Smashburger

I will start out this review by saying two things. First, I had been coming to this Smashburger for months and even received their emails as a ‘loyal’ customer.
Secondly, my last visit will be my final visit. It had to have been one of the most blatantly unacceptable customer services experiences that I have encountered over years of living in NYC. It went beyond just kinda snotty employees to that of a store being run top down by employees that do not care about the guests, the company, or their jobs. I am following up this review with a letter to their corporate office. And having that I had had good experiences in the past here, I am confident that the management changed to one that hires the rift raft fools of the Bronx neighborhood who have no desire to represent the Smashburger brand. NOTE to OWNER: I am sure the front door/​register has a camera being in the Bronx. All of this situation could be verified by that camera footage.
My Experience — SAT June 18, 2016 around 8pm.
So, I went to this location as it is closest to my apartment. It is in a relatively safer neighborhood of the Bronx, but the McDonalds down the street on Broadway did have a murder in January… so its a mixed bag/​could be getting less safe.
I approached the counter person and she said, «Yes», which I guess means that she wanted to take my order. They menu had changed since I was last there and had 2 hamburger combos. I said that I wanted a combo and then went about saying what I wanted on my burger. I didn’t know that I couldn’t customize these combos. Did she tell me I couldn’t? No. She just cut me off and said, «No, you want a create you own». She said it like she was put out and annoyed, never giving me face/​eye contact. At this point, I was nervous, and said that I wanted the barbeque fries, which I meant their spicy fries. She then tapped her long fingernails and abruptly said, «No, these are the fries». It was with such a hostile tone. At this point, I felt really annoyed and that I was A) Putting this employee out to do her job and B) I wasn’t gonna continue an order to PAY for something if I was not treated right. I told her, «Can I speak to your supervisor, you have such a tone with me». She called over her supervisor who was expediting food and I explained to her what had just happened. With the cashier standing right behind her, as soon I said what happened she said, «Oh hell no, I am not dealing with this!» and WALKED AWAY. She walked away from the customer WHILE the customer was speaking, walked away WITHOUT taking my order, and she walked away WITHOUT the supervisor making a corrective action — instead of making a bigger mess of it all, the supervisor could have made it a learning experience and fixed the situation.
At SMASHBURGER— The customer is not always right, hell, the customer is lucky to be treated with ANY kind of respect!
Now alone, the manager apologized for the cashier’s behavior and said that she would comp my meal for this all. While it sounded nice as in the words she was saying, she did not seem to sincere and kept looking down. I had already lost my appetite, but I said fine. I told her that I wanted to pay for a shake. I had even come with a ‘Free Shake’ for your birthday coupon… which I never got to use. So, I usually get the Oreo Shake, but saw the Peanut Butter shake on the menu and asked if it had actual Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups mixed in it like, say a McDonald’s McFlurry. She said, «Oh, no, we just use a peanut butter sauce’. I said, «Ok, then one Oreo shake». I paid and sat down with my roommate, whose food had already arrived. The expediter then comes forward to me with a Peanut Butter Shake. I said that it was not mine. She looked at my receipt and showed me that the manager actually ordered me that Peanut Butter Shake and not the Oreo one. She wasn’t even listening to me before. I see the expeditor walk back with the shake and I hear across the room the manager say, «No way, I took the order myself and he said Peanut Butter!»
Really? You are gonna say something like that when the dining room can hear you? Where is the class? If you are gonna exchange in a conversation with your staff like that, GO TO THE BACK or KITCHEN. So, at this point, I am done. I walk back to the counter and tell her that I want a refund for the shake and that I want nothing. I tell her that I just heard her from across the room – I point to where my roommate had been sitting – and she says, «Nope, that was not me! I know what I would say and I wouldn’t say that. We were gonna make the Oreo one, but fine you want a refund, you can have it.» She hands me my refund receipt and surely and with attitude says, «Thank you, have a good day». She looks past me to take the next order and am in just a bit of disbelief as to how ‘Paying Customers’ can be treated at Smashburger.
NOTE: The 1^st cashier went from the register to making shakes WITHOUT WASHING her hands or WEARING gloves. Health Sanitary Codes?!

Unhappy customer. Likely won’t return. Can’t make burgers to order as a burger place, makes order before order is complete so won’t make changes, cold food, untold up charges.
Came in on my way from work to grab a quick dinner for my child and I. Started off pleasant. Person taking my order seemed nice enough.
Order a kids smash with a cheeseburger and sweet potato fries. Move onto mine. Ask if I could have my burger medium even slightly under. Manger behind her… back to me… Without even turning around tells her no, only medium well or well done. But THIS IS A BURGER JOINT!!! (strike 1). She could have at least address me if you’re affecting my order.
Onto fries… the small I realized would be too much for just me (usually i share with my cold but the kids supposedly is very small). So I requested, just change her kids meal to a regular small burger (I was already told it was the same size burger) and then add a small fry for us to share. I was told I could NOT do that as her order was already made. Remember I have not completed my transaction yet so how is her order placed AND completed already. Strike 2.
Decide to leave it, I don’t need it anyways. This is the point I realize sweet potato fries are a .50 up charge which was not mentioned. Mind you I was reading and ordering from a paper menu which had no prices on it since the board forces you to crane your neck and squint in my case. I still pay and told to sit tight as my meal is made SMASH FRESH.
Get in my car with order, drive 2 blocks to highway entrance, reach in bag at light and snatch a fry. BARELY room temperature. I went less than half a mile and smash fresh fries have already gone cold… That I was charged an extra .50 for. Strike 3. And food altogether was nothing fantastic.
Not a happy customer and for future needs I’ll go a bit further and go to Five Guys who will make my order as desired, give me a heads up of additional cost, and serve my food pipping hot.

