Giant Burger

Dad and I got a burger and fries, both have the same review: Fries were good, burgers were just okay. The patties are made fresh but they reminded me of the frozen ones you get at Costco.

This place was terrible! We love trying little hole in the walls while we’re traveling, but this was a huge disappointment. The staff was super matter of fact, no one could Crack a smile or pretend they were happy, and they all looked like they were on drugs. I got chicken strips which all of them were burnt, my daughter got a grilled cheese that was not grilled she ate a piece of bread with cheese in the middle, my husband and son got a burger and they’d rather eat a McDonald’s burger than have that again. The fries were good, but that was it! Don’t waste your money.

I was in memorial day weekend and the food was great but I have to say the angry red haired girl has to go. She was rude to everyone in line. From telling me not to rest my arm on the counter when I was in line to telling customers to «back up if you don’t know what you want». Everyone else was great and the food was awesome but she’s irritating.

Extremely bad service!!! As soon as we walked in, it was crowded and they yelled at us to «get out of the doorway» literally with those words. As we were standing waiting to order, my husbands and other customers were resting their arms on the counter and the little red head girls slammed her hand on the counter multiple times and yelled «don’t lean on the counter». Management needs to teach her proper customer service or she shouldn’t be working there. Food was average nothing special.

I understand it’s a beloved establishment as it’s been there for so long, but I have been there 2 times, and I will not be going there again. Their burgers are disgusting. I watched them smash them as they cooked them, which makes sense when you try to eat the burger and it’s terribly dry and gristly and charred. The fries weren’t as terrible, but nothing to call home about. Probably frozen from a bag, like the burgers. The 2^nd time I went, my bf’s family was visiting and we were on our way up to Bear Valley for the weekend. We stopped for a quick bite, and no one finished their burger they were so bad. We all shared the fries, and we all felt sick afterward, which I blame on the burger. Like a rock in my stomach. Never again.

Fries were stale, like the fryer oil was overdue for a change; they did not taste fresh. The burger patty was dry & overcooked. The bun was a but over-​grilled and burned.
Simple meal gone wrong. Maybe the cook was having a bad day or something.
Probably not going to be going back.

It’s pretty much what you would expect from a roadside burger place — burgers are decent, chili is mass produced, but hot and reasonably tasty, fries and onion rings are decent, milk shakes are made with soft serve — not my favorite, but they do have dipped cones! It’s cozy even when it’s cold outside and the service is always friendly!

Sometimes you just want a good, homestyle burger. Giant Burger is one of the few spots for them in the area, with a simple menu of burgers and chicken sandwiches, fries and onion rings, shakes and malts. The big shocker here is that the fish and chips (cod) are actually decent!
«Giant» burgers are ¹⁄₃ lb, with a thin, wide patty and plenty of fresh toppings– they don’t seem to season the meat much if at all, but they weren’t too greasy and the meat itself was fresh. O-​rings and fries are openly dumped from a frozen bag ino the fryer, but you can’t really expect much better for this area… don’t bother with the garlic fries, which had probably a teaspoon of minced garlic on them. Fish is a solid option, beer-​battered but not too thick.
This isn’t a gourmet burger experience, and it’s not trying to be. Leave your snobbery at home, and pick up your order at the window promptly so your number isn’t screamed across the dining room several times.

I’ve been coming to giant burger since I was a kid. I have tons of childhood memories traveling to big trees and stopping here on the way back. Today was my first time in years stopping here and it wasn’t what I remembered it to be. The burger was pretty good but I’ve definitely had better especially when you take into account the price. My burger was about $ 9 with bacon and cheese and although I ordered a double patty burger, I expected a lot more for that price. There’s really nothing giant about their burgers. The fries were stale and cold as well and I’m a huge fan of potatoes so that really killed it for me. All in all I think I may check Unilocal before going back up there and maybe find a new place to stop at when we travel to the snow.

If you like hockey puck burgers and cold fries and cold chili, then it’s the place for you. It was awful!
Wish you could give no stars.

Stopped by for a giant burger and I was very disappointed. The burger was not good at all, same with the onion rings. I would not recommend this place, especially after finding the Pantry down the street.
Giving it 2 stars because my kids really liked the shakes.

