77Smash
Score
Score
Smash Score👍 Solid Smash
One of Mount Prospect's most beloved burger spots, now bringing the smash technique to daily-ground Ascot Meats beef. Garlic aioli and house pickles are the details that regulars keep coming back for. 32 draft beers seal the deal.
Restaurant photography sourced from Yelp, Facebook, and Toast.
Emerson's Ale House has anchored Historic Downtown Mount Prospect since 2012, and under current ownership since 2015 has built one of the Northwest Suburbs' most loyal burger followings. The kitchen sources its beef daily from local butcher Ascot Meats - a chuck, steak, and brisket blend that underpins both their signature half-pound burgers and a newer smash burger program. Sitting directly across from the Metra station with 32 rotating draft beers, it's the rare suburban pub that earns its food reputation independently of its beer list.
The smash burger at Emerson's arrives with garlic aioli and pickles - reviewers single these out as what lifts it above pub-burger expectations. The Burger of the Month variation goes further: double smash patties with bacon, scrambled eggs, hash brown, sharp American cheese, and garlic aioli on toasted challah. The same quality beef (daily-ground from Ascot Meats) that made the half-pound burgers a community institution is now getting the smash treatment.
Emerson's Ale House is primarily a traditional pub burger restaurant. The Smash Score reflects the newer smash burger and the confirmed first-party visit, while several platform signals reflect the broader restaurant experience.
The first-party visit confirms the smash technique and adds direct burger-specific signal to platform scores that mostly reflect the broader pub.
The smash burger - so delicious with the garlic aioli and the pickles!
The burgers were beyond good, excellent quality of meat, and delicious variations of burger meals. Service was flawless, food was delicious.
An excellent burger with really good fresh cut fries.
Get a burger, any burger! Can't go wrong.
The mac 'n' cheeseburger is delicious if incredibly unwieldy, dripping with house-made cheese sauce while the juicy, perfectly cooked patty is piled with big strips of bacon and creamy fried mac 'n' cheese.
The burgers and sandwiches are huge, great flavor and plenty - but service wasn't the fastest on a busy night.