Zaitzeff

Although Zaitzeff always comes up as one of the most reviewed places whenever I’m searching for burgers in my neighborhood, I always give this place a miss. Perhaps I found the idea of eating a burger on a Portugese muffin suspect, and wanted a more orthodox burger experience. However, I assure you that the muffin is — perhaps unfortunately — the best part of the burger. The bread is sweet and fluffy, and toasted well. However, I found the burger itself a little bit bland albeit sufficiently juicy. Fries don’t come with the burger, which makes it a little bit expensive. The fries are at $ 5 for a two person-​sized portion.

Burgers are good and the sweat potato fries are good. Nice atmosphere. Pricey.

I wanted to try the veggie burger based upon the raving Unilocal reviews, and I’m sorry to say it was a disappointment.
I ordered for pickup, and the staff was extremely friendly when I came in, bringing my takeout to me right away. The restaurant is beyond charming with a worn-​in vintage flair, almost making me wish I were eating in, if not for the overbearing fried smell consuming the space.
The burger itself is a bit Boca in essence and oily in flavor. The beautiful Portuguese muffin and avocado are what save it from being a completely overpriced meal. If I ordered it again (which I won’t), I would get the mustard on the side — the burger was drowning, and I had to scrape a lot off.
My other complaint is the lack of side options on the menu. And what is offered comes in a large portion at a high price.
Zaitzeff oozes potential, but I will definitely continue to head up the street to Korzo to fulfill my real-​deal, freshly-​made veggie burger needs.

Alphabet City
A stands for asshole, b stands for bitchy, C stands for cunty, D stands for diva, E stands for emaciated, F stands for feminine, G stands for gross, H stands for hurried, I stands for idiotic, J stands for juvenile, K stands for killjoy, L stands for loser, M stands for mopy, N stands for non-​entity, O stands for ostentatious, P stands for prissy, Q stands for queer in an annoying, non homoerotic way, R stands for ruinous, S stands for standoffish, T stands for tight ass, U stands for unbearable, V stands for vacant, W stands for weak, X stands for my first X-​Rated Unilocal review, Y stands for yes, the bartender working last night at Zaitzeff really blows, and Z stands for my first zero rating if Unilocal allowed the option so consider the one star a wash. I’m out.

This place was beyond amazing. I’m never in this area but must make it a point to come back. Yes, it’s burgers but they’ve got a veggie burger on this amazing bread and tables have little candelabras so it’s a nice little moody place. And the fries… OMG I could’ve eaten the whole thing on my own.
The waitress was friendly and very attentive so I’d be delighted to have her again. It was pretty quiet at 10pm on a Sat night but… my fiancé had just proposed to me (not in the restaurant) and this was our dinner out! I’ll never forget this place :)
But honestly for a sporadic choice, we were so lucky to stumble in here. Dinner was then followed up with drinks directly across the St with friends.

Good not great.
Not like I was expecting to get a boner after the first bite but with the reviews of other Unilocalers and price tag… I expected a little more than being left with wondering «why not 5 guys?»
I had the Kobe burger [just OK] and the sweet potato fries were a good sized portion.
Lets just say since its right around the block from me I’ll be back, but not in a hurry.

Romantic but chill!
Wish I can say something about the burger, but can’t because my friend & I were just craving some fries. The waitress didn’t seem to mind and she served us well, so added another star for the great service!
We got the mixed fries (sweet potato & french fries), and for a large plate, it was only $ 5! Love the candles on each table, and we sat by the wall, so it was quite… romantic… although we were just munching on some fries and watching the Knicks game.
I’m DEFINITELY going to update my review after I try their burgers.