Very disappointed in the meal. Taste wS bland at best. It took 40 minutes to get a milk shake. Flavor was Pumpkin pie very, very dissatisfied with it. Tasted more like cloves.
We won’t be returning anytime soon.

We stopped in here for a late meal after a great day at the lake. I was really looking forward to a good burger and I was so disappointed!
The patty on my burger was poorly seasoned and all of the fried food tasted slightly of fish/​old cooking oil. Other complaints from our group included tasteless or overly sweet shakes and greasy sweet potato fries.
The service was maybe a little better, they were pleasant even though our large group with indecisive kids can be rather trying on the patience. Biggest complaint about the service was that all of our food did not come out with the order, we had to have 2 dishes made after everyone else was eating.
The brand new patio tables were cute but were simply not sized to be comfortable.

This was my first experience trying the food. Came down from Lake Alpine after slaying the fish and worked up an appetite.
I ordered the Bear Burger– chili burger with grilled onion and cheese, a side of rings, and a coke. Sounded so good. For $ 14.00???
Chili was Horrmel or Stagg it was cold canned crap.
Cheese was shredded thrown and slapped on. I expected cheddar cheeese slice or pepper jack as the menu states. I got zip lock crap cheese on cold chili.
The grilled onion was soggy from over oiling it wasn’t sautéed or cooked properly.
The onion rings where battered in a sweet tempura nasty soggy mix.
These people lack flavor profile and skill. Your shakes may be good but the food I got today way $ 14 of crap. Oh by the way it took forever 25 minutes plus. Go to Snowshoe Brewing for a burger they will show you service have a decent menu and are predictable.

We got lured into Giant Burger when cruising along highway 4 by the big bear statue at its entrance, in addition to the fact that the restaurant was well lit and seemed pretty full in-​spite of being located in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Giant Burger looks like an old fashioned burger joint that had basic burgers, fries and drinks without anything fancy. I got the giant burger ($ 4.95) fries ($ 2.25) and drink ($ 1.95) as did most people in our party. As there was only one person in the kitchen whipping up the burgers coupled with the fact that they were very busy it took almost 30 minutes to get the entire order out. True to its name the burger was huge. It was pretty well made. A little on the greasy side but with a great taste. Meat was cooked to a perfect medium without overcooking the meat as requested. All-​in-​all a very satisfying meal, a sentiment echoed by most members of our group. If I’m ever passing through Arnold again will surely make a stop here.

Burgers and fries are delicious
You have to order at the counter but the food comes out within 10 minutes and the kitchen is open behind the counter which is nice because I like to see that the kitchen is clean, which it is.
The building is a bit old and could use a facelift (the reason i mention this is because the the napkins, cups and paper burger wrap have that old scent to them,) but everything in arnold is old… Its a wonderfully preserved mountain town … I just don’t want to taste it:)
This is a main stop on the road to bear valley and big trees park so lots of tourists some days. I’ve seen some real diva behavior from some of the tourists so keep in mind that this is a local burger joint and if they dont carry Fiji water bottles don’t be a jerk. Enjoy the big, beautiful sequoias; delicious food and be nice!

