Whitman’s

Ordered the Juicy Lucy and Brussels sprouts. Brussel sprouts were a lemony and a little spicy (which wasn’t indicated on the menu). Juicy Lucy was definitely good, but we had such high expectations based on previous reviews, that it just didn’t really live up to. Dining space (downstairs) is small and a little stuffy.

Arrived at 10.31pm only to be gleefully told by the staff that the kitchen closes at 10.30. The glee was palpable. Whitman’s sucks.

Not the worst experience at all but way too expensive for what you get! For around $ 15 you would expect bigger portions and no lack on bun/​bread/​dressing etc which unfortunately was the case.
Sweet people working there and don’t want this sound like a bad review but can’t give it more than 3* due to price !

AMAZING!!!
I had the brussel sprout salad and french fries with blue cheese sauce honey had the cheesesteak sandwich everything there was amazing, super nice servers amazing food good prices I cannot wait to go back

I never write Unilocal reviews but this place inspired me. After being stuck in a rut with a diner close to my house, I decided to try picking up Whitman’s for dinner last night since it’s only an extra two blocks out of my way.
Looks like I’ll be making the extra two blocks a lot more frequently– the quality and the prices at this cozy little place are outstanding. I had the BLT so I didn’t get to try their famous burgers, but MAN the BLT was great. Or maybe it’s the one at my local diner was just that lackluster that I forgot was a good one was like.
Regardless– ignore the tiny box it comes in– they pile that sandwich HIGH with crispy delicious bacon and a yummy special sauce all on delicious blue ribbon Pullmans bread. All for $ 7.
Already excited to go back.

Whitman’s is a great spot for group dinners or birthday parties. Though the upstairs is teeny tiny, there are a few longer tables downstairs that are excellent for group dining.
All of the burgers are delicious, and the crack kale is to die for. There’s definitely something for everyone here. Everyone’s raving about the Juicy Lucy, but the Bacon, Egg & Cheese Burger really hits the spot.

I’d heard some great things about Whitman’s across the interwebs, and while they dish up some really interesting burgers the NYC burger scene is simply too strong to say that Whitman’s cracked my elite burger tier after my recent visit.
Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere?
I really dig the upstairs casual downstairs dive get up at Whitman’s. It caters to both the fast casual and more sit down conversational groups at the same time, which is both difficult to pull off and rare these days. From there, the service at Whitman’s is friendly, and while I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily fast, that likely goes to show that they cook everything to order, which isn’t always the case with these new age contemporary burger spots. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
I was honestly a bit surprised that my Peanut Butter and Bacon burger only came to $ 10.00, but this later made sense given the relatively small size of my burger. I’m not sure the picture accurately captures it, but this was maybe midway between a slider and a full grown bar burger, and I’d use an In n’ Out single as a decent size comparison. That’s a decent price given the specialty nature of these burgers. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
The pieces were all here for an amazing burger: Potato bun, patty, peanut butter, applewood thick cut bacon. I mean my god how could it possible go wrong? It didn’t go wrong, but it didn’t go entirely right either. The bun was great, both warm and fluffy, and the bacon was seriously high quality, but it’s with the burger patty itself that things fell a bit short. My patty ordered medium was pretty overcooked on the outside almost to the point of being burnt, and it really didn’t have any inherent flavor of its own instead relying entirely on the peanut butter and the bacon. Even if fancy toppings are in the mix it’s still critical, at least in my book, to have a good flavorful patty, which this didn’t. Single Star Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
Whitman’s is a really good option for burgers, but I wouldn’t expect to be entirely blown away. No Star Granted.

Burger fanatics only! This place knows how to cook a superb burger. They’re famous for the «Juicy Lucy» burger but I opted for it’s sister burger, the «Bluicy.» The combination of bleu cheese stuffed a perfectly charred patty was almost too good to be true. Very few places in the city can serve up a burger of this quality
Bareburger around the corner in east village has solid burgers and if anything has more ‘creative’ burgers but Whitman’s overall patty takes the cake!
Solid beer selection also helps a lot as well — they have a different craft beer on tap every day. Although I didn’t catch the name of the beer I ordered that day, it tasted fresh and hit the spot.
Sides/​appetizers are a little on the weak side. The sweet potato fries were overpriced and tasted like your average bar fries that you could get at any dive bar. All their value lies in the juicy delicious burgers.