We came here on a Saturday night, but 5 of us didn’t have to wait. It’s a chilled atmosphere, old school, 20/30’s style décor. They had a bunch of different beers on tap, and the service was friendly albeit super slow, but that’s because they only had one lady working and she told us her support staff called in sick. So it goes…
The main star of the show, however, is the burger. I got the ¼ Kobe, with mushrooms and swiss — real classic. This thing, albeit not on the cheap side, is absolutely worth it. So damn tasty, the buns were nice and small. The burger was cooked to perfection. They same with these fries that rocked our socks off. I highly recommend this place if you’re looking for a burger joint, that’s a bit out of the way, and not super crowded. Definitely coming back.

This is a great burger spot!
I got the Kobe Burger cooked Medium Rare, and wow. I couldn’t believe how great it tasted. It was not too expensive either, and was cooked perfectly. I topped it off with Swiss Cheese to make the delicacy more enjoyable.
The Idaho fries were also really good, not too salty and had some of the skins on them which I actually prefer. They are home made, and really hit the spot.
I was very happy with the burger as this was not even the reason I wanted to come here. Zaitzeff happens to be one of the only places in the city that knows how to make «Pickle Shots» which are extremely good by the way.
So I came here to get a Pickle Shot, and left full with a great tasting burger and fries…
can’t be mad about that!!!

This place is a slam dunk. Came here for standup comedy (Comedy for Mammals I believe it was called), and it exceeded expectations. No cover, too.
The place was packed to the gills, and a waitress still managed to come by and serve us during the show. I was quite happy with that.
Got a Kobe beef burger that was top notch, and sweet potato fries that didn’t disappoint.
Zaitzeff, I’m coming back.

We really liked this place. It’s very close to Elsa, one of my favorite bars, and cute inside. We sat in the back in the booth area and were about to sit so we both got a wall seat. Our waiter was nice and our burgers on Portuguese buns were really good.
I will definitely be back.

Best burger I’ve ever had and let me tell you why… it’s definitely a hefty claim, but I think I can convince you.
The restaurant is in a great area of Alphabet City a very close walk from Elsa’s, a cool speakeasy type bar that would be the perfect compliment to Zaitzeff if you ever had to plan an East Village date. White-​washed walls, modern artwork, a black wood-​planked floors, this restaurant embodied casual cool… a bar along the side with a TV playing the Mets game, and a variety of seating areas, for large or more intimate seating. The menu was super simple, your choice of Kobe or Sirloin and a few cheeses to choose from… nothing overly fancy or complicated, just like a burger place should be, simple from the start. They knew what they were doing.
I don’t see the need to make a huge production of the burger, so I ordered Sirloin with bleu cheese and sauteed onions… the burger came out cooked perfectly, about Medium Rare, still a little pink on the inside, served on a Portuguese bun with lettuce, tomato, and your choice of sauces… I kept mine as is, and it was the ideal marriage of tastes and textures… the bun was soft and slightly sweet, the bleu cheese melty and slightly tangy with the onions and perfectly cooked burger, I was in HEAVEN!!! I must’ve done something good that day, because this was the best end to my week. It was not too much meat, it was juicy and savory and awesome. I wish I could eat burgers everyday!
Other notables, Zaitzeff serves sweet potato or regular fries, or hey, a mix of the two, also a good beer and wine menu… you can class up your burger with a bottle of Syrah or just keep it even simpler with a great beer on tap. Go on burger lovers, challenge my review, it was amazing!

One of the most rad turkey burgers I’ve chomp’d.
Over-​priced, yes, but f’n taste-​tacular.
Nice space, never ever seems to be crowded.
It’s good for delivery too if you live nearby.

