I've been wanting to try this place out for quite some time so i finally got to try it out with my boyfriend and I have to say this place is delicious and the atmosphere is gorgeous. I ordered the key west burger fries Boyfriend ordered the cartel burger fries We both really enjoyed the food and the service. The food came out pretty quick which was a plus for us since we were starving. I will be coming back. read more

Empire - Key West. Turkey burger with Bourbon sauce, pineapple glaze, & aliovi. Pretzel bun. Delicious. - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

The location is beautiful. The service was a little slow but the food was amazing. Very great ambience super trendy. Empire turns into a club at night read more

I've been meaning to check out Empire for awhile now. I'm a sucker for a view so I was excited to grab some bites and chill on the rooftop. We were there on a Thursday, around 9:00. It wasn't packed but it was definitely not slow. There was a 20 minute wait for the rooftop, so we put our name on the waitlist. We were starving, so we ended up buying food and grabbing a drink at the bar during our wait. For drinks, we ordered a Frose' and Modelo. Although the Frose' was premixed and stored in a "slushy" machine, it didn't taste premixed at all. It was good- sweet but subtle. They use housemade simple syrup, so I'm sure that made a huge difference in the taste. The food came out quick, less than 10 minutes, and everything was delicious. We ordered poutine fries, the gronk and crispy fish tacos. The radish slaw worked well with the crispy battered fish (cod). It had a good "bite" to it, with a good balance of flavors. The poutine fries came out in a skillet. It was a good serving of of crispy fries, bacon and cheese curd goodness, along with cheese, gravy and sour cream. The gronk burger was huge and even came with a side of fries. The burger was juicy, meaty and tasty. At that point, my hubbie could only eat half of the burger since he was full. Apparently my husband was so distracted by the food that he thought the waitlist text said we had an "additional" 10 minutes on the waitlist. It was only after we finished eating that he realized the text actually said our table was ready and we had 10 minutes to claim it. What a total fail at the fault of my significant other. At that point, we were beyond the 10 minutes and going into a food coma, so we decided to call it a night. We look forward to coming back. Hopefully we can make it to the roof top next time! read more

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This place is perfect! Expect to wait. They have Beyond Burger options for ALL their burgers. All the burgers have pretzel buns which is great. The food came out super fast. I think the service is not the best, but that doesn't seem to hinder attendance. read more

The corona with lime was amazing! The food was juice and well cooked and they will continue to get my business! read more

Empire - Corona with lime - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

One of those atmospheric "classy" restaurants. Food like the Abe burger are subpar. The atmosphere is oh so snazzy, "hip," and "cool," for those seeking hedonistic pleasures that their materialistically conditioned eyes will "enjoy." There's a lot better burger places and realer sights to see than this place. read more

I loved the modern urban decor. I went to seat upstairs by the transparent glass ceiling it was very nice to enjoy the sun on my back. My partner in crime was not happy to sit here because the sun shine was on his face, oh well. I order the goat medium well. I loved it. At first I got scared for a minute because I thought the hamburger was saturated of oil but it was the honey that accompany the bacon and goat cheese. It was very delicious. The only complain I have is that the servers do NOT have bus boys so I was so thirsty I had to waive the server to bring me water. This restaurant has a lot of potential but has to work on the customers that are eating on napkins, utensil, extra plates and serving wAter. One more thing the host lacks experience on the sitting arrangements because she asked us if we had our name on the list? The restaurant was very much empty when we got there. I think she was confused so am like we called and we were told no reservations needed. Over all I like my food, liked the ambiance I will be coming back. read more

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So annoyingly loud you can't even hold a conversation with your guests. Food was okay. Service was typical of a busy Naperville place. read more

Spotted this place when we went to the Christkindle market and it looked cool. We ordered their Empire Tots, Burger Cigars, and split the Empire Burger. First off, we were expecting a bunch of tator tots but what we got was four very big potato patties covered in cheese, bacon, and a ranch drizzle with a fried egg and green onions on top. While that sounds good, we didn't really care for the flavor combination. Same goes for the burger, for me. Something about the cream cheese mixing with the maple bourbon syrup produced a plastic-like flavor, like I was eating a beach ball, so my husband ate most of it. The Burger Cigars were by far the best part, save for the fact they were cold inside. So while we really enjoyed the atmosphere, the food was lackluster enough for the price that we don't plan on returning. Visited: 12/15/18 read more

Empire - Burger Cigars - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

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Tim, the server was amazing. All of our food was fantastic. GOAT burger, fish tacos. Love the atmosphere

