Fantastic fresh made food! Vegan beet burger was delicious and our son couldn't stop eating the cardinal tenders. Must eat here again. read more

Best burger I have ever eaten. Great atmosphere and very friendly staff! Will definitely be visiting again when I visit my daughter at App!

Such a great burger joint in Boone! Simple menu, high quality food. The jalapeño hushpuppies were incredible read more

The Cardinal - The farm burger! - Burgers Near Me - Boone, North Carolina

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Burgers are outstanding! We went there on a cold evening and opted to sit outside with no wait. The heaters kept it very comfortable and we had a great evening. read more

Always good. We love the range of food- vegan to meat lover's. I adore the beet burger and tofu appetizer. Service is always top notch.

Great spot for burgers, although I had chicken. Several vegan and gluten free options. Really the highlight of the place is the bartender. Makes a great Nagroni. The menu could be more diverse. The Cardinal burger is their signature burger and had the cheapest meat in it. Go with local Shipley beef and shift the price? read more

1. There is NO INDOOR SEATING!!! 2. There are port-a-potties, NO BATHROOMS OR SINKS to wash your hands!! 3. We got there about 15 minutes before a torrential downpour, so we got our food to go. Got back to our cabin and my burger was missing the bottom bun, lettuce, onion, etc. It would've been a 5 star burger if they'd finished making it before they wrapped it up to go. So, had they had indoor seating and bathrooms, it probably would've been a 5 star review. Had they're Yelp profile not said indoor seating, we wouldn't have picked it for lunch today. read more

Cocktails were good, food was decent. The kale salad was really bitter, though, big leaves chopped small. Guy at the table next to us was drunk as hell, berating his stepdaughter in ways that I'm pretty sure will end in an eating disorder. Hopefully not a regular. read more

Recommended by my boss who frequents this area, we carved out some time to eat dinner at this restaurant while vacationing in Boone. We were not disappointed. The restaurant itself was a mishmash of chairs and tables that didn't really match, yet all seemed to work well together. Cloth napkins (yay!!) always get a from me. There was a working juke box with some real gems in it, blocks for the little ones, and other video arcade games. It was a bit loud and raucous, but we had a one year old with us, so bring on loud and raucous. There were cool pics of cardinals on the walls and a great repurposed box springs suspended from the ceiling. It had light bulbs in each individual coil. One of the better repurposed items I've ever seen. The food. I got the basic burger , but it was anything but. I rarely eat red meat like this, so it was a double treat for me. It was just damn good. My son got a local game burger, but it's "breed" escapes me (antelope is on the menu, so maybe that). We got the Hot Damn Ham Dip as an appetizer, as well, which was really tasty. It came with ten baguettes for dipping. When we ran out of baguettes but still had dip (when does that happen?), they brought out more baguettes! We all cleaned our plates and smacked our lips in satisfaction. We were too full for dessert, dangit, but I feel certain that would have been awesome, as well. The service was friendly, timely and overall very good. I will return! read more

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i had a BEET Burger, added swiss cheese to it and got sweet potato tots - eVerYthinG was totally ScruMptiouS ..! i Will 100% go there again n have the same thing forever..! highly recommend..!!! read more

Absolutely the best burgers & fries! Great atmosphere & fantastic service! A must try on your trip to Boone!!

Food is good, but know up front that you will need to place your order in the drive and then wait around back for your food to be delivered. Also, you will be busing your own tables. While the beer is good, their specialty hard liquor drinks are tiny, weak, and overpriced. But again, the food is really good. So bottom line: order food, beer, and expect some COVID era service. Ok so update here... I edited my original because I don't really mean to punish the staff. This site is meant to share my experience with other restaurant goers. Seth- it's nice to patronize hard workers that provide good service. It is not your workers who failed, it is you who failed. You really should put up signage letting your customers know that they will be bussing their own tables due to COVID precautions, ideally before they pay, so they know what to expect. And your hard liquor drinks really do suck... welcome to social media. read more

Great burgers - I don't remember our server's name, but she was very personable and attentive.

