TKO Burger

Food was meh. Wait was loonnngggg. Not enough staff. Pricey!!! There was no ice in the ice machine. A few employees tried gettin ice and when they realized there was none instead of filling it up for customers. They went to the back got ice and then filled there cups. Why are most of the retail placess in rhode island row so ghetto and whos hiring these pathetic workers. Actually the cashier. i wish i could remember her name was running around doing cash register aAND helpin the cook because they were behind. She is the only reason im giving two stars.

Teh worst. The cashier was wrong about my burger coming with fries, then pretended like i didn’t ask for them when i didn’t get any with my order. For $ 13, all they gave me was a shitty Wendys-​quality burger stuck in a plastic clam shell paired with a fountain drink. Fries would have brought that closer to $ 17, seventeen fucking dollars… for fast food that would lose hard to 5 Guys. Omfg. Yeah. Not worth the bother. Making things worse, the order was very slow and the staff was clearly untrained. It doesn’t really matter how nice the décor is when the food you’re serving is significantly worse than local fast food, so there’s no real point in wondering why all the pictures had a weird photoshop filter over them, but I had a lot of time while waiting for my crappy food to show up.
What the fuck is wrong with these business owners? The only way to lose money faster than funding TKO Burgers would be to put money down against Floyd Mayweather. You cant sell a shitty $ 7 takeout lunch for $ 15 downtown… let alone on Rhode Island Avenue. The model might fly at an airport where there is literally no other option, but people would probably just learn to bring Chex mix with them. TKO is empty at peak hours for a reason, I’m guessing it will stay that way until they go under.
…this review written from the packed Chipotle across the street.

We’ve been wanting to try TKO Burger since moving to the neighborhood… We finally had a chance to go over the long weekend. The restaurant has a boxing theme (which fits well with it’s name-​TKO). Each booth has a TV in the wall which is nice touch. Right behind the ordering counter is a sink for washing hands which is perfect!
We each ordered their Mac ‘N Cheese Burgers (I usually make changes to modify my burgers, but decided to let them work their magic and get it exactly how they normally make it).
We ordered two of their homemade lemonades — Mango for me and Raspberry for hubby… both were refreshing and definitely tasted homemade. For sides we ordered plantain, seasoned fries, and onion rings to share. I am usually not an onion rings person, because I find that most places over-​fry and over-​batter them and they end up very oily to me. There were nothing like that… they were light, crunchy, seasoned and came with a really good dipping sauce! The seasoned fries were really good too. The plantain was good, but they were fried a little harder than I like them, so I only had a few… my husband on the other hand likes them fried till they’re dark, so he really enjoyed it.
While the sides were really good… The highlight of the meal was the Mac ‘N Cheese Burger… It was delicious! I probably would have never chosen to put those things on a burger (mac and cheese, bacon, TKO/​BBQ sauce), but they worked together so well! I’ll definitely be going for one of these the next time I need a burger fix!

First timer. Three plus stars because the frickles and onion rings were great, burgers, not bad but I’ve had better. Was expecting a thicker burger for the price. Fast food type place. Service was excellent. They bring food to your table. But they were not busy when we were there.

The customer service was excellent! I had a lot of questions and the young lady answered with a smile!
My burger was awesome! I got the jerk burger and sweet potato fries! The portion size is more than enough! The sweet potato fries were perfect!
I also had a piece of strawberry cake from Carolina kitchen which is attached. It was very good also!
I will be returning to try more menu items!

My Mac and Cheese Bacon burger was awesome. Everything got together perfectly, the bbq sauce, the bacon and the Mac! The Mac and Cheese was good by itself, the little bit that fell off the burger I wanted to lick off the plate.
The service was quick and everyone was friendly. There is conveniently a pretty sink in Front of the restaurant to wash your hands before or after ur meal! Oh and the cups they give you for water are full size… which I count as a plus!
I will be going back to TKO to enjoy more burgers!

The Mac and Cheese Burger is great. Love the hot dogs too. Staff are always friendly, great atmosphere.

