New Cincinati Burger Guys and Gals!: Bard's Burgers & Chili

Friday, July 19, 2019

Bard's Burgers & Chili

Our 86th Review

Official Review #86

                                  Bard's Burgers & Chili

                                            3620 Decoursey Ave
                                     Covington, KY 41015

                                           (859) 866-6017

Hours
Mon    Closed
Tue    11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Wed   11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Thu    11:00 am - 9:00 pm
      Fri    11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Sat 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Sun 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

UPDATE! During Cincinnati burger week we had rated Bard's #6 on our list, it was so good, I wanted to go back and try another Burger to better evaluate their offerings, sometimes during Burger week, we might get a little more rushed than other times and I felt this was the case here so I went back.

This trip I had The Classic, with American cheese, lettuce, pickles & mayo, for $7.25 with Fries, I upgraded for $1.75 to get the Cheese curds instead of fries.

I was absolutely right about this Burger, it clearly deserves a higher rating than even #6 on our list, I also made a trip Saturday night to Delities the #3 Burger on our list but it had been 3 years since we had reviewed it, so I wanted to see if it still held the #3 spot on our list and it did, but after doing this burger again, I am placing it just ahead of Delities and Putters and placing it in 2nd place and Delities even though it was as good as 4 years ago, this one was just a bit better, by only by a slight margin as the beef here was tastier.

The Man that waited on me I believe was the owner, and also cooked my burger was very nice & friendly and we discussed the place and burgers and burger week, very nice person.

I loved the inside, it's an older local place and very nice atmosphere, if I lived near here, I would be in there quite often.

The Classic is a single patty burger, 1/3 pound of 80/20 fresh ground chuck beef, seared to perfection on a fresh toasted Potato bun.

Since my wife could not go in as she was not feeling up to it, I got the order to go, but we tried it in the car, and as usual I tore off a small piece of beef as I always do to get a taste of the meat without anything else interfering with it, and MY GOSH< it was awesome!

This 1st bite alone I knew I would be moving it higher than the #6 spot it already held, it was the 2nd best tasting burger with just the meat on our list, the toppings, the lettuce, tomato were all fresh and tasty, and the mayo on it was excellent, the flavors all blended very well together with the awesome toasted Potato bun to make it the 2nd best burger we've had in nearly 90 reviews now.

We both agreed, this is one Awesome & amazing and flavorful burger, you must try it out, we will be back, my wife who absolutely loves a Frisch's big boy, said, it has a slightly similar taste to a big boy, I said yes it does but 10x better, she said I have to agree, for a single burger it was good sized piece of beef and a big burger overall.

Also, the Cheese curds were very good.

Final Rating:

a 9.7* out of 10 just a notch below Prime in Cincinnati.

Final thoughts: Plain and simple, go here try out the burgers and you won't regret it, we will be back as soon as we can.

A Great burger! it was awesome! Definitely coming back next time I'm in the area, my Wife & her Daugther our 3rd member of the group both thought The burgers were absolutely amazing.

We went here for Cincinnati Burger Week 2019 on Friday 07.19.2019

It is definitely a local gem, that gives off a dive vibe.
Don't let that fool you, because their food is really good in all the greasiness & unhealthy ways that make these types of places the best to enjoy a meal!
A great little dive for burgers and fries & Chili..assuming you like your burger(s) cooked well done.

We walked in and were immediately greeted with a very nice & friendly, smiling waitress.
She told us to have a seat wherever we'd like. We beat the dinner rush and were served right away. Our waitress asked if we had been to Bards before and when we said it was our first time she explained things to us. Our waitress was spot on the whole night. Lovely attitude, funny, always smiling and doing her best to make sure we're having a great experience. 10/10 for service

You can get burgers, tons of different fry combos, with Fresh cut fries, chili, chili dogs, chili ways, and some tasty desserts, also Fried Cheese curds & Fried Pickles.

I ordered their Burger week special!

Bard's Burger

Their best selling extra fresh third-pound cheeseburger deluxe which is dressed with pickles, fresh onion, fresh tomato, crisp lettuce and quality mayo on a fresh toasted local bun. Served with a regular order of fries.

They're known for one of the best local burgers and do not disappoint.

For starters we had their Fried Pickles & Cheese curds both recommended by our waitress, & a Great marinara dipping sauce that came with the appetizers, We loved they were pickle chips vs. spears, Good batter, and tasty dipping sauce - more of a mayo base than ranch I believe, both were awesome, the Curds were absolutely amazing!” along with Local Post on eastern ave, these are the 2 best places to get Cheese Curds outside of Wisconsin, which is known for their Dairy Products & Curds.

The Burger:

I normally order my Burgers Medium-well, so let me preface this that I like my burgers medium-well, If they gave me a choice in how my burger was cooked, but some places like here do not and that's ok with me if that's how they decide to do it, as the charred burgers can be awesome, the way they used to do a Frisch's Big Boy before they ruined & shrunk them freshly made in house, charbroiled with crisp edges and every bite was moist and succulent. Coupled with hand-cut fries with sea salt my expectations were exceeded.

