The Cozy Inn

We visited this cozy Salina institution, serving the community for many-many-many years and famous for their signature onion sliders “in the bag.” 🍔 We came for the sliders and stayed for the conversation. Arriving shortly after opening on a grey Monday morning, we had the bar area to ourselves. We ordered a few sliders with mustard only, and they delivered on their reputation. The patties were juicy, and the caramelized onions added a pleasant sweetness that balanced the savory beef perfectly. The slider buns held up well—sturdy enough to contain the juicy filling without falling apart. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, making it very easy to linger. If weather permits, I’d recommend enjoying your meal on the sidewalk. We’ll definitely be back on our next trip through Kansas.

This place is a local legend and for good reason. Being from San Diego this is a new experience for me... kind of. This place is definitely cozy. From the stool seating to the back wall is about a foot add a half if your seated. Imagine having lunch on a submarine. It is full of charm in its original building circa. 1922. It even has a hotly debated mural visible from the parking lot. The burgers are great and the service is always friendly and very welcoming. DO NOT miss out on the opportunity to satisfy your hunger and hangout in a time capsule. I would advise EVERYONE that's visiting Salina, whether near or far, try this place out. They have a walk up window as well if your a little agorophobic.

We drove up to support the mural, and left with a story and full tummies. This is a place that you’d consider historic/classic American. Sliders were great and staff were awesome. Seating inside is VERY small (8 or less seats), but admiring from the outside is equally enjoyable. They have some shirts and other things inside to purchase.

A hidden gem. A must go if you’re passing by! Staff is super friendly and will give you a brief history of the place (along with the newspaper clips from over the years - on the counter).

Stooped by on the recommendation of a coworker. Establishment been there since 1922, the burgers are some of the best sliders you will have. They all have sauteed onions and your options are to have it with or without ketchup, pickles or mustard. They don't serve cheese or have in the building. We found inside great service...knowledgeable of the restaurant facility with many of the appointments being original. The sliders are awesome! I will be back....6 for $10 and change...how do you not do that!

What!!! That’s what I have to say. For a small burger place that’s been around this long, when you come here you’ll know why it’s still open. Such a crazy concept but it works. The burgers are little sliders and are delicious!! It’s kind of like crystals or White Castle but 100 times better. The burgers patties are bigger and the buns steamed and warm. I couldn’t put them down. The only thing I would have done definitely is added cheese but they don’t serve cheese so. But it works you don’t need it. If your ever in Selina don’t leave u till you try one, and there cheep.

Lovely people. Lovely food. Will make this a must stop when we're in town

The Cozy Inn doesn't really need another rave review, but I'm here to give it. My family has been making the 3-hour trip from Kansas City for these burgers for years, now. Hands-down, this is the best place for burgers that I've been in my entire life. Real people making real food in a fabulously retro kitchen space. Cozy Inn, keep doing your thing. We'll all keep coming back for more.

This place is awesome. The history of this slider hamburger spot is awesome. Every time I am in Salina, I go by and get a bag of the little burgers. The people are always kind. Love it.

This place is so old school but I love it! A friend in Salina said we had to get these burgers and man was she right! Growing up in the south we had Krystal burger which is kind of like White Castle. That's what these remind me of but wayyyyy better! Fresh ingredients shine through and that griddle clearly has years and years of flavor cooked into. I can not wait to come out there again!

Had a chance to sit at the counter inside and chat with the team during a slower weekday lunch service. The burgers are a tiny bit drier than what you might be used to with White Castle but right on flavor-wise. If you're not sure, order 4 first. 6 was really filling for me.

The food was decent & worth the wait. The building doesn't look like they've updated the decor - other than to comply with heath codes - which does add to the charm of the place. However, being told the punch card - based on 6 cooked burgers - and not frozen - was not. "You bought 6 cooked burgers?" "Cool, here's your punch." "You bought 6 frozen burgers?" "Sorry, those don't count." (The punch card states nothing about cooked vs. uncooked; only "doubles" are addressed as not being part of the promotion.)