Ok ok so I know you came here for the Juicy Lucy and yeah, it’s that good, but I’m here to talk about the Patty Melt, because it deserves love too. Whitman’s is the best meat burger in the East Village, hands down. The meat is high quality and delicious, the ambiance downstairs is just the right mix of fun and casual, and the fried accoutrements are top-​notch, but for me, it’s the patty melt that really shines. Why? THREE KINDS OF CHEESE, that’s why! I’m usually not wild about the traditional swiss on a classic patty melt, and by throwing gruyère and american into the mix, Whitman’s has taken away my one complaint. It’s cheesy and greasy in just the right ways, and will satisfy even your most decadent meat cravings. After you’ve tried the juicy lucy at least once, don’t miss out on this bad boy.

The Mangold… Jesus. This burger is in my top 5 without question. The party is a mix of ground beef and beef brisket, so be prepared for a juicy burger. The big feature of this burger is the creamy horseradish. For me, it’s the perfect condiment for the burger because it’s such a major flavor contrast that doesn’t detract from the patty.
The burger is served a la carte so I paired it with their blue cheese fries. It’s their regular fries topped with a dollop of blue cheese dressing. Sounds simple enough but the dressing seems made in-​house and pairs perfectly. However it does get super salty towards the bottom of the bowl.
Their beer and wine list is very small but packed with selections that pair well with their burgers. Aside from the burgers they also sell salads, but why would you order a salad from a burger joint?
My only gripe was that my burger was overcooked. I asked for it medium rare but was brought to the table at medium well. Surprisingly the burger was still delicious. I can only assume it would’ve been that much better had it been cooked to perfection.
It does create some suspense for my next visit…

juicy Lucy comes to NY. after watching the food networks replaying episodes of best juicy lucys in Minnesota, Whitmans bring this yum treat to NYC!
Whats a juicy lucy? its a burger filled with cheese. when u bite into the burger, cheese explodes in your mouth and runs down your chin. Keep napkins near by!
With pimento cheese, lettuce tomato soft sesame bun this is on point! get fries to compliment burger. Please IS tiny. we had to wait for a seat. there is a ground floor and a downstairs– not wheelchair or mobility challenged friendly.

What a wonderful and delicious burger. Got the juicy Lucy with a fried egg and it was absolute perfection. The fried pickles are a must also, be sure to ask for extra sauce because it’s really good on the burger too. Love this place!

Got surprised once u saw the store from outside. It looks like a coffee shop without a table, but once u go in, u will see the stairs to go down to the basement where still isn’t big but have few tables that can fit about 20.
When we got there, all servers were sitting on one of the tables and settling the money of their shift I guess… So when they said «hey guys, welcome», I got shocked and surprised Coz I thought they are customers. Lol. Anyway, their service is good and all people keep smile and polite. accidentally, I got prepared a dirty knife. The waiter did apology and reset our table fast.
We got juicy Lucy and bluicy with sweet potato fries. The burgers are really good, but I wish they could change the bread or grill the bread a bit. The sweet potato fries not good at all. It’s sloppy soft, not crispy at all. So I suggest not spend money on their fries? Maybe we were just unlucky and got a bad one. Lol. Can not judge it’s def bad just after one shot, right? Lol
After all, it’s a small basement but sweet cozy place where to get a good delish burgers.

