Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage

Frommer's Review

Great burgers and the best onion rings in the world make Bartley's a perennial favorite with a cross-section of Cambridge. In increasingly generic Harvard Square, it's a beacon of originality. Founded in 1960, the family business isn't a cottage, but a crowded, high-ceilinged room (there's also a small outdoor seating area) plastered with signs, posters, and memorabilia. Burgers bear the names of local and national celebrities, notably political figures; the names change almost as quickly as a cable-news crawl, but the ingredients stay the same.

Anything you can think of to put on your personal 7 ounces of house-ground beef is available, from American cheese to guacamole to grilled pineapple. Good dishes that don't involve meat include veggie burgers, huge salads, and creamy, garlicky hummus. Bartley's also serves sandwiches and comfort-food dinners, and it's one of the only places in the area that still serves a real raspberry lime rickey (raspberry syrup, lime juice, lime wedges, and club soda). It's a taste of summer even in the dead of winter.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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