Lee's Burger — Restaurant in Brookline

After a long day I was craving a cheeseburger. Conveniently located almost at the crux of Coolidge Corner, this seemed like a good option. Non of the specialty burgers seemed attractive to me, so I ordered a regular cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato and some fries. With a fried egg on top.

Let me get the good out of the way: the burger patty was juicy, it was delicious, it was thick and worth the price. The fries also were excellent. I got them with barbecue sauce (which I would not recommend), but by their lonesome they were perfectly fried and seasoned which is impressive considering how thick they were. Really nice job with both the patty and the fries.

I was way less impressed with the toppings. The lettuce was iceberg quality and helpfully fell out in a single piece as I was trying to eat it. The buns were low quality and became essentially mush as I attempted to eat the top tall hamburger (and this was with me removing two toppings). The fried egg was overcooked and extraneous. When I order a fried egg on a burger I expect it to be cooked well, not well done.

That all being said, this is a burger joint and the burger was by far the best part of the meal. Moreover the fries were really good. I think if you’re craving a decent burger in the area you could do worse. But there are definitely better options if you want to venture...

If this place ever goes out of business (which I sincerely hope it doesn't), they'd better release the recipe for their special sauce. I don't know how it goes on absolutely everything they have and tastes good. I always get an extra condiment cup of it to take home with me to put on things later. Sandwiches, finger foods, even pizza (yeah I went there), it makes everything taste better.

The onion rings are likely frozen and then fried but they're still my favorite in town. While it's not my absolute favorite place for burgers (sorry Lee's, I love really crazy burgers so that honor goes to Boston Burger Company for me!) it's certainly a close second, and when you consider the rest of the menu, it's tied overall just because of that sauce. A good sauce is everything to me and can completely make or break a burger or sandwich. It's still the first place I recommend to people in the area who want a great normal burger.

The staff is great too. The only, and I do mean only, thing I think they could do better is work on making their sweet potato fries less soft, but they're still good. I also know sweet potato fries are a very hard thing to give just the right crisp, so I don't hold it against...

I often wonder what the reviewers stand to gain from posting positive reviews when the quality of the cuisine is awful. If you are in the age range of 5 to 16 and are only used to fast food establishments and restaurants y chains like Olive Garden then this place will be fine. If you are in the age range of 17 to 25 and are drunk or wasted this cuisine will work for you. If you are older and have not eaten at all and are basically starving then this place will potentially work. The burgers are average to below average and the fries are horrible. The Mediterranean burger had something on it that was 98% fat (maybe prosciutto?) with like 5 feta crumbs and wilted lettuce. Not going to mention all the burgers ordered - too long a review! The cheese on the fries was bland with a bad aftertaste - kind of like they were using the liquid cheese spray. The chicken fingers, well, when you split them in half and could find the chicken it was yellow which is basically fat. Spent $65 for a meal that I wish I could have suctioned from my stomach. A serious disappointment especially considering the reviews on average are 4 stars which really makes me wonder who is leaving...