American Burger Bar

I’ve had the pleasure of eating here a couple of times. Burger selection is second to none. Love the build your own option. Skinny fries are very good, but not my favorite no matter where I am.
Prices are about what you would expect for high quality burgers.
Service was very good.

Food was okay, I did a build –your-​own chicken burger; put everything on except the blackberry jam that is offered. Skinny fries were good and the helping sizes were decent. Just not worth it to me to pay $ 18 for a burger meal, but I suppose that’s downtown prices.
We were there at 10:00 on a Thursday night, after seeing a show across the street, and while not crowded, the people that were there were… interesting…
It is first and foremost a bar. On Hennepin.
We took window seats so we could people watch. That was the highlight, especially since Hennepin is decked out for the holidays. Wouldn’t go back at night, maybe would for lunch.

Great burgers, atmosphere, & bartenders!!! Cool location that is in reach of many venues. Would definitely go back and try more burgers.

I ate there solo on a Thursday night at 6:30pm. When I went into the restaurant, I was asked to eat in the separate room across the hallway which was totally empty of people (and the main dining room was almost empty) because they wanted to keep the tables there available for larger parties if they happened to come later. Huh? Seat me in the main dining room now, since I was there now, and if larger parties come later, seat them across the hallway! But I’m an easy going guy so I went across the hallway into the empty dining room.
Nikki was my server. She was by far the best thing about this place. She was nice, helpful and a bright star in this dim universe. If not for her, this would be a one star review.
BTW, before going here, I checked out their website to see what was on the menu. But when I went to the restaurant, every item I looked at was $ 1 – 2 more than they list on the website. Strange.
$ 10 for a dozen onion rings. They were good onion rings, but at almost $ 1 per ring, not much value. I asked if the Reuben sandwich was good – yes, this is the Burger Bar and maybe I should have had a burger, but burgers are everywhere and reubens are not, and I love a good reuben. I was told, yes, the reubens are good, so that’s what I had. AT $ 14, more than most burgers, I expected a meaty splendor. Wrong. The bread was thick and there was a good helping of sauerkraut but if there was a total of 3 ounces of meat and cheese in that sandwich, I’d be shocked. It was all bread and sauerkraut. For $ 14??? Lots of fries.
SO for me, this place had nothing going for it-​mediocre to poor food at very high prices for what they served in, an empty atmosphere-​less hall. If not for Nikki, a horrible experience.

The burger on a pretzel bun was great, the skinny fries were average. It was a quiet relaxing atmosphere. Service was pleasant, waitress went out of her way to get a diet soda from a neighboring establishment instead of saying «we are out»

14 bucks is steep for a big grilled cheese sandwich and some fries, but those fries were damn tasty even though I got take-​out and they had to sit for a little while before I got to eat them. Usually not a fan of «skinny» fries, but they were crispy and seasoned. The «stuffed» grilled cheese was also really good — the bread was delicious and I loved the cheese curds (though I admit I don’t have a midwesterner’s knowledge of what constitutes a «good» curd).

Just a downtown burger place but it’s doing it well. Gorilla said his Long Islands rivaled Wildfires’ and our burgers were so large, we had to take some home. Both were piping hot and very tender. It is truly a burger place but they do mix it up a bit so if you just can’t eat yet another burger — we all have those days, you’re not gonna starve. Mine was turkey, gobble-​gobble, and they also had chili, bison burgers, Reubens (mmm, yum) and some other things. My Sprite was spritey. While it is next door to the State Theater, it has an interior hallway connection so you can just walk on over. Not a bad place to get a meal before your awesomely epic concert that will be recalled for years like my show was last night.

There is no reason on Earth I should be giving this place 5 stars, and I’m still quite surprised I’m doing it. Anything as trite as «American Burger Bar» has got to be so derivative and lame it can’t be very good. Or perhaps those are just my own biases. I came here on a cold, wintry night and ordered a Summit EPA and their version of the Jucy Lucy with some tots.
First, the bartender was totally cool, friendly, and professional. He reminded me of my best friend, so I guess that helps. I miss Summit EPA like the dickens, you can’t get it anywhere but Minny, so that also helps. I also love Jucy Lucy’s and tater tots, so that helps. But the thing about it is this: all these things are were excellent, like some of the best I’ve had of their kind. Granted, it’s hard to mess up tots, and if you do, you get a special circle in Hell. And all you have to do with Summit is pour. But the Jucy Lucy? I was surprised that it was as good as it was. Lots of cheese on top and perfectly cooked with some more cheese in the middle. They make really good burgers here at American Burger Bar. Now why was I so surprised again?

This is my go to place when i want a beautiful, plain old classic cheeseburger with bacon and some skinny fries. Simple, heartfelt, and comes with no crappy fancy things. All you need is quality meat, fresh veggies, cheddar cheese, and crispy bacon with a nice wheat bun. I also love the way they serve their jalapeño if you get it for your burger. Costumer service is always really nice. There are a couple of bartenders there who knows us by our order. My boyfriend is complicated but they do it well, and they do it with a smile every time.

Burger was great and I loved the versatility. I could add toppings… Anything from bison chili to melted cheddar. The junior burger was juicy and seasoned perfectly. And it was huge. The shoe string fries were fresh and crispy without being over cooked. I added cheddar And avocado and they were not stingy with that either. I am thinking of returning this very minute.

