Smashburger

I love their burgers, it’s pretty good for the price! I got the truffle mushroom Swiss burger an it melts in your mouth practically!
Oh and get the smash fries too!

TLDR: Taste good, don’t customize or be prepared to wait. Service was aight.
Came here Sunday afternoon and place was empty. I got the Avocado Club with fried chicken $ 7 and a Large Smash Fries $ 4. My order came pretty quickly. Smash fries were goooddd but the extra olive oil made it really greasy. The fried chicken sandwich tasted great. It’s like an expensive McChicken to be honest haha.
Story time: My cousin ordered a BBQ Bacon & Cheddar burger but subbed cheddar with pepper jack. Her order took super long (were they buying the cheese?!). When it arrived, there was no bacon or onion. Now, how are you going to give a burger WITH NO BACON? BLASPHEMY. So she went and told them. They took over 20 minutes to remake the burger (why couldn’t you just slap 2 pieces of bacon and call it a day? Were they getting that bacon fresh from the pig?!). When it finally returned, everything BUT the pepper jack cheese was on there. By this time, she just gave up and ate. Just terrible.

I came during the lunch rush this pass week and I must say management has gone under. I been coming to Smashburger for the past two years and I have seen many employees come and go, but for the worst. There was a young African American male who was serving out the food from the Expo window who dreads smell of dead bodies as if he haven’t washed his hair in years. He was delivering our food and I was not pleased as customer services begins with hygiene.
Not only did his dreads smell but his manager an older Caucasian male was just sitting in front of the expo window handing food to him and yelling loudly to the cooks in the back. It seemed more like a slave plantation than an actually causal dining restaurant. I see this often that manager hardly works or seems to be apart of the team.
Overall, my colleagues and I are very disappointed in Smashburger’s declining environment. We will proudly take our funds to another causal dining restaurant.

I have always been a fan of Smashburger after visiting their San Diego location a few years ago and when I found out they were opening a location here in the city I must say I was stoked! I have been to this location several times and honestly it doesn’t seem as good as I recall it being in SD.
Not saying it’s not a good spot to grab a bite, there are numerous options and the staff is friendly but I can’t recall having that «damn, now that’s what I call a burger» feeling after scarfing down what they put in front of me at this location.
One thing that separates Smashburger from other typical burger joints is that they create special burger’s and chicken sandwiches that are specifically made for the location or area the restaurant is in. For instance in San Diego it was a avocado topped burger with fresh cilantro, pepper jack cheese, sour cream and chipotle mayo with a wedge of lime on a telera roll. Now that was a great burger!
Here at the SF location it’s called the Bay burger and its topped with baby arugula, crimini mushrooms, swiss and a truffle mayo on a ciabatta bun. Also good but not sure if it screams Bay Area. Also on the menu that’s not at most places are their Rosemary, garlic and Italian olive oil tossed fries aka smashfries. These things can be addictive!
Unfortunately my last visit consisted of a luke warm burger and cold smashfries… Guess it’s time to smash on by on my way to another establishment to get my burger on…
I’ll be back, just not sure when.

Really great black bean burger. So fresh and tasty. I usually don’t like this kind of place to eat but I was impressed. I loved how they use reusable metal baskets, have a wide range of sauces, coke zero fountain drinks. Clean and friendly and easy and loved my healthy lunch.

This place is probably one of the best burger places I’ve been to. So I went in the dead of night around 9, I was waiting for a concert. And I went inside and order by making my own order. What really kind of sucked was the employees. The manager ended up firing a guy right in front of my mother and I. Not sure of the whole story and to be honest I could care less. But personally I thought it was a bit unprofessional to do so in front of a few other customers besides my mother and I. But once we got in the car with our order, we began to demolish every last bite of our burgers. All in all, great burgers, awkward services.

Between The Habit, Five Guys, and now Smashburger, trendy burger joints are quickly becoming the norm.
However, I’m not a big fan of the ol’ Smash. My order took me a good 30 minutes to get, and the burger was all grisly and burnt. Fries were super oily and greasy too.
I probably won’t be back.

