Rare

I'm a burger man, and thought I new a good burger, then I had one here. That was the 9 dollar buger....

Posted 08/23/09

I had been perusing CitySearch for a good brunch place around Grand Central...I came across Rare, which I thought was just a burger joint, and curiously checked out their menu. They had the most unhealthy, greasy, dirty, and DELICIOUS menu...So I had to check it out...
The following meals were what we ordered (along with descriptions):
-Kobe Beef Omelet: Did I say Dirty and DELICIOUS?! This thing was huge, greasy and scrumptious. It came with a well dressed salad AND a big bowl of fruit (which we dipped in the Honey Maple sauce- I'll explain later)
-Texas Omelet: Sloppy and SCRUMPTIOUS! Not as good as the Kobe omelet, but different and very tasty! Also came with a salad.
-Brunch Banana Waffles: Oh My God... While I WILL say, the waffle itself was a bit dry (next time, I'd totally get the french toast, also served with the bananas), the bananas on this thing were INCREDIBLE!!! They were made "Banana's Foster" style and were simply outstanding!
-As a side to share with the whole table (though it wasn't needed...HUGE portions), we ordered the sweet potato fries which were really good and came with this Honey Maple sauce that honestly could induce an org@sm (we even dipped the fruit in it and my friend put some on her waffles)

Overall, we had a great experience. And I didn't even mention the FREE cocktails! Great (and strong) Bloody Mary's, and a good Mimosa too...All included with our meals, and just one gave us a good buzz.
All this food & drink cost us only $50. DEFINITELY coming back soon!

The only reason I'm not giving this place 5 stars, is simply because we had to wait a long time to get our food...we were starving and it was SO hard to watch and smell everyone around us eating this amazing food.

BTW- For all you late risers, their brunch lasts til 4PM!!!

Pros: BRUNCH-options & value, Great Food, Huge Portions, Strong Drinks

Cons: Slow food prep, Midtown EAST

Posted 11/23/08

I went there with my parents and they had an awful good time at the bar before I got there chatting it up with the bartender and another patron. Once we were ready to eat we were seated promptly and this was at 6:30 on a wednesday. We ordered an appitizer and burgers and sweet potato fries. I loved my burger. My dad got the sloppy joe or something like that and didnt find it good. The waiter brought the wrong fries to the table and smelled a little bit. Overall a good experience.

Pros: Burgers, beer

Cons: Price

Posted 01/23/07

i had been looking forward to going to Rare to enjoy the fried pickles and burgers. Unfortunately, the fried pickles were non-existent and the burger was sub par. The actual patty was, well, Rare. What was more disappointing was the bun that it was served on. It was too small for the burger and almost hard in a stale sense. Not sure what type of rolls they are using, but i would recommend they try another type. Also the drinks are ridiculously expensive. ($15 mojhito?). It was also cramped and the service was a bit slow.
Overall-- i may recommend that if you are craving a burger to order in.

Posted 12/16/06

Had a nice lunch here. Great, cozy atmosphere on a chilly day. The burger was okay but came out too rare (guess I should have paid more attention to the name of the restaurant). Love the cheese - a weekly special from Murray's (this week is Irish cheddar). Note they no longer have fried pickles - something I was excited to try after reading the review. Service was a little slow but overall a not-too-crowded, relaxing place to meet a friend for lunch to catch up.

Posted 12/05/06

I love Rare. The food is great and the service is excellent. Great place to hang out after work. Now they.ve added a jazz club . It's called the Lexington Lounge, Had a great dinner last week with my girlfriend, and after dinner we went next door to the Jazz Club. They had this real cool Jazz quartette with a real hip female vocalist.. She was great singing all Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holiday favorites etc, among others. I understand they change the groups every night. A couple sitting next to us who live in the neighborhood said they enjoy the club and it's the best addition to the neighborhood in a long time. They come twice a week.. Couldn't agree with them more. By the way.... No Cover Charge or Music Charge. We're going back next week ...Jazz every Thurs, Fri and Sat.

Pros: Good food, Good music too

Posted 11/30/06

got to get the sweet potato fries my gf eats almost all of them and me the pickles. The pickles are a little salty for my taste but i still like them a lot. The M&M burger is delicious only there are no M&M's anywhere near the thing which is bad because i like chocolate. jk. Get a basket of fries, m&m burger and wash it down with a hoegarden and lemon you'll think your in heaven. Oh yeah the service here is incredible always always always on point. Dont miss

Pros: sweet potato fries, service

Cons: not really any

Posted 11/15/06

we sat at a bar table and had burgers and fries with awesome toppings and dips for the fries. yummy.

