O'Briens Schoolhouse — Restaurant in Ada Township

Big sloppy burger and tons of fries with a bit of a price tag.

Schoolhouse Burger: HUGE! I’ve had some very large burgers before, but this one was a surprise. I am guessing 2/3 pounds total in the patties. I was a bit put off by the prices, but once I saw the size (and the amount of fries), I was not as put off.

They are called smash patties, but because of the size and thickness, it is not the traditional smash patty. This is an important distinction because true smash patties cook differently when they are thinner and have a much different texture cooking faster. These were a lot closer to traditional handmade patties. They were juicier as a result (which I prefer anyway). The other location’s burgers have been highly praised, but they didn’t seem terribly different from other locations I’ve visited. It’s not bad, but not superior (at least this time).

It is also very messy. I tried real hard to eat it regularly, but because it was so huge and the whole thing slid around like crazy, it was impossible by the time I was a third of the way through. After that, I had to eat the rest with a fork.

The toppings were fairly even except the onion and tomato. This accounted for almost half the height and was overwhelming the rest of the taste. It could probably use a bit more bacon (but anything could). There was a bit more mustard than ketchup (you have to decide if that is good because I prefer a lot more ketchup on my burgers myself).

I don’t think it was American Cheese like it described. Maybe WHITE American Cheese, which is another important distinction. I prefer the standard YELLOW American Cheese.

Fries: A TON of fries! Thinner cut (my personal preference), warm, great texture, medium thick outer skin and fluffy center. They were cooked just right. They were quite salty. Most places are, but these were more salty than most.

Service: Fairly standard, though slightly quicker to get to you. You seat yourself, but they come and serve you at the table. They use cloth napkins. Once I bit into the burger, I knew that wasn’t enough and asked for paper napkins, which they did supply.

One major issue I had with my visit was with the price. They changed their prices since they opened. In July when they opened, the Schoolhouse Burger was $17. That was what their website still had posted. Their menu when I arrived was different. I pointed that out and they even informed the owner. However, I was still charged the $18.50 on the menu. I was a bit disappointed, but paid it (the burger was HUGE).

I do my research with restaurants ahead of time to know the price, value, quality, and especially the story. I heard great things from multiple sources about O’Brien’s Deli & Burgers (which have hours impossible for me to visit most of the time), so I was excited to try the Schoolhouse location.

I knew this place just opened and I figured there’d be bumps. However, they have had another location before this one, so this is not their first rodeo.

Atmosphere: Tiny interior. The tables are tightly lined up and servers are constantly walking sideways. There is a lot more room on the outdoor patios. It’s probably a place you want to visit to sit outside or for takeout. I was only there 20 minutes, so it wasn’t a big deal to me to sit inside.

The schoolhouse theme is kind of cool. I did notice the thick rope for pulling on the bell above the building.

Was it worth it? I think so. But it is a close one with the price changes. Would I recommend it? Yes, but not as a first choice.

Visited on a Saturday in September...

I’ll preface this review by saying that we have been here multiple times since they opened and have had a fine time. It’s nice to have a no frills eatery next to the park for the kids- it’s never busy so there’s never a wait which is great.

Came in around 5 pm on a Monday night with my family. Ordered a Cobb salad. Got part way through the Cobb salad and realized the bacon and hard boiled eggs were missing (I’m holding a 5 month old trying to eat so it took me a minute to realize this) Politely ask the server when she swings by next if I did in fact order or a Cobb salad or maybe I ordered something else by mistake. She says yes, you did order the cobb and it is missing bacon and hard boiled eggs- she says she will talk to the kitchen. Awesome. Crisis averted

She comes out 10 mins later with a small plate of chopped boiled eggs… no bacon. She explains that “this is what the kitchen sent me out with… I’m sorry” At this point we’re ready to go anyway so I say “totally fine… maybe you can just take this salad off my bill”

You’d think that would be the expected thing to do since the two most expensive items on a Cobb salad are in fact the bacon and the hard boiled eggs, but no. I’m met with a hard no. The owner Mr. O’Brien has instructed via phone call NOT to take this salad off my bill and that he wants my phone number to call me in the morning. lol. Ok.

We pay for the 75.00 meal and tip 20 percent. It’s not about the money… it’s about the customer service. I’ve worked in this industry and I know it’s much easier to comp a salad than it is to put a bad taste in an entire families mouth.

We will...

I've had good experiences at the old O'Brien's on Fulton as well as the location on East Paris. Was looking forward to another location, but left disappointed.

Right off the bat it's unclear what the seating situation is. There's a sign that says to use the west gate, but there's no indication of if you're supposed to seat yourself or if someone would come by or if you were supposed to enter the building. I guess we looked confused enough to where a patron told us we could grab a seat anywhere, and soon after a waiter took notice and said he would be back shortly.

The service was lacking throughout--it took about 20 minutes (and us asking an additional time) to get waters, and one burger came out 5 minutes before the other one. We also never received napkins or silverware at any point.

I got the Rix burger, which I was anticipating to have some kick, but it was so blisteringly hot that I couldn't have more than a few bites. I may have been overconfident with my capsaicin capabilities, but my wife got a classic burger and said it was abnormally spicy as well. Maybe we just ordered poorly, but going 0/2 on burgers at a place that specializes in burgers doesn't reflect well.

I will say that it's nice that the burgers come with fries (which were quite good) instead of being an upcharge like you see at so many...