First time visit here today, ordered a regular classic beef burger, tastes really good! The french fries are too thin though.
A friend ordered a pepper jack burger but when the burger came, it had nothing but a cheese and the beef, so she asked for an exchange, and waited so long for the second burger and when the burger came, it was still not a pepper jack burger. The kitchen staffs were so careless –_​_​_​_​–
Giving 4 stars is because my regular classic tastes really good, haha.

Tom the general manager is a wonderful man. He was really impressive and insightful about the place. He took our online order and was really sharp. Our burger was piping hot when it came out and the fries were sizzling. I ordered Bbq Bacon Cheeseburger with smashed fries my mom ordered the truffle burger and my dad ordered the big surf burger. Their burger is much better than In n Out and Five Guys. If they went nationwide, I think SmashBurger could give the other two fast food franchises as well as McDonald’s and Burger King a run for their money. I wish Tom and the other folks at SmashBurger the best of luck in business. They have a lot of potential of dominating the burger and fries market. Their burger is at the top of my list of best burgers to eat. I am looking forward to having their CEO being featured on CNBC one of these days.

I’ve been to this location three times now, and each time the amount of waiting I had to do was unbelievable. It probably took an average of 30 minutes to get a burger — the line doesn’t move very quickly and it takes a while for the burgers to actually get made.
The burgers are fine, but nothing special enough to call home about. It definitely wasn’t worth the wait. I’ve gotten the Spicy Jalapeño Baja chicken sandwich and the Avocado Club burger twice. The chicken wasn’t very crispy, but the lettuce was really good and had a nice crunch. The Avocado Club was just too soggy to be a good burger — the bottom bun was always soaked with grease. Probably won’t go here again.

Such an odd location for a solid burger joint. And yes, it’s SOLID. Yummy burgers, clean interior, and best of all… the staff. I swear every single cashier I’ve encountered here is friendly and genuinely seems to care about your experience. I was there last weekend and thought it was ‘business as usual’ when I saw a friendly older man, 60+, at the register taking orders, a total straight shooter, friendly but not in a cheesy way, told customers «you can have your burger any way you like» and you could tell he meant it. Old school good customer service, I like! Well, turns out he’s the General Manager (Tom) so of course I had to pay him a compliment, and it also prompted this review.
Because of the experiences I’ve had here, it’s tempting to stop by anytime I do my grocery run at the Safeway there. Again, odd location (and wish their fries were fatter,) but definitely check it out when you need a fix. You won’t regret it.

I was a little skeptical with Smashburger at first. However, I was able to enjoy a few Smashburger gift cards given to me for my birthday. This allowed me to give the place a fair shot at the competition. I’ve been here several times so I’m going to condense my experiences into one review.
I have tried several of their burgers, notably the Truffle Mayo Smashburger, Classic Smashburger, Avocado Chicken Club (crispy), and the Smashchicken Spicy Jalapeño Baja burger. They advertise a gourmet burger and are higher end compared to most fast food restaurants. They make the chicken super crispy which is a reason why I like it so much. It’s probably slightly healthier too but that’s debatable… Definitely get Smashfries with that. They are drizzled with olive oil and garlic! The potatoes are sliced super thin (almost like a shoestring). You’ll also need to wash that down with something cold. Get a vanilla shake with that and you’ll be leaving in a wheel barrow. The shake is delicious with whipped cream on top. Do it. Thank me later.
Bless the workers that put up with indecisive people. I was literally next in line but the large group people in front of me spent 10 minutes trying to get an order right. It was the worst experience ever… It also didn’t help they all paid separately. The restaurant feels more like a sit down restaurant than it does fast food chain. The service is good too. I have been checked on more than once to make sure everything was good.

Este lugar es limpio y agradable. Las hamburguesas vegetarianas están ricas, pero las papas no son mucho de mi agrado.

