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. read more

Empire Burger House - Cauliflower Bits and Apple & Walnut Salad - Burgers Near Me - New York, New York

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Ordered online. 35 min later, at delivery time, they canceled order. No reason given. Hard pass. read more

The burger was just ok, I was expecting better from a steak-house where they would use better quality scraps from their burgers. Burger was kind of thin, 4 onion rings for $10, small plate of mac and cheese for $17. I think they may be better off forgoing their lunch offering because the place was empty. read more

A bit confusing because the door is locked and I had to enter through the steakhouse and check in across the room. Seating is in the steakhouse where there are chips sitting out on all the tables with the steakhouse menu. I had to ask for the burger house menu. My glass of water was empty more than it was full. I had to point to the menu items to make sure my waitress understood me because it was loud and she was still learning the language. She misstated that the emperor came with cheese and actually stated all burgers come with cheese, which isn't true. The ones that come with cheese lost the type. She was nice though, so I would still consider the service good. The emperor burger itself was amazing. It was like a breakfast burger. Very juicy and very tasty. The zucchini fries I would not order again. Zero flavor and not fully cooked. I disagree with someone else, the tip wasn't added on my bill, maybe they had a large party. Love the gold, black and red decor. read more

Empire Burger House - Emperor Burger no lettuce (amazing) and a side of zucchini fries (mediocre) - Burgers Near Me - New York, New York

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. read more

Empire Burger House - Automatic mandatory forced 18.37% tip added, then asking for tips again!! - Burgers Near Me - New York, New York

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. read more

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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. read more

Empire Burger House - Burgers Near Me - New York, New York

Wonderful Management. we had booked a reservation for the burger house and there was a mixup due to a private Christmas even. The management let us eat at the adjoining full service steakhouse and told us we could order off either establishment menu. We decided to stay with the Burger House Menu the burgers were delightful and the service was excellent. If we had not had plans for later that evening we would have probably ordered off the Steakhouse menu. I will go back to the steakhouse read more

Grabbed a burger for takeout. The vibe in there is... interesting. The burger- very good and a great value in the neighborhood. Definitely worth a try! read more

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! read more

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Where to begin..... In a neck of the woods heavily saturated with established bastions for red meat in all shapes, cuts and sizes sits the Empire Burger House. Quietly tucked away on the 2nd floor of a building adjacent to the Kimberly Hotel sits a gem of an option for burgers, fries and all manner of booze. For perspective, I've been a S&W burger loyalist since wheels were square and still swear by their hash browns. Empire offers a wholly different steakhouse burger experience. A slim patty (maybe 6oz) arrives plated before me with American cheese, a perfectly manicured slice of onion delivering just the right "bite" without being overwhelming, pickle, lettuce and tomato. The flavor of the meat came shining through, accentuated, not overwhelmed by the toppings. Then there were the fries....... Oh my, oh my the fries. I could do 500 words on them alone, but let me leave you with this, perfectly cooked, golden brown and crispy on the outside and what you've always hoped a French fry would taste like when you bit into it. The quality of the food is one thing, and worthy of high praise. Elevating the experience is the service, which could NOT be more polite, attentive and engaging. Empire has shrewdly priced their burgers under $10, and their fries under $4. If you have kids, their menu is designed the delight them with chicken fingers and hot dogs to compliment the burgers. The quality and value of their offerings dominates in this Yelpers opinion. My only complaint is I didn't get a second burger. Run, don't walk here! read more

Oddly quiet for a weeknight restaurant adjacent to a hotel. Food was average. Staff clearly had nothing to do but give our table too much attention. read more

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. read more

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What a strange experience. Do not go here. We walked in due to the proximity to our hotel and were greeted and sat at an oddly placed "booth". We were handed a steakhouse menu and offered drinks. We chose sparkling water and then looked at the menu confused. Do not go here. We were looking for burgers and since we followed the signs up the creepy stairs to the burger house we were confused to be presented with the steakhouse menu. We looked over the highly priced menu thinking maybe we missed the burgers on the menu, but to our dismay, there was none one the menu. We then asked if maybe we were in the wrong place. The waiter asked us to hold on and a new server came over to see what was wrong. We then had to repeat that we were looking to have burgers and she brought us the burger menu and a ton of attitude, immediately removing our wine glasses. We were so confused. I then apologized and wondered if we are a mistake somehow and she confirmed we can order from the burger menu. We both chose the emperor burger with a side salad of mixed greens which was tossed with Caesar dressing not the advertised vinaigrette. We decided not to complain and just eat feeling watched and judged. We both ordered double tequila soda and lime and enjoyed the weird experience and mediocre food simply because it'd be something to talk about. We even saw another customer sit at the bar asking the same question about the burgers. The food wasn't bad but wouldn't exactly call it gourmet. I don't consider myself a good cook, but could muster up something better than what we had here and all the little things that were "off" add up to a never again will I return. But it's when we got the bill that made me want to smash things. We were charged $43 per drink being charged for casamigos tequila even though I did not ask for top shelf tequila. I don't even care for casamigos and had to add water to my drink just to make it tolerable. I definitely felt like they were pulling a bait and switch with the menu and our drinks and trying to get us to pay for more than we thought we were walking into. Don't know why there was such attitude when what they were advertising we walked into was not at all what we were offered. There is no way two drinks and two mediocre burgers should've cost us $164. Do not go here. Also, do not think that just because the restaurant copies and pastes some bs response that it somehow makes it okay to deceive customers in this way. It's not okay. read more

