P.J. Clarke's
American restaurant · Midtown East
915 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10022
Highlights
Classic NYC pub serving the "Cadillac of burgers" since 1884
Classic NYC pub serving the "Cadillac of burgers" since 1884
"A few things prompted today’s review of P.J. Clarke’s. First of all, we’ve been watching a lot of Mad Men, and P.J. Clarke’s is one of the few places in town that still feels like a relic from that era. If you want to get your Roger Sterling on, there is hardly a better place to do it. Show producers even wrote the restaurant into an episode as the setting for a scene in Season 1. Second, we recently read an article in another publication stating that only recently has New York become a good burger town, now that Pat LaFrieda owns the city and Shake Shack has adopted Chipotle’s expansion plan. We’d like to disagree. P.J. Clarke’s has been rocking a good burger for decades, as have some other NYC classics like Old Town Bar and J.G. Melon. Let’s give the elders some credit. The only thing we don’t like about P.J. Clarke’s is that it’s almost always insufferably busy. Most of the time the after work crowd is so big that it spills out onto the streets, and the tourist traffic on weekends can make it tough to get a seat. RESERVE A TABLE Food Rundown Raw Bar A classic raw bar with oysters, clams, and some shrimp cocktail. A few drinks and some oysters at the bar are always a good idea, assuming you can actually get to it. Maryland ‘Hand Picked’ Jumbo Lump Crab Cake A solid crab cake that can be a nice starter for the table. In an era when pork buns and brussels sprouts seem to be on every menu, and old school appetizer is nice. The Cadillac Burger The gold standard at P.J. Clarkes, this is their burger with bacon and cheese. The bacon is cooked perfectly, as is the burger, and it’s tasty and satisfying, even if a little on the small side. They recently revamped this guy with a new meat grind and bun, which the jury is still out on for us. We fear change. Fries If you only come to P.J. Clarke’s to eat fries and drink, you’ll walk away happy. These are crispy, salty, and perfect, and should be on your table no matter what. 3 Mini Cheeseburgers with Bubble & Squeak Just as tasty as the full size burger, and served with bubble and squeak, which is apparently not a cartoon rat family. Lobster Roll So much lobster roll talk lately. Unfortunately, we felt it our duty to weigh in on P.J. Clarke’s, which is somehow boring and a bit too chewy." - Chris Stang
"Once you’re sitting in this 100-year-old tavern in Midtown East, and your companion has said they want to split the cheeseburger, you might as well also split the very respectable lobster roll. You can get it Connecticut or Maine style, and either way it will come heaped with lobster, in a very well-toasted brioche bun. It’s served with a whole lot of waffle-cut potato chips." - willa moore, bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, sonal shah
"P.J. Clarke’s burgers were the most recommended by readers for this guide, and their cheeseburger is a definite best in class. The inch-thick patty is griddled perfectly to spec, with seasoning that stays out of the way, so you mostly taste juicy meat, melded with a square of american cheese. The bun—“scented” with rings of raw onion—is a basic-but-soft Arnold roll that sogs up on the bottom without falling apart. Comes with golden, lightly salted fries and a pickle" - will hartman, willa moore, molly fitzpatrick, bryan kim, sonal shah, ciera velarde
"With ice-flecked martinis and chalkboard signs, the original P.J. Clarke’s in Midtown East feels like a Mad Men hangout. Though it did appear in the show’s first season, it’s actually much older. The long bar and restaurant in a red brick building began life as an Irish saloon, served bootleg liquor through Prohibition, was a Frank Sinatra go-to, and still fills nightly up with post-work beer-drinkers and neighborhood folk eating “Cadillac” burgers—so named by Nat King Cole. Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mercer, Buddy Holly" - bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah
"Though it’s now expanded into a chain of pubs, the original P.J. Clarke’s has stood on Third Avenue since 1884. This is the one with the ancient mahogany bar, the old jukebox, and the taxidermied dog at the bar. Over the years it has attracted regulars like Jackie Kennedy and Frank Sinatra, and the bacon cheeseburger is called the “Cadillac” because that’s how Nat King Cole once described it." - Melissa McCart
