Citizen Burger Bar

Definitely the best burger in Charlottesville together with the best atmosphere! Waiters and waitresses always give great service and the food is always fresh. Don’t miss it if you are here to visit!

Visiting Charlottesville for the first time on Sunday and stopped into this place. I walked in with very low hopes, thinking that a burger joint is probably not the smartest lunch venue for a vegetarian. I ordered the Grilled Cheese #5 with sweet potato fries… and seriously, it might be the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had in my entire life. And I know a thing or two about grilled cheese sandwiches. The fries were perfect too. Oh, and I sat at the bar (45 min wait for an outdoor table at 1pm) and was served by a super friendly and attentive bartender. So thumbs up for great service too. I wish I didn’t live 3 hours away… I would be here every week!

AMAZING! probably the best burger I’ve ever had! The fresh cut fries were perfectly cooked. Everyone left with a food baby!
The beer selection was awesome too!
I wish we had one in NJ!
The server forgot our apps, but they brought them anyway-​free of charge. That’s a place that appreciates their customers.

Awesome food and great service. There’s usually a wait on nice days and on the weekends, but it’s worth it.

Citizen Burger seems to get all the attention among my friends… I’ll admit it’s good, but there’s more interesting spots. The burgers are pretty good, fries are great, and a decent selection of beverages. If you’re JUST in the mood for a ‘gourmet’ burger, go here.

Clue one. If you go to the free Friday, the mall gets busy! Walk around. Chill. And when you get a spot outside on a perfect night, enjoy a craft brew and a super fine burger. I almost felt as if I should know the cow’s name.

Have been to citizens burger a couple times but seems that the quality, cleanliness and service have deteriorated. It was especially annoying that on a warm night the AC seemed not to be working. After waiting 40 minutes for a table inside (it was rather warm outside) we were seated. Our Table and seats were still dirty when the waitress sat us. I sat on a greasy French fry– ruined my pants. The fries and especially onion rings were super greasy. We had asked for our burgers to be cooked well done. They were mostly medium. Bathrooms are dirty. While waiting in line for bathroom you have to stand next to the «dump off «room where the waiters bring the dirty dishes and it’s just gross. Unfortunately did not have a good experience.

This place was pretty full when we came in but the wait didn’t take too long. The service was great and food came out at a decent speed.
I went all out and got The Executive burger. I will say it was a different burger and wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be but it was definitely a solid burger. I think next time though I’d get one of the cheaper burgers on the menu since it didn’t wow me as much as I thought.
Their truffle fries though were INSANELY good. I ate all of them haha and they were just perfect.
They had a lot of options for beers and they came out pretty quick.
Overall though, this place is great. The other burgers my friends had were all amazing. The service is good but there is a little bit of a wait when you order food. Definitely recommend coming here though.

Have never, ever had a bad burger here. They have a super-​awesome one for $ 22 which I can never remember the name but it might be called The Citizen Burger. It has all-​natural, grass-​fed local beef with an egg, maybe pork belly, and perhaps diamonds and fairy dust. Mucho delicious. My number one burger so far in life. (#2 is at a Mexican place in Massachusetts.)
Moderate choice of funky beers too!
Inside is great but if you can sit outside on The Mall do it.

The food is always good, with the grilled cheese and sweet potato fries being some favorite options. This place is usually pretty busy so get there early or go during an off time.

Local fresh everything. Even down to the jalepenos you can order on your sandwich. The fresh comes through & everything is delish. They even make their own brioche rolls & croutons. For those who don’t want a burger, they have farm fresh chicken, cage free eggs, grilled cheese, vegan & GF offerings. Oh, and their keylime pie is smack ur mamma good! Best in town!
Décor is industrial farmhouse. Music is energetic. Staff is friendly

This place is a great little gem in the Charlottesville area. We stopped in here on Friday night during DMB weekend and even though it was busy, we were able to snag a couple of seats at the bar.
We started out with a couple of beers and some DELICIOUS fried pickles. These pickles are amazing and served pipping hot!
For dinner I ordered the build your own burger with chili, pickles and pimento cheese with truffle fries and my boyfriend ordered the Steakhouse burger with sweet potato fries. They were both thick, juicy and flavorful and all made with locally sourced products (bonus)! PS. the fries are yummmmmy!
Service was excellent and the bar staff was very friendly! Will stop back again the next time we are in the area.

These burgers aren’t cheap but wow they are delicious! and OMG the fries are to die for. I also love the outdoor seating on the mall.

This is the best burger place in Charlottesville, hands-​down. I got the Wild Mushroom & Swiss burger and it was huge in size and so delicious. Sorry that I don’t have any pictures of it, but I started chowing down as soon as my plate hit the table! The beef was juicy and tender. It was truly a gourmet burger. The other ingredients were also very fresh, including the delicious mushrooms, grilled onion, and the bun. I am not a fan of burger buns usually but theirs is awesome. I substituted a side salad for the fries (I don’t eat fries) but if you don’t think you’ll eat much of your sides, I would just go with the create your own burger option! The others at my table, however, did say that the fries were really good. We also ordered the fried pickle appetizer to share which was interesting and yummy but nothing too special.
The only reason why I wouldn’t give this place 5 stars is because of how long you have to wait to be seated. This happens every time I want to eat here but today we were not all that hungry when we first got there so we decided to wait. We went at 5:30pm on a Saturday and we had to wait an hour and 15 minutes to be seated. Luckily, they text and call you to give you updates and let you know when a table is available, so we could browse shops downtown in the meantime. I wish they would just take reservations though! Otherwise, the staff was very friendly and that made for a good experience!

