Best Burgers in Midtown NYC: Times Square, Rockefeller Center and Midtown East

The best burger in Midtown, and not by a little. The 550 Burger at Simon Kim's three-bar room at 550 Madison is beef-forward and precisely seasoned: a USDA Prime patty cooked perfectly and very juicy, peppercorn mustard and onion for the sharpness that cuts the richness, and a Parmesan crisp for another savory layer. The bun's chew becomes slightly too prominent in a few bites. That is the only limitation we found.

Price $38

A Korean American take on the fast-food cheeseburger: gochujang aioli, bread-and-butter pickles and onions on a soft scallion milk bun, a Big Mac-style build with more depth than the original. Highly flavorful, though every component leans sweet and the burger wants a sharper acidic or savory counterpoint. A short walk from Rockefeller Center on West 48th.

Price $25

A restrained steakhouse burger whose dry-aged prime beef was among the strongest we have encountered in New York, with Gruyère and a caramelized onion jam that adds a faint sweetness without distracting. The brioche bun is the limiting component and keeps the whole from matching its filling. Lunch only, on Eighth Avenue in the Theater District.

Price $27

A concept burger that delivers on its concept. Wagyu, Gruyère, horseradish mayonnaise and jus combine into something that genuinely tastes like French onion dip rather than a burger with onion-soup ideas attached. The bun is dry and flaky, which we would normally hold against a burger, and here it works: it soaks up the jus and carries more flavor into the bite. Inside the Moxy Times Square on Seventh Avenue.

Price $32

Undone by inconsistency rather than by design. Two Cheeseburgers Deluxe arrived at our table and only one was seasoned properly. The good one had a buttery crust on the toasted bun and real flavor, and still ran slightly meaty and dry with a bun a bit bready beneath the crust. The other was massively underseasoned. The Rockefeller Center brasserie is worth a visit; the burger is a coin flip.

Price $32

Price $38

A good, reliable smash burger: a nice crust on the patty, a good sauce, quick service, craft beer and good hospitality. It has the feel of a burger you can count on rather than one you travel for, which near Bryant Park is a genuinely useful thing to be. At $13 it is the cheapest burger in this guide by a distance.

Price $13

As classic as burgers get, and solidly above average rather than remarkable. Lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, cheddar and bacon on a sesame bun, every component present and correct, with a light hand on the sauce that gives it genuinely good balance. The meat is solid without being mind-blowing, and on a build this conventional the patty is the only thing that could lift it. Much of what you are paying for is the room.

Price $35

Dry from top to bottom: a dry, flaky bun, an overcooked patty, meat whose flavor was not good, floppy pickles. The bacon was the only thing holding it together, and every bite without bacon was underwhelming. For an upscale Midtown room from the team behind 4 Charles, this was poor execution and bad value. The best thing we ate all night was the carrot cake.

Price $29.99