Poppa Al’s

Didn’t eat anything, from all the positive testimony I will come back and give the food a go. As for the milkshakes… Terrible. Almost the worst milkshake I have ever had. I asked for a chocolate/​coffee, but received chocolate only. It tasted strange, not like ice cream, kinda powdery. Best way to describe it would be like a McDonald’s shake. I was super disappointed. Thought these folks were known for their shakes. Will try the gingerbread house down the road next time.

Poppa Al’s is hit and miss. First of all, they are pretty expensive for what you get. Second, some days the food is really good and other days it seems pretty bland. Recently the got a new cook and he seems to be doing a good job. A couple of things you can count on: you will always get an amazing milkshake, a large ice cream cone and will always have to wait, whether you call in your order or eat there.

Ive been coming to this place my whole life. I’ll put it like this. The food is good almost very good. Why two stars than you say? The freaking price. So over priced 20 $ for two basic cheeseburgers fries and drinks. Honestly if your going through mill city on why 22 don’t stop here it is good though. But you have to go to Giovani s pizza. they are expensive but so good

My wife and I stopped into Poppa Al’s on a Saturday afternoon on our way back from the Airshow in Madras. Located on the highway near the southern end of town, Poppa’s is a classic American hamburger & milkshake diner. They have an exterior «to-​go» window as well as indoor seating. The inside walls feature «graffiti,» hundreds of handwritten messages of the «Joe & Mary Forever xx» variety, which gives you something to look at while waiting for your order. I selected a grilled chicken club while my wife went with the Poppa Al burger (with grilled mushrooms & onions and Swiss cheese). Wait times were reasonable, despite the Jesuit girls volleyball team filling half of the tables. When our order arrived, we were happy to find that the sandwich buns were deliciously fresh and homemade. Both sandwiches were delicious. We also saved a few bucks due to their Entertainment coupon that allowed us a buy one/​get one deal. The woman at the order window was friendly and efficient. We’ll be back.

Great burgers. Make sure you order one that is on the homemade buns! Skip the fries, they are over cooked or cooked in old oil! They do have fry sauce that is good, too bad the fries are not! Like that you are able to order at outside window and eat at the picnic table with dog:)

I love hitting the mom & pop burger joints. Nothing like a good old skinny patty on the flattop with the local secret sauce. Papa’s secret, though, is the fresh, yeasty homemade bun. The difference is surprising. I definitely recommend you try it and see. YUM!

Food: Three stars for very average vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.
Service: Two stars for slow, untrained window service that had to search for the chocolate sauce.
Ambience: One star for the old, run-​down appearance of the building.
Price: Average.
Summary: There is nothing attractive about the place but it was open and we wanted a dessert.

Great roadside diner. Wife and I Had the fried chicken dinner. I thought it was very tasty. Crispy fried outside tender inside. Daughter had a grilled chicken burger that was also very good. Baby had Texas Toast Grilled Cheese Sandwich which everyone really liked. Also sampled some of their yummy hand scooped ice cream. Great place for just some ice cream, a milkshake or a nice dinner.

Saw the good reviews on Unilocal and thought we would give it a try on our way to black butte. The food was very bad. There wasn’t really any charm about the place either. Hopefully they can turn things around, but right now this is a place to be avoided.

Amazing burgers! Must try if you are in the area. I had the luau burger, chili cheese fries and pumpkin pie shake. So good! And the homemade buns were to die for. I can’t wait to go back.

Poppa Al’s is the definitive roadside diner. We had tater tots, curly fries, peanut butter milkshake,
Suzanne had a BLT and I went with a classic cheeseburger. Both were on amazing home made buns. I also had a classic chocolate malt. My burger was CLASSIC PERFECTION.
Our meal was delicious! It was served promptly and perfectly prepared. We had ranch and fry sauce for our tots and curly fries. Both were served hot and crispy, exactly the way that they should be served.
All in all, Poppa Al’s kicked Ass and Balls!

Great Burgers. Friendly staff. The burgers have homemade buns, they taste quality and the fries are sprinkled with a dash of pepper. Worth the stop and if there is a wait, wait. You won’t be disappointed.

