Red Hook Tavern
Go, but don’t go for the burger.
Last 4th of July, my friend Lauren and I, along with many, many others, spent the summer afternoon in Red Hook. We had ambitiously wanted to walk into Red Hook Tavern for lunch without a reservation, famous for having one of the best burgers in New York City, but arrived far too late.
Everything turned out fine, however. We had our fill of key lime pie (from Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie) and then shortly after feasted at Hometown Bar-B-Que. All in all, it was a successful day, and later that same weekend, we satisfied our burger cravings at Rolo’s instead. I didn’t really think about Red Hook Tavern again.
And then a few weeks ago, my friend Aiden texted me, suggesting that we try to walk into yet another restaurant. Our last attempt, which was a rousing success, was for Tatiana in 2024, and still riding on that high, Aiden bravely volunteered to be the one to wait in line on behalf of the rest of us.
Red Hook Tavern felt like a thematically appropriate pick for the Friday before Memorial Day weekend… the proximity to the water, perhaps… and the day before, we texted back and forth, consulting Reddit to determine how to give ourselves the best chance at getting in. The restaurant starts taking names for their walk-in list when they open for dinner at 5 p.m., so we thought getting in line at 4 p.m. felt reasonable. (And by that, I mean, Aiden would get in line at 4 p.m.)
On Friday, Aiden got in line at around 3:30 p.m., and his eagerness (anxiousness?) paid off—he was first in line by 30 seconds. By the time the rest of us showed up at around 4:40 p.m., the line had stretched far down the block, so far that we couldn’t quite make out where it ended. From then on, it was a smooth process: we gave our name to the host a little before 5 p.m., and then at exactly 5 p.m., we were shown to a table at the back of the small restaurant, cozy and authentic to its “tavern” identity with a worn wooden booth on one side that Aiden and I squeezed into.
Like everyone else in line, I suspect, we were there for the burger. But, Red Hook Tavern’s menu offered delights throughout. For one, their cocktail menu was mesmerizing, with each drink more interesting and exciting than the previous. Between the four of us, we sampled quite a bit of the cocktail menu. After a long internal debate about if I wanted to order something other than the martini, I got it. (Nothing if not predictable…) The Dukes Martini had the unique addition of salted cucumber, which overpowered the drink in a welcome way—cucumber water, if it were a martini.
You can’t go wrong with their cocktail menu, and definitely be prepared to try more than one. Across the board, the drinks have depth: the Saffron Snowball is sweetness offset by lemongrass and lime, while the Sumac Sour is more salty than truly sour… and it all works so well. Oh and, as someone who doesn’t like old fashioneds, the Isle Old Fashioned is unexpectedly light and subtle.
We built our meal around getting burgers, but wanted to take advantage of being at the restaurant. Who knew if we’d ever make it back in! So, we ordered an ambitious selection of appetizers to start. The head-on prawns ended up being my favorite dish of the night, served in a pool of garlic and butter that we greedily soaked up with the accompanying toasted bread. I don’t usually like wedge salads—I think there’s something undignifying about sawing away at a slice of lettuce—but their take was excellent, served with a thick slice of bacon and thoroughly dressed with blue cheese, bread crumbs and buttermilk herb dressing. (Oh and, no wedge!) We also got mortadella. I don’t like mortadella.
Then, it was time for the pièce de résistance: the Dry-Aged Red Hook Tavern Burger. And since you’ve read this far already, I’ll reward you with my opinion up front: the version that I had last Friday night was not good. In fact, it might have actually been bad. The burger—the patty especially—was intimidatingly large, and though the meat was drippy when I first bit into it, it was concerningly dry. (I asked for it to be cooked medium-rare, which is what was recommended.)
I’ll admit that when given the choice, I’ll choose the “normal” burger over a dry-aged one: I find that the type of concentrated flavor we chase in a steak doesn’t usually work in a burger patty. And, the cook needs to be flawless to offset the natural dryness that the dry age process causes. With such a thick patty and not much accompanying it—just cheese and raw onion—the success of this burger relies almost entirely on the meat. Either Red Hook Tavern was having a bad day, or we’re all experiencing some kind of mass delusion.
But oddly, apart from the burger itself, every other item I ate (or drank) at Red Hook Tavern was to the standard of excellence worthy of a line out the door. For example, I’m skeptical of cottage fries, since they often come out too mushy for my taste, but the fries served with the burger were great, generously dusted with black pepper and well fried, each disk consistently crispy on the outside.
We got rainbow cookies for dessert, a little bow at the end of a rollercoaster of a meal, and then went to Brooklyn Crab for frozen margaritas. It was cold and at one point we were the only people at the massive outdoor bar, but it’s all just practice for the summer…
Bite It!
If you (or a friend) have time to wait in line, it’s probably the best way to get into Red Hook Tavern. Otherwise, book it on OpenTable here.