We were visiting family and they recommended The Cardinal for their chicken sandwiches. The sandwiches were very good. The fries were just ok as they were not fresh; only luke warm. We were seated relatively quick and the server came over immediately. The atmosphere is casual which we liked. We would probably visit again but I would ask for fresh fries. read more

We came in here really randomly on the way back up north. Service was welcoming, very friendly with good recommendations. The fried chicken sandwich, cardinal single and double burgers were so juicy and flavorful! The ingredients were really fresh and not your typical greasy diner burgers, which was a refreshing surprise. We also ordered wings as an appetizer because of recommendations from Yelp and our waiter. We ordered buffalo style and one dry rub with the jerk sauce on the side. The size of the wings were pretty underwhelming - wished they much bigger, but supposedly the chicken was organic. I think the flavors definitely made up for the size though - even if you don't get the wings, definitely ask for the jerk sauce on the side - a perfect balance of spice, sweet and perfection!!!! read more

I will start by saying that during our visit on Mother's Day, the menu was limited. They'd taken a sharpie to cross out nearly everything on the menu aside from three items - a burger, an emu burger, and a chicken sandwich. We saw several people up and leave after staring at the menu in disbelief. We all happened to be in the market for two of those very things so we hung out and were not disappointed. My son - the chicken sandwich connoisseur - was impressed. Both the burger and fries were spot on for me. I'm a well-done-no-pink kind of girl and I think there's a special place in heaven reserved for cooks who respect those wishes. There were three sizes of beef patties to suit different appetites. Also we had all ordered Diet Pepsi and after delivering our first round, the server brought a pitcher and left it on the table for us so huge props for that, as well. We sat outside where they had cornhole and even a little free library. read more

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First let me say that our waitress Sophia was great!! Very attentive and she was busy with 5 tables including an annoying loud drunk group. We had seen this place on Yelp with overall good ratings and we were craving a burger so since that is their specialty we thought we would give it a try. We were underwhelmed. We both had "The Cardinal" burger. I had a single and my husband had a double. They were both over cooked and dry. Also there was a surprisingly small portion of meat in relation to the bun. A Wendy's single has more meat. The fries were good. We likely won't return but perhaps we just caught them on a bad night. It was just OK. read more

Spent a long Saturday at MerleFest before deciding on The Cardinal for a late dinner. First impressions... Great layout, comfortable seating, friendly staff... The Bisbee Roll and cheeseburger that I tried weren't amazing, but this is a pretty charming place with decent burgers and awesome cocktails. I'm definitely giving it a second shot when I'm back in Boone! read more

The Cardinal - Burgers Near Me - Boone, North Carolina

Food was good. Service was very good. I had the chicken sandwich. It was great. Others had the burger. Very thick and tasty.

Driving home from a day at Sugar Mtn. Stopped in on a whim and was really surprised with how amazing the Cardinal Double burger was. It was spiced well and the house sauce came perfectly balanced. The fries were hot n fresh and perfectly salted. I highly recommend stopping in and enjoying a burger and some nice atmosphere! read more

We stopped in to The Cardinal with a group of 12 this past weekend (6 adults, 6 kids) while visiting from out of town. The Cardinal was very accommodating for our group and the service was great. The hot ham dip was a surprise hit - so delicious and I'm trying to figure out how to replicate it at home! Regarding entrees, there was 'something for everyone' including vegetarian options and a kids menu. Great beer and cocktail selection. Thank you for the hospitality, and we will be back the next time we visit Boone! read more

Food was Amazing, but the service was terrible! Waitress came by the table once for our orders, didn't even ask how it was, and sat behind the bar on her phone the whole time! We waited forever for our checks, then she slammed them on the table and just said "thanks." Very disappointed! read more

Great place for a lunch spot, always a stop when visiting Boone. I don't know why Yelp makes you put 85 characters to post a review.

A favorite spot. The hamburgers are delicious especially paired with the bacon cheese fries. Service is great too.

A good burger and nice people. The value is hard to get to but I thinks that due to rise in costs and product plus labor

Thanks for the great service Barl B, you handsome devil! Food was great as always. Bring back the kimchi cheesesteak!

Great local place in Boone to get a burger & a drink. Good list of NC craft beers. Service was also a plus.

Good service and good food. Try the jalapeño hush puppies with chipotle ranch- Delish

Came to this place based on the stars. Let's start by saying service was beyond poor. We were a party of ten. Any restaurant would add extra attention to a party that size. We waited over 10 min until I asked someone to serve us. I asked for ginger ale, when the server brought me my drink it ended up being ginger beer. She didn't even have the courtesy to say she had brought me something different. When asked about the drink, she replied that it was similar. Our food was not terrible but have been to much better burger places. Service makes restaurants shine or go under. Good luck. read more

Drinks took forever to arrive. A one hour wait for appetizers that were okay at best. Cherry on top was that the waitress forgot to put in our entree order so we had to leave hungry because they wouldn't even expedite our food despite their error. Terrible experience. read more