We were en route to meet up with some friends for a weekend of camping and fun times. After driving through a bunch of sleepy small towns with nothing open, we came upon this old-​fashioned burger joint and pulled in. You can walk up to the order window or go inside. I opted for the order window.
Despite the number of people milling outside (waiting for their orders and to order) no one came to the window. We were hungry and unfamiliar with the area so opted to wait. Several minutes pass before someone comes to the window, we give our order. I go for the Poppa Al Burger. The menu outside does not indicate what is on each burger. There are menus available to peruse but we learned that after the fact. The person at the window wasn’t the most friendly or welcoming.
When the food finally did come… well…not much to say. The buns were the fluffiest that I have eaten. The burger was steaming hot which seemed to make it more delicious to me. I ordered fries and it was the crinkle fries which I love but they were so hard, it was as if they either overcooked it or it was sitting in the warmer too long. It could very well be both.
On hindsight, we should have just drove past. Even fast food would have been a better option. At least the fries wouldn’t have been bounce-​off-​the-​plastic hard.

We have eaten at Poppa Al’s a few times and the food is good. We go for the home-​made buns!
The last trip, and maybe THE last trip was disappointing.
We ordered our burgers, and they were delivered on store-​bought sesame-​seed buns, even though the menu said they would be the good home-​made ones.
When we complained, the snarky little girl at the register said no, you have to order those special. Pointing out what the menu said made no difference. Like we were stupid.
Customer service: 0

Homemade buns are to die for! You can also get the buns to go so you can use them for your own BBQ!

Good tasty burger, in had the bacon cheeseburger. The bun was absolutely delicious, homemade!!! Mmmmmm service was slow but friendly.

This is the first time I have eaten here even though I have driven by it a bunch of times. I was in the mood for a good burger. I am sure glad I stopped!
I ordered the Mama Al, which has bacon, ham, mushrooms and cheese. I also ordered fries and a soda. The burger arrives and the first thing I noticed was the bun was made in house! Then I took a bite. I swear I heard a herald of angels and the heavens opened up! The burger was so juicy the bun basically melted before the burger could be completely consumed. The fries were also amazing.
I will eat here every time I am in the area! I know I will have dreams about this burger.

I would like to give them 3.5 stars but there is no way to give half a star so I’ll stick to 3. After a rafting trip on the N. Santiam river we Unilocaled and found this place. It was a 1min drive from where our rafting trip ended so we decided to grab something to eat.
Its a small place, looked like its family owned. I wouldnt say its an awesome place — but what made it worthwhile was it had it all — the food (we ordered mainly burgers and fries with shakes/​floats) was good and tasted fresh. It was pretty cheap and most of all the service was great. The owner was friendly, service was prompt — overall a pleasant experience.
If you happen to drive past Mill City in Oregon and are looking for a place to eat — give this place a try.

We stopped in at Poppa Al’s today and the place was hopping! Mill City was having city wide garage sales and there were a lot of people out and about.
The café is a small place with a diner feel about it. The sound system was playing tunes from the 50’s and 60;s .
My wife ordered a Mama Al’s burger and I had the Papa Al’s burger. Both were served up on fresh in-​house made buns. The burgers were fantastic! It took about half a dozen napkins to get through each burger.
I ordered tater tots with mine. They were golden brown, crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside. My wife had onion rings that I think were made in-​house also. They were even better than my tater tots, next time I’ll be having the onion rings too.
The one draw back was the wait. Like I said before this place was busy when we got there. But staff was working hard, taking orders, refilling drinks, and serving food as fast as the kitchen could turn it out. We will go back again — the burger was well worth the wait!

I absolutely love the drive from Salem to Central Oregon along Highway 22. You have the stunning beauty of the mountains, rivers, lakes and even a dam dotted with little towns along the way. One of my favorite places to take a break from the drive is Poppa Al’s in Mill City.
This is an old fashioned hamburger joint. They will proudly tell you that they make it good, not fast. So leave your big city expectations behind (this ain’t Salem). They also pride themselves on service with a smile.
The burgers are served on wonderful fluffy homemade buns and they have a good selection of Cascade Glacier ice cream and shakes. Moosetracks is my personal fave.
The only reasons this isn’t a five star review is that I’m sure some just won’t swoon like I do over the place and maybe I won’t mind if you head somewhere else, since I don’t want to share.