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    Empire Burger House

    3.6 (30 reviews)
    Closed 11:45 am - 10:00 pm

    Order Empire Burger House Takeout or Delivery

    Empire Burger House Photos

    EMPIRE BURGER HOUSE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Empire Burger House

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    The set up of cloth napkin and silverware was individually wrapped safely in a plastic bag.
    Dennis D.

    Empire Burger House is on the 2nd floor of 147 E50th Street. On the street level is the Empire Steak House. There are separate entrances and the door to the Burger House leads you up a staircase to the 2nd floor. The 2nd floor is set up well distanced so you don't have to worry about being too close to your dining neighbor. The ambiance is comfortable and the music is a mix of 70's and 80's music which is easy to listen too. I've had the opportunity to visit NYC establishments that are celebrating Restaurant Week. This is an opportunity to move away from your 'old faithful's' and try something new. So, you may ask, 'what is new about a Hamburger?' Before I decide on my restaurant of choice for the evening I survey the reviews. I enjoy reading the constructive and detailed reviews left by former diners and sort thru the recent ones to help make my decision on where I'd like to dine. Between Yelp and the choices on NYCGO.com website, I decided to dine at Empire Burger House. It was a Monday night and I arrived before 6pm and basically opened up the 2nd floor being the only one there. I sat at the Bar and was greeted by a very cordial bartender, ordered a Martini and looked over the menu. She presented me the table set up and menu's. The table set up was individually wrapped safely in plastic along with the cloth napkin for safety during our current environment and was very much appreciated. You can order from the 1st floor steak house too if you like or from the Burger Menu. I chose the Burger Menu (because I was in the Burger Restaurant!). Unfortunately, they were out of the Truffle Fries but that did not alter my decision to select a Burger from the menu. I started with a Caesar Salad which came out fresh, crunchy romaine lettuce (not soggy) with just enough dressing and croutons. It was quite fresh and good. There were multiple options on the RW menu: 4 different Burgers, a crispy chicken sandwich and chicken wings. I opted for for the 'Double Bull' Burger - a double beef patty with American Cheese, Empire Classic Sauce, L/T, Onion and pickles along with a side of fries. Ordinary you would say, right? No, not really. I found my fries to be hot and crispy served with a ramekin of of Ketchup for dipping and the Double Bull Burger to be, I would say, Extraordinarily delicious! Yes, it was. Granted, Burgers are subjective but everything from the appearance to the taste of the hamburger meat itself was really quite good. My meal was served promptly and served hot! I'm not a two fisted burger, hold in your hands, and eat the entire Burger kind of guy. Rather, I cut it in half and take my time to enjoy. It's a rather tall double stacked patty burger so my method worked out well and I still could not finish the entire burger. Did I say the fries were great? They were. I didn't even remember the Truffle fries were on the menu after eating the 'regular' fries. I brought half of my burger and half the chocolate mousse cake dessert home for lunch tomorrow! My server was Duska (the s is with a Caron for the 'sh' sound). She was not only the bartender but the 2nd floor was her domain to service and she did it very efficiently and friendly. This is a person who takes pride in her service and the quality of the food her establishment provides. It was evident from the time I arrived till the time I left. She worked very hard and made the dining experience that much more enjoyable. The Manager, Albert, stopped over to ask how my dinner was and I told him excellent as was the service provided. Nothing overly fancy on the 2nd floor, very comfortable decor, great location, great music, great food and service. You can't go wrong with the Empire Burger House nor do you need to wait for Restaurant Week. The pricing is very fair and the quality of the food is excellent for my tastes and recommend to anyone and everyone who enjoys a delicious Burger meal.

    Automatic mandatory forced 18.37% tip added, then asking for tips again!!

    TIP IS MANDATORY!!!! SERVICE IS SLOW!! Food is good. Price is good. Waitress is nice. HOWEVER, extremely slow service, even if there are only two other tables in service, they are very slow. I'm always on the run, so I'm very tired after work, and eating here took 2 HOURS!!!! I'm usually a fast eater but they made me wait so long. Waited 15 mins for ordering. Then Waited 30 min for Food. Then waited 30 mins for Dessert. Then 30 mins for bill. When I got the bill, they made me pay for a mandatory tip of 18.37% tip. Tip is supposed to be out of gratitude, not forced! I'm usually a really big tipper, usually giving 40% with good service. However this is unacceptable. I just paid the bill and the mandatory tip without giving an extra tip. Never coming back.

