Hill East Burger
Restaurant · Capitol Hill
1432 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003
Highlights
Smoked burgers, stiff cocktails, ice cold beer & jukebox
Smoked burgers, stiff cocktails, ice cold beer & jukebox
"Giddy-on-up to this burger bar featuring Southwest style with everything from ranch water to a green chile burger. Hill East Burger bar routinely invites in top chefs from around the District to introduce limited menu specials including a teriyaki burger (made by Perry’s chef Masako Morishita), leaving us salivating and hopeful that it will return someday soon." - Tierney Plumb
"Even if it doesn’t feel like a two-patty type day, order the double at Hill East. The burgers are smoked, Texas BBQ-style, and the single will only leave you dreaming of what could have been. Both are best consumed on the sidewalk patio, while outlaw country from the jukebox wafts outside. Aside from the burgers, the buttermilk-brined fried chicken and the veggie burger, made with grits and black-eyed peas, are excellent." - madeline weinfield
"All of the smashburgers at Hill East Burger could be DC’s best burger, with perfectly thin (get a double), crispy-edged patties on buns so soft they hold your fingerprints. But the Lancaster burger at this Capitol Hill spot is so good we’d fake a throbbing headache just to get out of work early and eat it as soon as they open at 5pm. It’s topped with bacon, smoked cheddar, fresh arugula, and pickled onions. If you’re feeling fancy, top it with their homemade hot sauce—a true spiceophile might need more than the little kick in the tomato relish." - tristiana hinton, omnia saed
"Price: $ The local owners of barbecue standard-bearer Sloppy Mama’s and hip Tex-Mex joint Republic Cantina brought this Southwestern-chic burger saloon to Capitol Hill in 2022. Patties, built with a blend of Sloppy Mama’s prime brisket trim and Roseda Farms dry-aged beef, get a cold-smoke in-house before getting smashed on the griddle. Insider tip: The smoked burger — a periodic fascination among Texan pitmasters — is a rare find in D.C." - Tierney Plumb
"WASHINGTON DC All of the smashburgers at Hill Burger East could be DC’s best burger—perfectly thin (get a double), crispy-edged patties on buns so soft they hold your fingerprints. But if we had to pick just one to order, it’d be the Lancaster burger, which is so good that we’d fake a throbbing headache just to get out of work early and eat it as soon as they open at 5pm. It’s topped with bacon, smoked cheddar, fresh arugula, and pickled onions, and tastes even better with a couple squirts of their homemade hot sauce. " - team infatuation, carlo mantuano