This was one of my favorite things to experience when I was in Salina, Kansas. What a cute little gem of a place and the staff was so nice when we arrived. They welcome us to have a seat at the counter. It was limited space with just five seats... Making it nice and "cozy"! I love the aroma of onions! If you don't, this might not be the place for you. It's the key to these tasty little gems. They gave us a great overview when we first arrived that we basically keep the burgers coming until we call it that we're full. They said the average is about four per person. I was actually full after three but the guy didn't understand that I was cutting it off and he gave me two more. I couldn't let them go to waste so of course I ate them. I don't drink soda pop too often, but it was fun to see some of the old flavors that I grew up on so I had to have a grape pop. I also liked to add extra ketchup to my burgers. I will definitely be joining this experience for a long time. I wish it was closer to home and we had something like this here in Seattle.

An American classic! Found out about this place from an article talking about the best burger spot in every state. Was driving through Kansas and decided to stop in. A tiny little dining room with vintage articles and decorations from the years of media coverage this little hot spot has received. Pictures and magazine covers, cover the walls with their simple and to the point menu. Burgers. Sliders to be specific. Grilled on a flat top, with onions pressed into the meat, served with ketchup, mustard, and pickle on a soft steamed bun! The team inside was extremely friendly and very helpful. They gave us a quick rundown of what they serve and had us in and out in minutes. The burgers are delicious little 2 bite sliders. Tons of flavor in a little package. We were not disappointed!!

If you like unseasoned burgers with crunchy onions then this is your place. If you like your burgers to have actual flavor, maybe don't come here? Cool gimmick, but gimmick is kind of all they have going for them.

Great little burger joint. Over 100 years of "smash-burger sliders". Never frozen fresh Kansas beef. Two ladies working were awesome and wonderful ambassadors for the Cozy Inn. Sliders, chips and soda. Nothing more, nothing else needed!! If we are passing through again, we will be back!!

If your go-to is burger "sliders", this is a LOCAL stop, in Salina KS, serving no frill bite-size burgers for over 100 years! Simply made with a fresh grilled ground beef patty, add pickles, mustard and ketchup on a soft slider bun ... without cheese (not an option). Get a combo meal with a variety of chip offerings plus a beverage. Friendly service at the order window for takeout, or sit at a picnic table to eat. Very limited, casual indoor seating at a small counter (only 4-5 seats). Our meal cost was ~$8pp, having shared a burger meal, extra burger, chips and drinks. Overall, 3.5 rated experience for food quality, good service and limited ambience. Burgers were tender and freshly cooked, served hot and ready to eat. If particular about condiments, mention it when you order. I like cheeseburgers, but these were not available on their menu, so ONLY hamburgers offered. For a successful and simple burger business, they have a strong customer following. Enjoy this "slider" experience if this is your kinda craving!

Loose meat sliders with onions, the only way they cook them. Served with K,M and P or not. No cheese, no fries. Can soda and bagged chips. They have it down to a science. Unfortunately our order did not get written down and we waited while others after us were served. That being said we would go back as the sliders were very good!

Very nice burgers here. I grew up in McPherson and had never visited the Cozy Inn. I am now in my early 50's. On my way home from visiting my dad in Colorado, I stopped by for a sack. I tried both the single and double burgers. I think I prefer the singles, which is rare for me. I added mustard. Yum! The service was quick and efficient. They have been here 100 years or so. I enjoyed eating outside. I took heed of the warning from others about eating inside because I still had a 4-hour drive home and didn't want to smell like onions. :) Great experience!

