RARE Bar & Grill

We had a 17 person family party in their back private room and it was perfect!
–No minimum spend required to reserve the room, when in fact I reached out to several restaurants in the area and they all required at least 1−2k of food and drinks to reserve a private room.
–AC was perfect temperature considering it was a 90 degree hot and humid day in NYC
–Food was great. The menu was a mix of brunch and lunch times that were all fairly priced.
-$ 5 for cocktails during brunch, and they were all delicious!
–Service was attentive (2 waiters for our party and they came around several times to take drink orders and asked if we needed anything else).
I highly recommend Rare for large groups!

Best rooftop bar in Manhattan!
Yes the drinks are pricey (nothing less than $ 10) but the VIEWS make up for it (oh hey Empire State Building!) Also, the space is enormous. You get off the elevator and think just the one side is the rooftop but it keeps going and going.

Simply put — the best burger I’ve ever eaten. The t-​bone. Great service and drinks. Also recommend the lollipop wings. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

The rooftop bar has a nice view but is a bit worn out and dated. Many of the floor tiles are cracked. Could use a sprucing up.
The restaurant on the ground floor is small and the menu very limited to mostly burgers.
Probably wouldn’t go back.

The burgers are excellent — many delicious choices. I got the trio (basically 3 large sliders). The servers are friendly.

This review is purely based on my experience at the rooftop. The view is okay. Other than that, I won’t consider coming back again. I was drinking vodka soda’s. First 2 drinks where poured by free hand. The drinks were not even heavy, pretty standard. On my 3^rd drink the bartender decided to use a measuring cup. What gives? I don’t mind paying $ 15 for drinks, but if your going to measure the booze afterwards, just not a place I want to spend money at. If they had used the measuring cup from the beginning, I just accept it and probably go to another place sooner. Going from free hand to measuring seems strange to me. The bartender thought he was slick hiding being other bartenders. I’m watching, people are watching. Also, they didn’t provide the itemized receipt which is also shady. Go for one drink max and leave. Also, there is one elevator that goes up to the roof top which is shared with other floors. Going up and going down took 15 – 20 mins. They won’t let you use the stairs either. Fire code violation perhaps?

So when it says 14 dollars glenfidich scotch on the menu and they charge you 16. I paid much more in tips but when the crazy mustache manager said it’s «upcharg» for the ice. I had to ask for my 6 dollars back, given that I paid 20 buck in undeserved tips. I strongly recommend that you check your bills

Good food and service at the bar. 3 stars because the restaurant area service needs improvement.

I have been here twice so far… great food, great service, great atmosphere. The rooftop bar needs to improve their drink menu though. I also wish they allowed people to dine on the rooftop. In the dining area, I had a vegetarian meltsation which was amazing and my boyfriend had the new york strip steak which he enjoyed. I wish I could remember the waitresses name because she was super sweet and attentive. Waitresses on the rooftop were def not up to her standards as they seemed as if they were rushing us out and kept taking away drinks that were not finished. It was not busy as we went on a monday and there was no need for that.

The food was amazing! As a vegetarian, I’m always a bit reluctant to go to places that are most noted for their burgers but I ordered the vegetable meltsation and it was great! The fried eggplant served as the pieces of bread in this sandwhich and the flavors went very well together. The only reason I’m giving Rare 4 stars is because we were originally attracted to this place because of their rooftop bar. However, there was a private party on the rooftop and, even though they let us up there, the bar was completely sectioned off and there was no waitstaff in sight. We stood in a group of about ten other strangers as equally as confused about how to order drinks until we finally left for a new bar. Otherwise, great place!

Went to roof. Music loud. Service terrible. Walked out after waiting 10 minutes. Reminder — no food on roof.

SO GOOD. I had their famous Jameson Black Barrel Burger. The cheese was amazing, very creamy and perfectly melted. The price was very fair, around $ 15. Order sweet potato fries as a side. Also very good, and got a free glass of wine for checking in on Unilocal!So remember to check-​in on Unilocal.WILL be coming back. Yum.

