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A hand with painted blue nails dips a triple smash burger into a plastic container of molten yellow cheese.
A burger with cheese at Smashed. The restaurant was one of the first to open in a new wave of smash burger spots.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

The Best Smash Burgers in New York City

Thin, charred patties have taken over New York City. Here’s where to find some of our favorites.

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A burger with cheese at Smashed. The restaurant was one of the first to open in a new wave of smash burger spots.
| Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Long before they had their name, smash burgers were being flung from the grills of burger joints in Midwestern cities like St. Louis and Kansas City. Intense searing and a paper-thin press turned what might have been average-quality ground beef into something charred, caramelized, and deeply flavorful. Those patties found a name after the international Smashburger chain launched in 2007.

New Yorkers have been gobbling down smash burgers for years at chains like Five Guys, founded in 1986, and Shake Shack, in 2004. But something changed during the pandemic: Independent restaurants got in on the fun, cashing in on nostalgia and taking cues from the smash burger scene in Los Angeles. Their patties are smaller — around two ounces each — with crisp, lacy edges that spill over their buns.

Smash burgers in multiple styles can now be found at restaurants across the city, including those devoted entirely to their craft. These are some of our favorites.

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Harlem Shake

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Lined with nostalgic decorations like a museum, Harlem Shake’s patties are as thin as they come. The meat is crisp around the edges with a nice beef flavor, and a slice of American cheese is draped underneath. Burgers can be ordered with a few unusual toppings, like pickled cherry peppers and bacon, called the “hot mess,” or french fries and mayo seasoned with jerk spice. There’s a second location in Park Slope.

A darkened burger on a puffy bun with cheese underneath posed in a window looking out of the restaurant.
The Harlem classic at Harlem Shake.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Lovely's Old Fashioned

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A newcomer to Hell’s Kitchen, Lovely’s offers a spare menu centered on a smash burger with cheese. It’s served on a buttered bun with mayo, pickles, and raw onion by default, and a couple of premium sauces are available for an added cost. Traditional fries can be replaced with onion rings, and there are two desserts on the menu: chocolate chip cookies and bundt cakes.

An open storefront with a green awning.
Lovely’s in Hell’s Kitchen.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

The latest branch of this Israeli chain is found at the Hugh, a food court in Midtown East. On a menu with lamb kebabs and ratatouille, there’s also an unexpectedly good burger. It features a skinny beef patty that’s seared into oblivion on one side, folded over white cheddar, slathered with garlic aioli, and garnished with tomato and pickles. It’s served in a fluffy pita.

A thick pita with a blackened patty hanging out like a tongue.
Miznon’s smash burger comes in a pita.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Paper Plate

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Paper Plate started as a stall at Williamsburg Market before the Brooklyn food hall collapsed. It lives on at Jacx & Co., a food court in Long Island City, Queens, where it serves one of the city’s better smash burgers. A blend of brisket and short rib go into a patty that’s aggressively seared, then topped with American cheese. Caramelized onion, burger sauce, and a puffy potato bun complete the picture.

A cheeseburger wrapped in a red checked paper beside a serving of fries.
A burger with fries at Paper Plate.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

White Mana Diner

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The term smash burger may have been popularized in 2007 by Denver’s Smashburger chain, but the concept has been around far longer, dating back nearly a century ago when burgers were thin, cooked to a well-done temperature, and flattened with a spatula during the cooking process. White Mana started life as a kiosk at the 1939 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows and was later transplanted to a nest of highways at the foot of Jersey City Heights. The burgers are ultra-thin and taste as if they’ve bathed in the grease of the millions of patties that came before them.

Two burgers strewn out on a paper plate, besides a side of neon green pickles.
Burgers at White Mana Diner.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Petey's Burger

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Petey’s is a small restaurant in Astoria that’s been serving affordable burgers since 2008. (There’s a second branch in Long Island City.) Anticipating the trend by more than a decade, it makes a near-perfect smash burger without calling it one: thin patties are charred on the surface but remain miraculously juicy inside. With a skateboard theme, the dining room is particularly comfy for a burger joint.

A hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and cheese peeping out.
The burger at Petey’s.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Johny's Luncheonette

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Ever get the feeling that a single cheeseburger isn’t enough but that eating two would be over the top? Enter Johny’s, where a cheeseburger hero throws a pair of patties in a hero roll with extra American cheese and the usual greenery, to make a sandwich that one person can barely finish. The patties, as per the smash burger requirement, have been flattened and seared. Founded in 1994 but looking many decades older, Johny’s is the old-school latest lunch counter to occupy this space in a still-industrial corner of Chelsea.

A pair of patties on a baguette.
The cheeseburger hero at Johny’s Luncheonette.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Chelsea Papaya

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You wouldn’t expect to find a great smash burger at a hot dog restaurant named for papaya juice, but Chelsea Papaya prepares its patties with unusual care, smashing them repeatedly to release excess moisture so that you end up with a paragon of the genre. Burgers are ordered face-to-face from a cook, like at a bodega, and they can be adjusted to your standards: more done, no ketchup, a toasted bun, and so forth.

A cheeseburger with a sad looking bun.
The smashed cheeseburger at Chelsea Papaya.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Shake Shack

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Shake Shack started as a seasonal stand in Madison Square Park in 2001. Two decades later, it has more than 400 locations scattered across the globe. It’s the rare example of a chain that’s managed to keep up quality while expanding rapidly. Lettuce, tomato, American cheese, and a squirt of Shack Sauce serve as supporting roles for one of New York’s most popular smash burgers. What these patties lack in char, they make up for in size: You’d be hard-pressed to find a burger with more beef for under $10.

A burger from Shake Shack with tomato, American cheese, and green lettuce.
The Shake Shack chain started as a stand in Madison Square Park.
Eater NY

7th Street Burger

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When 7th Street Burger opened in 2021 in the former Caracas Arepa Bar space in the East Village, it caused a sensation. The idea is extreme simplicity: It sells only three cheeseburgers (a single, a double, and a vegetarian version made with Impossible Meat) that are seared and smashed flat with a slice of American cheese and a squirt of sauce. It’s smash burger heaven, and the chain has held up as it expands across the city. There are now around a dozen branches.

Two burgers on checked red paper and checked green paper.
Burgers at 7th Street Burger.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Jerrell's Betr Brgr

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The burgers at Jerrell’s tick all the boxes: They’re hot, greasy, filling, and available late at night. But in the crowded field of smash burgers, Jerrell’s stands out in one way — it’s completely vegan. The flavorful, satisfying Impossible burgers come with vegan cheese, grilled onions, and a sauce that adds a hint of sweetness. The double burgers can be loaded with vegan bacon, chili, and jalapenos. Order at the window under the bright, bold signage on Sixth Avenue.

Two burgers with poppy and sesame seed buns are unwrapped besides sides of waffle fries.
Jerrell’s BETR BRGR serves a vegan smash burger.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Mighties

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Though diminutive in size, Mighties in the Market Line food hall, under Essex Market, comes from chefs Jeremiah Stone and Fabián von Hauske Valtierra, who run the restaurants Contra and Wildair. Its connection with the Ends Meat butcher counter a few steps away guarantees the freshest beef. The little Mighties burger consists of a skinny patty, or two, with onions, pickles, cheddar cheese, and a burger sauce that tastes like the one at McDonald’s, across the street.

A hand clutches a small burger with a single, thin beef patty and two pickles poking out from under a bun.
The little Mighties smash burger.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Oh Boy Brooklyn

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Beck and Call, a small cafe in Williamsburg, shut down this spring, but its owners held onto the space and opened this new restaurant in its place. It serves natural wine starting at 8 a.m. most days and a version of the McGriddle breakfast sandwich at McDonald’s that’s viral on TikTok, but its smash burger is the best thing on the menu. Two patties are piled on a potato bun with pickles and American cheese. It’s the kind of burger you could easily eat two of.

