Union Burger Bar in Southampton Serves Up Smash Burgers, Crazy Shakes and a Thumbs-Up Lunch for Kids (and Adults)

The casual Southampton restaurant and bar delivers smash burgers, mac and cheese, over-the-top milkshakes and plenty of reasons for kids and adults to indulge

When you’re in the Hamptons with three hungry tweens who want lunch, and you are personally tired of singlehandedly supporting Panera, where do you take them?

A recent trip to Union Burger Bar in Southampton turned out to be a crowd-pleasing adventure for all ages.

I hadn’t been to Union Burger Bar in years. My memory was that it was a casual spot for lunch, dinner or drinks — a half-burger, half-sushi place. Well, the sushi may be gone, but the burgers are still there, of course, in all their smashed glory: beef, turkey, veggie and mahi-mahi. There are also several non-burger, salad options.

A Menu of Guilty Pleasures

The rest of the menu reads like a panoply of guilty pleasures: all kinds of fries (hand-cut, waffle, disco, truffle and sweet potato), mac and cheese, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, nachos and chicken wings. You get the picture. Fun foods we may not always indulge in but crave anyway. A welcome alternative to the minuscule portions of high-priced tuna tartare that seem to populate Hamptons menus.

What I wasn’t expecting was the fun array of nonalcoholic drinks, from classic milkshakes to “Crazy Shakes” — and when they say crazy, they mean crazy good.

Our party of five — three kids, two adults — sat down at one of the indoor-outdoor tables covered by an awning off the main restaurant and bar. There are also picnic tables outside in front of the restaurant.

I was the only holdout when it came time to order. I so wanted a smash burger, but my inner voice kept whispering, “Watch your cholesterol.” (Eh, it’s genetic.)

I tried to be good and ordered the Wild Rice Protein Bowl with black beans, wild rice, avocado, sour cream, and pico de gallo. I skipped the melted habanero pepper jack cheese and added grilled shrimp (which didn’t look like it had been grilled, but tasty enough).

The minute everyone else’s smash burgers came out, I instantly regretted my protein bowl. That didn’t stop me from eating the whole thing. Perfectly fine. But with all that smash-burger envy, I had trouble enjoying it.

Two kids shared the Double Truffle Smash Burger, which earned rave reviews, along with a Caesar salad. The other adult ordered a Smash Burger with bacon and American cheese and said it was “really good”, and the fries were “amazing.”

I admit to waiting and wondering if they would finish their burgers, hoping for a last-minute morsel — just a quick taste.

No luck. They demolished the burgers, as well as the Caesar salad (another thumbs up).

My daughter, a self-avowed mac and cheese connoisseur (I can’t tell you how many expensive character dinners we’ve gone to at Disney World where she has ordered the mac and cheese), took a bite of a burger but ordered — you guessed it — the mac and cheese.

The verdict?

“Very creamy,” she said. “The pasta is really nice and soft — perfect.”

And to prove just how much she enjoyed it, she ordered a second mac and cheese. (At that point, I was forced to taste a forkful, and yes, it was very tasty.)

The other adult then declared her smash burger with bacon and cheese “one of the best burgers” she had ever eaten — which, of course, made me regret that protein bowl yet again. Not that it wasn’t satisfying. But it wasn’t a smash burger.

Crazy Good Crazy Shakes

Back to those Crazy Shakes, which may have been the hit of the lunch — or possibly the weekend.

I don’t know how, after all those smash burgers and mac and cheese, the kids had room for shakes, but they did, of course. And the sugary concoctions were masterful sights: The Kampfire, with a chocolate graham cracker rim and vanilla-marshmallow milkshake; Sorry Not Sorry, with peanut butter ice cream, chocolate frosting and Reese’s Pieces; and Cotton Candy, with a Fruity Pebbles-frosted rim, strawberry milkshake and cotton candy.

They’re still talking about the Crazy Shakes and how much fun lunch was at Union Burger Bar.

Burgers with fries ran about $20 to $22 each; my protein bowl was $19.95, plus the shrimp add-on. Classic milkshakes are $10.95, while the Crazy Shakes are $16.95.

I’m sure when I go back, I’ll debate it again. Should I try the Health Nut (romaine and kale mix) salad? The turkey smash burger? The mahi-mahi burger?

Nah.

I’m going for the Double Truffle Smash Burger. That’s right. I said it.

Okay, maybe I’ll skip the fries. You know, so I leave room for a Crazy Shake.

If You Go

Union Burger Bar
40 Bowden Square
Southampton, NY 11968
631-377-3323

Casual restaurant and bar serving lunch and dinner, with burgers, salads and bowls, starters, a kids menu, classic milkshakes and specialty Crazy Shakes. Indoor, covered indoor-outdoor and outdoor seating are available.

Website: UnionBurgerBar.com

Angela LaGreca

Editor, Co-Founder/Publisher

Angela LaGreca, Editor-in-chief and co-Founder/Publisher of Spark Hamptons, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, writer and comedian/host. Her TV credits include NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “The View,” and, most recently, the primetime cable news program “Cuomo” on NewsNation. On the East End, she was the Creative Director at LTV, VP Features/Events/Photo Editor at Dan’s Papers, and has performed at Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater and the WHBPAC. Her publishing career began at Modern Photography, where she was managing editor. LaGreca lives in Manhattan and East Hampton and can be reached at angelatvmedia@gmail.com and angela@sparkhamptons.com .