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Wall Street Burger Shoppe - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants American (Traditional) Restaurants Burgers American (Traditional), Burgers [Edit]
30 Water St(between Broad St & Coenties Slip)
New York, NY 10004
Neighborhood: Financial District
(212) 425-1000
- Nearest Transit:
-
Whitehall St (N, R)
South Ferry (1)
Bowling Green (4, 5)
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Drive-Thru:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
87 reviews for Wall Street Burger Shoppe
Review Highlights
-
"...burger with swiss and mushrooms, onion rings, and a soda." In 21 reviews -
"...for people in the Financial District struggling to find new..." In 11 reviews -
"Go hungry and get the Real Deal Meal." In 8 reviews
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87 reviews in English
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Review from Sue N.
San Francisco, CA
12/6/2011
Sad that this place closed. It was one of my favorites. I love the California burger. The meat patties were sturdy and juicy. Similar in taste and texture to Burger Joint at Le Meridien, but much CHEAPER. The creative additions were a good choice -- avocado and bacon. Yum!.
-
Review from curtis w.
New York, NY
4/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
I really wanted to start out this review with something like "What a shitty burger!" or "I spent 8 dollar on this crap!" but I won't. Or wait...I think I just did. Oh well. Either way, complete disappointment.
It has been one long crap winter, with loads of crap snow, and lots of crap dark and dismal days. Now that spring is a upon us, I relish for those bright sunny afternoons where I can go for a nice walk on my lunch break, eat outside, and enjoy life. The other day, while doing the prior mentioned, I strolled passed Ye Olde Wall Street Burger Shoppe and notice it for the first time. I thought...I Iove burgers...I happen to be on a burger quest...I am a burger knight...I'll slay that fucking burger dragon.
I entered it's realm, ordered from the 'Shoppe' keeper and awaited my surprise.
I took my burger, sat out in a nice bright sunny square, and begin to partake. The burger was awful. It tasted like a dry, frozen, burger patty quickly reheated on a char-grill. Flavorless. The lettuce, onions and sauce were the only things that helped it go down. The fries were completely burned, like Dude left them in the fryer for an extra 10 minutes longer than he should have.
I sat there, in that warm little haven amidst the city streets watching two little skater grommets trying to learn tre flips down a set of 4 stairs. Also watching a roller blader failing at life and looking enviously at the two skaters. To my left three ladies were sitting on a bench next to me talking about their shitty boss, but they were still happy, and enjoying the fresh air. I sat there and I realized, sometimes life hands you lemons and you gotta make lemonade. No wait, sometimes life hands you a shitty burger and you gotta make a Yelp about it.Listed in: Burger Quest
-
Review from patrick c.
New York, NY
5/11/2011
Over rated and slow. Ive been to burger shoppe on 3 separate occasions and each occasion was more and more disappointing. I think each visit also gets longer and longer.
Didnt taste that great... and they forgot my fries
the burgers are extremely small and tiny!!
i much rather have five guys than burger shop. -
Review from Christine G.
Brooklyn, NY
3/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
Found this place while searching for a financial district happy hour. We walked in and it looks like an old diner, but if you go upstairs it's a great little bar with some yummy IPA and some Sierra Nevada special brew I'd never had before.
Plus, if you check into Yelp when you get in, you can get a coupon for free french fries or onion rings. My friend got a mac 'n cheese burger which I had expected to have mac somehow incorporated into it, but it was just had melted cheese on it and some on the side. I thought it would be the best of both worlds. I was still a great burger but a pretty disappointing misnomer. -
Review from katie j.
10/19/2010
Had a 50% off coupon and was still underwhelmed. The burger itself was good, but waited almost 20 minutes for a take-out order while the staff continually joked and stood around despite the growing line. Definitely agree with the noted pattern in previous Yelp reviews of poor service.
Foodnalysis:
- Becky Burger - Aged cheddar, pickle, tomato. Tasty, but really small... more like a large slider than a burger. Would have been disappointed incredibly had I paid the full price of $7.
- Sweet Potato Fries - Flavored well, but served mushy and soggy.
- Onion Rings - Probably the best side offered on the menu.
- Boylan Sodas - A redeeming factor, glad they offered these. Love the Rootbeer made with cane sugar. Really horrible for you, but tastes amazing.
The Bottom Line:
Poor service, long waits. Burgers are decent but overpriced and small. -
Review from Christopher D.
New York, NY
4/21/2011
I've gone to Wall St Burger Shoppe on 2 separate occasions, and the experiences average out quite poorly. They say the last impression is the one you remember, and if that's the case, I shall never be going back here.
The burgers are quite good, but service has to count for some of the rating, and it was so bad that I cannot give my approval. Overall, the service during lunch was utterly atrocious.
My group walked in with a full house, though several tables were finished with their meal or having already ordered. We were seated immediately, but it took a good 10 min before we received menus. During this time, I noticed the table next to us was sitting and waiting for food without any drinks, and two other tables desperately trying to get their checks. It appeared there was only 1 waiter and a food runner covering the entire dining room and bar. Bad signs all around.
For us, it took about 45 min to receive our orders, which were partially incorrect and without drinks, and caused one of us to need to take his burger to go as he was due back at the office. This is not before a table of 4 arrived after us, got so frustrated they ordered at the bar, and somehow managed to receive their food before us. As for the table waiting for drinks - they received them almost at the point when they were finished with their food!