Man, I was ready. So ready. I had pretty much written the review of this place in my head, which was in anticipation of the shit show I expected. You see, TKO Burger was another venture of Lance London, the founder and owner of Carolina Kitchen, which is a local soul food restaurant chain. To say I’m not a fan of Carolina Kitchen is putting it mildly. Old and poorly prepared soul food dishes are not my idea of good eating. My bigger problem has usually been the service. What service? The employees there just care about hanging out in a large crowd with each other. So, did Mr. London learn his lesson or did he continue the trend of creating gaudy places that aim to maintain a loyal fan base with seemingly questionable taste?
Before we get to that, I have to say something. I HATE places that try to attract customers on the basis of what they may have in common (race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, orientation, etc.). I mean, don’t get me wrong, I get it. Having a connection with customers is important and any edge a business can gain matters. That said, for me personally I grew up around that way too much and have come to resent it.
Dad: Hey, we’re going to butcher x, isn’t it great?
Me: Dad, their meat is green. I like the color green, but not sure it should be meat.
Dad: Hey, we’re going to restaurant x, mmm… the food smells good right?
Me: Dad, there’s no people here. The patrons that do exist have between 6 and 8 legs. Oh, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t pay.
What’s my point? I judge places that intentionally draw on certain commonalities particularly harshly. If you f*ck up, I’m going for the jugular. Ok, glad I got that off my chest.
I gotta start off by telling you the service at TKO was phenomenal. I mean like Top 15 – 20 service that I’ve experienced in the DC area. Granted, the bar for service in DC is pretty low, but still… great job. Everyone from the cashier/​servers to the cook were very engaging and focused on providing customers with an excellent experience. The young lady running the cashier station should be promoted to manager. She absolutely ran a tight ship. Kudos to the cook who noticed my hat and asked if I knew I was in DC. Bro, there’s like 37 people who are actually from DC, everyone else is a transplant. Hate to break it to you!
I tried the TKO Burger, Mac ‘N Cheese Burger, French Fries, Onion Rings, Plantains and a Vanilla Shake.
The TKO Burger is basically their version of a standard burger. I love how plump and meaty the patties are, along with the nice char they get from cooking them over an open flame. Simple but good burger.
The Mac ‘N Cheese Burger is no joke. I ordered the patty medium rare, and boy was that a great move. The patty was so moist and tender. It was also seasoned, which is big for me. The burger also comes with CK’s famous homemade mac ‘n cheese, bacon, cheddar cheese and TKO sauce. While the mac ‘n cheese is good and the main element everyone raves about with this sandwich, the key for me is the TKO sauce. It’s like a cross between bbq and sweet and sour sauce that just hits all the right flavor notes. Excellent burger and fantastic portion size too!
French Fries are pretty standard, although I appreciated the seasoning.
The Onion Rings were fresh, large and had good balance between onion and batter.
The Plantains came in a generous amount. I liked having the option to get them, but they were just ok. I think they needed a little more caramelization to inject more sweetness and crunch.
The Vanilla Shake was pretty good. Fresh and large, it was cooling on a warm evening. The presentation was also well done, which again warrants kudos to the young cashier who also makes shakes.
Price for this feast? A little less than $ 40! Not bad at all.
I don’t know if my experience here was an anomaly or what. Perhaps I just came at the right time. Either way, TKO’s first impression for me was a knockout.

I was hoping to try this place out, given its positive reviews. Unfortunately it closed early, despite its posted hours and my call ahead. Very disappointing.

HORRIBLE… Food is ok, but you can never rely on their times. They close whenever they’re not busy. DO NOT come here hungry because all it is a lure to the Carolina Kitchen its attached to. If you’re in the mood for a burger do not come here hungry because you’ll never know if their open.
You would think that at least they’d have the same burgers available in the Carolina kitchen but NO, they refuse to cook their meat for some reason. Very upsetting and uncool.

Really juicy burgers! Fresh beef. Lovely atmosphere and the staff was fantastic. Bringing back the kids. Their TKO sauce is special. Also very clean. Good place to stop on the Metro Red Line to grab a guilty bit to eat. I’d put it up against Five guys day and watch for a knock-​out.

Needs more stars! TKO Burger is awesomesauce, I am sad to see it has some negative reviews. My recent visit, also my first ever, was great.
Got the Mac & Cheese Burger… It was om nom nommm good! Burger – juicy, seasoned fries (I’m a sucker for fries) – amazing. The place itself is very cool; nice atmosphere, décor, TVs for each table, and it has a dive-​y feel to it, which I love.
I think TKO Burger has its act together now? Only negative for me, like some people have said, burgers could be bigger (my inner glutton talking). I hope everyone will give TKO Burger a chance, when they are in the area.
I’m definitely going back to try their other unique burgers and different kinds of fries! Now, excuse me while I find excuses to go up Rhode Island Ave.
Cheers!

First time visit. The BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger was good, but a lot smaller than I expected (bun about the size — or smaller — of a McDonald’s burger). Had a good taste, but I could get this burger anywhere. Nothing really outstanding about it. On the ‘plus’ size, the venue is nice. Great layout. Nice photos of boxers on the wall.

Awful, awful burgers. Ordered a medium-​rare TKO burger and was served a well-​done prepared from frozen patty with a sloppy array of sauces and toppings. Bun was low-​quality and untoasted, so the sauces soaked the bun thoroughly. Friends’ burgers were also of similar quality.
Would not buy again.