A hand holds a piece of a smash burger at a restaurant in Brooklyn, Oh Boy.
The smash burger at Oh Boy.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Smashed

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Smashed became one of the earliest arrivals in the new wave of smash burger spots when it opened in 2021, and it now has a second location in the West Village. The signature burger comes with the choice of one, two, or three seared patties on a potato roll with American cheese, griddled and raw onions, pickles, and burger sauce. Also popular is the Big Smacc, a “smash burger Big Mac,” served on a sesame seed bun.

An aluminum lunch tray filled with a mess of french fries and two burgers, one of which sits on a sesame seeded bun.
Burgers and fries at Smashed.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Harlem Shake

Lined with nostalgic decorations like a museum, Harlem Shake’s patties are as thin as they come. The meat is crisp around the edges with a nice beef flavor, and a slice of American cheese is draped underneath. Burgers can be ordered with a few unusual toppings, like pickled cherry peppers and bacon, called the “hot mess,” or french fries and mayo seasoned with jerk spice. There’s a second location in Park Slope.

A darkened burger on a puffy bun with cheese underneath posed in a window looking out of the restaurant.
The Harlem classic at Harlem Shake.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Lovely's Old Fashioned

A newcomer to Hell’s Kitchen, Lovely’s offers a spare menu centered on a smash burger with cheese. It’s served on a buttered bun with mayo, pickles, and raw onion by default, and a couple of premium sauces are available for an added cost. Traditional fries can be replaced with onion rings, and there are two desserts on the menu: chocolate chip cookies and bundt cakes.

An open storefront with a green awning.
Lovely’s in Hell’s Kitchen.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Miznon

The latest branch of this Israeli chain is found at the Hugh, a food court in Midtown East. On a menu with lamb kebabs and ratatouille, there’s also an unexpectedly good burger. It features a skinny beef patty that’s seared into oblivion on one side, folded over white cheddar, slathered with garlic aioli, and garnished with tomato and pickles. It’s served in a fluffy pita.

A thick pita with a blackened patty hanging out like a tongue.
Miznon’s smash burger comes in a pita.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Paper Plate

Paper Plate started as a stall at Williamsburg Market before the Brooklyn food hall collapsed. It lives on at Jacx & Co., a food court in Long Island City, Queens, where it serves one of the city’s better smash burgers. A blend of brisket and short rib go into a patty that’s aggressively seared, then topped with American cheese. Caramelized onion, burger sauce, and a puffy potato bun complete the picture.

A cheeseburger wrapped in a red checked paper beside a serving of fries.
A burger with fries at Paper Plate.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

White Mana Diner

The term smash burger may have been popularized in 2007 by Denver’s Smashburger chain, but the concept has been around far longer, dating back nearly a century ago when burgers were thin, cooked to a well-done temperature, and flattened with a spatula during the cooking process. White Mana started life as a kiosk at the 1939 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows and was later transplanted to a nest of highways at the foot of Jersey City Heights. The burgers are ultra-thin and taste as if they’ve bathed in the grease of the millions of patties that came before them.

Two burgers strewn out on a paper plate, besides a side of neon green pickles.
Burgers at White Mana Diner.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Petey's Burger

Petey’s is a small restaurant in Astoria that’s been serving affordable burgers since 2008. (There’s a second branch in Long Island City.) Anticipating the trend by more than a decade, it makes a near-perfect smash burger without calling it one: thin patties are charred on the surface but remain miraculously juicy inside. With a skateboard theme, the dining room is particularly comfy for a burger joint.

A hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and cheese peeping out.
The burger at Petey’s.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Johny's Luncheonette

Ever get the feeling that a single cheeseburger isn’t enough but that eating two would be over the top? Enter Johny’s, where a cheeseburger hero throws a pair of patties in a hero roll with extra American cheese and the usual greenery, to make a sandwich that one person can barely finish. The patties, as per the smash burger requirement, have been flattened and seared. Founded in 1994 but looking many decades older, Johny’s is the old-school latest lunch counter to occupy this space in a still-industrial corner of Chelsea.

