#71 in NYC
P.J. Clarke's
Hudson Yards, Manhattan
Location: 424 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001. Directions
NYC address record · Address checked 2026-09-27.
Brotherly Breakdown
Written by Brotherly Burgers
P.J. Clarke's Cadillac is a genuinely good, no-frills bacon cheeseburger from one of New York's great old saloons. It is well seasoned, the double-smoked bacon is really good, and the potato roll is solid, so the bites with bacon in them come together into a satisfying, complete mouthful.
It is not trying to reinvent anything, and nothing about it blew us away. The beef on its own is unremarkable, but the burger grew on us the more we ate it.
Best for
Classic bacon cheeseburgers, no-frills old-school burgers, double-smoked bacon, potato rolls, game nights near Madison Square Garden, and Hudson Yards dining.
The catch
The beef itself is unimpressive, and the burger leans on the bacon to make a complete bite. It is a reliable classic, not a destination burger.
Visit
- September 2026 — The Cadillac
What it's actually like
P.J. Clarke's has been on the corner of Third Avenue and East 55th Street since 1884, and it is one of the city's great old-school institutions. Buddy Holly proposed to Maria Elena Santiago here in 1958, Frank Sinatra claimed Table 20, and in the late 1950s Nat King Cole called its bacon cheeseburger "the Cadillac of burgers." The name stuck, and P.J. Clarke's has since grown well beyond that saloon. We ate at its Manhattan West location on West 33rd Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues and a short walk from Madison Square Garden, where the Cadillac is on the menu just as it is on Third Avenue: double-smoked bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion.
Nearly seventy years after Nat King Cole's line, it is probably more like the RAV4 of burgers: reliable, well built, and pretty hard to complain about. But it is not turning any heads.
The burger is exactly what you would expect from a place like this. It is no frills and well seasoned, though the beef on its own was unimpressive. The bacon is what carries it. It is really good, and the bites with bacon in them were the ones that came together into a solid, complete mouthful. The potato roll was solid and did its job.
It grew on us the more we ate it. It is by no means the best burger in New York, and it is not trying to be. What it is, is a genuinely good burger from a classic New York institution.
One note for anyone ordering: the Manhattan West menu lists the Cadillac at lunch, dinner and brunch with sea salt fries, alongside a plainer PJs 1884 Cheeseburger and a trio of mini burgers that includes a small Cadillac. The Third Avenue original prints the same Cadillac at the same price; this review is of the Manhattan West location.
Strengths
- Really good double-smoked bacon
- Well seasoned
- Solid potato roll
- Classic, no-frills build
- Grows on you as you eat
Weaknesses
- Unimpressive beef
- Nothing distinctive
Why this score
P.J. Clarke's separates itself through reliable fundamentals: good seasoning, really good bacon, and a solid potato roll that add up to a satisfying classic bacon cheeseburger.
The beef itself is unimpressive, and the burger never reaches for anything beyond reliable, which keeps it good rather than great.
Last written September 2026.
- Neighborhood
- Hudson Yards, Manhattan
- Cuisine
- Pub
- Price
- $$
The Cadillac
Double smoked bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion, on a potato roll. Served with sea salt fries.
Menu price: $27 · Fries included
Same price on the Manhattan West lunch, dinner and brunch menus, and on the Third Avenue menu.
Checked 2026-09-27 · Menu source. Prices may change.
P.J. Clarke's Manhattan West, at 424 West 33rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, a short walk from Madison Square Garden. An outpost of the Third Avenue saloon open since 1884, where Nat King Cole named the bacon cheeseburger "the Cadillac of burgers."
