Prime Burger

Burger was delicious. Just the right amount. Meat was very tasty.
Loved the seats which reminded me of childhood.

what’s going on with Prime Burger? have they closed or what. Apparently they were slated to. See Article below.
If they happen to still be open place is a New York staple and very good indeed, you should try it

I wish I had known about Prime Burger earlier. I’d walked by a million times but I never knew that by walking through those doors you could travel back to a kinder, gentler time. An older gentleman reads the paper at the lunch counter. White-​coated waiters hustle back and forth delivering tasty burgers to hungry patrons. A steady stream of oldies on the radio elevates your mood.
The burgers here are good… one of the better burgers you can get in NYC. They’re not a monstrous size, but I actually like that about them. Think shake shack but better. Don’t forget to garnish with the special relish. Sometimes I like a fried egg on top too. Their regular fries are OK, skip those and get either the curly or waffle versions which are nicely seasoned. Wash it all down with a black and white malted or a chocolate egg cream.
Sure, there are a million places to get a burger in this town, but none of them have a staff as amazing as the one at Prime Burger. I think the average tenure here is easily over 20 years. Where else can you order a burger from the same guy who took Jackie O’s order (apparently she was a regular)?
I was here on the last day at their current location — got to meet and talk to the staff and owners. They all really care deeply about this place. It’s hard to find that these days. I’ve got my fingers crossed that they’ll find a new home soon, and can bring that same feeling with them. Until then, I’m on the road again…

This review is for fan #111!
3 stars on Unilocal?I don’t know how any of you live with yourselves for rating this place so low. Sure, the service ain’t great, the burger’s around par, the fries are a mistake, dinnertime’s dead, and when you get the bill at the end, you’ll probably regret it altogether, but the seating is so cool! 2 things I’ve never seen before… a ledge under the bar to put all your stuff, and slide out tables for one as the general seating. It’s like everyone gets their own tv dinner tray! Additionally, the soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard… all 50s and 60s tracks that I’ve only heard once or so.
Opened in 1938, closing in 2012. Goodnight, New York.

Came here because we had the groupon deal, which included a burger, fries, and a milk shake.
Overall, the burger wasn’t that good.
When I crave a burger, I would not jump straight to this place.
It did not include lettuce/​tomato and the condiments are served on the side. The fries were decent and I enjoyed the milk shake. This place also has typical diner fair like eggs, toast, etc.
However, the ambiance and the character of the place is great. It feels like your in a little piece of «Old School America». It has pretty cool desk style seating with movable tables attached to the chairs. Also, the waiters are very nice, quick, and attentive.
My advice come here for some diner fair and maybe some coffee.

I was a lil scared and disappointed when I walked into this diner.
Although I love antique, old looking places, this place needs a lil cleaning. Other that (first non verbal impression) I walked towards the back of the establishment… each waiter or staff member waved, or greeted me with smiles. I was told to take a sit anywhere available.
Staff is unbelivebaly funny, down to earth and quite older in age. The atmosphere and vibe in this place feels like home; def a more local NYC feel.
I’ve ate twice, both my servers were in their 70s! HAHA, crazy, but true.
OK, now to the food— Burgers are pretty good — flavory and good tasting. These are NOT the best burgers in NYC, but they def are good enough. My BF says primeburger is much better than Shake Shack. I cannot concur or differ bc I have never had a shake shack burger_​_​I know VERY sad! ;(
I ordered the mushroom burger with cheddar and fell in love! Mmmmm Stil craving this burger days later.
Overall, place is old, local feel, staff is great, burgers are tasteful. I will def come back.

Seriously. I love the burgers, but more than everything I love the vibe. Take a look at this short movie to see what you should prepare for
The low ratings here are obviously the result of guest who expected something totally different.

Blehhhhh!
Circa 1938, prehaps this place was good. But today, it was what one may refer to as a «wake up call» kind of lunch. As in «wtf was i thinking» kind of wake up call.
The best part about this place is the novely 1-​person booths that they have. Those are cool, but the food will prevent me from checking them out any more.
I never looked at food on my plate from a few minutes prior and thought «wow what happened, that hamburger looks like crap».

As far as dirty spoon diners go, Primeburger does not disappoint. They have fair prices, diner style menu, and incredibly fast service. The staff were very friendly and happy to see you. Also, grab an egg cream while you are there, delicious!