The Potato bun was buttered and grilled to an almost toast like firmness, the way they all should be, and aesthetically made the burger more appetizing. If you want a good burger I'd totally suggest coming here. I can't imagine you would ever be disappointed.

We also ordered the black and blue burger, which featured blue cheese and the poutine fries. Omg. SO GOOD. The fries were amazing. The cheese was SO FRESH. It literally melted in your mouth. Honestly, one of the best burgers I've had as well.

There was just something about the whole thing, all the ingredients, how it was made. You can really taste the love in the burger. Next time I'll add an extra patty on my burger for more meat.

My Wife ordered the Classic burger with egg and bacon added and normal fries. She loved her burger a lot too. She also said it was one of the best ones she's had in a long time.

We will for sure be back to taste more of this amazing menu! Next time we are going to try the Chili.

Final Thoughts: This one will make our top 10 list, it was an excellent burger, they all were as we tried more than the $5 Burger week special, will definitely return here again and recommend it to anyone.

Final Rating: 9.7* **(Exceptional-Must try it!)**

New #2 Burger on our list.

Next Tasty Review: Burger Brothers

Fried Cheese Curds!

Fried Pickles!

Black & Blu Burger!

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Top 50 Burgers!

Our Top Rated Burgers, Click on a Name and; it will take you to our review of that Burger Joint! #1. Prime 9.8* (Extremely Exceptional-Must try!) #2 Anderson Township Pub (Extremely Exceptional-Must try!) #3 Bard's Burgers & Chili 9.7* (Exceptional-Must try it!) #4 Delites 9.6* (Exceptional-Must try it!) #5. Putters 9.5* (Exceptional-Must try it!) #6 Local Post 9.4 *(Exceptional-Must try it!) #7 The Turf Club 9.2* (Exceptional-Must try it!) #8 By Golly's 9.0* (Exceptional-Must try it!) #9 Hangover Easy 9.0* (Exceptional-Must try it!) 6 Locations tied at 8.8* for 11th Place! #10 Dunlap Cafe 8.9* Exceptional-Must try it!) #11 Donnas Place 8.9*(Exceptional-Must try it!) #12 Tavern on the Bend 8.9(Exceptional-Must try it!) #11 Flipdaddy's 8.9 (Exceptional-Must try it!) #11 Freddy's 8.9* (Exceptional-Must try it!) #11 Herb & Thelma's 8.9* (Exceptional-Must try it!) 3 Locations tied at 8.6* for 12th Place! #12 burgers & crafts 8.6* (Exceptional-Must try it!) #12 Five Guys 8.6* (Exceptional-Must try it!) #12 Zola Pub & Grill 8.6* (Exceptional-Must try it!) NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH ZOLA's PLACE! Which is not that good & Closed for now! 3 Locations tied at 8.4* for 13th Place! #13 Burger Brothers 8.4* (Try it-above Avg/Good to VG) #13 Ladder 19 8.4*(Try it-above Avg/Good to VG) #13 Willies Sports Cafe 8.4* (Try it-abv Avg/Good to VG) #14 Street City Pub 8.3* (Try it-above Avg/Gd to VG) #14 Biscuits To Burgers 8.3*Try it-abvAvg/Good toVG #15 Trio Bistro 8.2* (Try it-above Avg/Good to VG) #15 Wahlburgers 8.2* (Try it-above Avg/Good to VG) #15 Quaker Steak & lube 8.2* (Try it-ab0ve Avg/Good to VG) 5 Locations Tied for 15th Place! #16 Gabby's Cafe 8.0* Try it-above Avg/Good to VG) #16 BucketHeads 8.0* Try it-above Avg/Good to VG) #16 Teller's 8.0* (Try it-above Avg/Good to VG) #17 Zips Cafe 7.9* (Try it -abv Avg/Gd to VG) #18 Town & Country 7.9* (Try it -abv Avg/Gd to VG) #19 B&A Street Kitchen 7.8* (Try it-abv avg/Good to VG) #20 City View Tavern 7.7*(Try it-abv Avg/Gd to VG) #21 Mad Mike's 7.6* (Try it -abv Avg/Good to V.Good) #21 Frisch's 7.5* (Try it -above Avg/Good to V.Good) 2 Locations tied for 22nd Place! #22 Oakley Pub & Grill 7.4*(Try it-abv Avg/Gd to VG) #22 Camp Washington Chili 7.4* (Try-abv Avg/Gd to VG) 6 Locations tied at 7.0* for 23rd Place! #23 Buffalo Joe's 7.0*(Try it-above avg/Good to VG) #23 Izzy's 7.0*(Try it-above avg/Good to VG) #23 Augusta General Store 7.0*(Tryit-abvavg/GdtoVG #23 Cafe on the Green 7.0*(Try it-abv avg/Gd to VG) #23 Zazou 7.0*(Try it-above avg/Good to VG) 9 Locations tied at 6.5* for 24thPlace! #24 Dutch's 6.5* (Try it-above avg/Good to VG #24 Tumbleweed 6.5* (Try it-above avg/Good to VG) #24 915 Pub & Grill 6.5* (Try it-above avg/Gd to VG) #24 Corner