I went in to get a burger to go at lunch. They have a pretty good selection of burgers (turkey, beef, chicken, crab) with a variety of toppings, though really only the jerk burger would qualify as «innovative.» It’s «fast casual» on the Fuddruckers model, where you order at the counter, sit down, and they bring it to you. They’ve got sports memorabilia everywhere, and small TVs showing sports built into the booths. The place was empty, but the cashier was quite pleasant.
I ordered a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger (~$ 7.50), which was pretty good, but hardly exceptional, and kind of shockingly small for the way the place presents itself. The best part was the bacon, thick cut and not overcooked, but the rest was decidedly «meh.» They took my order on how I wanted the burger cooked, but as is usually the case with burgers, they ended up going medium-​well/​well anyway. I declined the fries, since they were $ 3.
It’s not that it’s a bad place, and if you happen to live near it, give it a try… but it’s hard to justify a spot like this over Five Guys, where you can get bigger burgers of equal quality for the same price or cheaper.

Y’all trippin on these comments — TKO burger makes a very good burger. Had the Mac & Cheese covered Burger with Sautéed onions. Then was like «OMG that’s so good I’ll order another one»
When I reached the cashier for the 2^nd time another dude behind me was ordering his second slamming burger too.
I’ll be back.

Just waited 22 minutes and paid $ 12.00 for 2 hot dogs and a lemonade. You decide if that’s a good idea.

I’ve been here a few times now and it’s always been really good. I’ve had the grilled chicken burger (so flavorful for chicken!) and tonight I got the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. The burger was well made and packed a lot of flavor. My bf got the Mac n cheese burger (now he’s in a food coma) and we got sweet potato tots and the onion rings. Their onion rings are so good but for $ 4 they need to put a couple more rings in there. I think they recently resized their portions because the first months they opened they put the sides in a separate bin which added a lot more food but now they’ve packed them in on the same plate as the burger. You end up spending around $ 13 per person but if it will definitely satisfy your burger cravings.

Yet another burger place, this time from the owner of the neighboring Carolina Kitchen. It certainly has style, with lots of boxing paraphernalia, including a photo of local boxing impresario Rock Newman.
Similar to Bobby’s Burger Palace and Burger Tap and Shake, you order at the counter and they bring your food and drink to you. They have a full liquor license, but boozy shakes aside, I’m not sure why you’d want something stronger than a brew with a hamburger. There are eight tap handles, but only six were working when I stopped by; a 16oz DC Brau is a steal at only $ 5 during happy hour (5−7pm).
As for the food, it seems to suffer from the same affliction as neighboring Carolina Kitchen: saccharine overload. This worked well with the Original TKO Burger with sweetness balancing the heat in the chipotle dressing, but sweet potato fries coated with sugar and a side of whipped cream!!! Seriously!!! You can also get a side of fried plantains (platanos maduros as opposed to patacones or tostones); their natural sweetness not requiring any additional sugar.
Chef/​owner Lance London has ambitious plans to grow this into a chain, and I wish him well, but the original is still a work in progress.

Stopped in to grab a burger and go and in that little time I saw more than I needed to know I’ll probably won’t return.
I was «helped» at the register by a tall, thin, dark skin fellow who I’ll call Mad Max. Max had a look on his face that he didn’t want to be bothered and an attitude to match. I simply ordered a cheese burger and the mac and cheese burger. After I did that he just looked at me and started the order from the beginning like I never said anything. We played this game for about 5 minutes, the whole time while he rolled his eyes and mumbled things under his breath.
While I waited for my food I noticed that the décor is nice and the restaurant looked clean. I noticed that Max came from behind the counter to clean off a table. Nothing wrong with that except seeing him openly eating something off a plate on the table while he walked back to the front counter. I then witnessed Max dump the remaining food in a trashcan and push a box down in the trash can with his bare hands. He then proceeded, without washing his hands, to grab a small takeout box from a stack of boxes and then grab a bowl of cook fries and shake them into the box. Max must have been hungry because he took the fries to the side and ate them. still no hand washing.
I received my food, after monitoring the open kitchen to make sure Max didn’t come near it, and took it home. I opened the box and was not impressed. $ 9.00 for a burger that looked like it came from Burger King. I guess Max forgot to tell the chef that I wanted my burger cooked Medium Well because it was Well Done. It was very Well Done… so Well Done that it was dry and tasteless. The Mac n Cheese was nothing to write home about and the TKO sauce could barely be tasted. I did however taste the almost burnt bun, I’m going to assume it was suppose to be «toasted».
In conclusion DO NOT waste your money. If you want a burger save your money and go right around the corner to Giant and buy the ingredients to make it yourself. You’ll save yourself from poor service and the possibility of having your food cross contaminated from foreign matter found on other people’s plates and trash. Two stars because it looks nice and they serve beer. If the owner revamped some of the staff and cooks, they should be successful in such a great location.