Paul’s Da Burger Joint

“Plus, the portion is big – it's probably at least twice the size of a Shake Shack patty.”

“If you're feeling lazy, Paul's delivers (cash only), but why deny yourself the stroll along St. Mark's?”

“I'd always walked by it and I remember thinking, "Wow that place looks grungy as hell.”

Paul’s Da Burger Joint

Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes

Price range.

$ Price range Under $10

8 reviews

  1. Looking for a legendary local spot for great burgers, then look no more. This place has been around for quite a while and it's still going strong. Came here few times in last few weeks and one thing which definitely stands out is the consistent food and service.

    We tried a couple of things off the menu, but our favorites were the sliders and sandwich. The food is very reasonably priced and the portion size is very good. Servers are super friendly and the food comes out quickly out of the kitchen.

    Definitely a great spot in good old east village!!

  2. I came here on a friend's recommendation and was really looking forward to the experience.

    The decor of the place is great. It has an old school feel, no frills feel to it. There were lots of humorous signs that made me chuckle. But then it pretty much started going downhill from there.

    Looking at the menu, I was shocked that they charged $1 for lettuce and tomato. Maybe I'm just crazy but I believe in free lettuce and tomato for burgers. I got the deluxe which comes with them and a side of fries but for anyone that doesn't want fries, they'd have to pay extra for their lettuce/tomato.

    When I asked for pickle on my burger the waitress pointed to a bowl with a plate covering it. There were a pair of tongs on the plate. I lifted the plate and it turns out the pickles were in the bowl already. This didn't sit well with me because I'm a self proclaimed germophobe. Any of the previous diners before me could've sneezed all over the pickles or tongs.

    When the food came, my friend had upgraded his side to Cajun fries but got regular fries. He told the waitress and she whisked his plate away to go ask the cooks and the waitress who originally took our order. Took a few minutes so he was just sitting there without food. When she brought the plate back the fries were gone so we thought they we going to use the regular fries to make his Cajun fries . Later when they brought the correct fries, they were actually curly. They couldn't just let us keep the regular fries apparently.

    I wasn't impressed with their burger at all. It didn't taste bad. But it isn't anything to get excited about.

    Then it took a while to get the waitress's attention when we wanted our check. Even though there was literally only one other table with people at the time. One of the cooks tried to help us by calling out to the waitress but she was too busy chatting with her coworker.

    We were told to go up to the counter to pay with credit card and the guy there was just plain rude. And he got annoyed when I asked for my receipt.

    Overall not impressed. One star for the decor. One star for juicy burger (but still bland). I get better service at McDonald's (where they don't charge for tomato or lettuce either).

  3. Yummy could sum up the whole review.

    I stopped by one night with a friend after going to 13 step (please don't judge).

    We got a seat immediately, and the waitress was friendly (complemented my friend's hair color and charged her phone).

    Very greasy/heavy but tasty.

    Or in other words: yummy 🙂

  4. First off, CASH ONLY. Ugh

    I see this a lot on the "Best Burger" lists in NY.
    They're not joking when they say this is no frills.

    This place is run like a diner. Sit down, order up, and shut up. Its the type of place with the one lady who has been there for 30 years running the show, taking orders, throwing it on your table, and peacing the fuck out until she realizes you need the check.

    So onto the food.

    The burgers are reasonably priced, starting at about $6 and going up to $12, if you don't want any sides. They have tons of different topping combinations from bacon, to ham, to fried onions.

    As others have stated, its freaking weird that they list lettuce and tomato as a premium ingredient in the same category as BACON, where they charge extra for it.

    A side of fries or something runs about $4-5. The regular steak fries were alright – honestly, nothing special, and the onion rings were the completley shitty generic frozen type every single restauraunt-that-doesnt-want-to-make-their-own-onion-rings serves – so yes, skip those.

    The burgers are BIG 1/2 lb patties and pretty darn good. Get it medium rare and it almost melts in your mouth. Beware though, if you get a topping like the bacon and fried onions it can get EXTREMELY greasy and the bun wil become a soggy mess if you don't eat it fast enough.
    As with most places, theres not enough salt on the patties so get liberal with it

    They have a decent beer bottle selection and they are dirt cheap for NY at around $5 each.

