SIMON'S BURGER ARANY JÁNOS — Restaurant in Budapest

I visited today for the first time this famous burger restaurant, and left with a bad taste. I am learning Hungarian, so I thought it would be a great time to exercise and order everything in this countries language. The blonde cashier was very nice, helped me when I struggled. On the other hand, the staff working in the bad could use a little more decency. At least wait for the customer to leave before gossiping. The cashier asked me if I wanted to take away or order in, and I wanted to eat there. As I mentioned earlier this was my first time eating at this place, so I was surprised when I went to pick up my order. I didn’t know about the concept of giving everything in a bag, because after all, the cashier did ask me where I want to eat it(here or at home). So naturally, I thought I will get the order on a tray. So I went to get the order, and pointed out to the black hair girl that I ordered in. She didn’t understand first and then I told her in a broken Hungarian that I want to eat the food here. So she proceeded to tell me, that everything comes in a bag. I said “Okay, sorry, thank you” and I left to the front of the store to sit down. When I heard the girl and her coworkers(a man with beard) mocking me that I wanted to eat there and imitating what I said. After 1 minute or so, they both came to the front of the store to talk with the blonde cashier, probably to make fun of me cause when they seen I was at the table by the cashier they both stopped and only the woman started talking about some nonsense. This was my last time eating at this place, even if the food was great. Hopefully Simon can choose more...

My rating is 1/5. I'm hugely disappointed as I had high hopes. The place is trying to copy 5Guys.... Unbelievable. Our order was wrong and had to ask for the missing items. The fries were cold, tasty, but completely cold. (The restaurant wasn't that busy). The cheesy fries had an extra burger sauce and in overall the sauce only covered a bit of the fries. So it was not a generous amount. The milkshake was runny and compared to 5Guys I could barely taste the peanut butter. Then the cheese burger...the first 3 bites were great I think the sauce over powered everything else. However, the meat itself tasted funny and it was dry. The gherkins were so acidic I had to take them out - shame cos usually that's my favorite part in the burger. The flavors were way too strong and overwhelming it was just too much I couldn't finish it. On top of that, after the meal, I had the biggest stomach pain ever and I felt sick for hours which completely destroyed my afternoon plans. My conclusion, I'm highly disappointed and I won't return back. I will probably try Smashy just to compare the meals however I'm already scared of getting sick again.

On the side note, placing the bin right next to the tables it not hygienic at all! It must be moved elsewhere. The pigeons were everywhere even on top of the tables - so the cleanliness is even more important. Nobody bothered to clean the tables whilst we were there. So no wonder I probably had...

For the record, delivery was 40 min late, although that's not their fault... but everything else..! To start with, they forgot 1 burger out of 3 ordered. Not to mention we got a refund for the ONE BURGER only! There was no indication which one was which (c'mon, just put a mark on the wrap, how hard is that) so we had to check inside to know which one had mushrooms lol. No spoon or straw for the shake (though that's negligible, it melted anyway). Although their motto is the best quality, the food itself (apart from the shake, which was great!) was pretty, mediocre. So all in all, why would I choose a place, where I get an "OK" burger (that I have to put together myself btw.) from average quality ingredients, so there is absolutely nothing special in it (just 3 burgers? I can choose "just cheeseburger" literally anywhere else but with better quality in about 4-5 places off the top of my head). And for the same price! This place does not live up to its standards, neither quality nor service, except that of mediocrity trying to sell under the spirit of "old school". I want old school, I'll listen to the 'Stones' while eating a juicy, tasty burger somewhere else. Also: "Simon's secret sauce"?! For real? Nobody ever questioned how...