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J.G. Melon

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J.G. Melon
J.G. Melon on the Upper East Side
Map
Interactive map of J.G. Melon
Restaurant information
Established1972; 54 years ago (1972)
Building constructed in 1868; 158 years ago (1868)
OwnersO'Neill and Mourges heirs
Food typeFlat-top griddle burgers, round-cut cottage fries, American pub fare
Dress codePreppy[1]
Location1291 Third Avenue (on East 74th Street), Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Coordinates40°46′16″N 73°57′34″W / 40.771093°N 73.959423°W / 40.771093; -73.959423
Seating capacity
15 tables indoors, plus outdoor seating[2]
ReservationsNo reservations[1]
Other information
  • Cash only
  • Hours are:
    • Mon-Sat: 11:30am to 3am (Mon-Thurs kitchen closes at 2:30am; Fri & Sat kitchen closes at 2:40am)
    • Sunday: 11:30am to 1am (kitchen closes at 12:40am)[1]
Websitejgmelon-nyc.com

J.G. Melon is an American restaurant established in 1972. It is located at 1291 Third Avenue on the northeast corner of East 74th Street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is known for its hamburgers.

The restaurant operates out of a historic five-story brick rowhouse painted hunter green, originally built in 1868. The site served as an illicit speakeasy during Prohibition, and later for decades as the Central Tavern.

History

[edit]

J.G. Melon's corner building, a five-story brick rowhouse, was built in 1868.[3] In 1900, it housed a delicatessen. [3] In the 1920s, it became a tavern of the local Jacob Ruppert Brewery to dispense its own products as an illicit speakeasy during Prohibition.[4][5][6] Then, for decades the space was a neighborhood Irish bar run by two Italians, called Central Tavern.[7]

J.G. Melon was established in 1972 by original owners Jack O'Neill and George Mourges, the "J" and "G" of J.G. Melon. They had been bartenders at the Manhattan restaurant Joe Allen (which had, in turn, been opened by a P. J. Clarke's maître d' named Joe Allen).[8][7]

The "Melon" in the restaurant's name was inspired by a tiny watercolor painting of a cantaloupe melon left hanging on the wall by the prior tenant that they found upon their arrival; the restaurant had been stripped of everything else other than the dark wood bar.[8]  Mourges died in 2000 (the Mourges heirs are co-owners), and O'Neill passed away in 2016.[9][10]

The neon sign of J.G. Melon

The corner restaurant is in a brick tenement painted hunter green, with a two-story-high T-shaped neon sign.[11][12] A New York Times review of the novel on which the 2025 drama film & Sons was based, noted how "Anyone who’s spent a few formative years in Manhattan (particularly on the Upper East Side) will experience piquant shocks of recognition: ... 'the way a landmark like J. G. Melon abides like a poetic motif over the years, with its green facade and 'slice of red neon that seemed forever reflected in rainwater.'"[13]

The restaurant's decor mostly consists of pictures, paintings, sketches,  sculptures, and carvings  of watermelons jam-packed everywhere, along chocolate-brown wood-paneled walls.[14] [4][11][7][15] New York Magazine wrote that "is melon kitsch décor makes this local landmark look like it opened back in 1932. Under a pressed-tin ceiling and dim yellowed lighting .. [with a] narrow, old-time bar and [semi-open, miniature] kitchen [that] take up most of the front room" while customers sit in the back.[16][17][7] The dark wood bar sits just a few feet from the small kitchen.[11] The little tables have green-and-white gingham tablecloths, which have never changed.[18][11][19] The bartenders wear white shirts with their sleeves rolled up, and watermelon ties.[11]

When Bobby Torre, J.G. Melon's maitre d' for over half a century, was asked how long a wait would be, Torre was given to answering: "Forty minutes, with connections."[8][20] He was known for enforcing the restaurant's rules by, over the years, sending luminaries including New York City's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg to the restaurant's jukebox, bar, or sidewalk to wait their turn. Actress and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly had to wait an hour at the bar for a table, which she did while drinking a Heineken out of the bottle. Torre passed away in 2025.[8][4]

Cash is the only accepted method of payment.[9]

Summer satellite, sister location, and franchises

[edit]

O'Neill and Mourges also operated a J.G. Melon restaurant in Bridgehampton, New York, in the summers from 1976 until the 1980s.[21] In addition, they ran a sister J.G. Melon restaurant at 340 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side in Manhattan from 1977 to 1993.[22]