    So yeah, good burgers

    ===
    Looking for the best burgers in NYC? Check out my NYC Burger List

  5. HUGE burgers, that are delicious, and cheap. They're a little greasy, but if that's what you look for in a burger, you won't be dissapointed. Each burger is 1/2 pound, and takes a while to fully get through. They have a plethora of flavors and variations to try, and I look forward to one day trying them all. I'll keep coming back because it's delicious, and perhaps up there with Ruby's for the best burgers in NYC

  6. Came in here unexpectedly and glad I did.  The food was delicious, quick and fast.  The staff behind the counter were friendly and accommodating.  NOT JUST CASH BASES, they do take CC – I paid with CC that evening.

    I got the hamburger with the works – bacon, mushroom, onions, pickle, cheese, tomato, ketchup and mustard.  The burger itself was thick and juicy, even after asking for it well done.  Let's say it's better than shake shack, five burger and smash burger……I thought I'd have to go back up to Harlem to get me one of these burgers….nope, around the corner from ST Mark's street.  I had, also, gotten the onion ring – the old fashion ones which you had in elementary school.  It was crispy, delectable and yummy in the tummy.  My little girl loved the onion ring – she ate more than I was expecting.  

    This is not a fancy joint.  It's more like a place you would go to after a good drinking night and walk/stroll around the city.  It's a great spot for burgers and hot dogs.  

    Next time I'm there, I'm going to try their chilli dog – it looked good when I saw someone ordered it.

  7. Oh my love affair with Paul's.
    Always feeling a bit guilty when I try sneaking Pauls into my usual semi "healthy" diet. But that badass deep within me keeps coming back wanting more. Perhaps it's their ridiculously greasy patties, or their overly juicy meats something about this retro-diner themed burger place makes the little veggie fanatic – me go cray cray.
    FINALLY THE REAL THING! A burger that taste like a big fat piece of ground beef with meat juice and grease.
    Shake Shack, Smash Burgers… I'm still a fan, but Pauls is the place to be for the real meat quarter-pounder fatness that I expect from an All-American burger.
    MERICA!!!

  8. Paul's has been on my list for a long time now. From the outside looking in, it looks divey. From the inside, it still looks divey. It's one of those situations where looks can be deceiving. You wouldn't think that this place would serve such great burgers. But then again, it's always the holes in the wall serving up the good eats.

    A friend and I came in on a Tuesday night at 6 pm. The place was empty, save for two other tables dining. I was so hungry so I'm glad we both looked at the menu beforehand and decided what we wanted.

    I went with the blue cheeseburger, which is a burger topped with…you guessed it – bleu cheese! I added bacon of course because come on…it's bacon. I like my burgers medium rare but this one seemed to be more on the medium side. That's usually a burger pet peeve of mine but even at medium, the burger was still great, so I can't really complain. Plus, the portion is big – it's probably at least twice the size of a Shake Shack patty. It does get quite messy though so you might not want to bring a first or second date here. Third is okay because by then, if the person cannot handle your messy burger eating habits, then it's time to say goodbye anyway!

    My friend had the St. Mark's burger, which is a cheeseburger topped with mushrooms and fried onions. That thing was smothered in mushrooms. I couldn't even see where the burger started. She seemed to like it though.

    We also had some curly cheese fries to share. I think I would have preferred plain curly fries because the cheese cooled off super quickly, making it kind of hard to eat.

    I wonder who this Paul person is. I would like to meet him and tell him that his joint serves some pretty great burgers. And that anyone named Paul is cool in my book (though I might be biased on that one since my dad's name is Paul too). I'll definitely be back for some more burgers and to try their philly!

Rate and write a review

2nd Avenue 131
New York 10003 NY US
Get directions
Monday, 11:00 am - 11:30 pm
Tuesday, 11:00 am - 11:30 pm
Wednesday, 11:00 am - 11:30 pm
Thursday, 11:00 am - 11:30 pm
Friday, 11:00 am - 11:30 pm
Saturday, 11:00 am - 11:30 pm
Sunday, 11:00 am - 11:30 pm