Stack City Burger Bar

Just walked in, very hungry. I am a business traveler so I was by myself. Greeted warmly at door. Host showed me to a booth, and I asked are you sure? This is much more comfortable for me, but I don’t want to take up a big table. He said, «It’s no problem». So far so good. The menu looks great. I like that they have lettuce wraps. Was looking forward to having the Standard, as I had already perused the menu on line.
The table of about six guys next to me motioned to the host after he sat me to say «hey, are we going to a server?» He was polite but urgent in his tone. (RED FLAG, should have seen it coming, doh!). I got engrossed in work emails, thinking some would appear and ask for my drink order. Nope. 5 minutes go by, 10 minutes go by. I would have totally flagged down someone f they had come within 50 feet (okay, slight exaggeration there maybe 30 feet) but there was no one!
Back to the part where I was really hungry, so I left. I told the host in the way out. He didn’t seem to be all that concerned (perhaps it’s happens before?). So, I cannot leave any review about the Standard burger as much as sounds delicious, but I don’t eat paper, I prefer food… now sitting at Forno, already served a great sparkling cava and can definitely recommend the roasted half bird. Delicious!

I’ve been to Stack City twice. Both times service was attentive and food was delivered hot n’ quick.
Ample vegetarian options. No notation on the menu regarding vegan options. For the Short North/​Downtown area, Stack City is above average quality at a below average price-​point.
It was one person in our party’s birthday and our server brought her a free milkshake, which was very kind. It was delicious!

very delicious. I couldn’t give this place a 5-​star rating because the service wasn’t too special. i’m all about the taste of the food, but also the experience needs to be acceptable, and this experience was not. I ordered the Turkey burger, with no bun, but i bet even with the bun it taste’s just as delicious! They have boozy milkshakes… AMAZING! I tried the biscoff with bourbon, SO GOOD. food was great, but service needed to be better, as they got my order wrong, and by the time my food was ready, the rest of my table was finished and we had to leave, so i couldn’t even eat with my table…

Yummmm! What a Juicy burger. Very tender and flavorful. I had the California dreaming. It is DELICIOUS. The avocado added on top was a great touch; fresh and citrusy. The quesadilla was yummu too. Great service and location.

I had heard a lot of buzz about this new burger place and in my constant quest for the world’s (or at least Central Ohio’s) best burger I was anxious to try it. The restaurant itself has a nice décor — nothing out of the ordinary — but very comfortable. The real selling point is the patio right on High Street. We visited during a Saturday night during a Gallery Hop event and while the restaurant was busy, they definitely weren’t slammed and there was a very short wait for a table during most of the time we were there. The patio on a warm spring/​summer evening is really hard to beat.
Now for the food. I ordered the Cowboy burger (jalapenos, bacon, cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce and an onion ring). My wife had the Earth burger (wild mushrooms, red wine onions and Swiss cheese). We shared an order of the truffle chips (house made chips tossed with truffle oil). My burger was very good but was nothing exceptional. It was light on jalapenos and BBQ sauce — very good but not great. My wife described her burger as «average» and not something she’d order again. The truffle chips were pretty decent — but — again — they weren’t exceptional.
Service overall was excellent. Our waiter was prompt to greet us and to take our order. However, the server who delivered our burgers from the kitchen (not our waiter) knocked over my wife’s drink. Fortunately, the glass was close to empty since it ran thru the gaps in the table top and onto her slacks. The server apologized and promptly wiped up the table but that was it. I think that situation could have been handled better.
When you take the patio seating into account — Stack City is still a good option when in the Short North. The burgers are very good, the service is good and the patio is outstanding. Just don’t come looking for the world’s best burger.