Came here twice. First time was in February in which it was pretty ok food was good however on my second visit last week it was a huge fail. Now the food is decent nothing extraordinary but the inside of the actual location is what grossed me out. So I sat in a booth and while waiting for the booth I was sticking to the floor. I shaked it off as someone possible just spilling a drink that never got cleaned but then once at the booth I had the same issue in which the table and walls were sticky. Pretty disgusting and I ended up taking my food to go. Do not dine in!

Came here for the first time today and I was impressed by the cleanliness and service. Emily was the person who helped us and she was friendly and appear to truly enjoy her job. She checked on us a few times to make sure we were okay.
I’m giving this place 4 stars because the spicy fries were not spicy enough and lacked seasoning.
Overall I would recommend this place and go back.

My favorite is the grilled chicken club with smash fries. I only have fries if they have rosemary in them its just yummy. This location is convenient and on my way home with my bag of goodies. Its harder to get parking on the weekends due to a BJ across the street but in the weekdays its good.

Three stars cause I heard great things about this place from the staff and a few visitors at my job, the way they are speaking I can only assume if it were them writing this they would give it five stars. I’ll give it a try and if they stand correctly then I’ll be back with two more stars. 2 b continued.

I have been here maybe a total of 3 times but im basing this on the most recent. The first time i came i remember they got my order of fries wrong but cleared it with the manager and he let me keep both.
This time i went in and the staff that takes your order are pretty friendly. I had ordered an oreo/​strawberry shake and 3 chicken avocado club sandwiches. This time for some reason i decided to order one of the 3 crispy chicken (which i believe was the culprit) and the other 2 grilled.
Took the food back to a friend’s place and ate 1 crispy and one grilled. Was kind of full but thankful i didnt eat the last. Maybe like 2 hours later i start to get a fever. Had no idea what was ahead of me.
In the middle of the night (Friday into Saturday) i got this painful feeling in my stomach and from then till about Wednesday, i developed a strong bond with my toilet. Had to skip leg and shoulder day for the first time in years, call out work, and my stomach was in pain. Tried to force myself to eat something healthy and it just caused more pain. I had food poisoning. That was by far my favorite sandwich from there until that day.
Gave it 2 stars because staff was nice but that s doesn’t mean the standards for food should be lowered.
Not coming back.

Love this place. Second time eating here. This time I had the harvest grilled chicken salad. So good! I like that they bring the food to you like it’s a restuarant. Ambiance is good. I always sit in a booth. Not ghetto which I love. Lol! Staff is nice. I can’t wait to go back.

Great service and great food. I was so happy that SmashBurger added an additional location near my house; no more making trips to 35^th street when my cravings for their burgers and fries kick in.

Great burgers and great service! I was so surprised when they actually came to my table and served me. I was confused on wether or not I should’ve left a tip for how amazing their service was lol.
The burgers are great, no matter what you get and theres so many options!
I love the oreo shake, takes 5 mins to make in front of you and it’s your money well spent! :)
Doesn’t beat Yo-​Burger but it’s a good downgrade. Around the same price as Yo-​Burger but defiantly great if you’re in a close distance.

I came here before closing hours. This didn’t stop quality burgers to be made! I ordered a bacon burger with fries and an oreo shake. LOVE it! The service was great and I didn’t feel rushed. The only minor thing was I could’ve done with more bacon. I would recommend going here to satisfy every burger joint craving you have!

roadto2016#10
«SMASH mah burgerz»
when you walk in this place your gonna love the wonderful smell of burgers being smashed daily. this is another fast food that dishes out good quality american classics like burgers, milkshakes etc. but theres a few things that you should be aware when you come here before you make that decision of coming to this location
«wheres my money?»
Quality burgers, milkshakes and as well fries… but for one meal your shelling about 16 $-17 $ bucks by yourself and in the area that your in you can easily get alot more for your money so my advice is if your really feeling that your burger needs a good «smash» then come here.
«fun facts»
they are in there second year of opening, traffic isnt so bad even during rush hour so wait time is perfect. if you plan on staying in and eating your smashburger, the service is iffy it really depends on the work server they can be a bit snippy.
«overall»
if you like your burger smashed then this is the right place for you!