In 2015 a satellite location was opened through a franchising deal, in which the J.G. Melon name was licensed, at 89 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village by Magnolia Bakery owner Steve Abrams, his brother Danny, and 30-year Melon alum Shaun Young. Except for Magnolia Bakery desserts, the menu was almost identical, including the guarded formula for the iconic hamburger.[23][9][24][25][26] From 2017 to 2019, another location was operated as a franchise by the Abrams brothers, at 480 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side.[27][28]

Burger

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The New York Times described its hamburger as follows: "This is a big, beefy, no-nonsense, cooked-on-a-flattop burger. [It] emphasize[s] crustiness and juiciness, and skipping the grill in lieu of a ... flattop means there’s no smoky overshadowing of the pure beefiness."[29] Eater opined that "The rippled cottage fries are the classic accompaniment, and draft beer is the drink of choice."[17][11]

British food writer Nick Solares described it as follows: "The hamburger ... is a plump and juicy, seven and a quarter ounce, griddle-cooked patty served ... on a [toasted] squishy white bun. It is in many ways the platonic ideal of a bar burger. No mess, no fuss, just meat and bread ... on a plate with pickles and onions on the side....The patty comes impressively seared with dense, dark crust rife with the browned meat flavors of the Maillard reaction. The interior, while not as abundantly juicy as more modern burgers, is still pleasingly succulent, and texturally the patty is so loosely packed that you wonder if it was even formed into a patty before cooking."[23][11]

Critical reception

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In 2017, Condé Nast Traveler listed the restaurant as one of "The 49 U.S. Restaurants We'd Travel For," with a nod to its burger, after asking its network of writers, chefs, and restaurateurs "what dishes they can’t stop dreaming about."[30] That year, Bon Appétit named it one of "The 14 Most Iconic New York City Bars and Restaurants."[31]

In 2019, chef Brad Leone of Bon Appétit said of the restaurant's signature offering: "It is a fantastic burger."[32]

In 2025, J.G. Melon was added as a recommended restaurant in that year's Michelin Guide.[33] In 2026, its burger was listed by Eater in the "The Best Burgers in New York City, According to Eater Editors."[17]

In film

[edit]

A tense crucial scene with Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman, in which Dustin Hoffman smacks his wine glass against the wall, was filmed at the restaurant for the 1979 Academy Award for Best Picture legal divorce drama film Kramer vs. Kramer.[11][7][34] A still of the scene from the movie hangs on the wall next to the table where it was shot.[35]

Steve Gordon wrote his Oscar-nominated screenplay for the 1981 romantic comedy Arthur while sitting at his regular table at J.G. Melon.[4]

There is also a scene shot at J.G. Melon in Whit Stillman's1990 preppy cult classic romantic comedy-drama Metropolitan, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 63rd Academy Awards.[11][36] The restaurant required that those who filmed the movies had to be in by 3 o'clock, and out by 7 o'clock.[9]

