BGR the Burger Joint

Ordered a burger with cheese and everything and a side of fries. The other order was a burger with cheese in a bowl, a side of fries, and a vanilla shake. The first order was correct, but the second order they put the burger on a bun, not in a bowl. They fixed the second order, but when I got to my car the vanilla shake was leaking at the lid. Total for the order, $ 27.50. As for taste, the burgers were just OK. Five Guys taste way better and not as expensive.

I first tried BGR when they opened up in downtown Bethesda, and was very happy to find a location near where we live. The burgers are consistently well cooked to whatever temperature you want. The service is consistently friendly, and the sides are all good, although the onion rings are still my favorite. That said, seating can really be at a premium, and some of the seating near the exit and near the drink machines can be very awkward. Stll a place we go to a lot for a quick meal.

The place is very clean, staff is nice and cook was very, very sweet and my veggie burger was delicious!

Hey Nate. Matt S. Again. I guess you only check the reviews and not your inbox for the replies so here is my second attempt to get the gift card you openly promised to me.
I ASKED TO PICK UP THE CARD AT THE STORE. IS THIS POSSIBLE?
MATT S.
Why is this so difficult?

I really like BGR’s burgers and fries. I’ve been to this location a few times, and while they occasionally lack consistency, I’ve always been satisfied with their food and service.
I typically order my burgers medium from places like this. That way, in case my burger is slightly overcooked, it most likely won’t be overcooked to the point of being inedible. However, I’m happy to report that I’ve always received it either medium or just short of being medium-​well. The burgers are really filling and have a fantastic grilled flavor.
I really enjoy their fries — both regular and sweet potato. The sweet potato is a little more expensive but it’s so worth it because I’ve always received a generous mountain of fries fried to perfection. Unfortunately, I find them a little skimpy on portions when it comes to the regular fries (see photos).
Their milkshakes are nice and thick and the perfect size for sharing. Best of all, they have seasonal flavors, which are fantastic for those who want something more than just vanilla or chocolate.
They have plenty of seating indoors, and some tables outside for the warmer months. The décor is a bit ho-​hum for my taste. Each table is laminated with mosaics of quintessential Americana like The Brady Bunch, Levi’s, Twinkies, and so forth. The restaurant is generally very clean and comfortable, and that’s really the most important factor when it comes to surroundings.
I understand that BGR is a bit pricier than other places like Smashburger, but you can get a good deal if you sign up on their website. They’ll send coupons including a free birthday burger when you buy a drink and a side. Often, I get a coupon or two each month in various local mailers that will save you $ 2 – 3 on a burger. So keep an eye out before you toss all your «junk» mail.

I eat here frequently. I love their burgers! I also love their sweet potatoe fries and their garlic fries. The onion rings are delicious too. Their strawberry milkshake was okay. The chocolate milkshake was too sweet. This is one of my favorite burger places of all time. I highly recommend this place!

I’ve been to this location 3 times now and every time I have been here I have left satisfied. And full. They sure do make a good burger. I know there is a debate floating out around the interwebs about which burger place is better, this or Shake Shack, or Five Guys, or something else. Well I’m not here to answer that question. I’m just here to let you know that if you like burgers with the charred grill taste to them and some crunchy fries then this is your place. They cook their burgers to order and so far, in my experience, they are on the money. When I order a medium burger, I get a medium burger. Too often you go to a place and order something cooked medium and you receive something medium well to almost well done. So kudos to this place for getting it right. And the fries are really good. Different than the fries you will find at other burger places and I don’t mind that. They also play some good throwback music in there that you might actually catch yourself singing to.
So if you are looking for place to get a nice burger off the grill, that tastes like its off the grill, stop by and check this place out. And get the mojo sauce while your at it.

We were looking forward to eating here, hadn’t been since we were in San Diego CA and LOVED IT there. This one fell far short.
They messed up our order, bad. There wasn’t a line, it wasn’t busy, and for how much they charge, you’d think they’d be more watchful. On two burgers, we ordered mushrooms, they weren’t there (but were listed on the receipt). The Greek burger was horrid. The patty was an overcooked hockey puck, and no Tzatziki sauce to be seen anywhere near the burger.
So, the customer service was great, by the way, I even tipped him, but the actual service was terrible, and not worth it, especially with a Five Guys within 10 minutes.

