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Milady's
Photograph: Courtesy of Daniel Krieger

The 15 best burgers in NYC

Classic cheeseburgers, smashed stacks and newer favorites are all among the best burgers in NYC.

Amber Sutherland-Namako
Written by
Amber Sutherland-Namako
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What should a burger be? Fast food adjacent? Cooling in a stack on a paper plate beside a backyard grill. Stunt-priced at $86 and topped with a fleck of edible gold that sells for $4 on Amazon? Then, what should a burger be? Isn’t a sausage, egg and cheese a burger, in its way, like a hotdog is—hush; let’s not.

In New York City, burgers are all of this and more, depending on the occasion, your good sense, and credit limit. They inspire bolts of nostalgia, blasts to the past, and promises of what’s ahead. And, sometimes, they’re just dinner. 

RECOMMENDED: The best veggie burgers in NYC 

Time Out Market New York
  • Restaurants
  • DUMBO

If there’s such a thing as a celebrity butcher, Pat LaFrieda, whose name is on more great menus than Benedict and his eggs, is it. From the vaunted Black Label Burger at Minetta Tavern to the Shake Shack patties, the local purveyor rules the country as the undisputed king of meat. Chefs, butchers and customers alike get their red-meat fix with a mouth-watering array of premium prime cuts. At our Dumbo market, the Brooklyn native will be serving his own signature selections of meat featured in superb cheesesteaks, burgers and ‘the world’s greatest hot dog. 

Best burgers in New York

  • Restaurants
  • Red Hook

This fancier followup to Brooklyn’s perennial favorite barbecue destination Hometown Bar-B-Que first opened its doors in 2019 with the best new burger in New York City. The quarter fat, dry-aged NY strip and chuck patty is griddled to medium rare, and sandwiched between raw white onion, American cheese and an Italian-style bun of secret origin. The accompanying few wedge fries are merely the notion of a side, but the burger is so good you might not mind a paucity of pommes. 

  • Restaurants
  • French
  • Greenwich Village
  • price 3 of 4

At $38, Minetta Tavern's Black Label burger is only $10 less than its steak frites, which most would associate more with peak prices than ground meat sandwiches. It is also $7 higher than Minetta's eponymous alternative, which might make some visitors ask, "hey, what's the big idea over here." That answer, I do not have, but the Black Label burger at the second best (I liked Schiller's) operation by Keith McNally, one of NYC's favcorite restautant-makers, features a mélange of prime, dry-aged beef cuts, and it is very good. Plus, if you order it real weird somehow, you might end up as a character on the man's Instagram. 

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  • Bars
  • Cocktail bars
  • Cobble Hill
  • price 2 of 4

One of New York City's best bars also serves terrific food, and the L.I. burger's right up there. A dry-aged beef patty duo is joined by pickles, cheese, fancy sauce and—get this—fries. A self-explanatory single is also available, and, although this is totally not the place for this, Long Island Bar also recently introduced a great fried chicken sandwich. 

The Burger au Poivre at Raoul’s
  • Restaurants
  • French
  • Soho
  • price 4 of 4

A neighborhood staple since 1975, Raoul’s has spendy steak, foie gras and fine wine on it’s dinner menu, and, after years of limited availability, its burger au poivre finally makes an appearance at brunch. It's topped with Saint-André cheese and plated with a pile of pommes frites. The restaurant famously formerly only made a dozen a day, and only served them at the bar, so the burger’s spot on Raoul’s brunch menu is kind of a big deal. 

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Soho
  • Recommended

Last year, hospitality superstar Julie Reiner (Clover Club, Leyenda) took over the space that operated under the same name at this Soho address for many happily-received decades. Milady’s 2.0 bears little resemblance to the original, but it’s a great spot in its own right. Sip a terrific martini with a double burger, stacked with smashed patties, lettuce, tomato, onion, American cheese and party sauce. 

  • Bars
  • Beer bars
  • Red Hook
  • price 1 of 4

Dim and divey, Brooklyn Ice House’s menu could have easily been an afterthought, but its burger, topped with American cheese, pickles, lettuce and tomato, is bar food at is best. Pair one with a High Life and snag a spot in the backyard when the weather's nice for an ideal afternoon of day drinking. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Hamburgers
  • Williamsburg
  • price 1 of 4

On the fast-foodier end of the spectrum, Blue Collar Burger’s flat top cheeseburgers perfect the form. A brisket blend is smashed and crowned with American cheese, produce standards and special sauce on a potato bun. It’s also available as a double here and at Blue Collar’s Bushwick and Cobble Hill locations. 

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  • Bars
  • Wine bars
  • West Village
  • price 2 of 4

When consumer whims/real estate ghouls/the winds of change close a restaurant, they, sometimes, somewhat, chip a window. Such is the case at Fairfax, which serves a burger that first rose to popularity at the now shuttered Bar Sardine. Its smoked cheddar and BBQ mayo make a tasty combination, and the shoestring fries spilling out of the bun add to the equation with familiar visuals. 

  • Restaurants
  • American
  • Boerum Hill
  • price 1 of 4

Most of of Two8Two's burgers are pleasantly messy, cloaked in cheddar cheese here, piled-high with grilled onions there, and otherwise smothered in signature sauce or stacked with double portions of meat from nearby Paisanos Butcher Shop. The titular item is no exception, topping one of those cheese-covered patties with a heap of roasted poblano peppers and barely containing it all in a soft bun. The result is rich and satisfying with no need for accompanyment (even though the onion rings are good here, too). 

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