The Counter New Brunswick

is this place really closed? i’m devastated.

Met my girlfriend for lunch. She only had an hour. They took 40mins to get our burgers. They actually just gave it too us for free and then we had to get her back to work without eatting.
My girl said that when she got to work and opened the burger… it was not fully cooked and she had to too it.
Dont think we’ll be back there anytime soon…

As of Jan. 11, 2016 this place was «closed for repairs,» though that really looks like a front for «couldn’t make payroll,» or «couldn’t pay the rent.» Knowing who landlords are, the latter is probable, but having eaten at this place a couple times it’s easy to imagine they weren’t bringing home the bacon. The burgers are good, bud imho, if you have a restaurant that only serves burgers, those burgers better be on point! The best thing about this place is not the burgers, however; two words. ADULT MILKSHAKES.

The Counter has closed permanently, which is a shame. They made very good burgers and shakes and the toppings were outstanding. Sorry to hear it.

Always thought turkey burgers came second to real burgers UNTIL I ate here.
Their turkey burger is seriously awesome.
Being able to put whatever topping you want on it — even better.
I chose to do a pretzel bun. Heaven.

I was only going to cook this place medium. But then the hostess told me «they cook to temperature when you order medium rare.» So we are gonna burn this one.
I’m gonna start by saying this place has great milkshakes. And the burger ideas are awesome.
I ordered a bacon milk shake and a Red Eye cause I wanted eggs bacon tomatoes and cheese on my burger and I wanted it MEDIUM. My girlfriend wanted her bison burger medium rare and a Bellini. When the waiter came back out to ask her what she wanted again I knew for sure that mine was gonna get mixed up. That’s just how it goes. So when my burger came out ready to walk off the plate (red) I was a little disappointed. So I got the waiters attention and asked him politely if the burger could be cooked a little longer. That’s when the host came back and told me if you order medium rare you get medium rare. Which I didn’t. The service here completely takes away from the food. Enter to test patience!

omg this place is amazing. or atleast what i got was amazing and my friends said what they got were amazing toooooo. we all got the build your own burger. you can put absolutely anything in it that you could think of, and their sauces are awesome. got sweet potato fries too and they were crunchy and delicious. so many places sell burgers but its so hard to find places that actually flavor their meat. it was just what i wanted and i cant wait to go back!!!

Service here is slow but my friends and I were too hungover and grumpy to notice how time was passing.
Fried Pickles. Sriracha Fries. Korean BBQ Burger. Chili. All pretty good, but it seemed a bit pricy for the quality.

This is definitely a place that would be in my rotation if I lived in the area for a little upscale casual. I think the concepts behind some of the burgers are creative and make the menu really exciting, which makes it stand out from all the rest. It’s a pretty big space and the staff was very welcoming.
I wasn’t prepared for alcoholic beverages, but some of their alcoholic shakes seemed reaallyy tasty so I well definitely go with the intention of having one next time. I ordered the Sonoma Bowl, which came with beef topped with a herbed goat cheese spread, mixed greens, quinoa, roasted tomatoes, grilled onions and basil pesto on the side. I ordered the burger medium rare expecting it to be a little over and it was perfect. After mixing everything with the pesto, this was pretty enjoyable. The herbed goat cheese was good but I wish it was a little warm. Overall, nothing outstanding, but good. My sister had the Red Eye Burger — beef, cheddar, bacon, tomato, fried egg, and sweet Siracha on an english muffin. Even though it was a little messy to eat, she enjoyed it. She commented it was missing a kind of «twang» but couldn’t really put her finger on it. We also shared an order of sweet potato fries that were on point. Perfectly crispy with a delicious horseradish aioli on the side.
Like I said, this place isn’t stellar but it’s certainly a step up from a typical burger joint.

I went here on a date and was completely overwhelmed by the amount of choices on the menu – I spent 10+ minutes browsing the pages of the menu. Finally, I decided to get the Old School burger.
When I lived in Colorado, breweries competed not only with their beer but with their unique burgers. As well, I’ve had the best burgers in NYC, DC, Chicago, LA, Honolulu, etc. On a scale of 1 – 10, I’d rate the Old School burger with a…4. I figured, if this place can master an Old School burger, I’d return and experiment with the other expert builds. The Old School burger was the equivalent to one you can order at Applebee’s or a NJ diner. Nothing special. Wasn’t impressed.
The shoestring french fries were an A in my book.
Nice ambiance.
I’m curious to see how long this place will lastin the Bruns. Building your own burger isn’t a new concept and there are many similar establishments in the area. Good luck!
Good for groups. A little pricey for a burger joint in a college town.

Recently, I have been going through a burger phase, and I was constantly craving burgers! I tried several burger spots around the area including its neighbor Burgerfi, 25 burgers on Easton, and Smashburger on rte 1. Not knowing that the counter was a burger chain until my friend told me as we passed by it on the bus, I looked it up on Unilocal,and I was surprised to see its 2-​stars rating. Hesitant yet curious, my friends and I came here one afternoon, and we all had a very enjoyable meal! I got the Red Eye burger. The burger was juicy and tasty, and the egg added more flavors and moisture as the yolk burst and covered the meat. My friend got the knife and the fork, and I wish I got that too! The crispy french fries added a whole new taste and texture to the entire burger!
Besides their elaborate burgers menu, they still have a long list of milkshakes, beers, and other drinks and food! However, not every burger is always available. It took my friend three tries to finally get one that was available. Another thing is that the burgers can get kind of pricey with some reaching up to $ ¹²⁄₁₄.
Because we were literally their only customers, the service was excellent!