    Rebecca L.

    Got the restaurant week special which was such a great deal. Salad, various burger options, side and dessert. I opted for the mixed greens, which I should of asked for the dressing on the side but it's usually comes like that, but just a note for others! Tried the bull and burger which is thin beef patty with bacon and generously topped with the usual fixings. Burger was tasty, toppings were fresh, and the bun was nice and soft and held the burger well. The choice for side was onion rings or fries. I got the onion rings and they were soggy and very oily but i also didn't start eating til about 30 mins after it was ready, so that could be my fault as well (hence why I didn't knock the star). Dessert had good options as well and I chose tiramisu, it was a nice portion and perfect end to the meal. $20 deal for all this can't be beat! Be ready for pickup when you place the order bc when I placed via phone it only took 10 mins and I got a call when it was ready. Service was great too, the workers were very kind and appreciative at pickup.

    Cauliflower Bits and Apple & Walnut Salad
    Julia R.

    We ordered a double bull burger, Porto-bull-o burger, cauliflower bits, apple salad and fries. The double bull burger used really good, high quality, delicious meat. The downside was that the patties were pretty thin, so the burger itself felt small. But for a high quality burger at a low price, this was fine! The mushroom burger was pretty well made. Good flavors, with carmelized onions. Lots of toppings including peppers that were soooo good. They use fresh potato buns. The salad with apples was DELICIOUS! Highly recommend. Could be split between two people for an appetizer. The fries & cauliflower bits were good add ons and came with a yummy dipping sauce. The ambience of the restaurant was really cool and definitely fun for a date night. Reasonably priced cocktails. The staff was also extremely kind and accommodating. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant if you are in this area and looking for a laid back but still classy date night, work dinner, or catching up with friends. It's high quality food that stays within a reasonable budget for NYC. If I could recommend anything to be improved, it may be larger entrees (particularly the patties), but overall I hope to see this restaurant do really well.

    Strange red hallway to enter
    Tay J.

    What a strange experience! To get to empire burger house, you have to go up to the second floor of the building using an entirely red staircase that honestly feels a bit spooky. Once you arrive, the dining room looks like it's set up for fine dining but then the menu is actually that of a fast casual restaurant (think Shake Shack). It's really cheap but the quality reflects that price and the burgers feel like they come from frozen patties. The only reason I'd recommend it is because the experience was truly just such a weird mix of ambiance and it's a story to tell your friends afterwards!

    NYC Restaurant Week To Go Menu,  Caesar Salad Empire Cheeseburger Fries Cheesecake Chocolate mousse cake
    Jennifer Z.

    Absolutely. SOLID burger joint. The softest brioche bun with a lightly sweet taste, tender fresh beef that's grilled to medium perfection. Balanced with tomato, pickles, onions and slathered in their signature sauce. I. Inhaled. This. Burger. Fries were a little soggy but it's 2021, if you don't own an air fryer, that's a sad life choice on your part. Caesar salad had generous amounts of shaved parmesan and pecorino. Carrot cake... When I opened I thought it was a mistake to add raspberry sauce on fresh cake as they're an old school steakhouse but after tasting. Sigh. Delicious. Moist af carrot cake (may have nuts!) With a creamy decadent cream cheese frosting as it ought to. Love this new joint. All this for $20 on their restaurant week/opening special.

    emperor burger and truffle fries
    shamika j.

    Let's just say I had the burger that I did not know I needed, I had the Emperor burger. It consisted of a beef patty, egg, bacon. Empire zesty sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles. It melted in my mouth, so freaking good. Drinks are decent as well and don't forget to order the truffle fries.

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    Right above the Empire Steakhouse, this little gem offered solid burgers. The service was wonderful and the room was very nice.

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    hidden gem! food is so good I order a meal to go to have at home back on the island !

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    Empire Burger House - burgers - Updated July 2026

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