Great location, great decor. I like that Tuesday is open mic night. Great selection of beers. - Our table was on the 1st floor... right under the open roof thing.... don't sit there... something was dripping on us! Eew. I messed up and ordered the turkey burger... not great, it freaked me out that all of the toppings were the same color. I didn't even take a picture. The bacon need patty on one of the burgers was delicious though (my boyfriend ordered that one... I wanted to trade ). Bathrooms have really cute vintage sinks. read more

Frustrating experience with an infant. Wouldn't recommend bringing young children. Upon entry and exit from the restaurant the hostess staff watched us struggle with our stroller, not offering to hold the double door open on either occasion. We were immediately asked if we would like to sit upstairs, which we said sure to but weren't told this would be an outdoor table in direct sunlight while construction went on below on a chilled day. It felt like we were being put in a corner in case the baby cried. We asked for another table because we couldn't have the baby in such an inhospitable environment at her age, and the upstairs waitress just seemed irritated and completely unhelpful. She ultimately told us to go back downstairs and to figure out a table. Again, no one was accommodating or understanding that an infant can't be where we were placed. Upon arriving downstairs several staff wanted to separate us from our stroller and ushered it away from us. Again, no thought to the fact that we would then have to hold the baby at all times throughout the meal. Eventually someone from our party went back and brought the stroller to our table half way across the restaurant because we saw another family with a stroller at their table. It just seemed that there was no thought to our needs or comfort at this trip to Empire, which was disappointing. Our child never cried, slept the whole meal, and her stroller was a single low profile stroller - not some behemoth jogger like the other family had pulled up to their table. Our waitress was thoughtful and kind, and attentive to our needs, and the food was good, but the rest of the staff seemed terribly put out by our existence. read more

Cool little bar/restaurant in the quaint town of Naperville. Due to work I've been spending more time in the area and this place fits the bill for a place to sit at a bar, have friendly service and enjoy yourself. The food is decent but above all there is an upstairs and downstairs area with music at certain times. If you find yourself in small town America aka Napervillle definitely stop in for foods and/or drink. read more

Sangria was great, burger was great. Rooftop was really fun in the summer (even in the drizzle).

I was downtown Naperville with a friend when we walked by Empire. While their cool sign outside immediately caught my attention, the rooftop bar caught my friends attention - and I'm glad it did! Neither of us had heard of Empire but with the sight of the rooftop bar we decided to head on up and check it out. Nobody talked to us when we walked in, while heading up, or once we got upstairs, but we found a couple of seats at the bar and snatched them up. The service at the bar was slow - I mean it was probably 15 minutes before anyone asked if we'd like a drink - but we were taking a while deciding on our order anyway so it was fine. Also the girl at the bar next to us definitely should have been cut off. She fell and couldn't get up. And it was a Tuesday around 9 pm...to say the least. So that got interesting. And nobody behind the bar seemed to notice or help. Anyway - the rooftop bar was a cool place to hang out and enjoy a drink. I didn't notice much of what they had aside from a nice sized list of draft beers. Hopefully I can return soon and try some food! read more

Empire - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

Excellent service and food. Best to take children. Personable customer service. Food is served fast and delicious

Great food. Attentive staff/ servers. Large servings that I have to take home half of the burger. Has valet parking for $8. read more

Empire - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

One of my favorite spots in Naperville downtown roof top is great views by river, tasty food, drinks are good, service is good as well. Must try their burgers they are delicious read more

Empire - Fish tacos and margaritas - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

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We went there for a surprise engagement party for a group of 14. They were extremely helpful and catered to our group. The management really went all out making sure we had a table suitable for everyone considering it was a Saturday night during the first nice weekend of the year! The waitstaff did an excellent job and was very patient with the size of our group! And the food and drinks speak for themselves! Thank You Empire for going above and beyond to make the night so special! Special shout-out to Erin the Manager and Jackson our waiter! Thanks Again!! read more

Unless you're a college student looking to rage or enjoy generic food that was on trend for a minute and prepared with culinary ennui, don't bother. read more

My wife, child, and myself waited diligently for a table for lunch. The two girls at the reception desk clearly were unprepared or did not know what was going on. When we were called to be seated the first time time, the other girl gave the table to a new group that was previously not waiting and had just arrived. They apologized for giving away our table and told us it would be 20 - 30 minutes before we could be seated. So we waited. We got the text message and arrived at the hostess stand to be seated. We checked in and we stood there while they gathered the menus and prepared to seat us. This time a young couple also arrived at the stand, again not waiting for a table, and was seated right away. They proceed to seat us but this time they gave the young couple our table and then wanted to know if we wanted to sit at a hightop with our three-year-old. So we waited a total of 40 minutes only to watch our table be given away twice to people who weren't ever waiting. Needles to say we left. They are a hot mess express at the front of the house. read more