Went for a work lunch so no photos but the staff were off putting and not friendly but excusable. I ordered a burger, onion rings, and cheesecake. Onion rings were flavorless but texture was alright but pretty poor overall. The burger itself was pathetic. The bun was smashed and looked like something you'd get from mcdonalds with dry meat on the inside but the flavor was average at least. The cheesecake was fantastic though. The interior looked great is what I'd like to say but the place was completely empty and they say us right in front of the door so the few people that came in would cause us to get hit with cold winds. If you want a burger you might as well go to a fast food restaurant instead. read more

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. read more

Empire Burger House - emperor burger and truffle fries - Burgers Near Me - New York, New York

We chose to eat here based on the location across from our hotel. Restaurant is located on the second floor above a steakhouse. It was empty when we were there on a weeknight around 7, we were the only people there during the entire time. It felt awkward because it was very quiet, except for weird elevator music. I ordered a cucumber martini, which was pretty good and one in our group ordered a ginger ale. The waitress confirmed it was a fountain soda but then said there are no refills. It was an 8 oz glass with ice for $4.50. We all ordered burgers, which were similar to a Five Guys burger but for $11-$15 plus the $8 fries. I would have expected a thicker burger than that for this type of restaurant. read more

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

Oh my goodness, Empire Burger House is fantastic. I don't want to leave because of the ambience. Every single thing was very tasty and I just cannot wait to go back already. Staff are very welcoming. They're attentive, respectful and always on their game. Overall it was a wonderful experience. read more

Delicious, classic cheeseburger with a perfectly cooked to order thin patty. I requested medium rare and they delivered. Fries were hot and crisp. They have a great deal right now with restaurant week: $20.21 for a burger, side, salad and dessert. I will definitely keep this spot in my restaurant rotation! read more

I think this restaurant should just focus on the steak house. The burger place is upstairs and appears to be an old lounge - which is kind of creepy. We got a 6:30pm reservation and rushed over to find literally no one else there. We found out why as the burgers seem to be frozen thin patties with basic buns. I was totally surprised that a hamburger place had such basic burgers. Pick a different place if you want a gourmet burger. Sorry! read more

Two nights ago me and my friends went out for a nice dinner. We decided to try something new so we went to Empire Burger House. The food was immaculate, the burgers were juicy and full of flavor. Thank you and I will be coming very often. read more

This place is amazing, one of the best burgers I've had in a while 100% will be back. Definitely will recommend my family and friend to come here. Wonderful service and great atmosphere, read more

Empire Burger House - the bar and dining area - Burgers Near Me - New York, New York

only redeeming quality is that the lady who served us was very nice. we were only people in restaurant and food took and hour, when it came out not cooked and the quality of a mcdonalds hamburger. portobello mushroom burger was canned mushrooms and a pile of slimy onions. read more

It's a hidden gem. Just follow the signs up the stairs and you'll find a wonderful space that's comfortable and refined. The staff is friendly and attentive. The meal portions are just right and the food is delicious with many choices to satisfy all. read more

I wasn't sure about this place when we got there as it was empty but decided to stay. They are part of the steakhouse next door. It's on the second floor. Had a grilled chicken sandwich with fries. Thought it was really good and would go back. The brioche bun was so soft, chicken grilled perfectly and fries perfectly crisp. The price was great too. read more

Really nice server. But definitely a weird experience. Charge more for the burgers and serve an actual Steak house type Burger. instead of serving brutal flat and frozen patties. No need to come back. read more

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

My friend recommended this place, so I decided to try it. And asked myself where have they been, why didn't they make this sooner. That shows you that the food was fabulous. I have been to too many burger places around New York City and I have never tried a burger like the one in Empire Burger House. I ordered the double bull, no other burger in the city could compare. From that day on I am a regular costumer at Empire Burger House, thank you for everything! read more

This place was so cool! We live a few doors down and were surprised when suddenly the new burger house opened up. The room I'm guessing used to be part of the steakhouse downstairs. While the ambiance is a little odd for 'burger house', it actually really works and feels almost like a speakeasy. And the food was AMAZING - so good and so affordable. Seems like the owner or chef's passion project to just make a really good, classic burger. Don't sleep on the mac and cheese either! read more