Wow — another winner although dry aged beef is definitely missing from the menu now if it once was said to be in the mix of meats on these hamburgers.
Enter the awkward space on street level and know that there’s a cozy downstairs area to receive service.
A menu consisting entirely of sandwiches and burgers lists 12 – 14 different varieties ranging from vegetarian to chicken to steak & cheese to hamburger.
The burgers ($ 9-​$ 12) are a special «beef short rib blend.» The patties are seasoned well: the beef is generally juicy, soft and cooked to requested medium rare temperature.
The Mangold is a brisket blend with red onions, cheddar cheese and horseradish cream. The bun is toasted and holds the filling together well. The toppings are slightly overwhelming of the meat which is lost in this particular burger.
The patty melt on the other hand is served between two butter toasted slices of pullman bread that can barely hold the juices from pouring down my hand. It is hard to discern three different cheeses here as the Gruyère definitely steals the show from the cheddar and American cheese. The brisket patty is again cooked toe requested med rare temp but is more obviously the star of thai hamburger.
Friendly service. These burgers are in the 5 – 6 oz range and well worth trying. The juicy Lucy, although not sampled by myself, was said to be quite a manageable burger despite the possible explosive nature of the beast.

Not great and not bad. Whitman’s falls right in the middle. The burgers did not change my world. The fries were boring and could use some salt. I found the food pretty bland except the beer sausage with caramelized onions. Flavor, ALAS! Plus the beer tap machine was out of service the day my group dined there.
On a positive note, Whitman’s has wonderful staff and offers a small, quaint atmosphere. Perfect hidden place for light conversation and provide a get away from the busy lower Manhattan area outside.

I had the Juicy Lucy and holy moles, it was one of the BEST burgers I’ve ever had! It’s super juicy so the name is very fitting, as I was eating it, the juice was pouring down all over my hands. It is quite messy but it is so worth it.

Get the Juicy Lucy (burger with pimento cheese in side) and sweet potato fries. You wont be disappointed. The food here is well priced for how delicious it is… except for the milkshakes. those are on the expensive side so we did not get them.
Will definitely be back and will probably order the same thing bc it was so darn good!

3.5 stars is what I give this place and half a star off because the waitress accidentally spilled by beer. It’s a cool little burger joint known for their Juicy Lucy Burgers. When we walked in, it wasn’t busy so we sat upstairs. It sorta has a rockabilly vibe to the place and was playing classic old school rock (which I really enjoy). We ordered the Juicy Lucy and it was quite a delicious burger though not the best I’ve ever had. It was as it’s name says, juicy and gushed out cheese from the center. Fantastic. I gulped mine down in about 5 minutes. The sweet potato fries were pretty standard fair.
It’s a good burger joint with some funny décor though I wouldn’t say a must.

When I first walked in, I noticed the décor — it’s a very cute place. It has 2 floors, so don’t bug out when you first walk in. When I first walked in, I was thrown off guard because the place looked tiny (until I saw the stairs). Nonetheless, I don’t recommend bringing a big party here.
I tried the Juicy Lucy here, and oh my, the burger was definitely juicy. As I took my first bite, the patty juice just drizzled all over my hands (this can either be a delightful or disgusting picture in your mind right now). What topped the burger off was the cheese inside. I believe the cheese is inside the actual patty (correct me if I’m wrong), but it just oozed out after each bite. It’s no ordinary cheese. The burger is $ 12.
After seeing reviews, I decided to try to crack kale. The concept seemed interesting. The texture was indeed interesting. It tasted like seaweed. It had a lot of potential, but it was just waaaaaaay too oily for me. Each bite tasted like I was drinking olive oil (or whatever oil the restaurant uses). And for $ 4? I’ll pass.

Yea for Burger Club!
Loved hanging out with this group.
Very interesting chats and stories. High fives from strangers.
Taking pictures of the downstairs kitsch.
Thoughts:
–Solid, medium well (order was medium rare), juicy ‘Juicy Lucy’ burger.
–All sides are not included.
–Great dill pickles (side order for $ 4.00)
–Crack kale– deep fried kale. Delicious, but could have been made in a oven with olive oil and kosher salt.
–Loved the sauteed kale. Had a touch of lemon and salt. Perfectly soft, no stems or sand, I could have had a huge bowl of this.
–Is it weird that I loved the kale more than the burger?