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We had a good feeling when we first sat down. The red and white checkered tablecloths, the aromatic whiffs of beef we inhaled each time the kitchen door flung open, the one hundred years of burger history written into the walls. But in the past, feelings like these have quickly made a sudden turn to dissappointment. Not this time. Fanelli's came through. When it first arrived, a few of the members were taken aback by the fact that there were no tomatoes or lettuce on the patty...but i was not deterred. My bacon-swiss was a beauty, and I could tell she wanted to be eaten without any frivolous veggies. Folding the beautiful onion bun over I could tell that the magic was going to be all in the bread. This onion bun is the secret to Fanelli's recipe. So soft and pillowy, with subtle onion flavors...but not so soft that it turned soggy. A few first bites released oohs and aahhhs and I knew we were off to a good start. My meat was perfectly medium-rare, flavorful and very juicy. I think this was the first time that all the ladies finished their burgers, which i think warrents some applause. The size was perfect, and I got up full, definitely, but not so full that I wanted to pass out right then and there. Its the best so far, but I'm also far from calling it the best...(if that made any sense), although that onion bun will be hard to top, i think we still have some work ahead of us finding tastier patties.

I love the BC group photo! It looks like it came from the archives.

This is what I am talking about.
A nice, old place with the red and white checkered tablecloths, waitresses whose attitude borders on surly, and burgers that are juicy and cooked perfectly.
I was taken aback by the lack of dressings, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, the stuff that usually makes my burger a true enjoyment. I was delighted that the soft, delicious and structurally sound onion bun provided the perfect little pillow to send this delicious morsel to bed. it gave this subtle flavor to my bacon-swiss burger that has to be the best so far. And the medium rare could not have been any more perfect.
definately giving Fanelli's burger two grease-soaked thumbs up.

Not the greatest, but pretty damn good.

I would have to agree with the other BurgerFans on the details... awesome choice of bun-perfectly toasted pillowy onion specked dough; perfectly cooked medium rare patty. It's fitting that almost all our votes so far are the same B+ This burger has found a place in our BurgerHearts. After the last two disappointing venues, we were all glad that flavor and juiciness where back on the menu.

There is a better burger out there, this one could have used an onion or tomato, perhaps a piece of lettuce... if you recall the photo cover of TONY, it had a picture of Fanelli's burger in all its' glory... but it contained the three missing items. Perhaps you have to ask for it. But to me, it should come with. Fanelli's beef patty has room for improvement... not that it's bad like that of Rare or Luck Strike, it had plenty of taste and juice (one of the Fans mentioned how she had to wash her jeans due to BurgerDrip) but the texture could be more like a PJ patty... now that combo would be RAD!!!

If you like your fries crispy, not here. They are of a nice skinny hand-cut variety with some skin and nice taste, but mine came out too limp. The place itself is great, small on seats, but what true NY bar has tons of seats. Heck, I was surprised our group of 11 all fit at one table. For being in trendy SoHo, the atmosphere is laid back with old skool vibe. Prices were fair.

Bring it on!

I give Fanelli's an A, for numerous reasons:

That double sided toasted onion bun rocked! I never made the faux pas of holding my burgie upside down, something very important to the image conscious like myself, heh heh heh.

The meat was quality, and although not quite as tasty as PJ C's, the whole package was right on the money. Fries were great as well, thin and hand cut with the skins on.

All in all I was thoroughly pleased, so much so that I almost fell asleep at the Ted Leo show afterwards (sorry Dev).

Much love to the classic Soho burger.

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CarnivorousFantasticus

Wowsa to the oniontopaburga. Bun - check - delisioso...but i think it gave a special somein' to the ultimate taste. Yes, I too truly enjoyed the tender meat, but not taken aback by the bite minus the bun. So what i am getting at is that the bun made the bite more promising. The bite w/o the bun was mediocre at best.

I loved the place, however, and would certainly escape to this private refuge in saucy streets of soho. Let's meet for a beer next time and a buttered bun.

