 9th Ave (btwn 24th & 25th St.), New York, NY
Tapas Restaurant · Chelsea · 113 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: El Doble, $12 If gussied-up, ethnicized burgers are rarely good, this is the Basque-inspired exception. It comes with Idiazábal cheese, pickled onions, cornichons, and “salsa especial.” Monday nights

The Dutch is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

28. The Dutch

8.6
131 Sullivan St (at Prince St), New York, NY
New American Restaurant · SoHo · 458 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Double Cheddar Burger, $21 What’s most exciting about this burger, though, is that it’s a dry-aged double — a unicorn of the stacked-burger world.

The Dram Shop is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

29. The Dram Shop

8.2
339 9th St (btwn 5th & 6th Ave), Brooklyn, NY
Sports Bar · Central Slope · 147 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Double Cheeseburger, $12 The house style is a relentlessly drippy double fashioned from two well-browned three-ounce patties fully accessorized with lettuce, tomato, American cheese, pickle, onion.

Le Rivage is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

30. Le Rivage

7.5
340 W 46th St (btwn 8th & 9th Ave), New York, NY
French Restaurant · Hell's Kitchen · 46 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: French Onion Soup Burger, Prix-Fixe $25 lunch, $29 dinner, and $39 pre-theater only A canny impersonation of the bistro warhorse in burger form, with béchamel, stock-braised onions, and Emmenthaler.

db Bistro Moderne is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

31. db Bistro Moderne

7.5
55 W 44th St (btwn 5th & 6th Ave), New York, NY
French Restaurant · Midtown East · 93 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: The Original DB burger, $35 When Daniel Boulud stuffed braised short ribs, foie gras, and preserved black truffles into a ground sirloin shell, he forever changed the face of upscale burgerdom.

Genuine Roadside is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

32. Genuine Roadside

600 11th Ave (btwn W 44th & W 45th St), New York, NY
American Restaurant · Hell's Kitchen · 50 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: the Classic Burger, $8 As evocative of California as Meyer lemons and fish tacos, this Gotham West beaut is loose and juicy and well seasoned, not to mention properly dressed.

ABC Kitchen is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

33. ABC Kitchen

9.2
35 E 18th St (btwn Broadway & Park Ave S), New York, NY
New American Restaurant · Flatiron District · 721 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Akaushi Cheeseburger, $24 Though the wagyu-breed beef is ranched in Texas and the Bloomsday cheese comes from Connecticut, Champagne-vinegar-pickled jalapenos, fresh arugula, and herby mayo.

Bar Bolinas is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

34. Bar Bolinas

455 Myrtle Ave (at Washington Ave), Brooklyn, NY
Restaurant · Clinton Hill · 42 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Cheeseburger, $16 The slightly sweet, raised-pattern Dutch crunch roll (a Bay Area specialty) makes this a Cali-style burger.

Mission Cantina is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

35. Mission Cantina

172 Orchard St (at Stanton St), New York, NY
Mexican Restaurant · Lower East Side · 198 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Hamburguesa, $16 Danny Bowien’s lavish new double combines the produce-forward appeal of a West Coast burger and the too-much-is-never-enough spirit of a Mexican torta.

Narcissa is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

36. Narcissa

25 Cooper Sq (at E 5th St), New York, NY
New American Restaurant · East Village · 163 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Skillet Burger, $18 Odd that you can find one of the city’s best burgers in a restaurant known for its rotisserie beets and carrots Wellington. Lunch and brunch only.

Upland is one of CC: important burgers in NYC.

37. Upland

9.3
345 Park Ave S (at E 26th St), New York, NY
New American Restaurant · Rose Hill · 269 tips and reviews

Claire J S.Claire J Song: Double Cheeseburger, $20 Justin Smillie’s grass-fed double cheeseburger comes fully loaded: lettuce, tomato, scallions, avocado, peppadew peppers, and gobs of a creamy Green-goddess-like dressing.