Cafe 6.5* (Try it-above avg/Gd to VG) New owners for this business, Burgers are not as good, they are still good, just not top 10 anymore. #24 Marathon Diner 6.5* (Try it-abv avg/Good to VG) #24 Drake*s 6.5* (Try it-abv avg/Good to VG) #24 Gold Star 6.5* (Try it-abv avg/Good to VG) #24 Carota's Pizza 6.5*(Try it-above Avg/Good to VG) #24 Pleasant Ridge Chili 6.5*(Try -ab Avg/Gd to VG) #24 Smashburger 6.5* (Try -ab Avg/Gd to VG) #25 Bubbys Burgers 6.45*(Try it-abv avg/Good to VG) #25 Tickle Pickle 6.4* (Avg/Nothing Special) #26 Gas Light Cafe 6.3*(Ag/Not Bad-Nothing Special) #27 Augusta Pub 6.2* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) #28 Chandlers 6.1* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) 5 Locations tied at 7.0* for 29th Place! #29 Mac's Pizza 6.0* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) #30 DeSha's 5.99* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) #31 Logan's 5.98* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) #32 MVP 5.97* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) #33 Rick's 5.95* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) #34 Chicago Gyros & Dogs5.8*(Avg/Nt Bad-Not Spec) #35 Log Cabin Inn 5.7* (Ag/Not Bad-Nothing Special) #36 R & G 5.6* (Average/Not Bad-Nothing Special) #37 Howard's Place 5.5* Ag/Not Bad-Nothing Special THE REST AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST! Dairy Yum Yum II 5.0* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Spec) Quatman Cafe 4.9* (Average/Not Bad-Nothing Spec) Culver's 4.6* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) Knuk-n-Futz 4.5* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) This is Roneys/Roy Rogers old rating from years back at the old location and early on at the new on, more recently they seem to be buying cheap meat, it's moved from an 8 to a 3.5 and maybe not even deserving of that. Roney's 8.0* (Try it -above Average/Good to VG) Red Robin 3.5* (Average/Not Bad-Nothing Special) Hitching Post 3.5*(Average/Not Bad-Nothing Special) Pasquale's 3.0* (Average/Not Bad-Nothing Special) Logo's Sports Bar 3.0* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) Fricker's 2.5* (Still Would'nt Bother!) Mt. Adams Bar & Grill 2.0* (Still Would'nt Bother!) Waffle House 2.0* (Still Would'nt Bother!) THESE PLACES ARE NOW CLOSED AND NOW OUT OF BUSINESS! The Ratings they did have on our list before closing! #2. Hutchison's Grocery 9.1*(Exceptional-Must try!) Margie's SouthernCafe 7.5*TryitabvAvg/Gdt0VG) Cincy Burger 6.5* (Try it above average/Good to Very Good) #5 WhackBurger 9.0* (Exceptional-Must try it!) CLOSED! Cadillac Cafe 5.5*(Average/Not Bad-Nothing Special) Went out of Business, I could have predicted this one after our Review of the place and saw how the Cook worked, and the bugs. #16 Bravo Cafe 7.5* (Try it -above Avg/Good to VG) Closed Permanently! #16 Bearcat Lounge 8.0* (Try it-abv Avg/Good to VG) Was located in the Marriott Hotel which is now Graduate Hotel. #34 Toot's 6.0* (Avg/Not Bad-Nothing Special) Closed out of Business Toby Keith's 5.5* (Average/Not Bad-Nothing Special) I liked the place, Food was ok, but it was huge and always mostly empty.

Food Definitions!

Hand-Made- made by hand, not by machine, and typically therefore of superior quality.
Made to Order- specially made according to a customer's specifications.
Char-Grilled- grill (food, typically meat or fish) quickly at a high heat.
Medium Well- Mostly gray-brown throughout, but with a hint of pale pink inside. Good for someone who wants an ever-so-slightly juicy Meat, but detests any sign of "blood" in their meat.

Medium- A more pronounced band of pink in the middle of the Meat. However, there should still be slightly more gray-brown than pink coloration.

Well done- Grayish-brown with no sign of pink, usually slightly charred on the outside. Cooking a good meat to this level of doneness is a challenge. It has to be done slowly on low heat, or else you end up with shoe leather.

Pre-Made Frozen Patty - This is not 100% real beef, it's just that a piece of whatever, that comes Pre-made up in a Patty and Frozen in a box of a Dozen or more, not real beef, some can be good, but most are not.