Mine was ok, my Mrs’ was great
Tried out Stack Burger for my birthday. It is right in the heart of the short north less than a block north of Goodale so parking may be complicated. Went for lunch and there was no wait to be seated (yay). The menu is pretty simple and straight forward. I went for the 6oz cowboy burger but without jalapenos and bison instead of regular cow. (I asked for water no ice and they put ice in my water :-P). Had a side of truffle chips as well.
The food came out relatively fast, they didn’t ask how we wanted our burgers cooked and both were well done. The cowboy was just ok, tasted fine but not special. The truffle fries were tasty, right on the edge of being burnt but I liked it. That being said, I had a bite of the Misses’ BBQ burger and it was absolutely phenomenal. Everything worked perfectly together. She had simple fries and they were just how I like them as well. I was very tempted to hijack her food.

It’s been too long since my visit here, all I remember is that the various fries we ordered were all very good and I remember thinking that my burger was probably in my personal top 5 that I’d ever had… and it was only $ 6.
Nowadays I’m somewhat excited to find a place that will prepare a burger medium rare. But a solid burger, various fries, and a great beer selection… it all adds up to me wishing there were one closer to my house.

Meh.
The best thing about Stack City is the large outdoor patio in front (a rarity in the short north). As for the food, it was nothing special in my opinion. When I visit a new restaurant I like to see how they handle the classics, so I ordered the basic «red white & blue» with cheddar. I personally felt the patty was under-​seasoned and the whole burger from bun to bun was overall pretty flavorless. On top of that, we ordered the truffle chips (since none of the burgers come with a side) for an additional $ 3. They had fairly decent truffle flavor but were completely translucent because they were so saturated with oil. The beer menu is also lacking in variety and what I would consider a little on the high side in price. Beers in general were about $ 1 – 2 more than you would pay at other short north establishments. Overall a nice place to sit outside but not a great place to satisfy your burger craving. Go to Bare Burger instead.

I was heading to brassica when I noticed Stack City. I had never heard of the place and decided to give it a try (since I had already been to brassica). I shared the big stack city burger with a friend and have to say the burger was good.
Fries were tasty. The big stack burger had a little too much cheese on it for my liking but it didn’t disappoint.

The location the atmosphere of the out door seating was awesome. The painkiller drink had great flavor but 7.50 with not taste of alcohol was disappointing. The bison burger was very good. The outlaw burger is the same as a collosal burger at Flip Daddy’s. So it was average onion rings and fries very good. Will come back.

Besides the patio and the service, this is an average place to eat burger. I tried both beef and lamb burgers and they were an average (flavorless). Fries below average (over cooked).

As my first trip to Columbus I had no idea where to eat, all I knew was that I wanted a great burger. Either I got really lucky or the burger gods were shining on me today.
I ordered a delicious IPA and the bison burger with the homemade chips. The burger has goat cheese and cranberries as well as sauteed onions. Sounded like an unusual topping selection for a burger but it works in a very good way… a very very good way.
As far as the homemade chips, they were equally incredible, crispy and perfectly salty. I’ve eaten quite a few homemade chips and these rank up there with the best I’ve ever eaten. I would highly suggest.
My Fibal note is reserved for a condiment that is normally taken for granted. My waiter, a very pleasant gentleman by the name of Alexander brought out and suggested the Stack City’s take on ketchup and thank God he did. Wow. He listed off the added spices to this tomato based piece of heaven but I can’t remember half of them. Needless to say it was delicious, somethibg about it hints at a spicy mouth burning heat but that never comes, what’s left is all the taste without the heat. I’m not one of those people that puts ketchup on everything but tonight I’m happy to say that I tried ketchup on anything I could short of my napkin.
My only regret is that I don’t have the appetite to try more tonight.

As others have said, it’s good to give a place a second chance but in this case, it’s doubtful I’ll ever go back.
I expect a place that bills itself as a burger joint to do that and fries well.
I ordered the California burger — billed as coming with avocado. It came instead with a thin layer of that pre-​fab guacamole spread like «wholly guacamole» (available in bulk I am sure).
The fries were absolutely soaked through with oil. Maybe they had been sitting and were dunked in again to heat them up or maybe the oil wasn’t the right temperature. Not good.
The actual burger just wasn’t tasty. The bun wasn’t toasted or warmed. It wasn’t at all up to the standards of Flip Side or B-​Spot, for example, except in price.
It had the hallmarks of a business already circling the drain and trying to cut costs by cutting quality. The food tasted as though the cooks just didn’t care. I can’t imagine they would want fries soaked in grease and wonder why they would serve them to other humans.
Service was adequate.