Can only add one star. Food is consistently delicious, but it still takes longer than it should, and the service is just… weird. I didn’t know how to describe it, but another reviewer said it seemed like none of the staff have worked anywhere serving food or drink before… spot on observation. I don’t think I’ll be returning.
There’s plenty of other burger places where I don’t need to worry if I’ll be stuck there waiting a while for my food. Wish there was a Zinburger here instead!

We have been here before when it first opened and had a decent experience. The food was good but I remember they messed up my boyfriend’s order and we ended up waiting an extra 20 minutes for our food. But overall, the food was pretty good — a little pricey, but good.
We were craving burgers so decided to go back here tonight. We were seated promptly in the back. It wasn’t packed, but maybe a little more than half full, with one person sitting at the bar. We waited. And waited. And waited… waitresses kept looking at us as they walked by but no one came over. About 15 minutes later, a girl came over asking if anyone had been to our table yet. After we said no, she said okay and walked away. She continued to walk by us about 5 more times. Did not even get our drink order. We were so annoyed we got up and walked out. We are now enjoyed MUCH BETTER SERVICE down the road at Smashburger.
Don’t go to this place unless you want to sit around 20+ minutes for someone to even acknowledge you are there.

I am here right now with a friend who insisted on coming here. When the food came, our plates looked embarrassingly bare. My grilled cheese costs $ 8. The burger costs around $ 10. Side of fries was $ 2. My friend exclaims, «These taste just like McDonald’s fries!» My grilled cheese (with gruyère, gouda, and tillamook cheddar) was sooo bad. Really dry. Didnt taste grilled. All I can do is sit back and laugh at myself. Haw haw.

From reading all the reviews for this place I am not surprised to find out that most people had a problem with the service as did I.
My friend and I were on our way to grab something to eat on George when we saw this new place and we were excited try. Walked in, greeted and sat. Very nice décor in the inside and design. The tables remind me on New York restaurants because they are pretty close together. We were all in the conversation next to us without any intention. The worst part about it was that the table next to us were friends of a waitress so to hear of how much free stuff they were getting from food to liquor was just distasteful. The servers are just so nonchalant and not attentive. They ask for your drink and order then give you your food.
Then the wait, oh man the wait was super long for the food to come out. Felt like they forgot about us. This is something that will probably improve as they stay in business. Yes it is high quality food because the turkey burger had good flavor to it and it was crispy but not burnt or dry. Eat the turkey burger with the tzatziki sauce and you’re in heaven. Also they have so many choices from cheeses to toppings to meat, great variety that suits everyone. The fries were nothing special but they came in handy as an appetizer since we had to wait so long. The alcoholic shakes sounded so amazing that we came back two hours later to try the key lime pie one. It has about 10 scoops of ice cream in it haha with stoli vanilla. It was pretty good but a lot to drink. Definitely made for more than one.
Have to give this place a bit more before coming back.

Second visit… Updated review.
THE LACK OF QUALITY SERVICE AND PROFESSIONALISM IS THIS PLACE’S DOWN FALL.
The food at this restaurant … Mediocre… The drinks … so/​so … The prices … Rivaling midtown.
What kills this restaurant though is the terrible staff who seem to have no training in hospitality or even common sense. Service is slow, they are unable to separate personal and work life, and they seem unable to comprehend customer’s needs.
Advice for the management: fire your idiot staff and get some workers who understand this business and your restaurant would be significantly better.

All you people who wouldn’t stop talking about shake shack, this place is so much bettttttter!!!
I went there twice in the past week. My first visit, I went for their «Expert Builds». I had a medium Red Eye– the beef was juicy and tasty, the combination of sunny side up egg, bacon, and sriracha was AMAZING!!! Awesome flavor combination!!!
The second time I decided to build my own. Still went for beef patty, but with brie, basil pesto, dried cranberries, and some other stuff. I have to say I love the sweetness and chewiness brought by the dried cranberries.
For sure I will come back a lot more because I love great burgers!

Tried for second time and this time I got ahi tuna burger salad and I thoroughly enjoyed it. They supposedly get fresh tuna everyday and the cook I requested (medium rare to rare) came out more medium, but it was still tasty with ponzu and sesame ginger sauce. For today’s visit, I must give another star. I wasn’t so enthused about coming back before, but now I can say I will come back.

— good amount of choices and has smash burger beat.
–while not too pricey similar to burgerfi/​chipotle range. Depending on options of course.
Nice looking place.
They do have some kinks to workout but I can see it has potential.
The burger I had as delicious while the milkshake didn’t make me completely hate myself.
Will be coming back for more.

Super friendly and eager staff ready to explain their menu– which I thought easy to understand, but I’m glad they’re more than willing to explain for other visitors. I did the BYOB (build your own burger) and wasn’t disappointed at all. I decided on the bison, medium well– it was delicious.
I also got the sweet potato fries which were yummy, I should have gone for a different side given the burger I built, but I was very pleased. They brought me my sauces on the side which I greatly appreciate– I hate when other places just mix them and put them on ehk. Did I mention they have a bar?! I can’t wait to stop by one of these evenings. PS If you work on George St they’re speedy enough to get you out during your break.