I became so frustrated that I really could not enjoy the food no matter the quality, and I will never go back here again. -
Review from Stacy T.
Elmhurst, NY
11/11/2010 1 Check-in Here
The staff here is really the highlight of the restaurant. The cashier dude was really cheerful, friendly, and upbeat. He was a cool guy. I wanted a bag to pack my leftover fries, and he said, nope, you need a bag of fresh fries. I said, that's okay, he said, no, that's how we do things here. Sweet. I like how they do things there.
I got the shoppe burger Real Deal, $12. (Sit on the first floor for cheaper prices. Upstair prices are at least $1 more.) The burgers are a little bigger then sliders, but I was pretty done at one burger, even though I normally eat more. The burger was not as warm as I thought it would be. It was also less juicy as I am used to (think Shake Shake), but it was okay. The fries were thin and stylish.
The fried mushroom burger was about the same size as the shoppe burger. I liked the density and taste of the mushroom - tender, crispy, and salty. The burger was also easy to eat. This went for $7.
The Black and White milkshake was awesome. I saw it with my own eyes - real chocolate ice cream, real milk, and real chocolate syrup. No wonder it tasted so thick, creamy, and authentic. Too bad it was also $4.50 - same price as a Shoppe Burger.
I had a 50% off coupon from http://Restaurants.com, so the damage was only $12 for 2 people - not bad for a lunch in Manhattan. So, if you want to try something new, and not terribly hungry, come by for a mushroom burger. -
Review from Jack C.
Brooklyn, NY
6/27/2011
It's across the street from my new office. It has a lovely tiled floor and cool 50's diner chrome trim all over the walls! I had high hopes for this little burger joint and it failed me. It failed hard.
I got the "Shoppe Burger" because it seemed a decent deal at $4.50. It came with lettuce, cheese and their special sauce which is a sort of mustardy Thousand Island concoction. At 4oz it seems a little too big to be a slider, but far too small to be a proper burger. So you are left either unsatisfied with one or overfilled with two.
In the end, it was a small and rather flavorless burger. It makes sense since the place is owned and run by Kevin O'Connell of Pop Burger fame. Pop Burger being an actual slider place which I'd tried when going to the Apple Store on 59th one day. Lousy burgers and lousier shakes.
The Burger Shoppe's special of the day was the Porterhouse Burger which was a bit tastier and a bit drier than their regular brger. At almost twice the price ($8) it seems hardly worth it for a 4oz puck. The Yankee Burger had decent blue cheese on it and two pieces of tried out bacon but it still left me hungry.
The fries are not worth mentioning. Dry, flavorless, and boring. The onion rings are just as plain. The shakes are gross and thin, made with cheap ice cream and Hershey's syrup.
Service wise, there was no service. There is a counter but no one behind it. I sat down and three other people sat down next to me and no one spoke to us. We sat for a while until someone turned around and asked if the place was open. Someone mumbled "you have to order over here." So we lined up in front of a guy behind a register on the other side of the restaurant from the counter and awkwardly ordered. It made no sense and pissed everyone off.
It's a nice looking place, old time coffee shop type place with the feel of a 50's burger joint, but any ambiance they created was ruined by the blasting techno music they played which everyone in the place seemed to actively hate.
I wanted to like this place, but with small mediocre burgers, horrible service and strange music choices it was a loser on all fronts. Considering it's location across from a whole lot of office building and in the line of sight of the masses of ferry and Statue of Liberty tourists I hope none of them gets the idea that this is what New York has to offer in the way of burgers. -
Review from Vanessa V.
Portsmouth, NH
1/18/2011
So my husbands friend from high school calls him last week and invites him to this bar. Sounds good so far. He continues to say that it's some burger place in the financial district. Ummm... okay? Trying to be trusting friends, we board the subway and head down to the Burger Shoppe. When we get there, we take one step into the restaurant, do a double take, and head up the dark stairs to what we hope is the bar.
Upstairs there's decent drinks and nice decor-- dim lights and leather couches. Not really what you expect at a burger shop. They seemed to have a good selection of beers on tap (hubby was quite impartial to the Blue Point Toasted Lager). Music wasn't too loud to carry a conversation, but loud enough for a good vibe. Girls bathroom doesn't lock, so be careful.
We decided to walk home-- man does the FiDi get sketchy! Why is this the only place open in this entire portion of the city? Definitely worth visiting for a cold one in this dead 'hood... I don't know if we'll travel down from Hell's Kitchen again on purpose. -
Review from michelle c.
Providence, RI
4/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
We stopped in during our stay in NYC for a quick bite to eat - happily it was also happy hour with some amazing beer choices on tap. We sat upstairs and had a nice breeze coming in through the opened windows. I ordered the slider sampler and was a very happy camper. The special sauce was absolutely delish as were the fries, even though I like mine a bit thicker.
The waitress was very friendly and efficient keeping us happy and our mugs full. We will definitely stop here again. -
Review from Leah D.
1/5/2011
Don't listen to the haters about this place. This is the best burger in the 5 boroughs. Nothing special in terms of ingredients, it's not rocket science, and it doesn't make any trendy pretensions like foie gras burgers with goat cheese and microgreens and an onion foam, just really well seasoned and well prepared burgers.