We came here when we heard Salvation Burger had had a fire and was closed! The burger definitely hits the spot — I got the organic classic and my date got one of the steakhouse burgers, which had been flambeed in whiskey, I think, before cooking. Both were delicious. We also got the sampler of french fries, which included seasoned waffle fries, sweet potato fries, and regular fries. Honestly — skip the regular fries and sweet potato fries and just get two orders of the seasoned waffle fries (I think they are called cottage fries on the menu). We also split the spinach artichoke dip to start (forgettable — also, save room for the burger and fries!), had no room for dessert. Ambience is casual — this place seems to be a popular gathering spot for the suits who work in the area.

Nice atmosphere. Decent food. Okay service.
The place was crowded when we came. We had to wait to get seated even though we had reservations.
We started with the Lollipop Wings and the French Fry Tasting Basket. I didn’t like the wings much, but the French fries were pretty good, and my favorite was the sweet potato fries. There was some fries that were stale though.
I had the Steak Au Poivre for my entre. It was served over some sauce and came with more fries and a big piece of lettuce. Steak tasted good and was cooked well.

Food: super yummy
Service: helpful, nice, attentive
Atmosphere: great
Price: affordable
Complaints:none
Personal fav: mexican burger. Its a surprise in a really goood way.

This is my favorite place to get a burger in NYC. Not only do they have all kinds of meats to choose from, they always cook a medium burger medium. They never over cook. The fries are delicious with all kinds of tasty dipping sauces. And great atmosphere.

Encore un bon resto américain dans lequel j’ai passé un très bon moment :3
Pour l’ambiance, l’endroit est sympa, par contre beaucoup de bruit, il faut un peu crier pour s’entendre… Mais la musique de fond est cool, et les serveurs sont très sympas. Nous sommes 8 mais ils réussissent à nous trouver une table rapidement, ouf !
Je commande un vegetarian sandwich, qui s’avère être délicieux, bien parfumé, pas fade, et croustillant à souhait (le pain était remplacé par de l’aubergine frite, un délice). Mes collègues ont pour la plupart pris des hamburgers, des club sandwichs ou des salades, et ça leur a beaucoup plu. Les frites sont maison, un bon point !
Je n’ai pas grand chose à dire ce soir à part que j’ai passé un bon repas, que c’était très bon, et que l’ambiance était fort sympathique !!!
Je recommande :)

So my date and I come in to the bar about 10:30 on Valentine’s day to find there’s some 1980’s revival going on with the music. !980’s music isn’t my thing, but hey to each their own. I tell the hostess that it’s a bit loud, so that I’d like to sit in the dining area instead of the bar. Mind you, the dining area is about 25% full, and it’s way past the evening rush. Sitting anywhere in the dining area shouldn’t be a problem. Except for the hostess. She wants to seat us in the dining area right next to the bar. It’s zero decibels quieter there. I say, «this isn’t going to work, how about in the corner at the far end of the room?» Nope, guess not. We got moved a little further in, and it was quieter, but it wasn’t the corner we asked for. Oh well.
Guys, Rare serves a decent burger and a decent drink. You’re not some ironic hipster bar in Park Slope. You’re a hotel bar in Murray Hill. Embrace that. It’s what you are. There’s no dance floor, and the crowd is late 30’s to early 60’s. Trust me. When they hear Cyndi Lauper, they’re transported back to their youth. It’s not ironic.
I’ll be back in two weeks. Let’s see if you’ve improved. Hope so. You serve mean desserts.

If you go here, just get a burger and move on. Don’t spend time looking through the menu — «oh the wings look good (btw i hear people say this all the time. how can words on a page look good?); hm that table got the fried calamari — smells great; or maybe i’m in the mood for a steak actually» — just stop that nonsense. You are in Rare for the great burgers and that’s all. If you want something else, maybe order a side of fries or whatever — I don’t care.
PS– the entrance to this place is super weird. It’s attached to a hotel so you sort of enter in through the lobby, and there are always people hanging out on the couches or at the free computers, which I don’t understand. It kind of creeps me out if we’re being honest. It’s not even one of those nice lobbies with a fake trendy bar with a nice mid-​western gal here on business ordering martinis to pass the time, etc. Its just a small hotel lobby. Strange stuff. Just walk through the doors, take a hard right into Rare and enjoy your burger.

