5 Napkin Burger

Let me start out by saying, I hate the name. I just think its dumb. There, I said it.

Now that I have that off my chest, lets talk about 5 Napkin Burger. First, great location on Ninth Avenue at the corner of 45th Street. A nice interior with a decent size bar, not too campy, and pretty well laid out.

On my last trip I ate at the bar for an early lunch, and it was pretty dead inside, as the lunch trade west of 8th Avenue tends to be on weekdays. However, on my two prior "attempts" to have dinner there, one on a weekday, one on a weekend, I was told in one case the wait was 30 minutes, and on the other it was 45 minutes. Needless to say, I passed on both. Its plain and simple; I am not waiting for anything unless it is the categorical best of the best, as long as I am paying you. If you want to pay me, or pay for my meal, I will be happy to wait.

Onto the matter at hand; the burger. Lets keep it simple, its good. As a matter of fact, I would say it is very good. Is is great, or is it the best in Manhattan? No way. Tasty, nice size, flavorful, and cooked correctly. To me, these things should be obvious requirements for any burger. Sadly and obviously, they are not.

However, here is the deal killer for me; its a $14.95 for a cheeseburger. Yup, $14.95.

That to me is ridiculous, regardless of how close it is to Times Square and the Theater District. It borders on Criminal and is more than double the price of the Shake Shack cheese burger, and not nearly as good. Its also slightly more than double the price of the Parker Meridian Hotel's famed burger ($7.35), and while I have not had it, it is widely considered to be great, and usually on the Top 5 list of best burgers from most media outlets, and I assure you its a much fancier location near Central Park and far more deserving to charge an outrageous price for a burger.

So, this one was easy; 5 Napkin Burger gets a solid B for its burger, a D for its price, and a C for the dining experience for being way too crowded, having too many tourists, and having too long a wait for a table.

5 Napkin Burger
630 9th Avenue (Southeast corner of 45th Street)
NY, NY 10036
212.757.2277
www.5napkinburger.com