damnlines for iPhoneLive lines & push alerts — freeGetdamnlines.comCash-only Upper East Side tavern open since 1972, famous for its burger — no reservations, so the bar crowd is the wait.
1291 Third Avenue (at East 74th Street), Upper East Side, New York, NY 10021
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JG Melon takes no reservations and, per Wikipedia, has been doing it this way since 1972. The Infatuation puts the situation plainly: "there's almost always a wait here, so put your name in, and then crowd around the bar." It is a small, first-come, first-served tavern on the corner of 74th and Third, so the line is a fixture, not a fluke. The venue's own site confirms it is cash only, and there is no card reader to speed anything up.
The mechanism is simple. You give your name at the door and wait by the bar. The Infatuation describes a "bustling, tavern-like" room split between "weekly regulars and first-timer tourists," and suggests ordering a martini "from someone who makes approximately 1,000 a day" while you stand around. Everything is cash, jukebox included; the review notes an ATM across the street for when you forget.
General web summaries peg a typical wait around 30 minutes, but that is a rough aggregate, not a measurement — individual reports run from roughly 10 minutes on a quiet afternoon to over an hour on a packed night. Weekends and the prime lunch and dinner windows are the reliable crush. damnlines has no camera at JG Melon, so treat every figure on this page as reported by others, never as a live count.
Patterns as reported by press and regulars — not measured by damnlines.
Reservations: J.G. Melon does not take reservations — the official site's Location and Hours page states no reservations are accepted, and the restaurant remains cash-only (stated on both the official site and its menu page). Resy's September 2025 NYC burger guide confirms: 'Walk-ins only' and 'JG Melon is cash only, so prepare accordingly.'
Walk-ins: All seating is first-come walk-in; there is no way to book ahead. The kitchen runs very late (until 2:30–2:40 a.m. Mon–Sat per the official site), so off-peak and late-night visits are an option when the burger rush has passed.
Mon–Sat 11:30 a.m.–3 a.m. (kitchen closes 2:30 a.m. Mon–Thu, 2:40 a.m. Fri–Sat); Sun 11:30 a.m.–1 a.m. (kitchen closes 12:40 a.m.), per the official site.
No. The Infatuation says it is first-come, first-served — you put your name in and wait by the bar. There is no reservation system, so plan on some wait whenever you go.
The Infatuation says there is almost always a wait. General web summaries cite roughly 30 minutes as typical, with individual reports ranging from about 10 minutes off-peak to over an hour on a packed night. damnlines does not measure the wait here live.
No source names a magic window, but the standard advice is off-peak mid-afternoon — between the roughly 12:30-2:30pm lunch and 7-9:30pm dinner rushes — and weekdays over weekends. The Infatuation notes weekends are the busiest.
Yes. Both The Infatuation and the venue's own site say it is cash only, jukebox included. The Infatuation notes there is an ATM across the street.
1291 Third Avenue at East 74th Street, on the Upper East Side. The venue's site lists hours of Mon-Sat 11:30am-3am and Sun 11:30am-1am, with the kitchen closing earlier.
Yes — walking in is the only way to eat at J.G. Melon, since it takes no reservations (per its official site and Resy's 2025 burger guide). Seating is first come, first served, and the kitchen serves until roughly 2:30–2:40 a.m. most nights, so late visits are possible.
Sources: The Infatuation: J.G. Melon review (Upper East Side) · JG Melon official site — Location and Hours · Wikipedia: J.G. Melon · J.G. Melon official site — Menu (Cash Only) · Resy blog — The Ultimate Guide to Burgers in New York (Sept 2025)