Pros: upscale burger and fries

Posted 11/05/06

Went for dinner last night with my boyfriend and was in a bit of a rush (heading to watch Agassi in the Open). The service was fabulous. Our waitress was very attentive and the busboys noticed anything and everything they could pick up off the table (the paper holding the rolled up napkins, the paper from the straws, a used, dirty napkin, etc.). The Trio of Fries Basket was good, though we would have preferred some seasoning on the Cottage Fries. The dipping sauces were tasty and quite different from one another, allowing for a variety of tastings. I had the Portobella burger (stuffed w/ spinach, goat cheese and peppers, I believe) which was very good and served with a side salad with a light dressing. My boyfriend had the Mexican Burger which he enjoyed, but while eating it told me that on our next visit, he'll try the M&M Burger.

We will definitely be back to try other "burger" offerings but will probably not go crazy with the French Fry Basket as it was big enough for 4 or more people. A side of fries will do the trick.

While we enjoyed our experience, we did have one complaint....2 burger/sandwiches, a french fry appetizer and 3 beers and we left with an $80 tab. The food isn't THAT good to charge such crazy prices for burgers.

Pros: Service, Dipping Sauces for Fries

Cons: Prices

Posted 08/28/06

Bottom line:

1) Burgers are mediocre at best.

2) Drinks are overpriced.

3) Service is slow.

4) Everything is overpriced.

Posted 07/17/06

I have been eating at Rare for a while, and I can't believe that people are writing negative things about the service and the management. I guess people need something to complain about! EVERY time I am there we are treated very well and the food is consistently great! If you're in the mood for a turket burger or a chicken burger, the ones at RARE are the tastiest and most moist I have eaten!

Posted 07/05/06

wow....a great rooftop for cocktails with views of the city and then a fabulous burger joint down below. The veggie burger is great as well as the Kobe beach. The sampler of french fries should not be missed either!

Posted 06/12/06

Came here for lunch, ordered the Kobe Wellington, medium. When I cut it open, it was blood red, stringy, and basically rare. Asked for it to be cooked a little more so I wasn't eating raw meat. After 10 minutes, a new patty came out, and alas, it was EVEN BLOODIER THAN THE FIRST TIME. The manager comes over and tells me, "It's the lighting. You're sitting under an orange light." I was in disbelief. He was patronizing and unapologetic. I didn't want to ruin my lunch break, so I simply asked if they could cook it once more. By the time my burger came out for the 3rd time (everyone was done eating), it was hard, dry and past well-done. Apparently at RARE, they don't know how to cook burgers "medium."

Cons: Bad service

Posted 04/30/06

I have been to this restaurant many times - was excited to have dinner there w/a pal of mine who I hadn't seen for a while. Sat at 6:30pm - ordered a full dinner - drinks, appetizers, entree, dessert & coffee (over $100+). We were rudely pushed out once the clock passed 8pm. Was shocked as I have dined in 100's of NY restaurants/have never been treated so poorly. I complained twice. Their response "it's a busy night - you can sit at the bar". None of the people seated near us could believe it either. It's not as though we were lingering -we had just finished coffee and I was polishing off a glass of wine. The night was ruined. The owner is a complete moron. I will never go there again. I am still in disbelief. It's a real shame.

Pros: Food

Cons: Too crowded, Loud, Awful Management

Posted 04/04/06

i cannot comprehend why some believe this establishment should be considered in the upper-echelon of NYC burger joints. the french fries were good, but the burger was marginal, thus the title of my review....

Cons: mediocre burgers

Posted 04/03/06

made the mistake of passing by this place and actually stopping in for food. The people were nice but the place is too expensive for what you get.

Posted 03/14/06

I used to be a regular at Rare, best burgers in the city!!! Sad that the food and service have taken such a turn for the worse. I had a horrible time there over the weekend. The food we ordered was just wrong on so many levels - nothing was cooked correctly. Service was just so bad, I might as well have been at a fast food joint. What happened?

Cons: Food, Service

Posted 01/24/06

Went to try their burgers after reading Zagat review and was blown away! Went and had a feast. All my friends ordered different burgers and we had to try each other's because they all looked so good. The bison burger was delicious as was the mexican burger. The Ahi Tuna burger was also great. You can only describe their HUGE basket of fries with 3 different dipping sauces as AMAZING. One of the owners, I think his name was Ross, was really nice and the service was great. If you like burgers you have to go to this place!

Posted 12/08/05

The place does not live up to its billing and needs new management.

Posted 11/01/05

This was a very disappointing experience. The burgers were burnt and the drinks were over priced. The whole place is a tourist trap; Citysearch should not give this place such a high score.

Pros: service, ambience

Cons: food

Posted 09/20/05

I was very disappointed after my first trip here, so I tried it again and was even more disappointed the second time around. The burger was overcooked on the outside but not in the inside. It had a burned taste. The fries are decent. And any burger fan should be insulted to be charged for pickles, even if they are from "the lower east side". Yet another Manhattan media creation.

