Hops Burger Bar

Great burgers, fantastic selection, great sides, friendly service. Will definitely return to experience different menu items.

My wife, daughter and I tried Hops after hearing glowing reviews from some friends and reading other reviews. We went on a Monday, arriving just after opening time. It wasn’t crowded at all this day. Only two other tables had customers. The place looked pretty small and we were seated at one of the very small and tall bar tables with high chairs which are not very good for kids. Overall, the food was pretty good, though we did not think exceptional, service was very pleasant and friendly, though wait time seemed a little slow, and the place pretty small. I don’t consider the size of a restaurant in my ratings, just mention it as part of the experience for however others may use the info.
The menu looked interesting, it was nice to see interesting toppings available. We had the small College Hill Blues burger on brioche, and the small French Onion burger on brioche. Interestingly, they push the «large» burgers by pricing them only $ 1 more than the small. But the small 6oz was plenty. Our daughter got nuggets and chips (who would have thought right). We waited what seemed a long time (20 minutes) to receive our food since there were only 4 other and customers.
The burgers were a good size and very filling, and not overly greasy. The College Hills Blues burger was to be cooked medium, but I thought a little over done. I always pinch off a piece of the meat without any toppings to try the flavor. It was good, with adequate seasoning, tasted fresh, just over cooked so lost some juiciness. It comes with Bleu cheese, sautéed inions, mushrooms, spinach and horseradish dijon sauce. This was a good combination. I just thought the toppings were a little sparse for the bleu cheese and mushrooms (maybe three?). The brioche bun was nice as it added a nice texture with the outer brown crust. Very good burger, just could have had more bleu cheese flavor and maybe been pulled off the grill a minute sooner. I had fries as a side. Nothing special with these, and I didn’t think very good really. Average at best.
The French Onion burger comes with caramelized onions, gruyère cheese, aioli, garlic and onion dipping sauce. This was to be cooked well done. Again, good burger, and cooked as requested. Good amount of onion topping on this one, and the Brioche bun is great for dipping since the brioche crust doesn’t fall part when wet. The cheese may have been slightly lacking here, however. We got the home made chips with this one. The chips are very good, thick cut, crispy. We could eat these all day. Go with the chips.
The server was very nice and made nice conversation. Overall, a pleasant lunch, good food, reasonable price. The flavor combinations work. Be sure to check the chalk board over the bar for specials. After we’d ordered, I saw a burger with basil that sounded great but it was never mentioned. I have read all the reviews about wait times of an hour plus. For us, unless we just like Hops and want to be there specifically, we do not think this is such a good burger we’d wait that long. There are better burgers for sure. But a half hour to wait at night at many places is not to much to ask, and Hops seems like it would be a lively place at night.
Visited June 2015

After all the people telling me about Hops I finally got the chance to get by there on Father’s Day. I could tell it was going to be good by the fact that there were people waiting to eat and those that were already eating were almost overflowing from the place! The people waiting to be placed on the seating list were told that it would be a few minutes, but when we were seated immediately at the 2 person booth near the entrance to the bar. SCORE!!!
My lady ordered a glass of Merlot but I was able to order one of my favorite beers while there, Lonerider Sweet Josie Brown Ale. Another SCORE!!!
When it came time to order she went with the Spicy Goat and I decide on the Classic except that I ordered the bison instead of the beef. I can see what all the hype is about. The burger was cooked to a wonderful Mid Rare and super flavorful and juicy. (you hear that!!!) Yep thats the swish of another SCORE!
This is the kind of place that becomes a local superstar and at the same time draws people from all the surrounding area. If you haven’t had the chance to get there for a burger, PLEASE get there and smash a burger ASAP! You can thank me for the advice when you are taking the last few bites of that awesome burger.

The food here is amazing. Service is great, although it can lag sometimes when they’re packed (understandable). Servers are always welcoming and helpful. Prices are ok. We’ve never had issues the hundreds of times we’ve dined here.
I’m a burger person, for sure (N. Carolinian is always a safe bet), but their Big Bird is to die for. I love their fries and fried green tomatoes.
If it’s too packed, I’d rather get it to go than eat elsewhere.

