Hal’s Hamburgers

Onion rings… thick, hand battered and flavorful! It’s been a while since we ordered the shakes, but I remember they were great. The hamburgers, thin and nothing special. Corn dogs were just a frozen out of the box type of thing.

Best burger that I’ve had in a long time! The special sauce was an added bonus that was amazing with tater tots!

We ate here during Pendleton Week and, unlike many restaurants in the area, their menu and prices did not change. It was a fabulous place — reminded me of my former days as a grill cook. Nothing fancy — just a great little diner. There is something unforgettable about a grilled hamburger made from quality beef, which this one was. Just for fun, I had a cone and it was fabulous! The customer service was excellent; staff was friendly — felt at home.

I’d be curious to know what this place got on their health score. The kid cooking the food was also handling the money and never washed his hands once, the grill was disgusting and then there was the flies. I’ve never seen so many flies in such a tiny space. It’s almost like they’re trying to set a record. Buy some damn fly strips or something. Don’t go here unless you’re looking to get a good case of diarrhea.

Oh my GOD. This place was amazing. We stopped here on the way home and let me tell you. Do not miss this place. Everything was freshly made. From cheese fries to onion rings to burgers. This place rocks. Do not forget to get one of there shakes. I got the butterfinger my son got the cookie dough and my wife got a blackberry. My god they were amazing. Best damn shakes we gave ever had. EVER!!! The staff there was amazing. It was Sunday 8÷23÷2015. The guy and girl working their was so nice and we’re working their ass off. I will make sure we stop here everytime we come this way. Thank you to the staff for caring about the food you serve and taking the time to ask us if we enjoyed everything. We most definetly did. This place does it right. Please give them your business for they will always have ours.

Worst customer service I have ever had, and they had no other customers. The girl running the register refused my diabetic client service because of his quote on quote drug problem while he was giving himself an insulin shot in the privacy of our car. this was by far the worst experience when it comes to public service I have ever had. I will never spend another dime in this establishment again

«Serving You Since ’52»… Hal’s is THE BEST! Every time I pass through Oregon I make it a point to stop at Hal’s. Even its hours away and I’m starving, I will wait to eat until I get to Hal’s. Bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake. This is not some yuppie, foo foo, politically correct status symbol. This is a real, 100% all American, best you can buy burger! If you don’t stop at Hal’s Hamburgers fine, MORE FOR ME!

Yes! Eat here! Burgers, tots, onion rings and shakes. All good! Add on the fry sauce and order the a «small» shake. The largest is listed as quart sized! Friendly staff made this a favorite stop on our trip home to Portland!

No, not the elegant eatery. But, yes, the best shakes in the world and I am not kidding. My husband and I have traveled to various places in God’s great world and Hal’s crafts the best.
I ordered a peanut butter shake and the delicious peanut butter kept working its way up my straw … so taste-​pleasing. A couple days later, I ordered the strawberry shake, and yes, the sweet strawberries kept surprising me through the straw, like they were just picked. When I opened the lid after finishing, there were still strawberries on the bottom to enjoy.
My husband had a Butterfinger candy bar flavor combo with Butterfinger chunks which rode up his straw, and when he opened the lid, there remained a great deal of Butterfinger on the bottom of the cup.
This is true for several of their flavors that are not syrup based.
Val Lee of «val lee weblog»

We used Unilocal and it didn’t disappoint! Easy on and off the freeway with two teenage daughters who just want to get home. Large portions and sweet and helpful staff made this a great stop.

How many good things can you say about this place !!! Great burgers great fries and oh my lord great milkshakes !! Don’t let the outside fool you the inside is creating super awesome food

Short & sweet … not good & not worth the detour. Frozen hamburger patty cooked till dry, overripe tomato that I actually took off. Didn’t finish burger. First hot dog was prepared wrong, redo was barely cooked. Fries were cold. Onion rings were just okay & fairly greasy. It’s a definite pass on this place.

The shake we had was good. The food we had was not. This place is cute and has a fun small town feeling but the food is nothing special. The fries especially were a let down. Based off all of the other reviews we were expecting a lot better quality.

Don’t be fooled by the unattractive exterior. The food is delicious and the service quick and friendly. Also, unlike every other restaurant we tried in this little town, the hours on Unilocal were correct.

Best local burger spot in Pendleton! Such friendly staff! Ordered the cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, fries, tots, vanilla shake and chocolate shake… All delicious! Definitely will be back when we drive through Pendleton again!

In the past week, I stopped on the way home, I ordered the bacon cheeseburger, it was juicy and worth the short wait for order, just know that you can call head and they will have it ready when you drive up.
The staff is friendly, which in this day and age is priceless.
The menu has a varied selection of burgers, your odds of finding one for you is excellent! I recommend the tots and any flavor milk shake they are all great!

Solid burgers, wonderfully old joint, it’s just been too long since my travels for work have taken me to Pendleton, because I’d be all over Hal’s. Sure there are better, high end type burgers, but this one just unapologetically kicks ass, all wrapped up in paper. It’s what a burger needs to be. By comparison, Hal’s is better than both In-​N-​Out and Five Guys, if you’ve had either of those chains. Good stuff, Maynard!

The staff at Hal’s were friendly to us out of towners driving through. Worth pulling off the freeway to eat at a mom and pop place instead of a chain.

Good burgers — check!
Good fries — check!
Fair prices — check!
Friendly wait staff — check!
A belligerent cook who calls you a liar when they make a mistake on your order — check! Wait, what?!
My wife and I have been stopping at Hal’s on our drives between Portland and Milton-​Freewater for years. The quality of their food, if you’re looking for a classic burger joint, is pretty good. Their shakes are excellent. The wait staff have always been great to us. I have previously recommended the place to friends, but will not do so going forward, and will never spend a dime of my own money there again.
On 5÷24÷14, we stopped by for lunch. I ordered an avocado and bacon burger, add the cheese for a little extra cost. My wife’s cheeseburger was exactly as she ordered it. I opened mine to find only bacon. Not to worry, I thought! I’ll just take it back and politely ask them to add the cheese and avocado since that’s what we paid for.
«Excuse me, ma’am?»
«What’s the problem?»
«I ordered an avocado bacon burger, add cheese, and there’s only bacon. I was wondering if I could get the cheese and avocado?»
«I gave you avocado,» the older lady standing over the grill says.
She sounded so incredibly sure of herself that I inspected my burger again. «Well, no, I’m sorry, but there isn’t any on my burger, and no cheese.»
«Then it must be on your wife’s burger!» she snapped.
Now, I’ve seen thirty-​nine winters come and go without EVER returning anything to a restaurant kitchen until now. I’m not a picky guy. My order can be too cold, too hot, a bit under or over done, I’m just really not that particular. As such, you can be sure that I asked the wife to check her burger for the errant avocado before I even bothered to walk my burger back to the counter to explain that I would like the two items that I paid for but hadn’t received.
«No, we checked her burger, she got what she ordered. No avocado.»
«Well, one of you got it!» By this time, she had snatched up my burger, tossed the hamburger patty back onto the grill with a slice of cheese, and angrily fished around for a couple of slices of avocado to throw onto my bun. «I know you got it!»
«Are you calling me a liar?»
«Yes I am!»
Well folks, there is no point in arguing with crazy, and there’s no excuse for such poor customer service. We’ll be looking for another burger place on our drives between Eastern and Western Oregon. Hold the surly!

Stopped here on a road trip. It was good — got a burger and fries. They have a HUGE selection of flavors for a shake and you can make your own combination… I just did peanut butter and chocolate. It satisfied my road trip hunger!