Pros: nice decor

Cons: bad burger, expensive pickles

Posted 09/06/05

wow this was the worst. went there for dinner over the weekend and was treated rudely right away by what I think was a manager who was doing anything but managing. service was downright awful, the menu items were not prepared properly, and when we asked to speak to someone about it we were basically ignored by the waitress who did not even ask if we wanted more to drink during our "meal" if you can call it that. we will not be back nor will any of our friends.

Pros: none

Cons: manager, service, food

Posted 08/22/05

The burger was great even though it didn't come with fries. For the price they should include some fries. Our waitress seemed very stuck up, she needed to be a little more friendly and less pretencious. Atmosphere was good but it took a while for our meals to come.

Posted 08/17/05

First experience was during the lunch rush. The wait for a table was short, but the wait for food was way too long for the typical hour lunch break. The place was packed (we got the last open table) and the main dining area was so loud we couldn't hear the server tell us the specials and couldn't hear each other without screaming. Once the crowd left it was much better. We ordered burgers and a salad (mediocre) and the best thing was the fries. I definately won't bother going there again.

Pros: friendly staff

Cons: pricey, loud, long wait for food

Posted 08/12/05

Was very happy with the entire experiance. From walking in the door, being promptly seated, very friendly staff, who went out of they're way to serve. HUGE fry basket.. which crippled at least on of our lunch party... Good all the way around! Sweet potato fries were excellent, and i don't think they do the kobe burger original style anymore.. but they did have a kobe wellington that was EXCELLENT. Go hungry, and walk back to the office.

Pros: kobe kobe kobe, Sweet potato fries, Excellent service

Posted 08/01/05

Try Rare's burger sampler. It's the best way to
acquaint yourself with the wonderful food they
offer.

Pros: Inviting ambience, Unique burgers, Good drinks

Posted 06/12/05

My burger maven friend and myself headed here to taste their beef and were very pleased with our Kobe Beef burger - the most expensive on the menu, but migthy tasty. The onion rings were crunchy and had just the right saltiness and the french fries were also quite tasty. The menu of burgers is huge, but they're all done well. It's well-priced but it is a notch above a Soup-Burg in decor - dark lighting, very sports-bar like - so not date recommended, but definitely for a pig, er - cow-out!

Posted 03/14/05

Who would have thought? My friends have been bugging me to try this place, and I have resisted. Well, they finally won out, and I went this past sunday. Service was great and tack-sharp - we felt relaxed, not rushed, just a great sunday afternoon. We didn't have to ask for anything, refills were there, sauces, everything. The food was spectacular as well, I had a classic burger and sweet potato fries. everything was perfect! Thank you for making the day wonderful.

Posted 03/13/05

My wife and I had dinner at Rare on Friday, 3/4/05 and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I had the black bean and beef chili and my wife had the day's special, chicken noodle soup. The chili was loaded with beef and was served on a plate overflowing with strips of multi-colored taco chips. The chicken noodle was a winner too, loaded with chicken and noodles. But the best was the burgers, two Rare classics, with sweet-potato fries. The burgers were large, jucy and cooked to perfection. The fries were really different, we ate every last one! Service was great. Atmoshpere was fun. All-in-all a satisfying, fun evening. I will be back.

Pros: Great food, Reasonable prices

Posted 03/06/05

All I can say is amazing. I had the Kobe burger, my friend had the classic. We shared a sampler of their fries, with different dipping sauces for each one. Service was top noch, it was good before, seems to be stepped up, both the food and service. We didn't feel rushed, just a nice and relaxed sunday afternoon. The place just feels good - something different, don't know if it was the music or lights or something else, but we will be back very soon.

Pros: Food, Service, Atmosphere

Cons: NONE

Posted 02/27/05

Went there on Saturday between lunch and dinner but they let us sit in the dinning room anyway. Best cheeseburger we ever had. Onion Rings great too.

Pros: food, location, service

Posted 02/06/05

I waited over half an hour for the Rare Classic Burger. My friend and I both order the burger to be medium. The burgers came out to be dry and tasteless, like eating paper. The sweet potato fries was not that good also. I am very disappointed at the food and service. I don't understand where the high rating come from. I think I deserve a much better burger. I won't go back there again.

Posted 02/05/05

Had a birthday party for a friend, 10 people. We were seated promptly and they accomodated our group, by putting two tables together. The service and attention was great. My wife had the Kobe burger She said it was out of this world. I had the shrimp crab burger, loved it.. We ordered appetizers, calamari, spinach dip, wings.. That was great. Every one at the table raved about their meal. The wine and drinks and service was out of this world. All in all we had a great evening and I'm coming back.

