Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage

11/02/09

Demeaning Service, Disgusting Food

by pdewan5 at Citysearch

I was served a half cooked burger, a half eaten pickle, and the floors were filthy.

When I complained, the owner told me to never come back and accused me of not being a good customer.

I wouldn't recommend this place because there are much cleaner, better tasting burgers to be had somewhere else.

• Pros: Cutesy place to take guests
• Cons: Awful service, disgusting food

08/17/09

Good Food very high priced

by doveland66 at Citysearch

This place needs to get with the program and start accepting credit and debit cards. The prices for the burgers is entirely extravagant even though they are good. Our service was very good. The good service doesn't seem to be a common thing reading other posts. I will not be going back because of the prices when in Boston.

• Pros: good burgers & fries
• Cons: price and cash only

04/28/09

OK place, if you like the WORST SERVICE IN THE WORLD

by Geoffpp at Citysearch

WORST of all is that every single time there I have been made to feel unwelcome and unliked. The incredibly brusque and ill-tempered wait staff are only outdone in pure rudeness by the cashier who was sullen and seemingly disgusted with my intrusion on her picking her nails clean. I've been there 3 times in the last 2 months. They have an excellent selection of burgers and options. Two of my three burgers arrived the temperature I wanted. While they are delicious, they are not worth the prices.

I say this...best $10 burger in Harvard. But for that price go to Abe and Louis' downtown.

Cash only is a problem, it's the 21st century already...please, put your prices up by 2% so I don't have to go the the freakin' bank to eat.

Please, go to Charley's instead, where the staff are super friendly, and while the burgers and only 80% as good, you can buy two of them for the same price.

• Pros: Lots of Burger Choice
• Cons: Bad service, rude wiatstaff, rude cashier, cash only

01/16/09

Great Burger Joint!

by IslandPark at Citysearch

I can't believe that I never stumbled across this place in 20+ years of visiting Harvard Square. Ok, so it's not elegant or commodious or even very comfortable (we got a cold draft of air whenever anyone opened the door and had to keep our coats on). It's loud and crowded. And I got whipped cream splashed on my head. But the place is lively and it's a great burger joint. Since I don't eat beef, I was glad to find that they will substitute a turkey or veggie burger in any selection. Don't go if you are expecting a quiet , refined dining experience - but if you want an excellent selection of creative burger toppings, eclectic decorating (an Elvis theme prevails along with lots of bumper stickers and "your brain on ..." posters) and upbeat atmosphere - you can't beat it. We were there on a Thursday evening and had prompt seating, attentive service and a nice conversation with our cheek-by-jowl fellow diners. The waitress tried to warn us away from the large size order of onion rings (she was right - it was huge), but we had no problems demolishing it in short order as we awaited our burgers which arrived thick, juicy and piping hot. I need to make up for the past 20 years and visit more often!

• Pros: Lively spot, extensive selection as long as you like burgers
• Cons: Noisy and crowded

10/09/08

Bartley's Burgers, Harvard Square, Only good for takeout, TERRIBLE Service!

by norgeerbest at Citysearch

We were 4 going to dinner, my husband was parking our car and us three ladies walked in ahead of him. We told them we needed a table for 4 and that the fourth person was parking the car but we would place his order for him. We were told to wait OUTSIDE! It wasn't even crowded inside, plenty of tables were available! When we were getting seated there were multiple tables available and we requested a table in a corner. She replied with a NO, you can sit here! And threw our menus on the table almost hitting the guy next to us! A table for 4 opened up next to us and we were moved there finally. We placed our order and I placed my husbands order as well. When he walked in, the waitress walked over to my husband and asked if the order I had placed was indeed what he wanted! HOW RUDE! Of course it was! The check came way before we were done eating and she tried to take our plates half way through dinner! As she removed a plate she pulled it off the table and the fork on top of it fell on my friends arm and on the floor, the waitress didn't even apologise for the ketchup that ended up on my friends' sleeve. We gave a $5 tip for a $51 dinner, yes, I would have given less, but my husband insisted... I will NEVER go here again and I will spread the word of the terrible customer service, either way, the food isn't worth sitting through that! And it's dirty in there! We had to ask the waitress if she could please wipe off our table before we sat down!