Go hungry and get the Real Deal Meal. The burgers are smallish but not slider sized so 2 plus the tasty fries and drink makes a good (if filling) lunch.
Do not, repeat, do not go at peak times of day, or I'm sure it is a long, slow wait surrounded by choady Financial District lifers. Go in an off hour, go with a friend, and dig in. If you're a beer lover, try the Guiness milkshake. Yes, Virginia, there is a Guiness milkshake.
The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is... I don't know if any burger and fries, no matter how good, should get 5 stars. (But it's good enough that I had to think about making an exception.) -
Review from John Y.
New York, NY
8/17/2010
The shoppe burger is very tastey. The onion rings were big and a bit greasy. The Tuesday OJ shake is pretty good too.
cons: burger is very small. the onion rings were a bit greasy (both a pro & a con).
The worst part was the cashier didn't know how to take my order. I had to explain it to her several times. And after waiting 15 minutes, we had to speak to the manager, only to find out, the cashier "forgot" to put my order in. Not the most intelligent service for lunch. Other places are better if you're in a rush. -
Review from Brian D.
New York, NY
2/19/2011 4 Check-ins Here
Let me start of by saying that I used to enjoy this place. When I had friends that were just getting into town around lunch time, this would be my go to spot. The service upstairs has gotten to ungodly terrible levels and that is what prompted this review. The last few times I visited it was just "that bad."
The food is good, the burgers are creative and unique. The mac and cheese burger was probably my favorite. Half and Half (fries and onion rings) is the way to go as well.
Now that I have the food out of the way, let me get to my last experience at burger shoppe. I arrived with a good friend and we luckily found a table upstairs around 1ish in the afternoon. At least 20 minutes went by after we were seated and not one person had spoken to us. The waitress came over and took our order, my friend ordered the real deal and I ordered the mac and cheese burger. He ordered a coke and I a milk shake, she explained that the milk shake would take a "little bit longer." Which was fine. 15 minutes later my friend received his coke, and then we sat, and sat, and sat......
An hour and fifteen minutes later, at least 50 minutes of which my friend sat with an empty glass and me with no milkshake, the food arrived. The burger and fries were Ice Cold, a temperature for beer not food. To top it off, still no milkshake and they didn't even ask my friend if he wanted another coke! What kind of service is this? The two upstairs should be fired, whoever owns this place clearly has no idea what goes on in the restaurant.
Finally after the cold food sat in front of me for over ten minutes, she notices there was no milkshake and goes and talks to the other waiter, after another ten minutes the milkshake arrived along with No Apology or Explanation.
It takes a lot for me to write a review like this, New Yorkers get upset if their water glass isn't filled within a half a minute of going empty, I am not that New Yorker. This is the absolute most horrifying service I have ever received, I demanded my food be packaged, left her five dollars, paid and walked out.
Someone wrote "don't listen to the haters", unless you are walking in this place to order your food to go, "don't listen to the hype." -
Review from Kareem B.
Brooklyn, NY
1/13/2009 1 photo
I've been reading about this place for a while now - the $175 burger caught my eye. Decided to head over for lunch today and ordered the "Real Deal" special with Applewood smoked bacon and onion rings. You get 2 burger, fries or onion rings and a beverage. I gotta say, I wasn't impressed. Not in the lease.
These are the burgers I grew up on - very simple recipe. Buy a 5 pound package of ground beef, open it up, reach in and grab a big heaping handful and drop in in the skillet. Burn to desired burnyness! That's it. Seems the Wall Street Burger Shoppe done stoled my recipe!
I also ordered the Crispy Shrimp Sandwich. What the blue blazin hell was I thinking? Same bun the burger comes on. First bite - nice flavor. Second bite, hey wait a minute - what the hell happened to the flavor? Seems someone just smacked the flavor out my mouth cause for some reason, I could no longer taste the thing! Might have something to do with the fact that I just spent $9 on "1" shrimp in a dinner roll! You just expect the thing to be one of the best garn darshed things your mouth ever tasted. Hey, maybe my brain couldn't take such intense flavor and shut my tounge down so as not to cause me to go into beautiful flavor overload and pass out.... nah, that's not it! The thing was crap. -
Review from James P.
Jersey City, NJ
12/7/2010
Burgers here were kinda small, and the sauce is nothing special.. but being as it was close to work, it was good.
wish they had better fries and onion rings though! -
Review from chun l.
New York, NY
4/22/2008
By appearance, the nature of the restaurant's welcoming decorative entrance appears as a lure to it's Wall Street exec patronage. Such amiable colors ranging from oak brown to bright yellow shines to the naked eye of any noon nourishment seeking client. What boasts well for Burger Shoppe is this distinctively enticing entrance that's engulfed and amplified by its color schemes. Unfortunately, the lure and aroma of this establishment are the only two notable attractions you'll find with this fast food burger stop.
For what Burger Shoppe is, it excels at. Catering to the desires of ground chuck seeking patrons around Wall Street, Burger Shoppe applies the basic principles of economics such as supply and demand in their offering of burger selections. The restaurant itself services burgers in manners ranging from basic ground chuck to Portobello Mushroom topped options. Despite the ability to harness such a locale, the burgers preparation and execution are sub par and skewed in the opposing direction to that of the establishment's decor.