Yep. Just what I expected out of NYC — a place with a good local feel and some very friendly people.
After a flight to the Big Apple with a terrible feeling of nausea I had to get out of my hotel to see what the city was like. I wanted to find a coffee shop and within two blocks of my hotel I stumbled across two Starbucks locations… Nope, I’m in NYC. I want something local. After walking around in what appeared to be circles I came across this place — an advertised coffee shop and burger joint.
I walked into a diner like establishment with the staff dressed with what you would expect out of a diner. They were dressed with white jackets, smiles on their face and immediately offered me a place to sit. You can hear the NY accents as they conversed with each other. I saw some desk like chairs but had to pull out my laptop for some work so I asked for a seat toward the back of the restaurant. No problem. I sat behind a group of older businessmen and eavesdropped on their conversation about the financial fall of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns in 2008. Crazy to hear how the fall really affected the people of the city…
Still feeling sick I went with a simple order: two eggs, toast, a banana muffin and coffee. Nothing special… just enough to cure the nausea I was experiencing. I was in and out within 25 minutes and back on the sidewalk toward my hotel.
Very reasonable prices for a small local joint in the city. If I’m back in the neighborhood I’ll consider a return here.

There’s so much to love about this place, it’s hard to only pick a few things, but I’ll try.
Some of us are not privileged enough to be able to have access to a Tardis, DeLorean or a Mad Men set visit, but if you enjoy history, here is a window to another time. A gentler time, a less insane time. A time where waiters wore jackets, people ate lunch at counters, and things cost a nickel. Minus the nickel, this is a chance to walk through a door and experience things from a different time. The interior is a perfectly preserved mid-​century gem. Fill it with appropriately-​dressed extras, and you couldn’t tell Eisenhower wasn’t president anymore.
The best thing about the throwback nature of this place is that the food also rolls old-​school. When I’ve had a bacon egg and cheese sandwich here for breakfast, they asked me how I wanted my egg first. I was confused — all the other breakfast places in the area just ladle a yellow egg-​like substance onto a griddle, but here? They crack a real egg open. I know this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it did. And, the sausage, if you decide to have sausage, is not a patty, but a thick breakfast sausage cut in half. The burgers may be on the sign, but the breakfasts here are a thing of beauty, and shouldn’t be ignored.
And the burgers. I’ve had them all — 5 Napkin, Shake Shack, Bill’s, Blue 9, PJ Clarke, Fatburger, you name it. And yet I keep coming back here. The burgers are always perfectly cooked, perfectly sized (I don’t like mine the size of dinner plates, personally), and are always delicious, be they delivery or in person. Meat is tender, juicy and not over-​seasoned, cheese well-​melted. What these other places do not have that Prime does is a superb pepper-​onion relish that I wish I could carry with me everywhere, in case of any burger that may cross my path.
The fries are okay, but outside of pomme frites I don’t expect a lot from them. The curly fries are fun, the steak fries okay, but they don’t deliver that well. I personally recommend the macaroni salad as an alternative. I know a «burger and fries» is how it’s been done since time immemorial, but the mac salad here is as good as the classic stuff from the old German deli from when I was growing up. Pretend you’re on a picnic, skip the fries and try it — you may be surprised how much better it supports the burger.
I also love the fact that most of the staff has worked here almost as long as I’ve been alive. There’s a great doc floating around about the place that can give you an idea of the greatness. This is a classic NYC diner, not a TGI Friday’s. If you love history and well-​done diner food, you owe it yourself to try this place.

Classic old-​school diner with top-​notch burgers.
Stopped in for lunch after seeing the mini-​documentary online. This is a classic old-​school diner. The staff was extremely friendly. My cheeseburger came out surprisingly fast and was fantastic. One of the better burgers I’ve had.
It’s refreshing to be reminded that places like this still exist.

A friend and I ran into here after realizing how starving we (mostly I) were after shopping at Uniqlo. While it has a wonderful Mad Men vibe, the service and the food are AWFUL. Our very rude server had on the most disgusting bloodstained white coat. We stuck to the basics — burger, fries, Coke. HOWEVER, the Coke tastes like watered down supermarket-​brand cola and the burger was simply a frozen patty warmed up and served with a slice of the end of the tomato and a yellow piece of lettuce. I will say that the curly fries were pretty amazing though.
To top it off, I walked out of the place 18 dollars poorer and still hungry. I don’t care that Sarah Jessica Parker ate there on Oprah, I’m not going back!

