Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage

Years

1960 – present

Location

1246 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square

Profile

Boisterous burger emporium

 

 

History

Once voted to have the best burgers in America by the Boston Globe, Bartley's is nothing short of an institution. It consists of one modest-sized, ramshackle room, abuzz with joke-cracking cooks and food-slingers with no loss for words or volume. A plethora of burgers with clever names await throngs who willingly wait in line to get into the always-packed place. Bartley's walls are covered in local memorabilia and random ephemera. Not a good place for the hearing-impaired or health-conscious. Favorites are The People's Republic of Cambridge Burger and homemade Bartley's Rootbeer. Note to patrons, if you hear the line cooks yell "bowl of soup" look to see who is walking through the door. There's no soup on the menu, that call is code for someone walking in wearing a silly hat.

Photo by Rain Robertson