Surprisingly good and inexpensive for a restaurant in a hotel. I have been here several times and it’s always a lively, fun place. There is a wide selection of burgers, all of which are excellent and not overpriced, even for NYC. The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is that the service can be a problem — I’ve been seated and then told I have to move, been forgotten by waiters, and had to wait for what seemed like forever for my check. Staff is extremely friendly, just a bit inexperienced.

Tasty burger joint. Good cocktails. Convivial atmosphere. Comfortable seating. Note — this is for the ground floor restaurant, I was not at the rooftop. The service was quick, and their bartenders are also very friendly/​helpful.

Delicious burger! I usually stay at the Shelburne Hotel (co-​located with this restaurant) when I am in NY. I finally wandered into Rare on my last visit and wish I had wandered in sooner. It was really a memorable burger. I want one right now!!! It was perfectly dark and crisp on the outside while pink and juicy on the inside. YUMMY!!!
My husband is a burger aficionado and he was very happy. He loves a classic burger, nothing too fancy. The only complaint he had was that there was no regular yellow mustard in the house, only dijon. Obviously, dijon has a completely different flavor so that wasn’t to his liking. He loved the burger though and when we go back, we’re planning to grab some to-​go yellow mustard packs from someplace else during our travels to sneak into Rare with us. Then it will be his All-​American perfect burger.
The fries were really yummy, too as were the cocktails. It can be quite noisy and crowded at prime time so prepare to wait a bit for a table. If you want to have a quiet conversation, it can be hard to do when the place is full. I am headed back for sure on my next trip to NY.

Great cozy spot for some drinks and food, at a reasonable price for this category. We just had drinks and some appetizers as we were full from a big lunch, but the chicken wing lollipops here are some of the best I’ve ever had. Fried perfectly and crispy, nice tangy sauce with a bit of a kick, and an insane blue cheese fondue sauce on the side instead of plain ol’ dressing. The reuben frickle was also delicious and perfect to share.
In addition to the food being great, the bartender was friendly and helpful, and made good recommendations. When he raved about the wings I was a little skeptical, but he talked us into it, and I’m glad he did. Would definitely return for a full meal!

In asheville for a few weeks… wandered into a local restaurant Olive or Twist.
They’ve got music most nights of the week., some tv’s playing local stuff/​sports.
My kind of place!
Ashley and Sky were both so helpful to guide me around town…
Love to patronize places with good people!
Saturday night is live JAZZ… I’m going.

Lunch for 2 on a Friday. Once finally seated, we had to flag down a waiter. We were asked to put in our app and salad entrees in at the same time because the waiter said «if I put it in as app then salads you’ll be here for 3 hours.» Well, he was almost right because no food showed up for 40 minutes and of course when it did, it was app and entrees together.
AVOID if you have anywhere to be within 3 hours as this place doesn’t have the kitchen or service that is up to par.

Rare does it all from brunch to burgers and steaks. The indoor atmosphere is nice and the service was friendly. We didn’t eat, but the food smelled and looked great. I’d like to be able to check out the rooftop when it’s in season.

My family and I ate there on Thanksgiving’s Day and it did not disappoint. My kids had a turkey burger with fries and mashed potatoes and we had the cowboy rib-​eye, parmesan and spinach risotto and sweet potatoes fries. One word: delicious! This meat was heaven. The food and service were so good that we came back two days later.

Food was really good. Fast and grilled/​marinated nicely! Salads are huge. Frickles are really good to!

We were a group of 7 and the server remained composed and friendly throughout our time there. Nice perk: Several of us redeemed the free draft beer from checking-​in on here :) food was well prepared and nicely served. I had the New York strip steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus– delicious and filling! The only downside was that the top of my steak was a bit charred while the inside was nice and juicy. I would have definitely preferred the juiciness all throughout! The atmosphere is relaxed and casual. It was a great experience for a Sunday night.