LURRRVE this place.
steps away from my office in midtown, best service and a wonderful experience every time I have been. Have not had a bad meal yet (burgers, melts, fries, pie, philly steak) nom nom NOM!!!
No frills, just straight up good food, a nice escape from overpriced trendy «look we are so cool a burger is $ 15» place.

Probably one of the highlights of my NYC trip… no joke.
Bf and I were looking for a breakfast/​lunch spot and just wandered in here. I had no idea what we were in for. I’m a huge sucker for all things 50s/​60s/​70s and walking into Prime Burger was like stepping back in time. It was fantastic. Like Megan S. said, it felt straight out of an episode of Mad Men. Food was decently priced and pretty good. I loved it more for the whole old time-​y experience. I even kind of enjoyed the trip downstairs into the dungeon like bathroom. Later on, I found out that Sarah Jessica Parker frequents this place. Ha, even better.
If you are stuck in the past like me and like diners, you won’t be disappointed.

Prime burger is just one of many burger joints I’ve visited during my 2 month long crusade to try every burger in NYC. Believe it or not, this campaign is still a work in progress. It has been put on hiatus due to burger fatigue. Enough about that though.
I’ll be honest here, the only reason I even decided to dine at Prime Burger was because of Sarah Jessica Parker; It’s her favorite burger joint. And they definitely do not hide that fact. Cheap 8X11 print outs with her smug mug is stuck on every square foot of this establishment. Look guys, I’m already eating here. At this point, I wouldn’t care if it’s the Pope’s favorite burger, it just better taste good.
Before I get to how their food is, I must digress, this establishment is in some serious need of renovation. While others might appreciate the old swivel chairs and other old furnishings, I found it to be a tad uncomfortable. I usually appreciate this sort of setting, but there was something about Prime burger that was off-​putting; like something very dirty was hiding around the corner.
Anyway, their burger is just about average; very middle of the road. If this is the best burger that Sarah’s ever had, then it just might be the only burger she’s ever had. Admit it, there’s a possibility that it’s true. You basically get a plain toasted bun, and a patty that’s not too flavorful. At least their curly fries are pretty good. It’ll take more than that for me to come back though.

Thank you Unilocalers for pointing out the curly fries, they were awesome!
Primeburger definitely looks like a burger joint from the 50s or 60s, not because of cheesy decorations but because of its style. I preferred sitting at a counter but there was plenty of table space that could accommodate large groups.
The burgers a little small but ranged from $ 5 – 7 so I’m not complaining. They were pretty good and a smattering of cooked onions only made things better.
If you want a low key place to stop in while at Rockfeller Center, this is your place.

Wow — I felt like I entered a time warp having a burger here.
Walking in you immediately notice the retro single seating with the attached swing tables. Kind of like a baby high chair for adults! But kinda cool to sit in — you know you want to do it!
Waiters still wear white coats and ties, and have that no nonsense attitude — just order your damn food and no BS! Old wood paneling interior with faded pictures on the wall.
Burgers are good and tasty, although on the small side and the curly fries rock! Prices are good considering the area it is in. Good for a nostalgic no-​frills lunch if you are craving a simple burger and fries.

Pretty decent breakfast for an affordable price.
This place is really unique, especially with the individual tables. Check the pictures. The service was good. My brother wanted a burger for breakfast and he got it!
I loved the old school vibe.

Cafetería decorada al estilo de los años 70, abierta desde 1938.
Ha resistido el paso del tiempo. Su atmósfera es un trozo de la historia culinaria americana. Son muy originales sus asientos de tipo ‘pupitre escolar’, el asiento es de madera y está dividido por amplios reposabrazos equipados con silla y bandeja (¡fíjate en la foto!).
Sara Jessica Parker estuvo allí.
Típicas hamburguesas Americanas (¡¡carne de primera!!) servidas por camareros veteranos que llevan chaqueta blanca y pajarita negra.
Muy recomendable, viajeros

I stopped here for breakfast by chance and have to say it was one of the best darn omelets I’ve ever had! It was buttery, fluffy, cheesy and just perfect!
The toast and coffee were good too, and service was on-​spot.