The food and service were incredible! Our waitress was attentive, friendly and personable. The burgers were tasty and the BBQ sauce put the whole thing over the top!

For a large group, the bartender was excellent at checking on us and rolling out the food in a timely fashion. What I wasn’t excited about was the menu offerings; they have some of the «trendy» food options but it’s not anything new, different or in between.

We ordered the south of the border burger. It was delicious, topped with jalapeño bacon, chorizo, onions and mushrooms. Service was great after we got seated but I think the manager was our server so I would expect perfection from him. I would give 5 stars honestly but they did over cool my burger (asked for medium I feel like it was well done). Either way I’m satified. Price for burger was a little steep buy my tastebuds say it was worth it. But burger was $ 16 with fries which were good. They serve a small variety of tap beers which seemed to be a good selection.

Amazing food, amazing service, amazing ambiance.
The food was extremely well prepared and delicious. Food cook to perfection (burgers cook to the exact specification). The food was masterfully presented making it look as appetizing as it actually is. The ingredients were extremely fresh and of high quality. Our waitress was incredible (Nikki). She was not only amazing at performing her duties, but was also an absolute delight.
We will most definitively come back and recommend it to all.

The staff acted quirky but they were generally nice. They were out of the onion bun and so my options were ciabatta, wheat or white. I ordered the Reno 911 with ciabatta bun. It was good but not great, I also ordered the cheese curds for an appetizer they were not anything to remember. This is your average burgeresque joint and if your hungry it will hit the spot. I was starving and I ate but I wouldnt go running back. I’m still looking for my one true restaurant love…

I’m not sure this is a fair review bc I didn’t try the burgers, but they weren’t super nice. I got the chili which was cold and sub par, and the beer was slightly warm. I doubt I’ll go back.

Took me a while to get around to coming here, but I’ll be back.
First off, this seems to be a local chain. This local chain seriously needs to vamp up its website with it’s menus. It’s not a fancy or extensive menu by any means, but it’d be nice to know prices and what we’re getting into before going.
Kind of tucked away in the space across from Rock Bottom and lower level from Crave. Their dining room was split into two parts across the hallway.
We sat in one of the booths. The ambiance was confusing. They were playing house/​club/​electronic music, but had westerny décor (cow skulls on the walls etc), and the servers were all hipsters. Was sad to find out that they used to have Angry Orchard on tap, but no longer do. We got Crispins instead.
The food was good. I ordered their Jucy Klucy, which they throw a «K» in front of. Refusing to partake in their self-​branding, I will continue to call it a Juice Lucy, and did so when I ordered. The fries accompanying were delicous — julienne cut instead of those nasty, thick steak wedges. The burger was so thick I almost couldn’t bite it. I requested avacado off the build a burger area. I ended up slicing the patty in half horizontally to eat it easier. My friends ordered a Juicy Lucy and a Thai burger. We all enjoyed it. The desert was good too — I got the ice cream cookie sandwhich, and they both got the deep-​fried cheesecake. They raved about theirs, were glad they ordered it. I was fine with my ice cream sandwhich, but it was nothign special.
Service was good — non intrusive, good natured. After our debacle at the Newsroom (see our review), we’ve been looking for a new place to go. I think we found it!

I’ve walked by this location on Hennepin a million times to/​from work and never have the time or money to stop in, however I’ve always been tantalized by their fun Happy Hour options. Today I finally had the chance!
Their prices are typical for the area, a bit high priced for just a stop in, but for $ 5.00 Happy Hour Specials on their bites, it’s a good deal. I did their Slider Burgers with cheese, the chilli fries, and the steak grinders and all three were delicious. The caramelized onions were superb and not slimy, the hamburger was lean and yet juicy and the bartender was very attentive. There were only three other people in the bar so the service was awesome and being that the food was all very tasty and the beer was cold, I have no complaints!
The location was clean, the seating is a little confusing at it snakes around the bar in little hidden alcoves but there an option to people watch at the window while you eat (which for this location on Hennepin, I’m sure it’s more than entertaining). I’ve yet to try an item from their dinner menu but due to the good experience of their Happy Hour, I will return for that soon!

We stopped in for happy hour today and ordered their mini burgers and Caeser Salad off the HH Menu. You can’t beat the price for the salads…$ 2.75 and they tasted well enough but we were here for the burgers and they were way over done, tasteless and hard to swallow. It’s a burger joint and they just weren’t good.
Service was fine enough. Not great but not poor either.

Went here for lunch one day. It was around 2 pm and it was pretty empty. There was one business man eating a burger and working, and us. The décor was nice, a little swanky even. We got a cute booth, I think I have developed a «thing» for booths. Anyways, I was all excited for a burger!
The service was quite good, our waters were reiffled promptly and our server was quite friendly and talkative.
The food was a disappointment. The burger was blah, simply lacked any taste, and for a place that calls itself a burger bar, it was more like a tasteless bar. I also ordered a side of mashed potatoes, which were not homemade, but instead they were the kind that comes in a box.
Perhaps its good for a drink and appetizer, but this is no burger bar.