The final product produced by Burger Shoppe is that of a mild flavor infused concoction that produces minimalistic taste. Patrons wishing to dine at this establishment will find that the lack of heat used in preparation takes away from the charred texture of the burger. This single application is required in order to harness the inner juices that aides in the flavoring of the final product.
The Portobello & Swiss Burger was the option selected for my dining endeavors. The secondary ingredients of the Burger shined further than that of the centerpiece, but by no means of appraisal. The preparation process of the Portobello created an excess infusion of sodium chloride. This single overt application of seasoning took away from the earthy taste and smooth texture of the fungi. The Swiss cheese used in the application did not aid in the execution of the Burger. The submissive flavoring of the cheese was overwhelmed by sodium of the Portobello that seemingly, the final product was that of salt, rather than the burger itself. Needless to say, I did not finish the Burger.
Although the decorative nature of the restaurant's ambiance produces a welcoming tone for it's customer base, Burger Shoppe's execution and presentation of their creations does not command any significant attention. Diners will find commonality traits of the product generated by Burger Shoppe to be similar to that of mass production byproducts by other known establishments around New York (i.e.: New York Burger Co.).
If in need of a good Burger around the financial district, stick with Kyozina Grill or Ulysses'. These two establishments rarely miss in their execution of the beloved charred ground chuck edible.Listed in: Lunch in the Financial…, Burgers Galore!!!
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Review from Siri B.
New York, NY
9/19/2010
Such a huge disappointment.
Friday 8pm, we were the ONLY customers eating and our burgers took 30 minutes to arrive. When they finally did they were cold, gray and even if hot I would still have felt like I was ripped off at $14 a pop. Nothing special.
Anyway, when we told the manager he literally started jabbing his fingers in my burger and said, "we can bring you a hot one." I mean come on get it together. We declined the new burgers and ended up at Burger Burger around the corner which was AMAZING!! -
Review from Andrew B.
Evanston, IL
3/27/2008
I liked this little place!
I really like it when stuff ends in "ppe" because it seems old-timey and super classy. "Come to the Wall Street Burger Shoppe, where the burgers don't taste like crappe!" I'm there.
Furthermore, I like that it is located between Broad Street and Coenties Slip. What is a Coenties Slip? "Right in the middle of the play, the lead actors' coenties slipped out. How embarrassing!"
The decor was fun. The burger was really quite good. I had the Kahuna, the one with avocado and bacon, mmm, bacon. This will be a fun place to hang out on nights and weekends in SOWA. Our neighborhood is lacking!
So, why all the negativity? I guess the joint is not very consistent yet. My burger was great, but I was the only one in the store on a Saturday afternoon. I can see where they may go wrong in a busy rush; it's a small kitchen, and the offer for 100 burgers in one hour for $365 is pretty ballsy. Pretty coenties-y, too. -
Review from Magan B.
Astoria, Queens, NY
8/14/2011
I'm writing a delayed review and I see it says CLOSED! WHAT?!?! I liked this place. It's out of the way for me but it was good. Really good! It had a cozy upstairs, decent brews, and a pretty tasty burger. Service was great, and I loved the rings.
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Review from Chris J.
3/19/2008
Burger Shoppe was not that good. If you are ever trapped in this area and need to eat ground meat on a bun, go to Burger Burger.
I had 2 Shoppe Burgers ($4 each). I would say they were edible at best. I just got two burgers and it was approximately $8.67. Those are crack prices. They couldn't even throw in some fries, because everything on the menu is a la carte. Who the hell ever heard of eating an upscale hamburger? Me thinks they will be out of business in about 4 months once the novelty wears off.Listed in: Blue Horse Shoe loves..., Strictly Flesh...
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Review from G L.
Manhattan, NY
9/28/2011
I'm so sad this place has closed... If the chef has gone somewhere else I hope they'll tell me where they are... This was my favorite burger place in the city by far...!!!
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Review from Tracy T.
New York, NY
4/22/2010
Burger Shoppe is often a favorite when we go out for after-work drinks. Happy hour special (1/2 off drafts) is pretty solid as is their happy hour food menu. Shoestring fries are good. Shoppe burgers are delicious. Overall a pretty good experience, but not amaaaazing.
Recently, they added the mac and cheese burger that my friend and I were very excited to try (since we are both mac and cheese fanatics), but were really disappointed. I expected their shoppe burger topped with a pile of mac and cheese (sloppy joe style, but with mac and cheese...mmmm). Unfortunately, that's not what it was. The mac and cheese was mixed into the patty. I was impressed by the fact that I was still able to taste the mac, but so much effort to put on the side of cheese. Granted, it was a much cleaner experience than it would've been had the mac and cheese be put on top...but as they say at Carl's Jr. "if it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face." Plus the salad sucked. Did they spill a jar of salt on it???? Super salty, not from the dressing, but from SALT. Weird.
Needless to say, my other burger experiences have been much better than my most recent one here, so I still like it. -
Review from Elliott B.
New York, NY
2/4/2010
Some of the other yelpers complain about premade burgers, but if you hit up Burger Shoppe around primetime lunch or dinner hours, you'll be sure to get a fresh burger.
My favorite--the Becky Burger--is nice, with cheese and pickles. Yes they're small, so get two. Eat it while hot! -
Review from Justin L.