A little pricey but the veggie burger is one of the best I’ve had at a fast/​casual restaurant!
However, one night I went later in the evening and the veggie burger was totally stale– crunchy, uncooked rice and cool in the middle. Perhaps they don’t have fresh ingredients available at all hours, so I will only be going at typical meal hours from now on.

My husband and I tried this place on a Sunday afternoon and it was pretty empty. It’s small, but for our visit, plenty of seating. The menu is small, so if you like options, this is not for you. We ordered a burger with ‘pick your own toppings’ and sliders. All of the toppings cost extra, the cheese, bacon, etc. And so do the fries. The food is good, but does not warrant the price. I don’t necessarily regret going here, but I probably won’t be back. There are other burger places in the Germantown area that do not nickel and dime you for toppings and provide the same quality (Smash Burger, for example).

My first visit here with friends was below average. The service here was great but the food was not. I’m not sure if it was because we got here really late. We got lobster rolls, fries and shake. The shake was the edible part of the meal but the rest was inedible. The lobster rolls go for $ 15.99. I was hoping for something like Lobster ME rolls but this was nothing close to it. It came on a hot dog roll with chunks of claw meat in some cole slaw dressing and very cold. I could barely eat it. This was definelty overpriced but opt to give another try since we got great service and restaurant was clean.
second visit:
We came on the weekend in the evening. We got burger, sweet potato fries, and a drink.
Hoping for the best, but no, the burger tasted like a dry leftover burger from a barbecue. No seasonings, no flavor, too bland for me, I had ask for avocado in my burger and it wasn’t ripe. Who grills an unripe avocado and puts it on a burger. The sweet potato fries were burnt to a crisp. I doubt if I’ll ever come back here. The employees and service is great but the food is just bad and overpriced.

First time at any BGR and personally I’m not a fan. Ordered a hot dog, turkey burger, and a lobster roll. I think they are little to «gourmet» for my taste, because why put mushrooms and Gorgonzola cheese in turkey burger? Aww, why not just put it on top for those of us who like it plain. Hot dog had a nice flavor, and the lobster roll was ok. They are expensive so not really a place for kids on the regular.

Took the family to BGR in germantown. Store was on the smaller side — but nothing out of the norm for a fast casual.
I got a box set burger fry and soda for $ 9.99. My wife got a veggie box set for $ 9.99. hot dog for $ 3.99 for my son.
Burger was one of best I’ve ever had. Bread looked and tasted fresh. The burger was cooked medium like I asked. Great taste. I got the works — lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mojo (house sauce) — which was free. Lots of topping options if you like to customize your burger but they come at an extra charge, which is normal. Anyway i kept it simple and my burger fry soda was $ 10.63 after tax which I thought was a good value. Fries were good as crispy.
My wife’s veggie burger was good according to her. It’s mostly made of town rice and is made at the store — doesn’t look like a preformed veggie. She said it was a bit dry so getting the mojo sauce with it is recommended.
Lastly, the hot dog firmly son was very good. All beef hot dog and had a nice flavor, smokey almost like it was cooked over charcoal.
All in all food was great, Store is colorful inside but small (reason for 4 star) — they have nice outside seating but was too hot for the kiddo the day we were there. Nice addition to germantown, we’ll be back…

We come here about 3 – 4 times a week. It’s been that good! We always order the student box set (the Burger with a huge side of fries and a fountain drink) with «double it up» for one extra patty and «spice it up» with pepper jack cheese, roasted jalapeño, and hot sauce. If you want Lettuce, tomato, and pickles you have to ask them or else they would not include those. My BF says it’s better than Five Guys (I’ve never been there but I really can’t find any faults with the burgers at BGR). You can also call ahead to order.

I tried 3 different burgers at BGR, and ended up being satisfied with only one. The first burger I tried was the basic burger with «the works» and it was delicous. It was cooked perfectly.
The second burger was the Wellington, and I was very disappointed. I could immediately tell that the mushrooms on the burger were canned not fresh, and the first thing I tasted was the briny metallic –y taste which pretty much ruined the entire burger.
The third burger I tried was their veggie burger. They have a sign on the wall that says, «you don’t need to be a vegetarian to fall in love with it.» Apparently you do. It was one of the worst veggie burgers I have ever tasted. The frozen Boca burger is better than this burger.
However, their fries are INCREDIBLE!
The staff is also very very very VERY friendly, and they are the main reason I would probably go back.