Good little burger place. Like a Little Tavern or Krystal but better! Nice service and worth the stop on our way to Denver

Food is excellent, but then they only cook and serve one thing Cozy Inn hamburgers. Those of us that were raised there went whenever we hit town, we had for the cozy in for lunch. Lines will be down the street around the corner. The establishment has not changed. In 102 or 103 years, they still have the same establishment with the same counter, the same stools and the same grill. The cozy and hamburger is still made the same way. I took my son there and he couldn't understand why. He bitten into the hamburger and said now I understand.

We always stop here for burgers driving to and from Colorado. We came thru a little early (10:30am) but we had to stop and they were open! Service is excellent and friendly. Burgers were fresh and delicious. We usually each eat four with chips. Yummy!

One of the last 6 stool burger joints in the country. Sitting at the counter is perfect, but you will smell like the restaurant all day. A must stop if you like what White Castle originally was!

Love the vibe of this place!! Classic slider sized burgers in the original building where it first opened. You can read more about the history at the place itself. The service is pretty quick even though it can get busy. While the small counter can hold several folks to eat, I recommend grabbing your burgers to go and eating elsewhere so you don't smell like Cozy Inn all day.

It's 7:23 and they're closed.. online, front door, sign on side of highway all say open till 8

Awesome! Pretty much as it was when I was a kid. Friendly personnel. Burgers just as good. Great memories and good experience.

I first stopped at the Cozy Inn several years ago on one of my trips across Kansas. I spotted a small sign along I-70 advertising the Cozy Inn and being a sucker for a good burger, we stopped for lunch. This is now one of the highlights when driving across Kansas. Nothing fancy. Buy a sack (6) and you get 6 burgers in a sack - no other packaging or wrappers. Want something to drink, they sell cans of soda. Want something with your burger, they sell bags of chips. That's it - it's all about the burger. The burgers are small, grilled on a bed of onions and served with a pickle. Great burgers, great service. Note - there are only about 5 or 6 seats inside but there are picnic tables outside. Get off the freeway and try the Cozy Inn, if you're a burger connoisseur, you won't regret stopping .

I hope the owners see this. I love your place and the burgers but, it's RIDICULOUS to not offer cheese and mayo on your burgers. Tastes change and evolve and letting customers decide how they want their burgers would be a good thing!!! I wish you success but it's 2024 and many folks like cheese and mayo on their burgers...

$2.36 for a double and there's NO option of cheese. This is a sliderrrr! If you're gonna serve a snack for that much, the least you can do is provide cheese please. I couldn't justify paying that much for a dozen. 6 doubles is perfect for a taste for my partner and I. He insisted he needed more when we were ordering so the compromise was ordering 6 singles lol. After trying both, we've come to the conclusion we should have ordered all singles as they taste more balanced. I think the flavor everyone raves about is hype on Yelp. I think IF anything people drop by for the nostalgia and history. This place has been around since the 20s! Double slider 3.5/10 on this onion hamburger. 4/10, single slider. Add some cheese and I THINK I'd give it a 5/10. We TRIED driving to a general store and a cvs nearby and I did not find cheese anywhere in sight! I get that there's inflation but it's a darn slider! I may just be extra upset because we paid that much and there was no cheese! Please to the owner, add some cheese to your menu. It takes a second to slap on and your customers would think the price is more worth it.

Really enjoyed my last experience. Sadly this experience made us super-hangry. Oof - things fell apart this time around. There was a bit of a line and that's fine, but things kept getting slowed down. The one window worker had to holler out and then wait for customers to mosey back up to the window to get their food out of the way. Not sure why nobody could just wait on the benches next to the window. Also, several to go orders of several bags clearly were slowing down service for people who waited. Don't take to go, if you can't support both. The grilled onions were weak and half the onions weren't even grilled. Also, we ordered the sliders with everything. They asked if we wanted pickles and exactly one had one pickle. They took my name off the credit card and hollered it out when our food was ready way after the person ahead of us. No one calls me that name. How about you ask what name to call?

Really outstanding historical restaurant, been around 101 years. The little burgers are delicious and it's a fun place to eat. The staff is great in sharing the legacy with quick attentive service. Highly recommend for a fun bite.