*** Decent view, Casual hang out, Moderately priced drinks ***
If you’re looking for a chill, easy to get in rooftop, I recommend RARE. Although the drinks are slightly expensive, you’re guaranteed to find comfortable seating. Servers are constantly roaming around, so you won’t ever feel like you have to get up and go to the bar for a second or third round of drinks. There is a nice view of the Empire State Building too!

This is an excellent place to stop into if you’re cruising around Manhattan looking for a good bite to eat. The Rare burger is on the money, cooked to your liking. Juicy and succulent, it’s an excellent lunchtime treat, best accompanied with a spirit of your liking (Jack on the rocks for me, please!). This place gets my stamp of approval, as far as quick eats are concerned. Excellent.

I’ve heard great things about Rare from friends who live and work in the area, and was eager to try it on a recent Thursday night. When I walked in, I immediately smelled meat. I mean this in the best possible way-​I wanted a burger right away. At my table, we ordered the truffle parmesan fries, the bbq brisket sandwich, the original classic burger, and the steak au poivre. I was a bit disappointed by the truffle fries, which were a little bland. The brisket was really sweet but still good. The real standout here was obviously the burger!
Definitely should have ordered the French fry tasting basket, which includes waffle fries, regular fries, and sweet potato fries with a variety of dipping sauces. All of the tables around us ordered that and it looked amazing.
The service was great, and despite the restaurant being pretty busy our server came over many times to refill our drinks, check on us, and ask how we were doing. I’ll definitely be returning here for a decently priced burger and that French fry tasting basket!

Met some family here for dinner.
Katie was our waitress. She was very nice and explained the special to us.
I had the Jameson burger with a side of parmesean fries and grilled asparagus. All the food was tasty.
My girlfriend ordered the special for the night. The burger was good and the string fries were off the hook.
I also ordered a Moscow Mule. It didn’t come in a copper mug, but the drink itself was good.

So my colleague and I stumbled upon this place and I’m SO glad we did. :) It may be added to my NYC list going forward.
Most of my delight of this restaurant comes from one dish. their truffle spinach risotto. This dish is now in my top 5 best dishes I’ve ever eaten. It was perfection. Cheesey, but not too much, you could taste the truffle oil, but not too much… just perfect.
Our waiter was fab as well! We also tried their truffle fries and those were pretty super as well!
I already can’t wait to go back. :)

My out of state friend visited New York and wanted to get dinner at a burger place, so I researched and suggested this one. What an excellent choice! Service and staff were friendly and helpful, and the food was excellent!
We started off with two appetizers. The lollipop wings with fondue were THE BEST. I have never been so impressed by a chicken wing in my life. Large and easy to get off the bone because of the lollipop style, very flavorful. The cheese fondue to dip the wings in was excellent, was pretty sad when it was all gone! The spinach and artichoke dip was great. Huge selection of burgers, including a special chef’s burger that changes. I usually don’t do this, but I decided to build my own! Brie cheese, truffle mayo, and bacon. DELICIOUS. The mango habanero margarita was my drink of choice, good… definitely not worth the $ 15.00. I will definitely be back to try the Bubbly Goat! Topped with fried goat cheese?! A bit pricey, but good eats, so I didn’t mind. Really great burger place!

Just a notch above your average bar food, a good quick place to grab a burger and go. It feels like an after-​work kind of crowd and environment.
We had the Burger Trio $ 16 and the French Fry Tasting Basket $ 10 which was a good way to try everything. The burgers were juicy and dressed well but a bit small. They do pay attention to how you like your meat done and executed correctly. The fries were kind of boring, served in large portions, but the dipping sauces were fun. I preferred the sweet potato fries myself of the three (hand cut, waffle, and sweet potato).
Would try again when I’m back in the area but nothing too memorable.

Après avoir testé une dizaine de bonnes adresses de burgers, pour moi c’est un des meilleurs burgers de NYC pour ceux qui aiment le vrai burger de luxe, sans gras, épais et tres saignant, A prendre avec le slide Epinards sautés au lieu des frites.