The Burger Bistro

One of the better burgers in the area.
BTW, I’ve noticed how many of the negative reviews use suspiciously similar language. Think they might be plants.

The veggie burger was okay. The service is great.
The prices are literally ridiculous.
I had my second visit today and don’t intend on going again.
$ 20 for my friends burger. and $ 12 for mine. which had grilled pineapple on the side.
After 2 drinks it was $ 40 + tip.
Wayyy Wayyy too much for 2 burgers.

I don’t know how this place has a 4 star rating. The burgers are ridiculously over priced and the quality is something you would expect from a school cafeteria. Fries were either over cooked or cooked in old oil. Yo also get nickel and dimed on the toppings, $ 1.50 each topping.

…The food is very good. You pick what you want on the burger and they prepare the burger the way you want it. It was very good. The only con is the the prices, it’s very expensive for a family 4…4 burgers, 4 drinks, 4 sides, almost 100 bucks. But again, the food is very good.

Ahh Burger Bistro… During my residency in Bay Ridge, this was a staple for lunches outside of the hospital, and dinners after long/​frustrating days. Although this is a different location that I was accustom to, everything else about it was just as enjoyable
Came here on a Saturday night while running some errands in the upper east side. The menu was similar to what I remember and still had plenty of awesome options for toppings and sides. One of my favorite things about this place are the buffalo tater tots… There’s really nothing that special about it, i mean it’s tots, hot sauce, and blue cheese with celery, but this always get my mouth watering and is a must every time I come here.
The burgers are always delicious, fresh and made well. Prices are a bit higher than I remember, but not to worry — totally worth it. My wife (a vegetarian) has always loved their veggie burger and had one again this evening — was not disappointed. Service was quick and always made easier with their check box menu (makes me feel that they will be less likely to confuse your order).
Craft burger joints are definitely more popular and common nowadays, but Burger Bistro is still my favorite and one that I wish we had upstate by me. Come in here and check it out, regardless of the location. There’s a bareburger just on the next corner, but this is better.

Nice selection of meats and there is a vegetarian option. I thought it was a expensive if you wanted a burger AND fries.
The Buffalo Tater Tor weren’t good, too much sauce really too sour.

Though somewhat hidden among the other businesses, the Burger Bistro is a pleasant hole in the wall with great ambience and friendly service.
The prices, however, are wallet-​breaking, and although we ordered Buffalo Tater Tors, they never came. However, the staff immediately put in the order when we realized.
When they did come, the Buffalo Tater Tots were piping hot bundles of tasty joy, crispy despite the sauce and accompanied by a sprinkle of fresh crispy celery. Maybe not worth 9 dollars but still pretty good.
The Sweet Potato Strings are crispy, delicious, and well-​seasoned. Very nice, and fantastic with the chipotle mayo. Highly recommended.
I got a medium beef burger with lettuce, tomato, and chipotle mayo. The burger was fantastic, with the chipotle mayo adding more flavor to the crisp lettuce and tasty meat.
Overall, pricy but good food. Recommended if you’re looking for a less traditional burger place.

Really liked this location. The servers were nice and took good care of us. My burger was very good. I am indecisive so I had a hard time customizing my burger but that made it fun. I used a Groupon but without it we would have spent 60 bucks on two burgers with orders of fries. Pricey but very good.

Nothing more than an overpriced burger restaurant. You pay for each additional topping and even sauce! I ordered the bison burger (5 $ extra) and it didn’t even taste like bison. I honestly think they served a normal burger. The only upside is that they’re tater tots are delicious. At this point, I should have just gone to shake shack around the corner.
If you order just the burger, then this is a normal burger spot with good service

Lunch deal= $ 11 create your own burger with a side
Amazing burger. Mine had bacon, Gouda, egg, tomato, onion, and lettuce. If you want a colossal burger, just order the toppings!
I wish they didn’t charge for sauces, but I still recommend this burger place and will return. Waiter was also very friendly and did NOT give us a hard time to split the check onto 3 cards.

The Story — My mentee goes to Harvard and is in town for the holidays. Since he did so great last semester, I wanted to 1) see him to catch up, and 2) take him to a eatery that both of us had never visited before. #enterthegrouponsearchhere
The Commute — Winter finally decided to travel to NYC yesterday and all I could think was… «Should I just have sent him a gift card?» As I braved it through the cold, my attitude flared and all I could think about was my warm hard.
The Food/​Ordering Process — After being shown to my table, I stared at the menu and fell in love. Being able to revert to childhood and write on a menu is always fun. So… yes, the menu is laminated and you receive a colored pencil to choose your burger. Since I have never had a lamb burger, I thought that it would be a great idea. My topping for the burger were chipotle mayo, muenster cheese, lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onions. For my side, since I was having a ‘childish’ moment from marking up the menu, I went with the tater tots. The following three words sums up my experience once each food item hit my mouth — So friggin’ good! This next sentiment sums up how I feel a day later — When can I go there again?
The Service — I can only give you my service in a hashtag — #AMAZING. Hassan was by far the nicest and most responsive host ever. He truly made our stay amazing. #someonegivethemanaraise #heisamazing (Oh… my apologizes… I said only one hashtag). :-D
My Overall Thoughts — Chip Bell once said «Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.» Chip is absolutely right. I absolutely loved my experience at The Burger Bistro and will definitely go back to that location again. I have already recommended the Groupon/​restaurant to two friends and sent them pictures of the food which I will post of Instagram today. @iamjujones #followme
With thoughts of more amazing burgers!
Signed,
Your new biggest fan!