So what can you say about a place that does a perfect burger. Perfectly cooked charbroiled hamburger. Not to fatty or greasy and not dry. Its all served on a soft delicious roll. Not sure if the buns are house made or not but they «aint coming from no bag» as my aunt used to say. The fries are a little intimidating because they all sound so good. My favorite are the Parmesan and sea salt.
They have a good beer line up with a lot of NC beer on tap. The atmosphere is casual and even though it is crowded they never rush you which is why we never mind waiting. They new location is nice but the original has a feel which keeps us coming back even though the new location is closer.
The only down side is the wait. It can be an hour or more and its outside. Heat, cold, rain I have sat through it all but its all worth it. My wife and daughter both claim to be vegetarian except for bacon and Hops burgers so you know they must be good. Dont try and get cute and show up on their «off hours» because they are just as busy at 2 p.m. as they are at noon. Everyone has that idea… once.

This burger joint is dynamite! By far the best burger I’ve had since moving to North Carolina. Burgers are cooked just right, right amount of flavors and complexity with toppings. Sweet potato fries were also very legit! I got the Diablo Burger which was amazing. I like some heat on my burgers but my goodness burger was amazing. Devoured it in less than 10 minutes. During the weekday, more likelihood of being able to eat here. On the weekends, very unlikely given the long lines. I’m definitely coming back next time I’m in Greensboro.

Wow, this burger made my day! What an excellent location. As others said, it is crowded and people have been waiting outside to get seated. Parking wasn’t that bad though as they have an additional lot across the street.
Burgers are really, really great. Juicy meat and huge. What shall I say? This has been the best burger I probably might have had so far!

We came here on a Sunday afternoon after trying to come here earlier in the weekend. This place gets busy, so if you have a hankering make sure to time your visit right or you could be waiting awhile.
We were greeted promptly and seated immediately. Our server was friendly and got our drinks going asap. They have a wide variety of beers available here and they seem to be really knowledgeable about them too.
Our table started with the truffle oil and parmesan fries. These were great! The fries were crispy and the truffle oil was not over done. I got the diablo burger on a pretzel bun and my husband got the college hill blues. The burgers were great! They were cooked to the right temperature and had all the proper fixings. I really liked the ability to customize with buns and other things. Service was friendly and always refilling our waters.
Their desserts sounds delicious, but we were too full to even consider. I would definitely come back if I were craving something a step up from your basic burger.

Best burgers in the triad — hands down! They have an excellent choice of draft beers and other liquor, but the burgers are the best thing here.
They have a large set of burger options with different variety of toppings and you can choose the patty meat — I have only tried the veggie patty (they also have a vegan patty), but my friends swear by the chicken, beef and other options.

Living in TX for some time, I was hesitant to get a burger since the meat is so good where I was… The burgers here are exceptional. I approve !
My husband took the spicy goat burger, and I highly suggest that burger. the parmessian fries are amazing (and I don’t like fries very much).
I took the house salad that comes with avocado and goat cheese which was Amazing. If you are a vegetarian, go for the house salad. its fresh and so good. They make their vinegrette dressing which is soo good. But if you eat meat, I would highly highly suggest getting a burger here.
Also, the beer choices are local and I was happy with the selection. Our server Taylor gave us good advice on the beer and let us sample some before choosing.
There was a line outside, but it is VERY much worth the wait !
last thing… they put goat cheese on everything ! it’s so refreshing ! :) I’ll be back many times :) Glad to see places like this in Greensboro :)

Their burgers are sooooo good I went for 2 days straight this past weekend. I haven’t had their burgers in almost a year & I finally had a chance to come! (Because they’re more busy now & there was always a long time when I try to come.) First day I had their Diablo burger w/​sea salt fries & the second day I had the North Carolinian burger w/​sweet potato fries. Ugh. It’s just so good. Period.

Best burger hands down. Wanted to try a new place today for my birthday and so glad we went here. The food is made fresh to order and doesn’t leave you feeling heavy and sluggish. You are satiated and feeling good! You can tell they use the best ingredients. I had the Diablo burger and it was awesome. Not too spicy either but just enough «kick» even for a spicy food lover like myself.

Best burger in NC? Well I haven’t tried all burger places in the state so can’t say but it’s pretty darn good. I got the bison burger and made my own — lettuce, onion, tomato, aged cheddar, avocado, and spinach. They accidentally added something that looked like a fried zucchini that I didn’t order and I thought they skimped out a bit on the avocado but gave me more spinach than I expected. All in all, it was high quality burger cooked to perfection. I ordered medium and got a medium. The burger was so tall I had to smooch it down and even cut it in half to fit it in my mouth.
Based on the burger, I would have gone 4.5 stars but the sweet potato fries were lukewarm and soggy. Now it might just be me but crispy awesome fries adds to the experience of a good burger. It’s like the jam to a peanut butter sandwich. So that kinda bummed me out.
Service was friend other than not getting my order right though a bit slow. We waited 15 minutes on a Tuesday night but they were as attentive as they could have been in clearing tables quickly. The bar was full the entire time too. Glad I didn’t come on a weekend night.
Overall I’d go back if in town. The fish and chips sounded really good too though it’d be hard to go to a burger place and not get an actual burger.