Brooklyn, NY
11/9/2010
Great
Shakes but
The burgers
Are only four
To six ounces and are way overpriced. -
Review from Meryl C.
New York, NY
3/20/2008
I really enjoyed this. Was there last week and had the Shoppe Burger, which I thought was one of the best burger's I've had in a while. It was perfectly done - and the toppings were pretty insane. The fries were quite good as well and the wine list was much better than I expected, particularly for a typical burger joint. Also, had a shockingly good appetizer - the fried chicken livers. Chopped liver like grandma used to make. Yum!
The decor and music really make the place a spot you want to hang out. Downstairs, diner-esque; upstairs, lodge-like. All good.
The only downside, which cost the joint a star is the service. Clearly, they are still working out the kinks. -
Review from Hani K.
New York, NY
3/25/2008
Given that the city has become particularly inundated with classed up burger joints these past several years (see Shake Shack, Goodburger, Burgers and Cupcakes, Zip, Pop, and the Burger Joint, natch.), one would think that it would be increasingly hard for upstarts to improve dramatically on the concept. I admit that, in this regard, Wall Street Burger Shoppe (its proper name, not just "Burger Shoppe"), doesn't necessarily distinguish itself on substantive grounds The size and consistency of the burgers are equivalent to what you'd find at Corner Bistro and the interior is textbook soda fountain (though the charmingly spartan bar area upstairs is another story).
That said, there's a certain daringness to their (admittedly) limited selection that does set out upon closer inspection. I got coaxed into ordering the shrimp sandwich, instead of a burger, and what I got were two massive butterflied shrimp practically folded over each other onto a bun with the usual condiments. It was satisfying and not excessively meaty (per Jackson Hole). The fries, however, were pretty pedestrian, but I was brought back by the Chocolate Guinness Shake. Had I come earlier in the day, I might've gotten to try the Banana Rum Shake that was this week's special, which would have been exactly what my sore throat needed.
And then, of course, there's the location. If you work in the Financial District, you need no explanation for the abominable dearth of dining opportunities available, particularly if you work around Water Street like myself. I could see this place being the perfect weekend,/overtime indulgence (although my wasteline would be much better served by the Glatt Kosher Subway next door).
The bar upstairs serves a full menu, which I did not have a look at (though the owner and manager both kept vouching for its steaks). It does indeed seem like an afterthought, but in the intimate and clandestine way of so many watering holes in Williamsburg and the East Village. If you've positively had your fill of Stone Street, and you yearn to make your monthly Thursday evening co-worker sortees slightly less awkward seeming you may do well to try this place out for a change. -
Review from Barbara D.
Jersey City, NJ
2/25/2010
WOW! Glad I didn't read the reviews before going here at the end of January... bc it seems like someone DEFINITELY has it out for this place. Talk about a bunch of bogus reviews!!! Geez...
Anyway... I went here with my friend, Jen... who is nothing short of burger-obsessed! It was my birthday gift to myself after running 2 half marathons in 8 days!
Naturally, we had also received the Urban Daddy email and were SO EXCITED about the mac-n-cheese burger. We LOVED it... that's right... didn't just like it... LOVED IT. They smothered our burgers with cheese... in addition to the cheese and mac inside the burger.
I ordered mine with sweet potato fries... she had regular fries. Both were great! We loved that they gave us extra cheese sauce on the side also... worked great with the fries!
We went on a Monday... and there aren't too many tables, but all of them were filled by 8pm. We had made reservations to be on the safe side. The Urban Daddy article had just come out a few weeks ago, so my guess is that it was still residual traffic from curious readers.
Anyway, highly recommend trying it. We had desserts also, which were just ok.. nothing special. I would definitely return... but will order a milkshake instead of a dessert next time, I think! -
Review from David H.
New York, NY
1/13/2009
I wanted it to be good. I wanted it to be something great. the first time I was there is was definately a 4 star choice. After that, however, things went downhill faster than wunderbed in a fistfight.
The burgers are teeny-tiny. One is not enough.. two is too many! Price is a little on the high side (expect to pay about $14 per meal). Taste is wanting.
and no... the sub prime burgers aren't that funny. Only go if you work near and want a change. -
Review from Hannah C.
New York, NY
6/18/2010
There are a lot of mixed reviews of this place so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I can understand why people don't like this place: the food service is exceptionally slow, the burgers are small. There are reasons to defend both those concerns. Supposedly they have a lot of online orders, so even though the place may seem empty they're busy trying to handle too many things at once. They do need to work on their speed. Also, they say on the menu if a burger is 4oz or 6oz. Despite this I was still pretty surprised to see the size of the burger. I will admit that it makes up in thickness for where it seems to lacks in area.
I got the shoppe burger and the guiness shake (chocolate ice cream with guiness). They were both tasty and I would recommend them. There isn't anything exceptionally special about the shake but there's nothing wrong with it either; it's just a nice compliment to a burger. The shoppe burger seems small compared to normal burgers but the patty was juicy and though I wasn't satiated, I was pleased with the quality and portion. It felt like the right snack size for a meal sometime between lunch and late dinner. You would definitely come here more for a taste rather than a full stomach.
They do give out free fries if you show them the menu they have next to the register. It's in small print on the bottom. -
Review from Kenny C.