Notable patrons

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See also

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References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "Location and Hours". jgmelon-nyc. Retrieved September 13, 2026.
  2. ↑ Strauss, Alix (July 24, 2020). "How a Waiter, With Over 30 Years at the Same Restaurant, Spends His Sundays". The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 "JG Melon – 1291 Third Avenue". Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. December 20, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Klein, Jef; Hazlegrove, Cary (2006). The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York. Nashville, Tenn.: Turner Publishing Company. p. PT80. ISBN 978-1563119712.
  5. 1 2 Walsh, Kevin (May 27, 2022). "J.G. MELON, Upper East Side". Forgotten New York .
  6. ↑ Motz, George (2011). Hamburger America: Completely Revised and Updated Edition: A State-by-State Guide to 150 Great Burger Joints. Running Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-0762440702. Retrieved September 11, 2025 – via Google Books.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Simonson, Robert (April 29, 2011). "Charm, Integrity, and Relentless Lines at JG Melon". Eater NY. Vox Media.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Traub, Alex (May 1, 2025). "Bobby Torre, the Soul of a Saloon, J.G. Melon, Dies at 81; His ribald one-liners, oddball knowledge and generosity helped define Melon's, an Upper East Side fixture, where he manned the door for decades". The New York Times.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Solares, Nick (April 8, 2016). "J.G. Melon Founder Jack O'Neill Has Died". Eater NY.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Oscar C. (August 4, 2000). "Obituaries / Restaurateur George Mourges, 74". Newsday. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Twardzik, Eric (December 2025). "Melon Fever; For one writer, there's nothing better than this half-century-old jewel box, which happened to make an appearance in one of this fall's photoshoots for Polo". RL Mag. Ralph Lauren.
  12. ↑ Ermann, Lynn (November 11, 2007). "Reluctantly Embracing the Upper East Side". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Bailey, Blake (July 26, 2013). "The Descendants". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ Hamburg, Joan; Ketay, Norma (1982). Frommer's New York on $25 a Day. Frommer/Pasmantier Publishers. ISBN 9780671436254.
  15. ↑ Solares, Nick (July 22, 2008). "J. G. Melon". Serious Eats. Archived from the original on January 23, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  16. ↑ "J.G. Melon". New York Magazine.
  17. 1 2 3 McCart, Melissa (June 25, 2026). "The Best Burgers in New York City, According to Eater Editors". Eater NY.
  18. ↑ Lott, Ann Douglas (May 5, 2026). "Where to Eat and Drink in Manhattan". Lonely Planet.
  19. ↑ McCart, Melissa (March 31, 2025). "The Best Upper East Side Restaurants, According to Eater Editors". Eater NY.
  20. ↑ Crowley, Chris (April 17, 2025). "If You've Been to JG Melon, You Knew Bobby Torre". Grub Street . New York.
  21. ↑ Starkey, Joanne (July 18, 1999). "Dining Out; Where Summer Is Spoken, With Savor". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Boom Changing Face of Amsterdam Ave" (PDF). The New York Times. September 28, 1980. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  23. 1 2 Solares, Nick (August 7, 2015). "A Tale of Two Melons: Comparing the New J.G. Melon Burger". Eater NY.
  24. ↑ Fabricant, Florence (July 21, 2015). "Okiway Opens in Bushwick". The New York Times.
  25. ↑ "Zagat Stories". Zagat Stories.
  26. ↑ "J.G. Melon; Gayot Guide Restaurant Review". Gayot Guide.
  27. ↑ "Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill Opens in Dumbo". The New York Times. September 19, 2017.
  28. ↑ Dai, Serena (September 20, 2017). "J.G. Melon's Iconic Burger Now Sizzling on the Upper West Side". Eater. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  29. ↑ López-Alt, J. Kenji (July 29, 2025). "Diner Burgers Recipe". NYT Cooking. The New York Times.
  30. ↑ Condé Nast Traveler Editors (September 19, 2017). "The 49 U.S. Restaurants We'd Travel For". Condé Nast Traveler.
  31. ↑ The Bon Appétit Staff (December 13, 2017). "The 14 Most Iconic New York City Bars and Restaurants". Bon Appétit.
  32. ↑ Delany, Alex; Leone, Brad (June 12, 2019). Trying Everything on the Menu at NYC’s Most Famous Burger Restaurant (Ft Brad Leone). Bon Appétit. One of Everything.
  33. ↑ "J.G. Melon – New York - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant". MICHELIN Guide. Michelin North America.
  34. ↑ Williams, Keith (March 2, 2018). "And the Oscar for Best City as a Movie Setting Goes to …". The New York Times.
  35. ↑ "Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)". On the Set of New York. December 2009.
  36. ↑ English, Micaela (July 30, 2015). "Burgers, Watermelon, and Whit Stillman: 12 Things You Need To Know About J.G.Melon". Town & Country.
  37. ↑ Sulzberger, A. G. (November 2, 2009). "Bloomberg Pays a Visit to the U.S.S. New York's Crew". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  38. ↑ Moss, Michael (September 22, 2009). "Mayor Bloomberg Doesn't Always Live by His Health Rules". The New York Times.
  39. ↑ Tucker, Alexa (May 17, 2016). "Gigi Hadid Celebrated Her Birthday On 'Jimmy Fallon' With Her Favorite NYC Burger". Self. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  40. ↑ Huddleston, Justina (April 25, 2023). "Bobby Flay's Favorite Restaurant Burgers Are Certainly Top-Tier". Mashed. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Like many chefs, Ina Garten enjoys a good restaurant meal..." The Daily Meal. February 16, 2026.
  42. ↑ "Where's the best place to grab a burger?". Gothamist. May 23, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  43. ↑ MacMedan, Dan (July 14, 2009). "Dylan McDermott shares his 'Dark Blue' secrets, family life". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 27, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  44. ↑ Hart, Karen (March 5, 2022). "The Burger Andrew Zimmern Would Choose If It Were His Last Ever". Mashed. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
[edit]

40°46′16″N 73°57′33″W / 40.77105°N 73.95930°W / 40.77105; -73.95930

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