A pair of patties on a baguette.
The cheeseburger hero at Johny’s Luncheonette.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Chelsea Papaya

You wouldn’t expect to find a great smash burger at a hot dog restaurant named for papaya juice, but Chelsea Papaya prepares its patties with unusual care, smashing them repeatedly to release excess moisture so that you end up with a paragon of the genre. Burgers are ordered face-to-face from a cook, like at a bodega, and they can be adjusted to your standards: more done, no ketchup, a toasted bun, and so forth.

A cheeseburger with a sad looking bun.
The smashed cheeseburger at Chelsea Papaya.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Shake Shack

Shake Shack started as a seasonal stand in Madison Square Park in 2001. Two decades later, it has more than 400 locations scattered across the globe. It’s the rare example of a chain that’s managed to keep up quality while expanding rapidly. Lettuce, tomato, American cheese, and a squirt of Shack Sauce serve as supporting roles for one of New York’s most popular smash burgers. What these patties lack in char, they make up for in size: You’d be hard-pressed to find a burger with more beef for under $10.

A burger from Shake Shack with tomato, American cheese, and green lettuce.
The Shake Shack chain started as a stand in Madison Square Park.
Eater NY

7th Street Burger

When 7th Street Burger opened in 2021 in the former Caracas Arepa Bar space in the East Village, it caused a sensation. The idea is extreme simplicity: It sells only three cheeseburgers (a single, a double, and a vegetarian version made with Impossible Meat) that are seared and smashed flat with a slice of American cheese and a squirt of sauce. It’s smash burger heaven, and the chain has held up as it expands across the city. There are now around a dozen branches.

Two burgers on checked red paper and checked green paper.
Burgers at 7th Street Burger.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Jerrell's Betr Brgr

The burgers at Jerrell’s tick all the boxes: They’re hot, greasy, filling, and available late at night. But in the crowded field of smash burgers, Jerrell’s stands out in one way — it’s completely vegan. The flavorful, satisfying Impossible burgers come with vegan cheese, grilled onions, and a sauce that adds a hint of sweetness. The double burgers can be loaded with vegan bacon, chili, and jalapenos. Order at the window under the bright, bold signage on Sixth Avenue.

Two burgers with poppy and sesame seed buns are unwrapped besides sides of waffle fries.
Jerrell’s BETR BRGR serves a vegan smash burger.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Mighties

Though diminutive in size, Mighties in the Market Line food hall, under Essex Market, comes from chefs Jeremiah Stone and Fabián von Hauske Valtierra, who run the restaurants Contra and Wildair. Its connection with the Ends Meat butcher counter a few steps away guarantees the freshest beef. The little Mighties burger consists of a skinny patty, or two, with onions, pickles, cheddar cheese, and a burger sauce that tastes like the one at McDonald’s, across the street.

A hand clutches a small burger with a single, thin beef patty and two pickles poking out from under a bun.
The little Mighties smash burger.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Oh Boy Brooklyn

Beck and Call, a small cafe in Williamsburg, shut down this spring, but its owners held onto the space and opened this new restaurant in its place. It serves natural wine starting at 8 a.m. most days and a version of the McGriddle breakfast sandwich at McDonald’s that’s viral on TikTok, but its smash burger is the best thing on the menu. Two patties are piled on a potato bun with pickles and American cheese. It’s the kind of burger you could easily eat two of.

A hand holds a piece of a smash burger at a restaurant in Brooklyn, Oh Boy.
The smash burger at Oh Boy.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Smashed

Smashed became one of the earliest arrivals in the new wave of smash burger spots when it opened in 2021, and it now has a second location in the West Village. The signature burger comes with the choice of one, two, or three seared patties on a potato roll with American cheese, griddled and raw onions, pickles, and burger sauce. Also popular is the Big Smacc, a “smash burger Big Mac,” served on a sesame seed bun.

An aluminum lunch tray filled with a mess of french fries and two burgers, one of which sits on a sesame seeded bun.
Burgers and fries at Smashed.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

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