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Louis' Lunch, New Haven, CT

Photo: Susmuffin, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Eat & DrinkFoodie FavoriteHistory BuffQuirky Fun

Louis' Lunch

261 Crown St · New Haven, CT

Why you should go…

Louis' Lunch started in 1895 as a lunch wagon run by Louis Lassen, and the Library of Congress recognizes it as the birthplace of the hamburger sandwich. The patties are a blend of five cuts of beef, ground fresh daily and cooked to order in the original cast-iron vertical gas broilers from 1898. Your burger arrives on white toast with cheese, tomato or onion if you want them. Do not ask for ketchup, since the family does not offer condiments.

  • #hamburgers
  • #historic restaurant
  • #new haven food
  • #lunch counter

Good to know

General eat & drink guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Go early or go late

    The simplest way around a wait at a popular room is to sit down before the rush or after it.

  • Reservations open on a schedule

    Where bookings are taken, tables tend to be released a set number of days in advance, often at a fixed hour.

  • Menus move with the season

    Treat any dish you read about online as a maybe, not a promise, especially anything local and seasonal.

  • Ask what the place is known for

    Staff will point you at the thing worth ordering faster than any list will.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Louis' Lunch, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums
    Free

    Yale University Art Gallery

    Free

    See van Gogh's The Night Cafe and art from ancient to modern in a free university museum on Chapel Street.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Eat & Drink
    Foodie Favorite

    Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana

    Under $25

    Order a coal-fired white clam pizza or original tomato pie at the 1925 Wooster Street pizzeria that started it all.

    0.7 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Family Favorite

    Yale Peabody Museum

    Free

    See a mounted Brontosaurus, the 110-foot Age of Reptiles mural and galleries on ancient civilizations at Yale's natural history museum.

    0.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    It Adventure Ropes Course

    $25–$50

    Indoor ropes course inside Jordan's Furniture in New Haven, with more than 100 elements, 180-foot zip rails and climbing walls on a five-story frame.

    1.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Guilford Fairgrounds

    Under $25

    Home of the annual Guilford Fair, a Connecticut agricultural fair with livestock, exhibits, rides and food each September.

    13 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Eat & Drink
    Local Gem

    Shunock River Brewery and Village Cafe

    Under $25

    A small craft brewery and wood-fired pizza cafe near Mystic with weekend live music.

    55 mi awayMore like this