Rare Bar & Grill

if there is anything you do before you die, try the T Bone burger at rare bar and grill! my waitress explained how its ground sirloin and strip which had me sold immediately. its wrapped in bacon and smothered with cheddar and crispy fried onions. aaamazing.

this place has some cool beers by the bottle as well and in the spirit of the holidays -- sam adams winter lager. you just cant go wrong!

if the food hasnt sold you -- their staff is friendly and know the menu in and out, as if they have tried everything on it (if i worked here, i definitly would) and theyve got a TV by the bar to keep up on the game

Pros: food, service, beer selection

Cons: decor, ambiance

Posted 12/20/08

Went there on my husband's birthday and we made reservations that we couldn't make and still received very quick seating when we finally made it to the restaurant. The drink menu is extremely limited so no excitement there but I fell in love with the choices of toppings and sauces for the GREAT onion rings and the burgers.. Next time, I will get a turkey burger because me and beef don't really work well together. LOL.

The only weird thing was that our bill came to $59 and I left a 20% tip and the waiter sort of frowned at me?? Was I wrong... when in NYC am I supposed to leave more? Anyways, I will definitely go back. Right in the heart of the West Village which is our fave spot in the city.

Pros: Great location, fast seating, great toppings, sauces

Cons: Limited drink menu

Posted 08/27/08

Went the other night with my wife and daughter. We loved everything. Those fries are fantastic. My daughter doesn't eat much big people food. She is 1! She had her first sweet potatoe frie and then her second and so on. We had to order another plate. My wife and I both enjoyed our burgers and really had a great time.

Posted 02/26/08

I stopped by Rare this past monday night to have some burgers with some friends after reading raving reviews on citysearch. We started with the lolipop buffalo wings which were shaved perfectly to the top. I had the burger trio because i couldnt decide on which burger i wanted from the excellent selection of gourmet toppings. Also we shared the fry sampler which had the excellent sweet potatoe and great sauces. This is a must when it comes to burgers.

Pros: Fry sampler

Cons: none

Posted 02/26/08

Rare on Bleecker and Rare Murray Hill are DA BOMB! The fries are great (all 3 varieties) the burgers ROCK
I think they won Best Burger, not sure, but Rare is definitely the Best Burger in my book! hands down.
the beer selection is extensive and I forgot to mention Rare has their own version of the "Harry's Salad" (similiar to Bobby Van's in Bridgehampton) Its amazing! The shrimp is super fresh, the green beans are crisp and ripe tomatos and a light vinegariette (I skip the bacon) One of the best salads around in my eyes!

Pros: YUMMY Fresh

Posted 02/26/08

I love burgers and had been looking forward to going to RARE. We were able to sit right away, and someone came by and took our order, but then didn't show up to our table again until 40 mins later- and without our food! In fact, she asked IF we had gotten our appetizers yet and we hadn't. When our food finally had come, they served everything at once at a little table. I had to ask twice for sugar, and my friend had to wait nearly 10 mins for ketchup! I actually thought at one point that this has to be some kind of experimental study! I can't even comment on the food because the service alone forever turned me off from this place. There are plenty of other great places in NYC that have good service, don't waste your time here!

Posted 02/23/08

The first time I ate here I was happy with my tasty burger on bed of greens (no bun) . perfect fries side of sauteed spinach. However when I ordered it for delivery my shoestring fries were hard as rocks & my spinach tasted fishy? Not sure if want to give them aother whirl...

Pros: waiter was on point

Cons: delivered food left much to be desired

Posted 01/30/08

My husband and I just came back from Rare and were very impressed. The burgers are just spectacular. The toppings, including cheddar and bacon, were excellent, as well as sweet potato fries and onion rings. We particularly enjoyed the assortment of dips that accompanied our side dishes. Although this is perhaps one of the priciest burger places around (burgers are $10-25, excluding fries), it is definitely worth it.

While we can understand that burgers at Rare are more expensive due to the quality of ingredients, what's up with the astronomical price for sparkling water? $5 for a small 12 oz bottle, c'mon!?!