Arguably the top burger place in Charlottesville (though many would fight me on this. To be fair I haven’t tried Boylan’s burgers just yet).
Locally-​sourced ingredients and really «farm-​fresh» meals, CB definitely delivers a top-​notch burger that is positively massive, not excessively greasy/​juicy, and is well-​complimented by the fries and condiments. Got fried pickles as an appetizer which really hit the spot, though I would have liked them to be cut up and then fried (we got straight-​up whole fried pickles!).
Most of the burgers range from $ 12 to $ 15, which is a touch above burger entrees at other burger places, but you get a TON of food at CB. The burgers are artfully crafted, thankfully do not fall apart the second you get your hands on it (like some places I’ve eaten at), and are coupled with a hefty side of fries in a tin container, unless you get a different side. Both the fries and sweet potato fries were great sides. I have a pretty decent appetite, and my burger filled me to the brim! The interior décor is also very upscale and gives a nice classy dining environment, and our server was very attentive. Could not be happier with our first Citizen Burger!

After roaming about for 30 min trying to find somewhere to eat that’s open on a Sunday, we finally caved and said we needed to try Citizen Burger. Word of advice, the burgers are massive so get an appetizer if you’re absolutely starving to death. For 15 $ roughly you get a whopping piled on burger and a LOAD of house cut fries, which are delicious. I am a sweet potato fry fan and CB makes the best in Cville as far as I’ve tried. I had the Steakhouse and my bf has the Southern and they were both delicious. We got the fried pickles beforehand but I was shocked that they fried it whole rather than in little slices. Not my fave, but he liked it.
The tables in the middle are super small though so it couldn’t fit our appetizer, water, and 2 plates really well. Aside from that, nothing to complain about with service or food! Solid 4 stars.

I have come to this 3 times with my boyfriend, but have always ended up going to other places because of the long wait. We ended up being too starved to wait 1 – 2 hours and with so many other restaurants nearby we were easily tempted. Finally last night, I came with a friend who was visiting Charlottesville from out of town. We had a busy day and were starved. We still waited 45 minutes but came in with the expectation and were more prepared to wait it out.
I ordered the Citizen Burger. My server asked me, you okay with it a little pink? and I said sure! I ordered a diet coke to go along with it.
Service 5 stars — she was great and check on us a lot.
Burger 4 stars — the burger was really good, dont get me wrong. however, its a little pinker than i think I would have preferred. Still great to eat, but next time I think i’ll adjust my order accordingly.
Fries 5 stars — sweet potato fries were DELICIOUS.
The only other thing I wish this restaurant had was milkshakes. I think the burger and milkshake combination would be a great addition to the variety. I didn’t see dessert on the menu either so might be nice to include. If I come back I’ll probably try a new style of burger. Great experience overall.

I’ve eaten here several times since living in Cville and my general consensus is the burgers are good, the fries are delicious, and the service decent. The biggest draw for my friends and I would definitely be the fries whether its the sweet potato or the mouth watering truffle fries. The truffle fries are hand cut, covered in truffle oil, parmesan cheese, and freshly made. These babies are one of my favorite in town. I’ve had the Citizen Burger, the Wild Mushroom and Swiss, and the make your own. I’d recommend the Hotness burger if you’re into chili, spice, and decadence. Or, if you’re like me and love a good earthy mushroom, order the Wild Mushroom and Swiss. It’s got that delightful mushroom tinge and subtle swiss flavor.
CBB’s overall vibe is choke full of patriotic nods to American history. It’s a solid place to come for a burger, beer, and bar. The exposed brick and surprisingly large elongated space gives a lively feel at any point during the week. The servers are knowledge about the beers and specials (just ask them, they’ll tell ya).
My only qualm? Depending on the night the wait can be as long as an hour and half. While that’s fantastic for CBB it can be rough on hungry visitors. I’d recommend coming early enough to put your name on the list, walk the mall, and don’t be in a rush to dine.

Seriously. A kick ass place. Located in Downtown Charlottesville. It’s in the heart of all the mix downtown. From the outside, it looks small but when you’re in, it’s huge. It’s everything you expect in a downtown bar. Drink selections out of the wazoo and as the name suggests, a solid burger selection.
I went with the wild mushroom and swiss burger for lunch. It was cooked medium rare as requested and very delicious. I enjoyed the different pieces of wild mushroom. Quite the change from your typical mushroom topping on most burgers.
The star of the meal by far were the shishito peppers. There’s no way to explain this. Just order it. FIVE STARS all the way on this appetizer. If you order a burger, I would suggest eating this along with your burger and fries.
Great place!

Wow, what a delicious burger!
Organic, grass-​fed, local beef from Charlottesville. How can you go wrong?
We arrived around 6:15pm on a Friday night and there was already a wait. They took our telephone number and said they would text us when the table was ready, in approximately 30 min. I like the text option rather than those vibrating discs you can only walk so far with lol
We started off with the fried pickle spears as an appetizer. My date loved them, and I thought they were ok (I’m more into fried pickle chips!). We both ordered craft beers. I had the Heritage American Expedition, which was good.
It had been a while since I’ve ordered a burger somewhere, and the Wild Mushroom & Swiss Burger was calling my name. My date went for the Surf ‘N Turf Burger, which consisted of Maine Lobster, beef, bacon, etc. Both burgers were served on a house brioche bun.
The burgers and fries (regular and sweet potato) were delicious! My date said the Surf ‘N Turf was amazing. And I loved my Mushroom and Swiss :)
The décor of the place was really nice and our service was good as well.
Definitely see why this place is so popular and hope to visit again soon!