I would give this place 10 stars.
1^st of, service was excellent. Bartenders where friendly, knowledgeable on the beer they had on draft and the food they served.
2^nd Probably one of the best burger I have ever had.
Holy shittake this burger was a delight, had the Southwest Burger and fries w/​parmesan cheese, oil truffel; HEAVEN. Nothing bad about this place, I would recommend this to anybody if in Greensboro, NC to stop by this place.

I think I would give Hops a 3.5 total. I’ve been there probably half a dozen times now (attempted probably 12). The food is always tasty, but I’m never blown away, and my food is never so good that is justifies the ridiculous wait I experience every time I go.
I’ll admit I’m a little impatient, but I rarely find the need to wait over an hour during most of their hours of operation to have a burger.

First time patron and I tired the Hops American Classic burger with fries and shared an order of Carolina Red Onion Rings.
HUGE burger, I could only eat half but it was delicious and grilled perfectly. The fries were really, really goodAND those onion rings were out of this world! The tray they brought was enough for four people. luckily some were taken home!
Definitely going back to try the other burgers and have more onion rings!

This review is about a month late, but it’s better late than never. Unilocal once again led the hubby and I to an awesome meal experience, while exploring Greensboro, NC last month. Unilocal must have led everyone else in the area here, because we got there after what we thought would have been the lunch rush, however it was packed. It was so busy that there were people waiting outside, crazy, it was a work day, shouldn’t everyone be at work? With that being said, the parking situation is a little tight. We had to circle the building a few times before we grabbed a vacated spot.
We were so lucky to snag a couple of seats at the bar and it seemed a lot more exciting there, because we got the DL on all the popular craft/​local beers they carry and could sample them before selecting what we wanted. Our really cool bartender, recommended the Spicy Goat Burger ($ 10.25) to us with sweet potato fries. We like spicy on everything, so that hit the spot. Its very juicy certified angus beef burger, smothered in sweet and spicy pepper jelly, and crammed with lots of goat cheese and bacon! Drool! I’m getting hungry thinking about it!
To make ourselves feel slightly better about chowing down on such cholesterol loaded yumminess, we also split the Hops House salad ($ 7.75) and loved the fruity vinaigrette that it came with.
We were only disappointed that we did not try the dessert, Cheesecake by Alex, which we found out latter that day from our hotel’s employees that it is the best cheesecake and dessert in town. Maybe for the next time if we ever visit Greensboro again.

Made a pit stop at what Tripadvisor calls the «best burger in NC.» I’d disagree– it was good but definitely not the best burger. I ordered my burger medium and it was very well done, if you’re a burger bar the temperature of the burger should be correct.
The place is also pretty small, and has been over run since the big award. There’s not a lot of room to wait, and you will! We actually only waited about 20 minutes on a Thursday night around 6:15.
I got the French onion burger with sour cream, bacon, chive fries ($ 1.50 up charge) and my girlfriend got the Carolinian burger with truffle oil and Parmesan fries (also $ 1.50 up charge). Her food was definitely the winner, and her fries were awesome.
Glad we stopped in to see what all the fuss was about.

This place doesn’t need my 5-​star review. They have plenty already. But they are gonna get it anyway. My only complaint is that they have now gotten so popular for their great food that it is nearly impossibly to get a table in a reasonable time close to any normal eating hours, especially when school is in session. I have to get my fix at like 3:30 on a Tuesday or something.
The burgers are flavorful and creative with unique presentation. I love all the sides, and they brew a great sweet tea as well as employ one of the best beer selections in the area. Bravo.

Convenient location; however parking was awful. There are limited spaces in front and on the side and the spaces are tight.
Their beer selection was great; they had an expansive list and their draft selection was surprisingly very well rounded.
Their burgers were some of the best we had in the state. The selection was good and the portions were decent. You get fries, chips or salad with your burger. I got fries and the portions were just enough for me to be able to finish everything.
I will say they do up charge for things that I wish I would have known before hand; for example, if you wanted an 8oz. burger instead of the 6oz. it’s a dollar more and if you want specialty fries instead of the ones that come with the burger it’s an extra $ 1.50.