New York, NY
5/30/2010 3 photos
I'll start by saying this "burger shoppe" deserves a Zero. AVOID THIS PLACE! If someone suggest this place, stop, do not pass go then beat the hell out of them!
This place should be avoided at all cost! That is unless you like and are accustomed to abysmal service from a Donkey, no management on site and and an error prone kitchen. (Although based on what a nitwit the server was, they could have been the problem in regard to the incorrect orders.)
A group of folks from the office decided to try burger shoppe as we've been discussing good joints.
Burger shoppe is suggested and we haul our asses all the way to the tip of lower Manhattan. Most of us have perused the menu and know what we want. Everything looks and sounds great.
From the outside the place looks cool. Very old school burger shop downstairs and sit-down tables and a bar are upstairs.
I'm psyched. A couple of people in our group are already there, so we join the party already in session.
Sat down and some folks ordered shakes and onion rings. We're ready to order and it takes for ever for the server to come as he is also the bartender. 10 minutes go buy and the guy completely ignores us. Other tables fill and he is overwhelmed.
He finally takes our orders but tells us one in our party, who is a vegetarian, that they cannot order from the "all day menu" as it's not available. WHY THE HELL HAVE AN ALL DAY MENU?
We all must order off the bar menu. We order various burgers notably the Mac n' cheese, Porterhouse and Bar Room. The donkey doesn't write a thing down. I know that was a recipe for disaster.
He leaves and doesn't come back for about 20 minutes. At this time all the tables are seated. We inquire on our order and he states "it's coming". another 20 minutes goes by. No food. At this point patrons at other tables are also inquiring about their orders. I ask for a manager, he tells me "there is no manager" WTH? No manager at an establishment at main dinner hours? Makes no sense. As a group we decide to leave if the food is not here in 10 minutes. Just as we are preparing to leave the food arrives.
The food looks horrible, is cold and many orders are wrong!
The pictures and descriptions on the menu vary greatly from what was ordered and received.
We decided to leave. Those at adjacent tables can see and hear our convo and I invite them to walk out as well.
Do not waste your time at this "restaurant". Burger Shoppe is a total disaster and needs a visit from Gordon Ramsey! -
Review from Victor K.
Nanuet, NY
Updated - 3/15/2010
I accompanied a friend who wanted to try a satisfy their burger craving. I warned her. I was right... nothing changed. I ordered nothing and merely waited. She agreed about the bad service and lousy food.
A sidenote for those working in the Financial Area: Frites and Meats truck comes to Broad & Water Street on Monday and Thursday. This might change so check their twitter. I had their grass fed beef burger... solid.1 Previous Review:
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3/2/2009
Wow this place is just lousy. Get better burgers at Ulysses. Customer service is just non-existent.
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Review from N S.
Long Island City, NY
7/23/2010
I've only been to the burger shoppe once and order take-out.
The guy at the register is nice and friendly. He saw how long the line was for take-out and started handing out menus so, when you get to him, you know what you want.
The take-out kitchen staff seems to be very efficient. I mean, they work their butts off with take-out order and deliveries as well!
The burgers are good here and not as greasy at other places. if you get some of their specialty burgers, they pile it high with toppings. I think I got like the california burger with avocados. i should have gotten just a plain burger to truly test and see if its good quality meat.
There's an upstairs dine-in and bar area. I peak in to see and by 1PM on Thursday afternoon, it was packed for lunch time. After all, it's in the wall street area, also close to the seaport. So, you get your mix of office executives/ typical financial or IT guys and tourist. The dine-in area has a bar and i belive they serve alcohol, I know beer for sure but not sure if they have a full bar.
Overall....will give it a second go
Service: fast and friendly
Decor: upstairs dine-in bar area, downstart (1st floor) take-out area -
Review from Nik N.
3/30/2008
AMENDED REVIEW: (for the bar upstairs, not the diner on street level)
as you see below, i previously stated that i wanted to believe this place was "the little shoppe that could"....
and while at the time, i wasn't sure i'd be back... i found myself wandering in for a second shot last week.
and i am so glad i did.
firstly, the staff remembered me from my last experience. impressive for nyc, i think.
secondly, while it wasn't on the menu, they made the shoppe platter happen for me with a substitute of their chop salad instead of fries...
while i was initially weary of the burger bites i consumed based on my last experience, and i looked into each bite before i took it, i was pleasantly surprised... and the salad was enormously delicious...
my taste buds gleefully satisfied with my meal. the two burgers and the salad was the perfect delectable amount.
the staff was very friendly, the space is cool (i am ignoring the fact that they put in a tv), and the food is above average. the guy next to me had the house fillet with hash browns,creamed spinach and tomato-onion salad... the cut of fillet was enormous, and it looked freaking delicious, and i hear the creamed spinach is a dish you will be dream about. i will definitely be back to give that a roll.
all said, if you want to support a place that's got good people at your service serving sincere food that has heart soul behind it, this is your place.
i am guessing once they have full liquor license (which will be soon) and folks catch on to what the burger shoppe truly has to offer, it will fast become another packed FiDi after-work/dinner mainstay...
in my opinion, this place is now more suited to be "the little shoppe that will"... so I'd better get my visits in now....