Pros: food, service, wine

Posted 12/18/04

I can't believe this place is known for its hamburgers! There are definitely much better, less expensive hamburgers in NYC. On top of that, the manager was extremely rude. Will definitely not go back.

Pros: fries

Cons: , food, expensive

Posted 10/26/04

This is not your normal hotel restaurant or burger joint! This place was awesome! Very creative menu and selections....They have all types of burgers, beef, checiken, veggie, so it appeals to all palates...Very impressive! Highly reccomend to anyone looking for a laid back evening, with good food.

Posted 09/29/04

i have been eating at rare for almost a year now and it keeps getting better and better. this summer the roof was a great after dinner place to unwind. a rooftop bar with no cover and the best view of any other bar. upstairs or downstairs rare is the place to be

Pros: roof, food, service

Posted 08/20/04

While it's true the drinks upstairs are a little pricey, it's worth it to take in the view on the roof and then go downstairs to the bar for a more reasonably priced apricot martini. There are all sort of burgers to choose from though I usually go for the Classic and then add on any of the numberous great toppings. My husband likes the burger salad and the salmon burger as well, and I just had the ahi tuna salad which is a another great burger alternative. For dessert, the chocolate bread pudding is a terrific indulgence to be shared. The atmosphere is always great and the staff friendly and helpful. We've made it our neighborhood place. Just writing this puts me in the mood for a cheese burger with an order of shoe string fries. See you there tonight!

Pros: food, price, service

Posted 08/14/04

Between the overcooked food and inability of the staff to calculate a bill that came close to prices on the menu, I will not be back. Service was SLOW. Can't imagine coming with more than 2 and eaing in under 3 hours. The rooftop bar staff is nice eye candy, but rude!!! And drinks are WAY overpriced. Hopefully they improve to what their staff posts here.

Pros: Makes you like McD

Cons: , Staff RUDE

Posted 08/02/04

I have had nothing but good times at rare. the burgers variety and flavor is soooo delicicious.
when waiting in the bar for a table the Hostess and manager are always very accomodating and polite. i'ts always well worth the wait. i cant imagine eating a burger anywhere else, and after dinner the view on the roof is great for unwinding and having a cocktail

Pros: food, service, view on roof

Posted 07/31/04

I dined here after work, determined to decide for myself whether the hype was worth it. I had the Mexican burger and my colleague had the Rare cheesburger. They were both cooked to perfection and excellent. The frickles weren't very good. The service was good and our waitress very friendly. The prices were average for food, but the drinks were expensive. All in all, it was a RARE treat to have such a good burger

Pros: Burgers, Service

Posted 07/22/04

look for almost the same price as a 2 bigMac meal you can get an amazing dinner at rare... the service it top notch... I was one of the first customers and i still go back... the menu changes and the dishes are getting better and better...

Pros: Inexpensive, drinks

Posted 07/20/04

Do not go to this place. I've been there twice now and I will never go back. The first time was good enough that I was willing to give them a second chance, but my second visit was as bad as it gets. The waitstaff was very rude, it was impossible to get my water refilled, they messed up the check, they messed up the order, and to top it all off, the burgers were WAY overcooked. Even if the food does come out ok, its still overpriced. Bottom line - don't chance it by going here. The potential for a terrible meal greatly outweighs the the marginal enjoyment that could come from a good meal.

Pros: nothing

Cons: , food, price

Posted 07/18/04

I've been to rare may times. When i go at night the bar is usually packed with gorgeous women which makes the wait for a table seem small. Althought the food takes some time to get to the table, it is well worth the wait. Rare's variety of burgers is unmatched by any other spot in the city. the people who have written poor food reviews obviously have alterior motives. For burgers and a great place to meet women Rare and Rare View is the place to be.

Pros: bar crowd, burgers, Rare View

Cons: , wait for food

Posted 07/17/04

Went to lunch with a colleague and was seated promptly. After that it took over an hour for our lunch and the restaurant was not crowded. Mine burger was underdone and my colleauge's overdone. When the bill came it said that one of the things we ordered was $12, the menu listed it as $9. The restaurant apparently changed the price but did update the the menu. We tried to get the manager who flatly refused to come to our table and discuss the problem with us. We ended up having to follow him into the bar area.

Cons: , Poorly prepared food, Bad staff attitude

Posted 07/15/04

Service was awful! If it had been crowded it would have been understandable but we had to flag down a waiter just to get a glass of water. The waitress was rude when asked where our food was and then to top it off we were overcharged! If the menu lists a price - that is the price - not some other number. The most confusing thing - the manager refused to come speak with us when we asked the waitress to have him come over. I spoke with him on the way out and he seemed to be suprised that I thought that was strange. While the burgers were good, I can make better at home, and certainly don't need the rude treatment and poor service at Rare. I will not be back.

Cons: , Attitude, Service

Posted 07/15/04