I had the Salmon BLT and I have to say that I was surprised to see 2 salmon filets on the sandwich. It was well seasoned, the bun was soft and the bacon was crispy. I really enjoyed it and will definitely go back for that again.
The garlic parmesan fries needed to be in the fryer a tad bit longer, I didn’t think they were completely done.
The sweet potato fries were great, I would’ve liked them better if they were hotter but temperature issue was because I took the food to go.
For 2 Salmon BLTs and 2 fries the price came up to around $ 35! pretty ridiculous and I even had a grand opening coupon smh

First, the positives. The meat used is «okay». Yes. I’m struggling for positives. The people working were pretty friendly.
The place is small.
I ordered 2 burgers, 2 orders of fries (and beware, it says .69 cents for rosemary/​garlic/​parmesan, they’ll charge you individually for all 3 — ridiculous), one soda and a chocolate shake. Over $ 30. I’ll get back to this price later on.
It didn’t take that long to get the food, but 5 minutes after getting the food no shake. I go up to ask, and get blown off, being told it’s coming. I sit down, continue eating, and eat my food until I have a quarter of my burger left. I approach the guy at the register, and he goes off to make it. Now I’m in a bad mood.
The food quality was «meh», and I avoid using «horrible» because the meat for the burger is okay. The fries are your typical Costco type, out of a big plastic bag. Trash. The rosemary crap they CHARGE $ 3 to add is just some condiment in a bottle they squirt on while hot to melt on the fries. Rip off, and it tasted horrible. The chocolate shake was HORRIBLE.
For $ 30, I could have eaten 2 meals with more food of better quality at burger King down the road. I will never be stepping foot in this place again, and when I got home started texting people I knew in germantown and surrounding to avoid this place like it had the plague.
If I had been charged $ 15, this would be a 3 star review.

The Burger Joint isn’t super terrible, but it isn’t super awesome either. It’s also one of those places that after you’ve eaten your highly priced burger, you think out loud «I’m full, but I could have spent CONSIDERABLY less.»
I’ve only been twice and got the burger box deal — which is the only way I’ll eat here because damn paying nearly 10 dollars for a sandwich WITHOUT sides. Again, not bad, definitely better than its rival nearby, but not worth the high ticket cost.

First things first: The restaurant is BITTERLY cold. Its 5 degrees outside! put the heat on!
The Food: The burger patties are very tasty and they cooked it like I asked. I ordered the box set which came with fries and a drink. The fries were really good. The bun on the burger wasn’t toasted and cold because of the meat locker temperature in the store. Everything was sliding around. I just wasn’t a big fan of their «assembly» style.
The location in Cabin John has one of those digital soda machines, these guys don’t. I was hoping to sip on a Vanilla Coke but I guess root beer is okay.
The Service: The effort is there. The guy who took my order, as well as the guy that handed me my tray both had a smile and were very courteous. I didn’t really have any other interaction with the staff.
Pricing: As you might imagine from the other reviews, the pricing here is not exactly competitive. I think you get more value at 5 guys and maybe even Red Robin.
Overall I think it’s worth a try.

So BGR has to be one of the most inconsistent and disappointing burger chains around the DC area. I had one“Cuban” burger once that was ON POINT, but that was THE high point. I’ll elaborate upon my most recent experience.
I went to the new Neelsville location yesterday to grab a bite with my family. The cashier seemed aloof, to start. Our food came out in a reasonable time, but my fries were not tossed with the rosemary and garlic I ordered them with. They did toss them, but left a handful of fries in the bowl for some reason, like the guy couldn’t take the effort to turn his wrist a little more to dump them back onto my tray, or maybe he was just oblivious.
I’m a weirdo and eat my fries first, which were OK… But when I got my burger I noticed it didn’t have the grilled jalapeños or spicy sauce I had ordered. Again, they fixed it, however the jalapeños tasted like straight up charcoal and were cold and slimy. The spicy sauce had a taste of urine (how it smells I mean, I’ve never tasted it) so I scraped it back off my burger. My burger was OK and while I didn’t feel compelled to ask for a refund, I wasn’t totally satisfied.
While dealing with the mistakes, I observed the cook making other burgers. I saw him pressing juice out of them after flipping — a cardinal burger grilling sin. He’s doing it wrong and I only hope someone instructs him to stop creating charcoal flavored hockey pucks.
I wonder why I go to BGR in general (well this time it was my family’s choice), as they’re usually overpriced for the quality and service received. My only hope is that this is a new location with growing pains and that it will improve.