Not sure how my brother heard about this place but we ended up here although there are quite a few burger spots between our place and the restaurant. The space is extremely small and not good for groups I would say, because it’s long and pretty narrow and doesn’t have a ton of seating in general.
To order, you cross off what you want on a laminated menu with a ton of options. I got a Kobe Beef patty on a brioche bun with grilled pineapple, mozzarella, caramelized onions, pickles, bacon, lettuce, tomato and regular onions. Other than the lettuce, tomato and onions, all additional toppings are 1.5, which I think is a little on the expensive side. Considering the «base» burger itself is $ 9, and the Kobe Beef patty (which tasted kind of burnt although I did not select the most extreme option in terms of how well done I wanted it) is an additional $ 5, you’re looking at a pretty expensive burger. I do like that they have a TON of options, some unique and some just your regular burger toppings, but they had a lot of variety. Their sides were also great, but I’d love to see some sort of onion ring side added (ideally not the giant thick kind since everything already seems to be pretty big on their menu!).
To be honest, while it made for a great/​funny picture… what on earth am I supposed to do with a burger that measured at least 7 inches high? There was no chance that could fit in ANYONE’s mouth. It barely fit in my hands! Didn’t realize how much each topping would really pile on upwards and wouldn’t have been upset if the waiters had mentioned this to me when they saw what I had marked off. What a mess!
I also do wish they had more desserts than just ice cream sandwiches! But the good news is they have a decent amount of wine and beer which is always nice to go with a good burger!

This is a great burger spot. You have to cross out the boxes of what you want on the menu which is really cool. The buffalo tater tots were amazing and I’m usually not a fan of tater tots. The burger I got was really good and cooked perfectly. I also tried my girlfriend’s glazed donut burger which was out of this world with flavor. Definitely getting that glazed burger next time.

Incredible burger on a glazed donut. Will come again to get it without the fried egg. I love that you write what you want on their menu with a china marker. Very smart. Also really liked the buffalo tater tots. The sweet potato fries were out of this world and the service was great too

So, I recently tried this place with a
certificate and I must say, I had probably the best (turkey) burger of my life! Omg, it almost tasted like beef. Now, I am a huge burger fanatic and I have tried multiple burgers in the city (shake shack, smash burger, brgr, mels burger bar, locksmith burger, elevation burger, yo burger, burger heights, bare burger, burger-​fi, new york burger… Just to name a few) in turkey, beef, and lamb, although I do have a turkey preference… And I must say this burger from The Burger Bistro was simply the best! The meat was so so fresh and tasty. Their barbecue sauce as well as their wasabi mayo were great pairings. I tasted my bf’s doughnut burger, which burger bistro is known for and it was also great. His was a beef burger. He also agreed it was the best burger he’s ever had.
Service was great. It’s a very small restaurant with a very nice staff. Its has a very casual atmosphere. For dessert we had the snickerdoodle cookie ice cream sandwich with cinnamon ice cream. It was amaaazing! Never tasted anything like it. The cookies were moist and the combination of cinnamon with snickerdoodle was everything :-)… So good we asked for one to go lol… And the staff is so nice, they gave it to us on the house.
All in all, solid burger spot… on the more expensive side (expect to pay around $ 20 for a burger, several toppings, and fries), but hey you get what you pay for. Deliciousness at its finest! You won’t regret it!

My husband’s been trying to find ways to be more frugal when going out and decided to purchase some deals from Groupon & Living Social. Now, at first I was like «ugh, some restaurants never treat you the same when you pull out one of those coupons» (I’ve had experiences). But when I saw the menu for Burger Bistro I knew we had to come here, coupon or not.
So we ended up here on a Friday night and the small space was pretty full with only a couple of empty tables, but luckily, being that it was just the two of us, we were seated promptly. Our waiter (who was SO friendly) brought us out the menu and explained how it works. Basically you just mark off your preferences on the laminated menu — totally simple. After a few minutes and a bit of indecisiveness on my part (there are so many options to choose from!), we’d both filled out our menus and handed them in.
From all the Unilocal reviews I knew we’d have to try out the buffalo tater tots so we had those to start. They were delicious! You’d think they would be soggy from being tossed in sauce but they weren’t. The blue cheese and celery topping was a nice touch, too. For my burger I chose beef and added caramelized onions, bacon, and smokehouse sauce on garlic bread. My burger was fantastic! It was juicy and cooked perfectly medium like I requested, and also very well seasoned. And the garlic bread? Omg. Scrumptious.
Then, when the time came to pay, the manager took our living social code, quickly scanned it right then & there without issue or complaint, and had our check to us promptly. I was SO impressed by this, because many places aren’t too fond of these deals despite offering them. We weren’t made to feel uncomfortable at all and the waiter and manager were consistently nice and attentive. The service was on point!
My only suggestion would be to make a few more toppings free (like pickles & caramelized onions). I withheld a star ONLY because I really want to go back and try their drinks. I didn’t feel like drinking that night and I think a real, thorough review should at least include drinks, right? Either way, I really loved my meal at Burger Bistro and I will most certainly be back!