I’m writing this review live– which is rare for me. Reason being– this is the best service I’ve received in a loooong time. I’m in the process of moving my stuff to a spot in the Short North, and was literally starving so I decided to finally check Stack City out. I dined alone– which doesn’t bother me at all, but of course it’s always nice to enjoy a meal with company.
Enter Jake, the bartender — who chatted me up the entire time (and not in a creepy or intrusive kind of way!) Turns out we have a mutual friend, and share a love for tattoos and spicy food. I had a really great experience, and very much enjoyed my Red White & Blue burger. I’ll be back for sure!

great first experience! I had the Earth Burger made with. wild mushrooms red wine onions Swiss cheese and truffle mayo.
our server was great, fast service.
there is options for vegetarians too!

I’m pretty ecastatic that there’s now a new burger place within walking distance of my new apartment. It’s owned by Hyde Park, but the pricing is pretty reasonable for high quality burgers. It’s also not as crowded as I figured it would be on a Saturday night right in the middle of the Short North. The bar was empty besides one other person, so we were able to talk to the bartender a bit about the menu, and he made a few recommendations.
We ended up splitting the Buffalo Chicken Stack Chips based on the bartender’s review and the fact that we both love anything buffalo chicken related. It’s deceivingly large dish of homemade potato chips covered in a buffalo chicken dip/​sauce and cheese. This could feed more than two people based on the richness of it alone. Be careful because it can easily fill you up before you get to a main course. My biggest issue was that it was that the dip was a little too thin, and it’s really hard to eat even half of it due to it being so rich. Also, I didn’t even realize there was chicken until halfway through, because it had all settled on the bottom. Other than that, it’s still super tasty!
For my burger, I wanted the Cowboy before heading in, but it’s no longer on the menu, so I went with the Big Stack City and added bacon and jalapenos. The special sauce is basically their take on a Big Mac sauce only the ingredients are a bit more fresh. I asked for some on the side, because it was a little thin on the burger. It was a double stacked burger, and the beef was delicious! This is more than enough to fill you up. My girlfriend went with the Red, White, and Blue burger and added some of the special sauce as well, and she loved it.
I’m very happy to see this fun and affordable restaurant hitting the Short North, especially wedged between all of the Hyde Park and Cameron Mitchell establishments. Bareburger is down the street, but this place is a bit more greasy and focuses more on the good old fashioned kind of burger, which I’m more than okay with. I’m hoping they switch up the menu throughout the year since it’s not a huge menu. It says there’s a burger of the week, but I don’t think I saw it when I was there. Overall, I’m already looking forward to heading back and trying the Philly and East Coast burgers!

So I had a bit of a mixed experience visiting Stack City this past weekend.
We got off to a rocky start though. When my husband and I arrived, the restaurant was not especially busy, which was nice to see because I was expecting it to be more crowded given the nice weather over the weekend. We were seated quickly, but then things went awry. We sat for approximately 10 – 15 minutes while the tables around us were served, while servers passed us by without any acknowledgement, and while other employees seemed to be standing around without much to do. During this time, there was literally no attention paid to us, not even so much as a drink order.
We had plans for that evening, and though we’d planned for enough time to have dinner first, each minute that ticked away without service became tedious. Just as we’d basically reached the tipping point of annoyance and prepared to leave, we were finally met with service.
Now I will say this, either because he knew there’d been a screw up or because my husband was especially surly by this point, our server was quite attentive and very apologetic. His good nature did a lot to save a poor situation.
The other saving grace is the food. We both thought the burgers were delicious. My husband got the fries for his side, and though aren’t necessarily anything special, they were good as well. I got the fried pickles for my side. Generally, I prefer slices rather than spears, but these were still pretty good. The batter that they use was especially tasty.
I imagine that we’ll likely venture back to Stack City at some point in the future. Though I’d hope to encounter a less frustrating experience.