I got the black bean smashburger. I guess I was naïve, I didn’t realize they actually smashed the burger flat. So what I got was actually pretty tasty, but it was all spread out thick falling out the sides and super thin in the middle. inside the bun. It was strange, I had to pick the pieces from the edges and stick them back in because I had lost about ½ the burger into the wrapper as I ate it!
the fries were fine, nothing special. The employees were apathetic. I don’t think I’d come back here.

I love there mushroom burger. super yummy. And there patty is very jucy.
Clean and good service place.

The workers looks like they absolutely hated their jobs. The burgers itself was pretty good. I order the fries will franks red hot sauce and it was a bit too salty for my preference. My friends ordered a milk shake and they said they were out of straws.
The place looked terribly managed. This restaurant needs a new manager and new staff.

Mmmmm I ordered the Truffle Mushroom Swiss and it was soooo delicious! The burger is so juicy/​flavorful and the mushrooms were succulently satisfying!
I ordered a large burger which I finished but couldn’t finish my large fries. I also ordered a chocolate shake that cured my sweet tooth and shared a sprite with my daughter to clear my palate.
Im making this my new burger place!

I was excited to discover that there was a Smashburger in San Francisco. I lived in Denver several years ago, and there was a Smashburger by my office — I went frequently for lunch and have nothing but fond memories of how high quality and delicious the food was.
My recent experience at the San Francisco Smashburger proved otherwise; my burger and haystack onions arrived *barely* warm, if even hot at all. It was obvious that it had been sitting under a heat lamp for more than 10 minutes as the oil on the burgers had started to curdle and congeal. The haystack onions were far too salty, and again, were at room temperature. The meal I had there lacked the freshness and flavors that I fondly remember from my Denver days. I ate half the burger and only managed a couple of onion rings before I pushed the entire thing away from me. What a waste of food and money.
To top it all off, I’m pretty sure that the poor quality of food was a direct result of our less than stellar customer experience. Although the restaurant was empty, and the person working the register was experiencing issues with entering our order. He tried to enter it multiple times, and we were stuck having to give our order over and over again. During that time, however, it appeared that our first order had registered after all, but proceeded to sit under the heat lamp for a good 10 – 15 minutes until our register had officially gone through.
Adding insult to injury, the ladies bathroom was filthy; one toilet was clogged with poop.
I’m extremely disappointed in my experience. I’ve been such a big fan of Smashburger for so long, and was one of the chain’s largest advocates, telling my friends that it was far superior to other beloved chains like In N Out and Five Guys. Guess I was wrong, because I’ve never had the terrible meal and experience that I had at Smashburger at either of those places.

Smash,
Look. I like you… probably a little too much.
You are going to make me fat… well i guess too late for that.
One thing I must share with the world is something people wouldn’t expect. Get the crispy chicken version of whatever burger you want. I don’t know if all smashburger locations make it the same, but that piping hot, crispy, juicy chicken is so worth it. Most of the time the chicken is twice the size of the bun. Way better than the beef burgers, not to mention a little bit healthier.
I do have one «constructive feedback». Is that ok?
Your fries are… not great at all. When it’s fresh and hot, it’s ok, but really you guys need to do something about this. I am an avid fries lover and. I’m going to say it. even fries from jack in the box, mcdonalds, burger king and that random mom and pop burger place down the road all have better fries. Make it a little thicker, a little more crispier, a little more salty and I know you could improve.
But hey, that burger. wow that makes me forget it all.
Also love how you can customize your burger by adding and subtracting things. I also appreciate the fizzy water you can from the machines. Yes please.
Oh and it’s been useful to be able to order online, except you guys have some odd little restrictions on toppings online that is not explained.
Anyways. that chicken. yum.
Smash!
it’s all about kirby.