Really great service, but unfortunately only average burgers.
I had pretty high expectations cause I LOVE tater tots and who can ever go wrong with a burger? Tater tots were overfried. Brioche bun was unimpressive. Burger patty was thinner than expected. Fried egg (my optional topping) was not runny and seemed overcooked :(okay so maybe I should’ve specified I wanted a sunny side up, but they didn’t ask either!
The bathroom though, was VERY clean and not too small so you’re able to move around.
Ask for hot sauce on the side for an extra kick to your burgers. Or if you want to be cheap and not pay for the buffalo tater tots. and just pour it on yourself hah!
They do offer a bunch of deals all the time via Groupon or their lunch special ($ 11 for burger + 1 cheese + 1 topping). When you get your check, there’s a $ 7 burger special you can take advantage of next time you come in (I’d come back for that!)

The Burger Bistro is a neighborhood gem on the UES. Was craving a juicy burger and was not disappointed. Love the way they take orders — they give you a menu that you mark up with a red pen — choosing everything from your apps and the type of meat for your burger (beef, Kobe beef, lamb, chicken, etc.), to the toppings (a huge variety of types of cheeses and other toppings like guacamole and fried egg) and the sauces and type of rolls.
I ordered a beef burger with sharp cheddar cheese with a fried egg and horseradish sauce on a potato roll with fries. My mate got a Kobe beef burger with cheddar cheese, fried egg with a side of potato chips. Both orders were perfect — juicy with perfectly fried eggs giving the burgers that extra ooey gooey goodness!
For our apps, we originally ordered fried artichoke hearts and buffalo tater tots. One of the culinary wizards from the kitchen came out and helpfully advised that the app portions were quite generous… and that we might want to rethink ordering two… we might not have room for the burgers! So we chose the artichoke hearts (everything is better fried!). And he was right! We really appreciated him letting us know. We love the laid back vibe of the place and the staff is awesome. Definitely will be back and plan to be more adventurous the next time!
(Oh…and did I mention they have beer, wine and sangria too! Life is complete!)

Since my initial visit I have visited this place a few more times & so far it has yet to disappoint.
Second time around I tried the Beef Burger, Fried Egg & Guacamole on a Potato roll along with some Tater Tots, great tasting burger great with the egg & guacamole & the tarter tots were really good as well.
I decide to get some Yuengling beer, love this beer good nice & cold.
My Friend had the Beef Burger w an egg on a lettuce wrap, also really good & a lighter option minus the bread.
Third visit, I tried the Beef Burger w an Egg & Bacon on a whole wheat bun, burger was really good with the bacon, I wasn’t too crazy about the bread didn’t seem to go well.
My friend had the Beef Burger w Caramelized onions & american cheese on a potato roll, good burger as well nice combo.
My last Visit I went with the Chicken burger w an Egg & the Frizzled onions on a potato roll, yumm this was really good the onions went very well with the egg & grilled chicken.
My friend had the Turkey Burger, Egg & Caramelized onions on a potato roll good burger combo as well.
Appetizers this time we decided to try the Fried Artichoke Hearts, not bad we didn’t really like the dipping sauce it comes with it has a strong horseradish taste the artichoke wasn’t bad.
From all that I’ve tried I would say Beef Burgers are the way to go since they tend to taste better with various combos also The Chicken at least w the combo I choose.
Depending on what day u stop by u can enjoy half price appetizers or beers not a bad deal. burgers can get pricey depending on what u choose to pile on.
Service has always been good, quick & friendly.
I decide to up the stars because so far I have yet to be disappointed.

I absolutely love this place and really wish that there were more like it. The concept of the restaurant is that you have a menu filled with check boxes, from types of meat, to buns, burger toppings and drink. You simply just check off what you want and voilà! Yes, they do serve alcohol!
I recently went to New York and stumbled upon this place. For the cost effective consumer — fyi, there is a groupon available for this place ($ 14 for 2 $ 12 vouchers). Make use of this while you still can, as burger prices can add up quickly. Anticipate spending about $ 20 – 25.00 per person.
I came here like most other Unilocalers for the donut burger. Unfortunately for me, it was considered a special only served on Wednesdays (I visited on a Thursday). I explained that I was from out of country and really disheartened that it wasn’t on the menu, and the server and cook made an exception for me (+1 star). The donut burger consists of a honey glazed donut as the buns, bacon bits, a fried egg (slightly runny), and a beef burger patty. Know how you like your meat cooked, as they do ask if you’d like your patty done medium, medium well, well done, etc.
My guest ordered a burger with jalapeño peppers, bacon and cheese with the patty well done. Each meal was served with fries of choice (mine was regular, his with sweet potato fries). My god, the food was excellent. My only regret was that I couldn’t come back a second time before my departure.