The bulk of my burgers have come to me through direct recommendations, best-of articles, food influencers, writers, TikToks, the works. The Lions Bar burger came across my desk in a more lowkey way -- through my friend Evan posting an insane, juiced up burger on his Instagram story.
I almost sprained a fingie punching the East Village spot into my “To Try” tab of my spreadsheet. Their website boasts a menu centered on burgers and cold martinis and beers so I knew it was only a matter of time before this cozy establishment played host to a Burger Diva night out and gab-fest.
I arrived around 6pm on a Thursday and the host let me know it’d be an hour long wait, so myself, Caitlyn and Ally took a walk a few blocks away for cheap drinks to kill some time. There’s a special kind of bond between the coworkers you have in your first “real” job out of college and our trio is no exception. While we’ve all split from the company where we first met, we relish in these hangs where we can catch up and swap gossip about how the org is doing now, who else has quit, who’s married with kids now, whose new jobs are embroiled in drama…it’s a beautiful thing!
About 45 minutes later I got a text that our table was ready and we hustled over, hungry as ever. We got a booth placed in the middle of the space that felt like a cross between a tavern and a scene-y new spot, complete with a neon script sign that simply said BAR. We were all in agreement to each get a burger (theirs with cheese) and rounded out our food selection with an order of fries to split (more than enough for three!) and mozz sticks.
I got a Vesper to slowly sip on and the burgers came out quickly. A thick pub style patty on a toasted sesame bun with a hefty slice of slightly grilled white onion and crinkle cut spicy B&B pickles ($19) took up the plate. I had some ketchup and mayo on the side which is sparingly topped my burger with. I also got lucky going for a burger with a pickle nonbeliever so Ally and I got to split the extras.
Folks: this was a Wow burger. The patty is dry aged and house ground daily and you can taste it. You get the slightest bit of funk, a great crust and a healthy helping of salt. I will add that my friends who got cheese said theirs were a bit too salty so if that’s something you’re sensitive to, just a heads up! Of course the chef might’ve just had a heavy hand that day.
I appreciated that the pickles came out off of the burger - they kept their crunch longer than if they were nestled in the sandwich and the slight heat was appreciated. The bun was impressive and stood up to this sizeable bite. A warning: this is not a cute burger to eat. She’s drippy and you will drop some onions along the way. Maybe avoid on a first date…or don’t if you want to go 0-vulnerable in no time flat.
I’m ranking The Lions Bar burger at number 7, just under the similarly dry aged Minetta Tavern burger and above the double smash at The Seneca. If you’re into a big burger and don’t mind a tiny wait, this could be your new favorite.