Royale - An All Around GOOD DEAL!

I love a good burger, and I hate a bad burger.  A good burger makes me so happy.  A bad burger feels like a waste of calories and energy.

I have always heard that the burgers at Royale, a burger joint on Avenue C and 10th street, were delicious.  Despite having lived on Avenue C when I first moved into the city, I somehow never made it there.  Last night, that all changed.

Royale is simple and awesome.  I had this impression that it was going to be a dive burger joint.  It is actually very polished on the inside.  It has tables on the right and a bar on the left.  I think the real charm is in the backyard patio, but seeing as it was 20 degrees, we obviously stayed warm inside.  I definitely want to try it in the summer though.

Once seated, the waitress came over with menus and promptly informed us that it was happy hour.  Happy hour is from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m and you get half priced draft beers.  The draft beers include Magic Hat, Blue Moon, Yuengling, Brooklyn Lager, Stella, Sierra Nevada, and Guinness.  All of these beers were $5 or $6, meaning they were $2.50 or $3 during happy hour.  This happy hour rocks for a few reasons:

1.  It is not one of those restaurants that only does happy hour at the bar.  You get happy hour at your table.

2.  If I had two Blue Moons, it would be the same as a 2-for-1 deal.  But I only had one, because I just wanted a beer with my burger.  Since it is half-priced, you can have an odd number of drinks and still get a good deal.  When my Mom and I go to Aruba, we go to a 2-for-1 happy happy hour, where you have to order the same drink.  We always only want 1 glass of wine each (because we drink a bottle of wine at dinner), so we always have to order the same thing.  Half-priced would be better.

3.  It goes until 8, not 7.  You don't have to rush to get there at 6:45 for an earlier dinner just to make happy hour.  

Royale is known for its burgers, but offers other pub fare.  Turkey clubs and crispy chicken sandwiches are on the menu, alongside chicken fingers and honey mustard and a BLT.  But if you are there for the burger, you have three simple options - 1) The Royale, a burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle 2) The Royale with Cheese, the same as the Royale but with cheddar, american and swiss cheese options, and an additional charge for blue cheese and 3) The Bacon Royale, everything with bacon.  These burgers ring in at $6.50, $7.50, an $8.50 respectively.  They stand alone, meaning they do not include fries or onion rings, which are side dishes for $3.50.  

I had the Royale with cheese.  It was definitely worth $7.50.  The bun was delicious.  The tomato was crunchy.  The cheese was oh so gooey but somehow not messy. And the patty was thick!  This is the kind of burger that I want when I am craving a burger.  It was meaty and it was all burger.  It was not one those small dainty burgers, but it wasn't a sloppy mess.  It was really great.  The onion rings were pretty good too.  

This burger is definitely on the top of my burger list.  The happy hour seals the deal for me in wanting to return to this restaurant.  Grabbing a burger for $7.50 and maybe two beers for $5 is a pretty nice way to end your work day if you like burgers and beers.  

Compared to other East Village burgers, this one kicks a lot of butt.  I still like Whitmans, and their fries are pretty awesome.  The beer options/prices do not live up to Royale though.  Blue 9 Burger, which is also fantastic, beats Royale in price ($7.25 cheeseburger includes fries and a drink), but the ambiance is obviously lacking since it is a fast food dive/hell hole.  The Smith is still one of my favorite burgers, but it costs $15 and it is not the casual hangout that Royale is.  

Discuss.

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl