The Counter

The food was delicious but pricey. I would rather go to Stacked. However, they have since closed this downtown San Diego location.

Ah, what a nice little spot. The idea is pretty simple you construct and create your own burger. I went with your standard burger, and it was great.
Great food just don’t get the lemonade.

**** THIS PLACE IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED! *****
Went here yesterday to find a sign that says the location was permanently closed. What happened to it? :(I was really excited to try it out.
Don’t take the drive all the way down here. There are a few other locations!

This is the best «chain» burger place in SD (not counting Hodad’s). Their ingredients are fresh, and far healthier than other burger places. This is the only place I’ve ordered a hamburger patty on top of a salad, in lieu of a bun, and it was great.
The service here is very good. For some reason, the booths have very little legroom… consider sitting at the bar if you are a taller person like myself.

Damn. Good. Food.
What I ordered:
Vegan Patty on a pretzel bun with guacamole, tomato, onion, and jalapeño peppers.
Side dish was a sweet potato fry and shoe string onion mix.
Everything was AMAZING. Sadly, most restaurants take a frozen boca burger and that is their «veggie burger» option. Here, I could see actual veggies on my patty, and it was a really good size too! I didn’t leave hungry, that’s for sure. All the veggies were über fresh, and I really enjoyed the vast number of options I had for my sandwich. The sides were the SHIZ. They were served with a trio of sauces (ranch, bbq, and a horseradish mayo) and they were fresh and crisp and I really enjoyed them.
The only beef I could find was the price. For my very delicious, very filling sandwich it was nearly 13 bucks. Just for the sandwich. I have not problem paying for quality, so this place is definitely a treat, but I couldn’t justify spending that much on a regular basis.
Good food, great beer, and a prime location. Thoroughly enjoyed my visit at The Counter.

This wasn’t my first trip to a «The Counter» location. I“ve been to one in LA next to the LACMA, and that location I really liked.
The location isn’t bad. The restaurant is a decent size and you can get a group in there.
Our server was nice, but really didn’t seem to know what was going on, which I admit always really ruins an experience for me. Even if someone is new, I expect them to be really trying to give you a good experience and this one was just so so.
The food is actually pretty good. You’ll get your downtown pricing, but you get something that the taste meets the price. I’d probably never pick this location as a first choice, but would never be disappointed with it as an option.

Im a big biased «The Counter» fan so i always enjoy the juicy burgers.
We tried the gaslamp location on our last trip to SD.
Our initial plan was to test «Slaters 50÷50» but after seeing the 45 – 60 min line before us we decided to make a swift change of burger scenery for the evening.
We shared the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ fries and sweet potatoe fries with some sauces to dip the fries in. The regular fries where good but the sweet potatoe ones where really really good.
On my burger wich i ordered medium grilled i had pepper jack cheese, mixed greens, scallions, peperoncinis, bacon, chipotle mayo and sweet bbq sauce.
The burger was perfectly pink and perfect to my liking. All condiments was good and fresh and the chipotle mayo and bbq sauce was great to top it of with.
An excellent 5 star burger. Oh yeah i forgot i had some onion special burger bun that was also good.
Swallowed down the awesome burger and fries with an equally good cookies and cream shake similar to the Oreo cookie shake if you have had one of those.
The young owner Tom cam out to every table and asked how the food was wich is always a great touch.

Turkey burger on pretzel bun… crazy good! Garlic parm fries… even crazy gooder-​haha! I remember the owner coming out and being really cool, chatting us up a bit.
I’m not sure if I’m a fan of how you choose your food with the pencil and the paper and the choices… too much work! :-)
But, if that’s what I gotta do to get some more of those fries… pass that tiny, eraserless pencil!

I love The Counter. The Gaslamp location is cute. Big open windows, huge chalkboard wall, very modern feel with a bar in the center. Really good happy hour deals and lots of beer on tap! Would love to come back with a few friends and toss back a few pints and beast on a burger! Love the ambiance, BUT minus one star because I was a bit disappointed in the service. The restaurant wasn’t packed and it took forever for someone to take our order and maybe 45 minutes to even get our sweet potato fries, which were devoured within 15 minutes.
I took my brother and cousins here and they enjoyed their first experience regardless of the slow service. For those who are new to Counter, it’s a build-​your-​own-​burger joint. You pick the type of meat (turkey/​beef/​chicken/​veggie/​bison), cheese, 4 toppings (additional 50 cents for more), premium toppings (additional $ 1 for each), sauce (additional 50 cents for more), bun… For those of you who are overly indecisive, they have a set menu as well. GET THE SWEET POTATO FRIES to share!
Great lunch spot/​happy hour spot if you’re in the mood for a good burger and beer!!!

The Counter is a build-​your-​own burger spot.
The prices are not on the menu for a reason, it costs way too much for a burger here.
The service is eh. The burgers are not as good as they should be for the price.
I was very disappointed when the food arrived, as well as when the check arrived.

Haven’t been to a counter location since I lived back east and ate in Connecticut. They have gluten free buns, for all my fellow glutards out there. Also the buns are good buns, way better than the ones at petco park.
So we went here Friday before the padres game, for a better quality product. And save 2 bucks off beers, or vodka.
I had a turkey burger with goat cheese, sprouts, tomatoes, lettuce, and sundried tomato dressing.
Hubby had a beef patty with everything horseradish related.
And we shared fries. Only reason they didn’t get 5 stars was because they forgot our fries and they weren’t even busy. They may need to start writing down what people want instead of doing it from memory.
Besides that this may be my favorite per padre game feast.

The servers/​staff is really attentive and nice.
Great Burgers… and I love the sweet potato fries.
Love the white board on the wall… leave a message…

The first time I came here was back in 2010 before a Padres game with another couple. Our friends invited us to enjoy the box seats at the Padres game so we figured we’d be fed there and won’t be too hungry.
However, we got downtown a little too early so we decided to come here to get some food while we wait. The experience went so well that we decided to come here again 2 weeks ago.
We all opted to build our own burger and honestly, I think that’s how more burger places should do it. You never know how someone likes their burger and so just give them the option to customize it! I got the side of sweet potato fries and trust me, it’s so good! My husband got the bison, which is a unique burger. The only time I had bison burger was when I went to True Food Kitchen, but this version of it wasn’t bad. The malts are to die for here, it’s an east coast thing to love a malt so much, but these guys got it right!
Customer service was great, even when it got busy.

I love me some beef!
I’ve heard about The Counter for a while and our journey of trying every burger joint in SoCal led us here this past weekend. The burger was good, period. Not my top 5, but fresh tasting, not greasy and filling.
The Counter is a blend of Slaters ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ (build your own burger), Stacked (the waiters don’t come around all that often) & Burger Lounge (trendy with gourmet burger prices) and Smash Burger (everything is a la carte).
The architecture is great with lots of fresh light, the wait staff is nice and the food really is good. I know it’s trendy to offer 50 +1 choices for burger toppings, but I feel it shows a lack of quality in the burger.
I would definitely eat here again, but it wouldn’ t be a destination burger choice for me.

Came to The Counter cause i was with a Vegan, and their Veggie Burger is actually vegan, where as most Veggie burgers have egg whites as the binding agent, making it only vegetarian. I had a bite of it it was actually good, and something i’d actually get on my own, on the rare occasion I’m not in the mood for meat.
I had the ¹⁄₃ lb Chicken burger with ginger soy glaze and roasted garlic aiole. The Chicken breast was cooked perfectly and still juicy. I usually don’t order chicken breast because usually people are afraid to give you salmonella so they cook the shit out of it and its dry and stringy. But The Counter has skilled cooks and it was moist and tender.
The ginger soy is basically a teriyaki sauce which is delicious on both the burger and the fries. The Roasted Garlic Aiole was also Amazing and delicious on its own but mix it with the Ginger Soy glaze! WOW
I’ve also tried the Bison on a previous outing, and its also really good! Similar taste to beef but a bit sweeter, less fat then skinless chicken breast, and more protein than beef! What’s not to like?! I was worried that it would be dry since its such a lean meat but they handled it right and it was still juicy and moist.
What i like best about The Counter is the variety of options on all the toppings but especially all the different sauces which make it so customizable. The staff has always been friendly and helpful and i’ll be sure to come back again to try the grilled ham and swiss and turkey chili.

The regular french fries and the sweet potato fries are great. They also have about a trillion different sauces to dip the fries in, and all that I tried were really good. The roasted garlic aioli was my favorite.
Unfortunately, the veggie burger didn’t impress me. It was too dry, and was just missing something. More flavor maybe? I can’t put my finger on it.
If I find myself downtown wanting a burger, I’ll probably hit Burger Lounge before trying the Counter again.

You know, you’d be hard pressed to find a better custom burger place than this. Especially in the Gaslamp.
I originally attended their event that gave out complimentary samples and was both impressed as well as hooked. I figured it was now worth a shot for the real deal, so I came back only a few days later to alleviate my burger craving.
For a Saturday afternoon (4:00), it wasn’t busy at all. We were instantly greeted, seated (at a table of our choosing) and attended to. Our server was extremely cool and patient while the other members of my party needed considerable time to pore over the myriad of options available for the creation of their monsters. Eventually we decided on all the specifications of our build and put in the order.
After about 10 – 15 minutes our food came out. We were kept entertained in the meantime by some race/​scavenger hunt that was taking place downtown which ultimately had contestants in & out of the entrance. Anyway, back to the burgers… I forgot what the other members of my party ordered but I built a chicken burger which you can see (here)

& (here)
It was honestly one of the best chicken burgers I have ever had and I seldom ever go for chicken burgers because… well…they usually can’t hold a candle to a real hamburger. This one was a game changer. As soon as I saw it, I was thinking that maybe I had made a mistake and perhaps may have just ordered too much food. There was only one way to find out.
Eat in moderation right? Nah, we also threw in an order for the 50/50(half fries half sweet potato fries) because I’m a sucker for Sweet Potato fries and the others were more traditional fry fans. Both were extremely delicious, but I’m biased and the Sweet Potato Fries were the best. Golden, crispy, sweet, not too crunchy and not too soft. Just perfect. On top of that, we had the Dunkelwiezen beer (if I remember correctly) and it was outstanding but you probably already guessed/​knew that. Their beer selection is pretty good, but I’m more of a fan of the «Hef» vs the IPA so I can’t comment on their IPA selections (Racer 5 and something else that I forgot).
At the end we also had the server split the Dulce de Leche shake which was unbelievably good. Sweet with just a little bit of mild bite. It’s like drinking alcoholic cake. I had sampled their Thin Mint Shake at an event and I’ll be honest, both are so good that I can’t really pick a favorite.
So after this meal of kings I felt like I weighed about 10 pounds heavier but it was worth every penny and every pound. When I’m ready to go down to the real burgertown, I’m pulling out all the stops and stepping up to the counter.

Super friendly staff and was greeted as soon as I walked in for a special event. Got to try various burgers. Beef, bison, veggie, chicken, and turkey. I’m usually a beef kind of guy, but I really liked the turkey. Nicely seasoned and toppings that complimented the burger so well. Veggie Patie was my second fav. Met the owner who was super nice. Way to do it right!
Parking is on the street and difficult to find unless you park in paid parking.

My first experience was at The Counter in Santana Row a few years back. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the crumbly bun. How can you have a burger with a crumbly bun?!
After coming to this location I see that there are now several yum bun options. so problem solved! The bison was a little dry in my opinion even with a pink center. I liked the beef burger and surprisingly the veggie burger too! It isn’t a portobello, but more of a garden patty with corn, peppers, etc.
I love all the options for cheese, sauces, toppings, so you can really build your own custom burger. There’s also a nice bar area in the center with all the games playing.

Are you the Banker, Merchant, or Farmer?
I’ve killed hundreds of Bison while traveling the Oregon Trail, but never got to truly enjoy them until now. (I’ve had squirrel and deer, but you only get 3lbs and 54lbs per shot, so Bison is the way to go. And try not to die of Dysentry or Chlorea…)
$ 8.95 for a ¹⁄₃^rd lb burger of a dead animal of your choice, except the tasty Bison which is $ 4 more. Pairs perfectly with a side of $ 1.95 sweet potatoe fries. The beef, turkey and chicken patties are all good too, leaving you with extra cash for 1 gallon of gas. Well, almost. Beware of the extra «options» though: like buying a car or going to a strip club, options can quickily turn this burger date into an expensive final bill…
Loved the modern, minimalast interior décor. Great staff too: I’m not gay, but if you’re the market for a nice, tall, cute Asian man whom owns a kickass burger business, Tom the Owner fits description. Looks like he works out regularly too. But I don’t know if he’s available or not…