For a solid burger joint in the Naperville area, Empire is a food spot. The burger is on a pretzel bun so it has a nice spin on other places. I ordered a simple cheeseburger with an egg on it (big burger-egg guy). Burgers come standard with lettuce and tomatoes so add and remove as needed. Fries weren't too bad but I definitely think the burger was the highlight. Wait was quite a while but once you put your name on the list, they'll text you when your table is ready. We used this time to explore other places. It does get quite loud so beware of that. Also, they're using every inch of space they have to put tables and such so getting around the place to leave/go to the bathroom was a maze in itself. read more

Empire - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

Really great burgers, service, and drinks! One of our favorite places in town.

Georgia was a fantastic host and manager. She was supportive of the business and faculty. She alone is a reason I would visit again. She is a peach. read more

Great place to be very good drinks will come back to this place thank you bartender could be an asshole so be aware Very good place The gronk burger is amazing read more

Empire - Strawberry Margarita - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

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Great potential. Just disappointing. Stopped by our first time and thought we'd have a beer and a snack on the very nice rooftop. Crowded Sunday and everyone seemed pretty happy - except for one guy that we overheard didn't like the tepid tap water served on the table in a bottle. I have to agree. This isn't France. I live in America. I like my water cold. That means with ICE and in a glass. I also want salt and pepper on the table. I really don't care if it means your people have to do a little more side work - or if your chef thinks his dishes are perfect the way they are. In this case, burgers and BBQ didn't need it but you are serving fries and tots. So yeah, give me my salt. The beer and whiskey lists are great. Too bad I'm a one beer kind of guy - and I don't drink whiskey. They appeared to be short on a vodka selection, which is my preference. We started with the caprese salad, which should've been a no brainer. At $15 it was, without a doubt, the worst caprese salad I've ever had. Inedible, non-ripe, small red and green tomatoes with the green ones so hard that I couldn't cut them in half. The mozzarella cheese was not at all fresh and the pesto was very garlicy. The arugula was over-dressed. Just gross. We then had the BBQ brisket sandwich with fries ($16). The sandwich size is what I would expect for a kids meal. The brisket was okay but a bit dry. Here's a thought; If you're going to serve me friggin brisket, cut the FAT off of it. When YOU have a steak, do YOU eat the FAT or do you cut it off? That's right. TRIM YOUR MEAT. In this day and age of more healthful choices, no one likes a mouthful of fat. This particular BBQ sandwich is served with coleslaw on top. I guess it was supposed to have BBQ sauce on the bun, but in line with their apparent rule about limiting condiments in this place, it was virtually non-existent and there was no extra sauce on the side. No BBQ sauce for a featured BBQ sandwich. Oddly, they did serve an extra, albeit tiny, plastic ramekin of ketchup for the cold fries. They had no heat at all. Our server "Kelly" was friendly but didn't know a lot about food service. Had the food delivered by a runner who, even though he brought the app with the entree, was still better than our server. Noting it was she who put the order in that way. Kelly always seemed to check back just a little to late. Either when we decided put up with or have someone take away our choices. By the way Kelly, when you have someone running your food and cleaning up after you (busboy) explain again my I'm tipping you? We won't be back. Too bad. read more

Finally got a chance to visit Empire and was disappointed. Negatives: - Hot water served on roof top on a 100 degree day (had to ask for ice) - Ordered a can of NA beer and was lukewarm upon arrival - Burger was overly salty and fries seemed reheated - Overpriced for the food quality Positives: - Not a long wait time - Service was good read more

Great place went for a performance The Tree People storytellers. Great venue, really great food.

The upstairs is usually our go to spot. We have always been sat down right away but have seen ppl wait 15 minutes. The view is great and the service matches. The yardbird is my go to with a side of fries. The beer and signature cocktails never disappoint. Be careful as the cocktails are about $15 but my mother in law said they were tasty and got 3. Great music! One time I ordered the steak sandwich and it was not good at all I would pick something else if your contemplating it. They didn't make me pay for it as it was super chewy. They really should think about different chairs they are the worst. read more