This is an A- guy...i'm pleased to finally reach the A level, after many somehow slightly frustrating trials. We all talked about the bun, but let me tell you people that this bun is one of a kind. You're thinking of a piece of fresh focaccia which would have gotten lost in the Brioche section, nonetheless got rightly toasted in a coal oven...this is it. Just imagine for a second that the Donovan's patty could have been inside...it hurts, i know.
Some char on the patty was welcome though; iwas happily surprised to see that this burger was closer to home-bbq-rooftop-nyc burgers than what we previously had.
About this lettuce fix problem, i disagree with the idea that Fanelli's should let that be. It should come with side/optional fix, by default. This is the mistake which costs this star a minus notch.
At the end, what a delight to realise that you already finished your plate and yet still have some room for more. This means that this fatty calls for another one. I'll definetely come back, specially when you consider that the place is also a great faux-divey bar, right in the epicenter of manhattan (sorry uptown). I'm back!

Unfortunately I could not attend this classic Soho stand-by with the company of BC, but knew it was my duty to experience fanellis again with my keen burger tasters. And far from a disapointment it was. Old Fanel came through with a Juicy patty, deliciousl (onion) bun, and unlike the BC party, my server appropriately asked if I wanted lettuce, tomato, and onion. Yes please. Boy, burgers really don't get a whole lot better. Obviously the place is great and the fries were well above average. It was a little messy, but most burgers are. Having to follow Peter Lugar is a tough task, but Fanelli's handled itself well. Definitely an A-.

Only had a half a burger, but what an amazing job - for a little place that's been around for such a long time on that corner of Mercer, it truly is a hidden gem for a great burger and nice relaxed dinner or lunch - esp on a winter's day

Hi, I waited tables at Fanellis awhile back. Waitresses are supposed to ask you if you want L, T, or O. That way, the kitchen saves on all the would-be discarded vegetables. Next time you're there, just tell em you want delux (no extra cost). Also, their bacon is generous and crispy, and they will substitute an excellent side of onion rings (when available) for the fries.

taken from http://www.nycburgerblog.com

I had been meaning to head to this place ever since it graced the cover of Time Out NY’s 100 best burger issue. It just looked so big and tasty. Such a sexy bun, such firm tomatoes, The mag also ranked it as the 7th best burger in the city so I was certainly expecting a dam good burger.
The old time booze hall style Fanelli’s Café is not what you might expect to find in SoHo, but then again the rent was probably a little less back in 1847.
So how about the burger? Pub style thick hunk of fresh meat. Good fresh veggies, crisp pickle but the interesting twist is the large onion bun that they serve it on (funny… the term bunion never caught on). It was a nice touch, added some flava, even for somebody like me who isn’t really even a big fan of the O-bun.



The other reviews I had checked all described this burger as a dripper. Unfortunately my burger, ordered medium rare, was actually on the dry side. Now perhaps it was an off day but I didn’t get a single drip of burger blood. I was rather disappointed to tell you the truth all of the other Time Out 10 members I had tried had all been great. This burger just seemed like an above average pub patty.
On a side note, the fries tasted great. Skinny but fresh cut tasting and they came at no extra charge while other pub buger joints such as JG and PJ charge.

If you have had a different experience post a comment… I know some people love this place. It just didn’t stand out to me.

Type: Pub Burger
Price: burger fries coke tip 14
Recommended: Perhaps it was just a bad day, but I wouldn’t call this a must eat.

if not for the onion roll this burger would be nothing special at all...the meat was cooked how I asked (medium) but pretty flavorless...if not for the cheese on the sides of the too big for the burger onion roll its served on, I wouldn't have enjoyed the burger half as much. The fries are good but not good enough to merit a lackluster burger.

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I would never steer you wrong. I live for good eats.

i really liked the toasted onion bun (pac man style too!) and the fact that they put cheese on both sides. very thick patty, so it was a little difficult to bite into at first...but messy is good. the fries were nice and thin and yummy as well.

very friendly but slow service.