Absolutely loved the whole experience from the no frills ordering to the smell to the banter in the restaurant. I was told my friend Matt that I had to stop here when I was in town and this did not disappoint. They are some of the best burgers I have ever had. Simple ingredients (they don't put cheese on them) and from order to walking out in less than 15 minutes. Don't expect to sit inside since there are only 5 stools at the bar and that's it. They have order tables though. But I just ate mine in the car. Almost can't wait to come back here again!!

This little gem is absolutely delicious!! This place has been open and in the same location for 101 years now. These little slider hamburgers come with onions and pickles, no cheese for $ 1.59 each. This place has stood the test of time and for good reason, you will have to go to see why. The staff is friendly and nice. There is 6 bar stools to sit inside and eat but prepare to get cozy as this place is packed when open. This hamburger dive should definitely be on anyones bucket list of places to eat. See you there!

Delicious tiny burgers. Fun little place to stop and grab burgers in a paper sack! Great service from the staff who work here.

Best hamburgers in town! Small but mighty! Smell is captivating! Fun place to eat or pickup and go!

Super rude lady working! asked about the onions on the burgers and she yelled at me and said "no that's kind of our thing". Super rude lady.

1st time coming to Cozy Inn for the little sliders & they were absolutely amazing. We've been visiting a friend who lives in the area & stopped in for a little history. The staff was friendly, courteous & knowledgeable. The sliders were hot, oniony burger deliciousness. Definitely worth your time to stop in for a tasty burger treat.

After reading that this was one of the best burgers in the country, we had to try it as we crossed Kansas. If you like White Castle, then this is the place for you. The sliders were fresh - and totally a greasy spoon vibe. I was glad I read ahead about ordering at the window and not going inside. :) The wait seemed a little long for what we ordered, but I got the impression locals knew to call ahead. I think the friendly guy who took our order might have been the only person working. Definitely worth trying once!

While enjoying a mind numbing drive across Kansas we happened to noticed an old road sign for this original White Castle knock off. This funky old burger stand may not be in the 'original' location, but at 100+ years old it was a great break on a monotonous drive! Enjoyed a great 12 pack of little onion burgers that were ordered and delivered straight from the cook. Only a few stools at the counter though so we enjoyed ours outside on the sidewalk. Only one real issue... NO CHEESE!

Yah baby, old school flat pressed burgers by the bag and yah they were amazing, but so was the smell of cooked onions. Do not, and I absolutely mean it, do not go into this burger joint if you have any type of business meeting or a hot date scheduled afterwards. Simply walk right to the side and order from the "walk-up" window! The interior is that of Bobs Inn (if you know, you know) where it seats about 6 so if you are dining in, then order, eat, and get out because this place is hopping. Burgers were well worth the stop and fairly priced. Please don't ask for no onions or to add cheese as although they will just smile at you, they are really laughing at you because there is no option for that. At about 100 years old, this smart little burger joint really knows how to make a burger.

Must try when in the area!!! The burgers are divine! They make 'em one way, the right way lol, and don't ask for cheese. They don't have it!

A century old hidden treasure. Same grill used since 1920s. You can touch it the place is so small. A few stools at counter. Onions and grease galore. Buy them by the bag. The original owner knew the founder of White Castle which began in Wichita and long gone. A spectacular little place from a hamburger fairy tale. It's very hard to get to Salina Kansas from most of America - don't miss this tiny wonder.

The best small original steamed burger. If you like White Castle, or even if you don't you haven't had a little three bite better burger. They don't have cheese but you can bring your own and add it. However, the burger the way they serve it w onions and pickles is perfect. No frills old school burger joint selling burgers by the bag!! Love it!!

I was going on a road trip down I-70 and had heard a lot of good things about this place so decided to give it a try! it was great! Really fast, tasty food (perfect if you're on the road), incredibly friendly staff, great price. The burgers come with pickles onions ketchup and mustard, I wish there was a way to add cheese or if they would give their effort at fries, but honestly no complaints.

Always the same great burgers! We used window service this time. Very fast and convenient.

Yummy burgers, perfect size, great prices, friendly and delicious all in one cozy place!

I'm not a burger fan, but I crave these little burgers. My family had been going to Corey's for 60 plus years. In the past I would decline. The this past spring I finally decided to try one. Then again I ate one when they were offered. Now I crave them and I will go out if my way to eat there. I buy the 4 pack and usually have one left over that I splurge and give to my two small pups! It's a family affair!

Fantastic! We lucked out and got seats inside at the counter. Friendly service & fresh sliders - what more can you ask for? Definitely worth stopping in and getting some delicious sliders!

Best sliders ever. They're closing in on close to 100 years in business so they have to be doing something right. I stop every time I have to travel to Missouri.

Came through on a cross country trip to from Ft Carson to Ft Campbell. The food was really good and the staff was friendly. Super cute little bar area to sit for 6 people. Worked perfectly as our crew was 6. Definitely recommend and will tell our future crews to stop in here as well!

Thicker than White Castle but a similar concept with little sliders. Only side is chips and can of soda. Friendly service. Nice that they can customize the toppings, though. Patties tasted of beef and, obviously onion. I am kind of a grilled burger taste lover (no not you faker, Burger King!) so I wasn't that into these. I really missed cheese. As a bag of burgers place, given the cost I'd give it 4 stars. For just "good burgers" I'd say, 2-3 stars, but again- I like mine more grilly, or more beefy, or more pepper perhaps.

Word of advice if you're wanting to try this place out as you drive through the area.....CALL AHEAD TO PLACE YOUR ORDER! They only do sliders with bagged chips, so no reason to wait and check out the menu in person. Not having called ahead, the wait was longer than we expected for sure and we saw plenty of people just zipping in to get their orders, then leaving. All of that being said, I would recommend this stop if you're looking for a slider with onions and nothing more. I would suggest getting a double though, less bun and more meat. They offer 3 outside picnic tables with umbrellas which were nice and heavily used during our brief time there.

We were 100% impressed with this great restaurant. We even purchased a dozen of their small frozen burgers to take home. We were so glad we drove the short distance South of the interstate to eat here.

As I was planning my drive across Kansas, I was searching for unique spots along the way. I had read good reviews and decided it was worth a try. First the good! It was not very busy. There was ample parking and outdoor seating at picnic tables. You can go in to order, or order at a little outside walk up window (which I did). I ordered a six pack of mini burgers and paid cash. They give a discount for paying cash. It was $8 and change, a decent deal for 6 sliders. The burgers are put directly into the paper bag, no wrapped or boxes. They were kind of messy, but that is expected with the casual bagging. As for taste... I guess from reading other reviews, I had really high expectations. They were not bad little burgers, but for me it was 3-stars. The bun was a bit hard, burger was thin, and were overall messy for the car. I give points for a unique local joint just off the interstate, but the burger quality wasn't anything to write home about. It's a better choice than a chain fast food joint off the interstate, but I wouldn't make a special trip if I wasn't going right past it.

Definitely a fav! We stop here whenever we're in town. The grill has over 100 years of flavoring. Enjoy :)

Still totally love the original! Don't know why some people think it needs cheese, it doesn't. There is no hype created by Yelp for this place, it is and always will be the best burger joint in the area. Had them today at the counter and they are as good now as they were in 1972 when I first had them.

No frills (only available sides are chips and canned soda) but their slider-sized burgers cooked with a ton of diced onions are to die for! If we get within 50 miles of Salina KS, we're taking a "detour" so we can stop and get some. I usually buy them by the dozen and throw what I don't eat in the freezer when I get home. Pro-tip: Order at the outside window unless you want to smell like onions the rest of the day.