The best part of this chain are the customization options! 5 oz (regular) or 7 oz (big), beef or chicken, 5 bun options and tons of toppings & sauces. I tried a few burgers off their menu before trying to «create my own».
My favorite side here (hands down) are the haystack onions… thinly sliced battered onion rings that are seasoned with some kind of addictive salt & peppery goodness. You can get potato or sweet potato Smashfries (tossed in olive oil, rosemary & garlic) which are so tasty, you won’t need ketchup. The potato fries are really thin (matchstick fries) and super crispy, but I like my fries squishier in the middle.
Excellent milkshakes and Honest Tea and Vitamin Water fountain drinks. Everything I’ve ever wanted in a burger joint!

Best fast food burger hands down! Grilled chicken patty burger with Swiss and mushroom truffle hits the spot! So happy to have this addition to Riverdale area and I love that I can pre-​order online. And i appreciate the fee parking. Def a must try.

Shakes are AWESOME! That’s all I can say. :)
The food is ok, nothing to rave about. Wish their fries were bigger — seriously they are so skinny! I prefer their chicken burger since the beef burgers are a tad greasy for my taste.
If you are staying to eat this is how the process works.
1– you order and pay at the counter
2– they give you a number sign
3– you find a seat that you like and display the number sign
4– they bring you the food.
#4 is where they lose me a little because if you are with a group you will get your food and drinks at different times. Which can be annoying.

This is of new category that I like to call slow fast food chains. Made to order, freshly smashed on the grill burgers. You can build your own burger, if you are not in mood for beef, they have chicken sandwiches, and salads. They make great shakes, and you can even have a beer if you want. Also they have have my favorite side, which is veggie frites, they are strips of carrots, and string beans flashed fried… So delicious.
This place is in a new strip mall which allows it easy to park.

Good quality and friendly staff.
I liked the idea of different flavored spices on the fries. I liked my buffalo fries.
Did not like how tiny the fries are. I prefer bigger normal sized fries. Grabbing one of these little guys would be silly and then grabbing a handful is a mess. They were even too tiny to use a fork and grab them.

Love this place burgers are fresh with great toppings. Service is exemplary food brought to table. The beer selection cpuld be better nice ambiance and clean. Near transportation and parking provided. Enjoy

Okay I am new to this franchise but the first impression was a winner. The applewood bacon cheese burger (the very rare occasion I will partake in the swine) was awesome even though it was well done I’m a med rare gal… the burger still managed to be juicy. The seasoning on the smash fries and veggie fritters were everything. And what needs to be said about the haagen dazs milkshake… Delish!
This will be in heavy rotation. And may replace my beloved Perista Diner burger… which is the best thus far then entered Smash burger.

Admittedly, I had not been to this section of the Bronx in quite some time. I’ve been around the Target area many a time, but rarely have I found myself going north of 231^st on the 1 Train. I’ve had no need, save for the last time I went to Bronx Ale House with a friend back in 2011. I was drawn to go check out Smashburger after it popped up under the trusty «New Businesses in NYC — Manhattan» header on my Unilocal homepage and went, «Hey! That’s kinda sorta in my neighborhood!» (When you live in Inwood, anything within 20 minutes via the A, 1, or Bx7 bus is in «the neighborhood» for me. Heheh.) The Beau, his little bro, and I decided to check it out for dinner one night. As I approached the 238^th Street stop on the 1, I was surprised to see a sprawling shopping plaza BJ’s Wholesale, a giant Buffalo Wild Wings, and a Chipotle, all surrounding the little (comparably speaking) Smashburger. WOW. I’m pretty sure NONE of that was there in 2011. I forget how suburban parts of the Bronx can be!
Well, we entered, and the place is sprawling, albeit pretty warm inside! I wasn’t too overwhelmed by menu choices, but they are ample and appealing. The beau and his bro both went for the classic Smashburger, while I opted for the Spinach & Goat Cheese burger. We split an order of regular fries and sweet potato fries between the three of us. Upon ordering, we were given a number to put on our tables. Everything was delivered to us in about five minutes. My burger was delicious! In addition to the spinach and goat cheese, along with the traditional lettuce and tomato, this burger has cucumber, which I found to be a most lovely addition! I found the burger to be light yet filling without feeling like there’s a brick in my stomach, which, well, happens with lots of burgers. (I know. I’m stating the obvious here.) The guys also really liked their classic burgers. The fries, both kinds, were delectable. The beau is not a sweet potato fan (…nobody’s perfect, I suppose…), but even he ate quite a few of the fries!
I suppose my only minor complaint would be how the burgers are cooked. I wanted medium, and my cashier told me they only cook them medium-​well or well-​done. Eh. No matter, I suppose, because I enjoyed my burger, regardless.
The location provides ample seating and great service. Before sitting down, one of the staff members, Derrick (…I believe was his name…) jumped to clean an empty table I found before I sat down at it. Though there aren’t waiters here, he was very friendly and offered to assist us if we needed anything else. Very nice young man!
I’ve heard great things about Smashburger from out-​of-​state friend, and I know there was a pretty sizable «Hurrah!» when the one near the Empire State Building opened. I must say… y’all make a great burger! For me, it’s worth the walk to and ride on 1 Train.