A year since my last review, my family & I stopped in on our way to Lake Alpine. Same nostalgic trip down memory lane as last year only this time it included my daughter instead of just my wife & I.
Based on last year’s experience and mild disappointment, I’d already set the expectation level a little lower. Reading the negative reviews written since our last visit didn’t help much… and truth be told, I almost opted to skip this roadside institution and head straight up to Alpine. Glad we didn’t!
Giant Burger did not disappoint. In fact, I bumped them UP a star from last year. It was a Monday, lunchtime, second week in September — and not crowded. One guy behind the counter was taking orders & cooking. He was very friendly & polite with pants properly cinched around his waist (as one reviewer commented on this earlier).
Although he was cooking about three burgers at the time, he acknowledged us and said he’d be with us in just a minute. I watched him check burger doneness before flipping them one more time & coming over to take our order. Just then, the patron for whom those three burgers were being cooked, walked up and said, «Did I remember to ask for those fries well done? Extra crispy?» The guy said «no» but that it would also be no problem. His burgers would be done sooner, would he like them now or when the fries are done?
I mention all this because in other reviews, it’s brought up several times about slow, apathetic & downright rude service. Didn’t see any of that here on this day. Even though he was working alone and handling multiple tasks, there was no sign of being rude or unappreciative. In fact, it was just the opposite. Later, I saw two other employees show up after we’d gotten our meal & were almost finished. I could tell from their conversation that one was returning from their break, the other just starting their shift.
Our meals: ordered two grilled cheese sandwiches & fries for my wife & daughter. Asked for cheddar since I knew that if I didn’t, American would be used. I had my usual Giant Burger, fries and a root beer float. We sat inside since it had just rained and the outside tables were a wet mess.
In about 15 mins our number was called. The moment of truth had arrived. Would my burger be better than last year? Our fries hot? Would the grilled cheese be acceptable for my grilled cheese loving daughter?
Oh Giant Burger — you did not fail. Thank you, thank you, thank you! My burger was delicious AND the grilled cheese sandwiches were devoured before I could even open the packets of ketchup for three orders of fries that were not only hot, but very tasty,
Our experience was so good, I even dropped a five spot in their tip jar before leaving.
So why only three stars instead of four or five? Folks, it’s good but it’s not THAT good!

A few days ago I went to giant burger with my family and friends. The food was fair but the service was terrible and they had a bad attitude. Here are a few words to describe the employees 1. mean 2. aggressive 3. unprofessional 4.slow.And my auntie had to wait for 1 hour for her burger but they didn’t make it right, she ordered a burger without mayo and onion but they put the onions and the mayo in the burger. Then the manager gave her a bad attitude that is why I gave this lousy burger stand 1 star and I will never come back again!!!
# giant burger sucks

What is Giant Burger? It is Quintessential Americana, at least the food part of it.
We stopped here after a hiking and camping trip in big trees. After all, why bother burning all those calories hiking unless you can eat something delicious after right? Just kidding (mostly).
This is an old fashioned place with burgers and shakes. It’s not fast food, but not «nice» sit down either, it is very casual.
The day we went it was pretty busy with a long line. Half hte group stood in line and half snagged a table. The waiting wasn’t too bad before people came back with food. Perhaps it was the hiking, but the burgers were delicious and everyone who had a shake enjoyed them too.
It is a pretty basic business and the ordering area is pretty cramped. The bathrooms are also lacking, at least from the female perspective. It felt like the wait to use the facilities was as long as for food.
Still it is a unique local place with decent food at decent prices.

This review is for the staff and NOT the food.
Rolling by the other day, I was lured by the smell of burgers on the grill, so I quickly made a u-​turn and popped inside.
The place was total chaos, with only 5 people ahead of me, I think. I say I think, because there was no line, there was no order, there didn’t appear to be anybody in charge of the self inflicted chaos, just 3 kids behind the counter, in a sort of self created panic, unhappily trying to get out of their self created weeds.
The gal making the shakes had such a sourpuss, that it was hard to imagine her ever smiling a day in her life. She clearly didn’t want to be there. The other gal bagging food, didn’t appear to know where she was or what she was doing or what food was in what bag for which person. The guy cooking the burgers, desperately needed a belt, as his jeans were hanging way off his ass, for everyone to see. I also noticed that he was smearing about 4 tablespoons of mayo on each bun, which seemed just a bit excessive from a business perspective and from a heart healthy one as well.
I made the quick decision to bail, as they weren’t making much progress with the 5 customers ahead of me and I didn’t think I was in for a positive burger chomping experience, based on what I’d already seen behind the counter.
Perhaps I’ll try another time… perhaps.
Better yet, I’ll just cruise up highway 4 to Lake Alpine Lodge for one of their delicious alpine burgers. Yes, it might be 30 minutes to get there, but considering it’s one of the most scenic roads in the USA, the place has lovely outdoor seating, very friendly service, delicious burgers and a beautiful lake to walk around after lunch, why wouldn’t you want to go there?
Good times in the Sierras!!!