It is known for the wide variety of toppings on its griddle-cooked hamburgers, each with a colorful name, and for its décor reminiscent of a "dorm room",[2] including cheesy slogans, stolen street signs, political ephemera, and so on.

[3] Bartley's also offers various sandwiches, including fried chicken, turkey, and cod, and salads.

[9] Each hamburger combo is named humorously for a celebrity or a topic of current interest; some current or past combos include: Until 2023, Bartley's served only non-alcoholic beverages, notably a raspberry lime rickey.

Customers have included Julian Edelman, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Bob Dylan, Katie Couric, Stephen King, Mindy Kaling, Adam Sandler, and Al Pacino.

The restaurant's landlord is Harvard University and rent negotiations in 2019 were so difficult that they might have had to change their location.