This is a great chain of restaurants, the first one I went to was in Emeryville, CA and I had nothing but great things to say about that location. Then I found this one. I usually start with the ambience then the service then the food but today I’ll start with the good.
Food;
I got the Spinach, Cucumber and Goat Cheese big burger with a side of fries and let me say it was one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time. I’ve been to many places but this combination by far is one of the best, companied with the thin fries it’s awesome. Like I said on my tip always try a different burger when you come both beef and chicken. You want regret it!
Ambiance the good:
Well located with plenty of parking. The restaurant is big with plenty of seating and even a waiting table for orders to go. The décor is modern and funky with darker tones that are inviting and soothing at the same time.
Ambiance the bad:
So let me tell you I walked in and placed my order and when I went to look for a place to sit I found plenty of tables. The problem was that about 10 empty tables had not been picked up so I had to pick one and clean it my self. I grabbed a napkin and some water to clean the table and put the dirty dishes on the side. 3 other groups had to do the same.
Customer Service the good:
The young woman that took my order smiled and was engaging. I have nothing bad to say about her. They need more people like her in this place to bring it up more. And let me say the back of the house did an awesome job with my food. And they really work I could see them moving and getting things done asap.
Customer Service the bad:
The rest of the front staff was lazy and just acting dumb in a corner. Not smiling crossing their arms as they take customers orders. Not inviting at all. They need to replace a few employees in my opinion or give them additional training on customer service.
Final thoughts:
So the reason I don’t give them a 5 was because of the bad service and having dirty tables over 10 dirty empty tables. But I will keep coming because of the food.

Normally I don’t rate fast food chains because I pooh-​pooh them. Oh wait, here I go… «Pooh-​pooh!» There, I feel better now. I am, however, willing to take exception for Smashburger because I frankly never heard of them before they decided to take over the old Blockbuster Video space at the Potrero Center where I go to the Safeway anyway. I go to I Luv Sushi & Teriyaki, too, so I’m no food snob, y’see. And besides, Jamie W. misses going to Wendy’s when there used to be more of them in the city. So I’ll just keep my ‘pooh-​pooh’ to myself in the privacy of my home where I can roll my eyeballs as much as I want.
We came here one Sunday evening when we needed a burger fix and was surprised how empty it was. There are all sorts of instructions on the wall that you’re supposed to follow. But we’re guys so… I just went up and kept looking at the overhead menu until I was ready to order as the cashier heaved a series of sighs to hurry me along. I went for the $ 7.39 Bay Big Smashburger with Truffle Mushrooms and Swiss Cheese along with an order of their Smashfries and a 22-​ounce Diet Coke. It added up to a bit short of $ 13. The burger was a wide, flat patty, rather greasy as the cheese was epoxied to it with the mushrooms melted into the cheese (photo:
).
It was OK but nothing that would worry In-​n-​Out in my book. The Smashfries were strangely thin like potato sticks but flimsier and greasier with a bit of seasoning on them (photo:
). I frankly think I would have preferred some White Castle krinkle fries instead because I like the bulk. Jamie did a switcheroo on me and went for a Spicy Baja Jalapeño Smashchicken. Whatevs. So we came back just recently feeling like I should eat a little lighter. Where else should I go but Smashburger? Am I right or what? This time I ordered the $ 5.99 Baja Cobb Salad with fresh greens, sharp cheddar cheese, crispy Applewood smoked bacon, tomatoes, onions and quite inexplicably, a fried egg.
Without knowing the egg was coming, I also requested the Grilled Chicken for $ 2 extra. It was all excessively covered in a spicy chipotle dressing, and the mix of egg and smashed chicken was too much for me (photo:
). I hate having the parent-​child poultry together if you know what I’m saying. I skipped the Smashfries this time in favor of the $ 2.99 Veggie Frites, which are green beans and thickly julienned carrots combined together and flash-​fried (photo:
). Oily, very oily. Nice attempts at some different things you wouldn’t expect from a fast-​food chain, but it just didn’t quite come together for me.
FOOD — 3 stars… the burger isn’t bad but kinda greasy and overpriced, the salad’s a better deal but a bit overdressed… they do give you plenty of choices
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… fairly spacious for a fast-​food space and never that crowded when we’re there
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… a weak area but it is a franchise after all
TOTAL — 3 stars… fast food joint with bigger aspirations but still middling in execution