Overall impression: good! I enjoyed the experience and my burger. I guess maybe I just wasn’t wow’ed. It was a beautiful afternoon to sit by an open window– and they were very accommodating when we requested that. It was fairly quick service and it was nice that he explained the menu to us. I ordered the Irish car bomb, and wow!-It was the best part of the meal. Their boozy shakes are unlike any other I’ve had. And better tasting than any other I’ve had!
The burgers, while pretty good, didn’t seem to quite match the price and weren’t exactly cooked to order– even though we asked. The truffle chips, while tasty, were a bit too oily. Overall, the service was great and it was a good experience. It just maybe didn’t feel quite as special as I was expecting for its location on the Cap. I’ll be back for the shakes!!!

Ok, a bit of review etiquette: it’s not fair or representative to review an establishment within days of its opening. There are often kinks to be worked out. Or, everyone is on their best behavior in a way that might not be true once the shine has worn off. So pay no attention to the numerical rating. This is intended to be a first look only. After all, people are curious about the new kid on the block.
To begin with, the space at Stack City looks great. They haven’t really changed the layout in anyway, but the interior is clearly updated. And it looks good.
They also have a solid beer list, with local breweries well represented. There is plenty of variety, so you won’t be stuck choosing between six different IPAs. They apparently also do growler fills and the menu says that they’re only $ 10 on Monday. I didn’t get the details (such as whether they’ll fill only stack city logoed growlers for example) but that price is a good one.
Now the burgers, which, after all is their thing. The burger list is reasonable without being overwhelming. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary on the list, but the topping combinations at least appeared to be well designed. I opted for the most basic cheeseburger, in part because I wanted to get a feel for the quality of the burger patty itself and in part because it was on special.
Overall, I thought it was good. The one caveat is that they default to cooking it medium to medium well. I should have asked that they make it closer to the medium end of the spectrum however. Pay close attention to that when ordering if you’re not a well-​done fan. The size of the burger seemed just right. It wasn’t monsterous and could be eaten without the need to cut it in half. Even being well cooked it was flavorful and juicy enough to dribble onto the plate/​tray.
The onion rings weren’t bad, they were however a bit overwhelmed by the flavor of the breading. The southwest ranch sauce that accompanied them was a cut above the usual such sauce and would be worth getting again all on its own.
Speaking of sauces, they have a house made ketchup, which I believe the bartender said was a Moroccan ketchup. Props to them for having a burger sauce/​non-​ketchup sauce. It could still use some tweaking I think however as the flavor was not overly complex and had a bit of a one spice note to it.
Also on the menu are a variety of shakes which you can pay extra to get spiked with booze. Having eaten well already, I didn’t try them. But I plan to go back. We’ve had trouble finding a late night dessert option in the area and the shakes here have the potential to really hit the spot.
All in all, it seems like a good first start. I will be curious to see if or how it evolves once they get a month or two into things.

A friend and I were craving burgers and were actually on our way to another burger joint in the Short North, when we passed by Stack City Burger Bar. We decided to give this place a try since apparently it’s their opening weekend, and I’m so glad we did!
They have a cute patio with comfy looking seating, so we requested to sit outside to enjoy the amazing summer weather. In terms of food, I ordered the California Dreamin burger, since I’m originally from California and I do dream of the days when I’ll be back! It was an excellent choice. I love avocado and I’m glad I added an egg. The patty was cooked to perfection and all the flavors complimented each other. Definitely one of my favorite burgers I’ve had since being in the Midwest!
My friend had the Red, White, and Blue burger and seemed to also enjoy it. The simple fries that we ordered were a little too simple for my taste, and I could have done without. I’m surprised fries didn’t already come with the burgers.
Since it was opening weekend, service was a little slow. The waitress we had also didn’t notice when my water glass was empty twice, but it could be that the water glasses are a lot smaller than I’ve ever seen in other restaurants.
Overall, we had a great experience, and I can’t wait until the next time I’ll be back :)