I've gotta say the burger I had was absolutely phenomenal! Now the wait for the food was ridiculous and they were not even busy it had to have been about 45-50 mins after we placed the order and 10-15 mins before they even asked for the order. The reason I'm giving them 4 stars is because as soon as I bit into that burger I literally didn't care it took that long that's how good it was. I had the wild game burger with fries and my wife had the turkey burger. That wild game burger was just absolutely delicious and mouth watering I was full and contemplating getting another to go it was that good. The fries were mediocre at best regular fries. The turkey burger was good nothing exceptional but it was good. The beet root chips were amazing as well. They kind of remind me of veggie straw chips. I would come back here again definitely but knowing the wait time I'd definitely go when I wasn't super hungry. If you haven't gave this place a try yet I definitely would add it to the list. read more

The Cardinal - Burgers Near Me - Boone, North Carolina

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If you're looking for gr8 burgers and local beers in Boone, The Cardinal is your destination. Eclectic decor, great service and a variety of meats to make your next burger truly special. The fries are not remarkable but they have a slew of other sides for something really different. Great place to go with friends! read more

We came in on Rue's recommendation and are glad we did. The staff was friendly, the service efficient, and the food was top notch. Parking can get interesting during the rush so roll with it and don't get spun up. Found a table on the patio and got settled in. We started off with the Carolina spread plate consisting of toasted locally sourced cage free baguette and cheesy, jammy, jelly spreads. Carbs and cheese yum!! The game burger varies, today we had boar with turnip + ghost pepper cheese and stuff. Didn't really know what to expect but I was pleased with the results: Hand pressed burger was moist with a flavor and texture between pork and beef. The ghost pepper cheese added a healthy warmth and peppery-ness, not just heat. The 50/50 burger is good and good for you! You can almost feel the health benefits of the emu cancelling the harmful deliciousness of the chorizo. Greens and japs and cilantro sour cream make this a sandwich a treat. Should have gotten a float to sip during a game of silver-ball ($0.50 / credit, coins only) guess we'll have to come back ;-) read more

The Cardinal - Boar burger and fries. Stake through the heart is a nice touch. - Burgers Near Me - Boone, North Carolina

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Really good burgers. A few good cocktails. Wasn't too impressed with the "word,word, word" cocktail. It's really think. I think maybe straining it better would help. Other than that it was a good atmosphere, good food and friendly staff. read more

On our second trip I tried the James Beard Burger. I am not a big fan of condiments on my burger. Lettuce & catsup & maybe cheese are all that I really want on a burger. This is an emu burger with mushroom, oven roasted tomato, picked onion, kimchi, fermented chili aioli and lavender espresso cheese. All these flavor worked together to create a taste that became a totally new creature. It was excellent! Wife had the Duck Burger which we have had before. It was excellent as well. read more

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Great service and food! The burgers were delicious. We will be back. Our sever made perfect recommendations on drinks and menu options.

Came here with my family for $6 cocktails on a Friday. The Word Word Word drink was very good and had a little bit of a kick. Probably one of the best drinks I've had in a while. I also had the Wagyu burger (I think it was a special) and it was pretty tasty but rather small for me. It's a small place but it has a nice atmosphere. I would definitely come back on a Friday for the drinks! read more

YUM! We went on a Friday evening (on Memorial Day weekend) and didn't have to wait for a table, at 6:00! They have an excellent selection of beers, and a specialty alcoholic slushy, it was jalapeño honey that night... which I ordered. It was so delicious! :) Spicy and sweet! :) For dinner I had a really yummy "Farm burger", which comes with herb mayo that makes it! :) The beef patty was super moist and well seasoned. My husband had the fried chicken sandwich, which was VERY good! We also had a corn dog as our appetizer, it was really good too. Our daughter had the kids' chicken nuggets, which were perfect! Same fresh chicken that was used to make the chicken sandwich, and cooked perfectly! The homemade chips were great. And best of all, she wasn't over served! :) The back deck is where we sat, which was lovely... and dog friendly, with well behaved pups on leashes. read more

Not a fan. My husband LOVES burgers, any kind burger. When we go to a great steak place he still orders burgers, so when he doesn't like a burger then that's not good. Ordered chili cheese fries=fries with marinara sauce n cheese. Flies everywhere. read more

My wife, son and I were having lunch here on 11/2. I ordered a Cobb salad. After a few bites I was mixing my greens and I found A LIVE SPIDER!!! Needless to say I didn't finish. To their credit, we got 50% off our tab and it certainly wasn't the waitress's fault. But as a restaurant you have one job and that is to serve clean food. I don't care if the greens are organic. Based on this experience I will not be eating here again. read more