Came here with Hungry Boy for lunch not too long ago. I loved the atmosphere of this restaurant because of the open doors and windows letting in all the sunlight. The restaurant with walls of bright white with colorful canvas paintings on the wall along with old school glass soda bottles lined the back wall just makes this place much more interesting.
I got the ¼ lb Kobe Beef Burger and he gotten the ½ lb Kobe Beef Burger. Both burgers come with lettuce, tomato and sauteed onions. This kobe beef burger was very juicy and tender. With each bite the juice and ooze from the onions and burger drips down my hands. We also ordered an order of mixed Idaho and sweet potato fries. The Idaho fries were good, but the sweet potato fries were even better.
The lunch was very satisfying at a very relaxing atmosphere. And the lady who served us was really sweet =)

It was a beautiful coincidence stumbling across their «we deliver» sign while waiting for our dinner reservation near by. I thought the place was cute, then my friends noticed their Zagat rating of 28, and in we walked, pre-​dinner, for a kobe burger «snack».
Service here is awesome and our waiter was wonderful. After explained to him that we have an existing dinner reservation in 30min but wanted to try and share the burger, he welcomed us to a seat, and served us a handsome, juicy, quarter lb kobe burger split 4-​ways. The patty was so flavorful and juicy, we devoured it in no time and decided to go for another half pounder, this time sans cheese (didn’t want to over-​power the beef), and added in mushrooms and avocados which was delicious.
I’ve heard plenty ravings about 5-​napkin burger but that was always an «eh» to me. Now Zaitzeff? That’s a burger worth raving about.

Darling BF and I discovered this place from
where you could get a $ 9 coupon for $ 18 worth of food and drink here. Just the burger alone, with all your favorite fixin’s, will easily add up to $ 18. How, you ask? First off, its in the meat. You can either get a ¼ or ½ lbs of Sirloin or Kobe which is already ~$ 10 by itself with sauteed onions, lettuce and tomato (and a pickle on the side). If you then add toppings such as cheese (cheddar, swiss, blue, american), fried egg, hot peppers, mushrooms, etc. — that’ll cost you a pretty penny… lots and lots of pennies :) $ 1 to $ 3 worth. We haven’t even talked about sides yet. I ordered a side of sweet potato fries for $ 5. They were pretty good, but it’s hard to mess up sweet potato fries. The regular french fries were underseasoned, nothing special about them.
I would only recommend this joint if you’ve got an inbundle or groupon coupon, otherwise you’d definitely paying the «gourmet» price for these tasty gourmet burgers!

OK, you’ve won me over. Somewhat. Your burgers are consistently delicious. But I can’t really get over the fact that they are absurdly overpriced.
A ½ pound sirloin burger is $ 15.
Adding bacon is $ 3.
Cheddar is $ 1.50.
That’s a $ 20 burger, without fries. A really, really tasty $ 20 burger, but that’s still a travesty.

Zait-​drooldrooldrool-​zeff!!!
My favorite burger place in all of America! (Yes that is a bold statement but it is very true) Want to know why? 2 words. Portuguese Muffin! Seriously this is what tops all buns! It is the best thing to ever be on the outside of their delicious burgers (their veggie burger is bomb too). Their burgers are perfectly cooked (medium rare) and everything is perfect here. Even the desserts! Apple Tart is to die for. Everything is organic and local and just tastes like it was made with love.
AND! They have Sweet Potato Fries! Really good ones!
AND! They are the hardest working people ever. Seriously. I went twice and both times they only had one person working the bar and the restaurant. Come on now. You gotta give them props. And a biggie tip!
And they are opened late!
I will forever love Zaitzeff. Now, if only I could find some Portuguese Muffins on the west coast.

This is a great restaurant with a calm atmosphere and a fantastic burger, and I take burgers really freaking seriously. It gets a unique flavor through the muffin used to house the meat. The quality of the beef is very high and I sense much discipline was used in its preparation.
On the action-​movie-​parallel-​satisfaction-​scale, this burger is Lethal Weapon.

Awesome sweet potato fries and gourmet burger! When i came here, it was a bit empty with only 2 staff worked the whole place. But their burgers are definitely one of the top burgers in NYC. It is gourmet but it is a good size.
Their buns are great and I love sesame seeds on my buns because they just seem to add more flavor. However, their burger is on the pricey side and each topping costs you more too.
I guess it pays to eat a gourmet burger!