Best Burgers in Rochester, NY: The Plate

The best burgers in Rochester, New York, come in two forms: on a bun in the bars of Park Avenue, the South Wedge, the East End and Monroe Avenue, or set over a plate. The plate is the local order: two cheeseburgers laid on two sides, usually home fries and macaroni salad, then covered with mustard, raw onions and a spicy meat hot sauce.

The dish grew out of a Rochester lunch counter that opened in 1918, and its best-known name, Garbage Plate, is a trademark of that business. That is why most other places sell it as a “plate”, a “trash plate” or under a house name, with burgers or hots on top. Rochester also has its own hot dog, the white hot, a pale sausage of pork, beef and veal. A plate usually comes with buttered Italian bread for mopping up the sauce.

Burgers in Rochester: key facts

• Neighborhoods to explore: Park Avenue, the South Wedge, the East End, Monroe Avenue, Corn Hill and the Neighborhood of the Arts.
• Local specialty: the plate, cheeseburgers or hots over two sides with meat hot sauce.
• Local hot dog: the white hot.
• On the side: buttered Italian bread with every plate.
• Currency: US dollar (USD), with New York sales tax added.
• What our guides check: whether the meat hot sauce is made in-house, a dated price and a venue confirmed open.

Every guide we publish on Rochester is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. For other cities, browse all our burger restaurant guides.