Previous Review:
i begrudgingly give this place 3 stars.
begrudgingly cause i am tempted to give them 2 but they are new, and i want to believe that they are the little shoppe that could.
i stopped in for a burger and a pint in the bar.
the space is cool for what they are trying to be... though i don't get the feeling that they have settled into the niche yet.
i had the shoppe burgers.... which upon arriving - looked delicious... so i was willing to forget that i was spending about 15$ for two white castle size burgers and a whole basket of fries.
the first burger was delicious. i thought to myself, okay, well they might be on to something here.... until i bit into the second burger which - while charred nicely on the outside - was ice cold and bloody on the inside.. ice cold hamburger is not delicious to me (or safe for that matter) i was left to wonder how one could manage to make a smallish burger look so cooked on the outside and be so uncooked on the inside... seemingly impossible for something less than 4 ounces.... i was left to assume they patties were frozen, or broiled far to quickly.
needless to say, my appetite was lost, and what seemed to start off as a good thing, quickly crashed.
the bartender offered me a free beer for the inconvenience. to which i politely declined.
i may try back in a few months after they've had some time to sort things out.
or i may not. -
Review from Diane L.
11/18/2009
I first came to this place several years ago when it first opened .. and when I came back, it was just as delicious as I remembered.
I always get the burger with swiss and mushrooms, onion rings, and a soda... its true, they take a while to get your orders, and sometimes they mix it up - but the food is really great, and the people are nice - they can't help their own confusion - forgive them!
i actually do think its comparable to a shake shack burger when you don't have the time to head to madison sq park or the upper west side. -
Review from Minhan S.
I do not know since when I am enjoying good juicy burgers. For me burgers were just a kind of fast food. But I gotta say, Burger king is not the actual burger king. lol
I visited this place on Friday during lunch time. The entrance looked very interesting, so we planned to visit this place since Monday. 1st floor? this floor is only for take-out. Wanna table? go to the 2nd floor.
We have this old saying in Korea: Smaller pepper is spicier.
I ordered a Shoppe burger with fries. Later the waiter told us that their burgers are very small. It was the same size of Pop burger; a little smaller than my palm. But it has an amazing taste! It has a thick juicy patty with some salad mixed with ketchup and mayo. Taste great!!! Fries? they are thinner than usual, but has better taste! If you think one burger is not enough, you can choose Real Deal which is a two-burger meal! Wanna have onion rings too? order half and half so that you can have onion rings and fries too!
One more, they have special cokes. I had black cherry and it was good.
This place is a bit pricey for the quality, but for quality of the food the price is just right! -
Review from Olga D.
Brooklyn, NY
11/5/2010
My praise for this place is rooted in two factors: the veggie burger and the beer selection.
Yes, I do think it's weird that my favorite thing on a burger joint's menu is one of its vegetarian options but it's one of the most delicious vegetable burger creations I've ever had.
Full disclosure here - I'm not a vegetarian, I'm just a vegetable enthusiast. My coworkers always order the regular meat burger and love it anyway. But I am here to praise the house-made vegetarian option.
First of all, it's the size of your head. A lot of reviews talk about how the Shoppe Burgers are a bit on the smaller side but these vegetarian beasts are massive. That special house sauce does wonders to that blend of vegetables, not to mention the cheese.
Do yourself a favor, swap regular fries for sweet potato fries. They'll rock you.
The beer: great happy hour, $3 taps. There's nothing better after a long, hard week of toiling in the Financial District than a Mother's Milk Stout, served in a frothy mug.
The crowd is often rambunctious Wall Street suit types, who drink too much beer and yell about manly stuff but such a theatrical performance is a rare one. Usually it's groups of pretty quite and nice people who all enjoy the dim and saloon like atmosphere.
Check out their website/Twitter for daily special deals. Free, nonobligatory milkshakes? New burgers? Free fries for tweeting about the place? Pretty cool.
I love this place. If you're a lady, check out the bathroom. It looks like a 1950s powder room that some Medicare patient can reminisce about today. -
Review from sarah d.
Brooklyn, NY
3/11/2010
I'm giving this place 4 stars; in an area with more options and more competition it might only merit 3, but down here in FiDi, for its genre this is the best and almost only place to go. Also I can see where some people might have had some negative experiences, but I think its one of those places where if you know how to play it, you'll get your 4 stars' worth.
Now, the first two times I came here, I ate in the cute oldschool burger shoppe-y lower level. That level only gets 2.5 stars, I'd say, no matter how you play it. It is cute as a button and you'll be tempted to do it, but I'd advise that you head right on up the stairs to the bar level, which is also tres charming. Unfortunately they charge a little extra for the same exact food up there, but I think its worth it.
When we sat in the lower level (entry level) the burgers were fine; but the service was awful. Even our sodas, which were served to use directly in bottles, took over 15 minutes to make it the 5 feet from the freezer to our counter seats. They seemed to be busy with takeout orders and there was hardly a soul in the place; and in that situation you'd think you might prioritize the in-house diners, but they did not. It took about 30 minutes for us to get our 2 burgers + 1 order of onion rings. In this time all of the three people working took at least 1 break to smoke, and one of them simply took a general break to stand around in the kitchen and goof off. Not awesome.
However, since then we've paid the extra couple of dollars to eat upstairs and pair our burgers with beer instead of soda, and I would say it is completely worth it. For one thing, I'm pretty sure that the food comes faster for some reason, probably because the bartender/waiter has to run downstairs himself to get the food, and I guess the cooks downstairs will prioritize other employees over mere diners. Secondly, even if the food is slow, its easier to be patient with a nice tasty cold beer.