• Pros: Large menu
• Cons: Terrible Service, tight seating, waitresses screaming, dirty, rude

08/30/08

Mr. Bartley's is the best!!

by momoirise at Citysearch

Bartley's Burgers is a fine example of genuinely great food. I have gone there so many times, and have always left full and happy. This is a true example of Boston at it's finest, and is quick also (as long as you don't go on a Friday/Saturday night!) The oreo cookie milkshake's and the Mitt Romney Burger are both highly reccomended. It is truly a burger place though, plastic chairs and "communal" eating tables, a.k.a. tables pushed together, but that doesn't really make any difference in the quality of the food. If you're looking for a Burger, Mr. Bartley's is the place!

02/07/08

Good for out of towners

by BostonFoodSucks at Citysearch

One of the few places in Boston where I've felt happy eating. Mr B took our order, and we were shoved into the crowded hole of a restaurant. They use proper beef patties that aren't pressed into perfect cow-patties. Got a couple of different types of burgers. Nothing fancy, just what I like from a burger. Fries were hot and crispy, and the onion rings aren't the kind that are batter-rings filled with pureed onion. They were nice and crispy, lightly floured onions. It's a hoot if you're taking normal people around Boston.

• Pros: Good beef, good onion rings, Mr B still takes pride in his restaurant
• Cons: Crowded and well known

12/29/07

I would give a thumbs down if I could move my arms inside of Bartley's!!!

by terriertrimmer1 at Citysearch

I have eaten here many times but in the last couple of years this place has really tanked!! The tables are now so close that you can't get comfortable, even if you could with the management breathing down the

servers necks to get that check down and the next customer seated. They asked for my order outside then

plunked down the meal immediately and then the check. I had barely had a bite. My med rare burger was

served a full 10 minutes before the rest of my party's, do you start eating w/o them or opt for cold food? All of this aggravation for the priveledge of paying 9-11 dollars for a burger!! They have no restroom, Legal?, doubt it. The cook, who may have been an owner spent the entire time screaming at his staff. They looked like kids trying to earn money for college, give em a break. Maybe if they didn't stuff the place to over capacity, they wouldn't need to yell!!!

I will spend my money and indulge my burger cravings elsewhere!!

• Pros: nice servers
• Cons: everything else

08/24/07

Appalling Customer Service

by laurel_mackenzie at Citysearch

I've been a regular customer of Bartley's for 5 years, but yesterday's?and today's consequential?experience with their management has left me with a resolve never to go back.

I was short-changed $10?mistakes happen, no harm done?and went back to resolve the issue. The manager I spoke with effectively labeled me dishonest by telling me she couldn't do anything until after the drawer had been counted out that evening. So after it turned out I was right (she called me last night), I was forced to go back again today, spending a total of $6.80 on the subway for the 2 round-trip tickets to get back my $10?which is now worth only $3.20. I understand it's not their fault I have to take the subway, but if they would have practiced good business by giving me?a patron?the benefit of the doubt, the total financial loss to them would have been equivalent to the listed price of a single burger HAD I BEEN MISTAKEN.

It's appalling that they chose to upset a patron over what is to their business such a minimal amount of money, but what has to me proven to be a waste of time, a loss of money, and annoyance, and an unpleasant experience I will not risk replicating by ever eating there again.

The worst part is that when I tried to explain to the manager today why I was upset, he interrupted me, handed me my "$10," and said "That's the best I can do." If you want to support an establishment that doesn't have the manners to interact with its dissatisfied patrons, this is the place for you.

07/25/07

This Harvard Square landmark has been synonymous with burgers for more than 40 years.

by Eric Grossman at Citysearch

The Scene
For one of the Boston area's most unique--and beloved--dining experiences, visitors must cross the Charles and head toward the edge of Harvard Square, where Mr. Bartley has lured people to his "cottage" for more than four decades. Mr. B can still be found seating students and area workers in his hectic single-room restaurant that's jam-packed with young, eclectic waiters and humorous posters from bygone eras.

The Food
Bartley's has satisfied cravings of many a hippie, yuppie and celebrity by taking seven ounces of freshly ground sirloin, grilling it to perfection, slathering on any number of toppings and giving it a humorous, politically tinged billing (the "Dick Cheney's only a heartbeat away"). Every once in a blue moon, someone passes on a burger to nosh on a gigantic, fresh salad or comfort dish like franks with Boston baked beans. Almost as popular as burgers are tangy raspberry-lime rickeys and extra-thick frappes.