Pros: great burgers, fries, and onion rings

Cons: $5 for small sparkling water!

Posted 10/26/07

Been to Rare two times with kids. Once on a Friday night and once for brunch and they where always accomodating and attentive to the needs of our group. You wouldn't figure a place in the hottest strip on Bleecker street to be kid friendly but they really are. The burgers are a good size and always very juicy and tasty. You can actually taste the quality and flavor of the beef. The fries sampler is a sizeable portion and good for big groups. The service is always attentive. The live music during weekend brunch is a very nice touch. We had a great experience each time were there.

Pros: friendly service, good food

Posted 10/12/07

I was looking for a first-date lunch/brunch spot and this place was perfect. Breezy, light atmosphere. Great food (burger looked great--my date got it). And the mini jazz perfomances in the background really gave the place a unique charm. It was cozy yet not too small and romantic that it could make things awkward, you know? Don't know what it's like at night but I highly recommend it for brunch on the weekend!

Pros: Atmosphere, food

Cons: ???

Posted 09/14/07

I don't eat meat but know a lot about veggie burgers and Rare has one of the best in town! The french fries are fabulous too.

Pros: clean, fun

Posted 05/06/07

An enormous feast, plain and simple. I had the special Murray's cheese burger. It was an aged goat cheese on the burger, also with a cacciatore sauce and a beer battered onion ring. Buddy of mine had the sirloin burger with another bevvy of fixins on it. Service and crowd was great, beer selection was nothing short of spectacular, and the overall meal was superior to most other 'high end' burger places. The decor was ugly, and the lighting was strange, but that's it. Tacky walls and paintings were the low point, but who cares? I was too busy enjoying my beer and burger. Definitely check it out!!

Pros: A few steps above corner bistro; selection

Cons: price

Posted 02/22/07

great place to get a burger, not cheap, but its worth it if u want a good burger, and they did it right, when u tell most places medium/rare it comes well, they really did it medium rare, would def recommend this place.

Posted 11/19/06

This is my favorite place to get a burger in NY. It's cooked just right, the cheese is great and so are the pickles. They also serve some of my favorite wines. It's also the most expensive meal of burgers and fries I've had in a while, but worth it.

Posted 11/13/06

I went with a date to the new jazz lounge that Rare has an added to thier already booming business. The "Lexington Lounge" is right off the main lobby, in front of the bathrooms, and the soothing yet exciting live jazz music just lures you right in. The room is sooo... intimate & comfortable. As soon as you get seated, either to a table or couches, you are served with a complimentray plate of hummis & nacho chips. The drinks are just as tasty as the ones in the bar .

Posted 10/15/06

Rare is a rare find: it's one of a select few of restaurants where almost everything on the menu tastes good. You can't go wrong with the kobe beef or Murray's cheese burger. The meat is always fresh and cooked to perfection. Rare does a great job at turning a staple american food, the burger, into a gourmet meal. But don't just go for the beef, the Ahi tuna burger is a great pick for any one, not just fish lovers and the ground turkey or ground chicken burger does not dissapoint the health-conscious. Don't forget to try a basket of fries or the mini-burgers... you won't be able to resist the sweet potatoe fries or mini lamb burger. With a unique decorum of trendy paintings this little dining room in the West village is the burger equivalent to the steak favorite Ruth Chris.

Posted 08/21/06

I went here this past weekend for lunch with friends. While we enjoyed the appetizers (kobe beef quesadillas and a mix of fries) the burgers themselves were not nearly as good. Several friends said it was the best burger they'd ever had so we were all very eager to try but were all disappointed. I ordered my burger medium-rare but ended up receiving a burger barely cooked at all. My friend ordered hers medium-well and it looked identical to mine. We wouldn't have had a problem with this if the burger had actually been tasty but even with the foie-gras, cheddar cheese, apple smoked bacon, leaks, etc. the burger was still pretty dull.

Overall, for a place that is known solely for their burgers, it was a complete disappointment.

Pros: appetizers, service, live music

Cons: burger

Posted 07/23/06