Yelp doesn't allow half ratings, but if it did this place is a 3.5 overall 3.5/5 Food 4.5/5 Service 4/5 Atmosphere 3/5 Value 4.5/5 Cleanliness This is a cute and cozy spot with mood lighting and holiday decorations. I came here with a few friends on a Wednesday night and we were seated quickly. The service was fast and the server was friendly. Unfortunately, the main thing bringing the reviews down for this place is the food. It's not bad by any means. It seems very fresh, and the burger options are creative and have unique ingredients like maple syrup. However, the meat is not seasoned properly and results in pretty bland-tasting burgers. As this restaurant's primary focus is on burgers, it's a bit disappointing. If I ever decide to come back again, I'll definitely bring my own salt. read more

I love Empire! Great atmosphere especially on the rooftop on warm summer day. The burger cigars are addictive. :) My favorite salad is the shredder. I highly recommend Empire. read more

I had the G.O.A.T. burger (subbed for a chicken patty) and it was phenomenal. The honey and goat cheese was the perfect combination to the perfectly cooked chicken. The side salad was incredible as well. Definitely will come back to try more of their cocktails and burger combinations. read more

Empire brings the Chicago restaurant flair to Naperville, and I'm definitely not complaining! The restaurant is impressive in terms of size and decorations. It has two floors with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating in the summer time. During the christmas time, they filled the restaurant walls and railings with lights, garlands, and a giant christmas tree. It brought the christmas cheer and spirit to a dining experience. Although I have came to this restaurant in the past, on that occasion, I only tried their beer which was delicious. I had ordered Pacific Coast beer which was one for the books! On this occasion, I decided to order the Hot Pear Cider with Vanilla rum as advised by our friendly waitress. That night my family made so much fun of me because as soon as I took one sip, I declared this was the best drink I've ever had. And believe me, it was absolutely delicious! I would drink this again on any occasion and would highly recommend adding some alcohol for the perfect kick. For dinner, I ordered The Sophia Loren with a chicken burger on a multigrain bread and side salad. The sandwich was everything I could have asked for with some of my favorite flavors of balsamic vinaigrette and pesto. The atmosphere, friendly servers, and delicious food and drinks, this is definitely a popping place to come in downtown Naperville! read more

Empire - Hot Pear Cider with Vanilla Rum - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

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This was my first time going to Empire. Pros: Server was attentive, fast, and got everything accurate despite a very large (12 people) party. Food tasted good, particularly the burger cigars. Those were easily the highlight of the meal - the sauce inside was incredible and they basically tasted like a hamburger/crab rangoon crossover in the best way. Great beer list! Cons: Sandwich was a little busy - based on the burgers I saw in my group, that is common. The amount of toppings are a little exorbitant and very fatty, and they overpowered the taste of the sandwich itself. Fries were nothing to write home about. Wine is pricey, even for house. Overall, I could see myself going back but I won't be rushing. read more

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First time here. We waited in the bar and had drinks from their large drink menu. We were seated for lunch earlier than told (which was a good thing). We ordered our food promptly and then proceeded to wait 45 minutes for our three burgers. The restaurant wasn't that crowded and we found out later that our waiter lost our order. The appetizer was good but two out of three burgers were dry with flimsy lettuce and a paper thin tomato. The chips were good but the fries were soft and room temperature. It's right along the river which has a nice ambiance but without great food, I don't think we'll be back. read more

Beautiful location just over the river with outdoor patio dining space overlooking the river or indoor that is also beautifully decorated. We got the Key West burger (excellent, turkey is moist, lots of sauce, pineapple is the highlight) with salad instead of fries. Guinness was excellent as well as the apple/pear cider with Crown Salted Caramel. We asked tge waitress what were the most popular liquors to add to the cider and she said Crown Salted Caramel and vanilla rum. The cider was excellent, a perfect wintry, holiday drink. Definitely on the sweeter side - it costs $13, which is rather steep for what it is. read more

Warning.... Dirty! Server was great , very attentive and pleasant personality! Loaded tator tots with basically a undercooked egg.. tots over cooked, sauce mayonnaise taste... but above all dirty! One of the photos is a picture of the napkin I used on the table, the other one I used on a highchair note the lipstick on the rim of the glass... Makes me wonder how clean the kitchen is ! Eat at your own risk!!! read more

Empire - Patio - Burgers Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

I don't write reviews but... kinda bitchy hostesses but the waiter was friendly. Sticky tables :/. Their "bar" is a glorified rail with seats. Poutine was good but mediocre food overall. Don't order the strawberry motito it tasted like Vicks vapor rub. read more

Service was good. Food was average. Burger, fries, vegetarian black bean burger. Side salad the best thing we ate. Ambiance- loud, dark and lots of high tops, caters to a younger crowd. read more

Had a delicious burger for lunch. Bartender was very nice and attentive, will be back for their Tuesday night love music!