My food/drink recommendations are as follows:
-Just go for the straight up shoppe burger. The fish sandwhich isn't great, I don't care for the cheese on the chicken sandwhich...but the burger is really tasty in the same way that homecooked burgers are tasty as opposed to, say, dumont-style premium burgers.
-If you like sweet potato fries, I'd opt for these over the regular fries or the onion rings. The onion rings are subpar and taste like they definitely got them from their grocer's freezer; on the other hand, the sweet potato fries are particularly good.
-I once had a pumpkin ale here that was the best ever! It was seasonal and gone the next time I came, but if you ever see a pumpkin ale on tap, give it a try! -
Review from Galvin C.
11/23/2010
I can't help but notice there are a lot of complaints about this place, which basically seem to boil down to:
1) Too expensive
2) Slow service
3) Small portions
Which I shall herewith address thusly, in the same order:
1) Financial District.
2) Financial District.
3) Lose some weight, fatso.
Seriously, I'm not getting all the guff this place gets. Sure, some of Burger Shoppe's performance would be worthy of complaint if measured relative to like, the earth, but seriously, this is the Financial District. You have to take into account the immediate environment before being able to launch any educated criticism. Yes, the place can be pretty slow and crowded around peak lunch hours, but you know what? Financial District. There are like two even remotely acceptable places to eat around here; even the fucking Chipotle has a line around the block. Are the prices too high? Financial Distr--actually, fuck that, I want to know where exactly in the city you are finding significantly better prices than $4.50 for a standard cheeseburger and $6-8 for specialty burgers. And the burgers are too small? Well boo hoo, corpuloso, they're a quarter-pound at the least--smaller than average, certainly, but I'd like to know at what point as a society we decided that a quarter-pound qualifies as too little meat for a sandwich. Ringringring, oh look, a telephone call, it's for you, it's your grotesquely malformed bathroom scale, and oh look it's your arteries and stomach fat sharing a separate call on Line 2 because you've tortured them so close to death that they could only muster up the strength to each dial half your phone number; they're all conference calling to say they have news, and it's that a quarter-pound of meat is probably all you SHOULD be having for lunch, especially since you know you'll be cramming down some fries/onion rings, a soda, and Jesus Christ maybe even a milkshake into your slowly but not too slowly dying body along with it. Yeah, I'm not a doctor, but you should probably listen to them.
My cartoonishly over-reactive defense of a well-to-do burger joint aside, it's not as if I have no complaints myself. Like I said, service can definitely be pretty slow (though usually pretty friendly) and the food isn't always as warm as I would. But the burgers are delicious (tasty meat, soft but solid bun) and you can get half fries/half onion rings, which is seriously an option I'd like to see everywhere. Also, you can get some pretty good deals here (the daily/special burgers, different every day, come with a free side, or simply tweet about the place for free fries), and they come up with some pretty tasty variations as well--the peanut butter and bacon "Elvis Burger" being a recent favorite.
Look, it's not as if the place couldn't stand some improvement, but I seriously don't understand where all the criticism is coming from here, which either means that I'm stupid/crazy (or stupid-crazy, always a possible explanation), there's some kind of weird Yelp conspiracy against the place, or this is all merely backlash for the Travel-Channel hype re: the ridiculous burger made of edible gold you can get here. But if you manage to look past all that, and disregard both the hype and the anti-hype, I think the chances are pretty good that you'll find Wall Street Burger Shoppe to be a pretty quality burger joint. Which, again, given that we're talking about the Financial District, is a stroke of improbable fortuity on par with scratching your ass and having a $20 fall out. Go on, enjoy your tasty, reasonably priced, actual-human-portion-sized burger, and ignore what everyone else but me says. I know I will.Listed in: Lunchtime in the Financial…
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Review from Mike D.
San Francisco, CA
1/22/2010
The only reason to go here as opposed to the other better burger joints around town (think: Shake Shack, Burger Joine, Island, etc.) is the NEW, SECRET menu item.
THE MAC AND CHEESE BURGER! I had it yesterday and I loved it. Although it's very heavy, it's full of flavor and grease and everything nice. The burger has the mac and cheese inside the patty so when it is grilled, the two comfort foods mesh together in a very emotional way. Beautiful!
A bit steep: $15. But I have yet to try a more unique effort to merge two of my fave foods!!!
Bravo! -
Review from Iliana P.
Upland, CA
1/29/2010 1 photo
I read about the new Mac and Cheese Burger on http://Urbandaddy.com and as soon as I read the description I thought to myself... I love whomever came up with this concoction. Warning, the burger is $15 but it is a piece of heaven.
There is mac and cheese inside the patty, it is served with a cheese sauce and topped with Gruyere crumbs. It is served with a side of arugula and cherry tomatoes tossed in a vinaigrette. I added the salad to the burger and there was an orgasmic explosion of flavor in my mouth. The patty was juicy and very flavorful and with every bite you got a taste of the mac and cheese; the cheese sauce and arugula simply added to the goodness. I also ordered a side of fries which I dipped in my side of cheese sauce! By fat the most expensive burger I've ever had, but totally worth it.
