Uptown Burger — Restaurant in Arizona

The good:

Both the sweet potato fries and ice cream were very tasty with good sized servings. (The burgers had lots of toppings, but were small and otherwise nothing special. The fries were ordered separately.)

The decor was somewhat upscale for an automated fast food restaurant.

The Bad:

The 4 of us stood in crowded queues for access to 4 terminals, quite close beside each other. Each customer who ordered, including us, struggled thru various issues and then paid for our orders by credit card as they apparently don't accept cash.

We didn't find a way to order water.

It took well over 20 minutes to get our orders placed.

One by one we sat down at a table and waited, and waited, and waited. Another 15 minutes until the food started arriving, fitfully, in seemingly random order over the next 10-15 minutes.

So 30+ minutes to start eating in a fast food restaurant.

The food was dropped off in typical fast food plastic containers. No silverware came with the meals. Instead we got it ourselves at a counter like at McDonald's. Except they were out of napkins. A problem we got solved without too much trouble, but another delay.

2 of our 4 orders had problems. The server never did understand that a Cobb salad with "dressing on the side" does not mean "no dressing".

Since I was sitting on the outside and closest, I stood at the counter for a several minutes and finally was able to gain the attention of the server who had delivered thar salad. Her response was a perky and loud "Perfect!". (Weird!) Then she came the table and reached for the salad. We got her to bring dressing in a plastic cup instead. But only after a lengthy dialog, ending finally with specific instructions. She was busy (and clearly confused) so this was another 10+ minute delay.

The really, really ugly: This was a "no-fun" dining experience. However, 2 things that really stand out.

I paid 20 dollars plus tax for a appetizer sized salad, dropped off at the table in a plastic take-out container.

Really? Yup!

14 dollars for the base ingredients. 4 dollars for optional chicken. 2 bucks for the tip that I added to my order at the self service order counter, and wish I hadn't. The only service here being the single visit to get my food to the table, based on the number on a stand up placard that I'd keyed into terminal as the last step in my order.

The salad was tasty but I spent about 22 bucks with tax and I left hungry.

The parking lot is a place I will not revisit. Period.

Narrow spaces the width of my car plus maybe 6 inches on either side. Featuring driving aisles where 2 cars can barely pass. And not enough parking for the many business.

Parking here is a Japanese subway ride...

The buns weren’t toasted and the toppings on the burgers were constructed and layered in a strange, unconventional way that naturally led to congealed cheese and incredibly, incredibly soggy buns. Thankfully they seem to know this is an issue, as they provided a fork and knife with each.

The fries were actually really good, but the selection of sauces was limited. Their namesake uptown sauce is not nearly good or even unique enough to warrant them not carrying other options. A lot of misplaced confidence.

The walls were stained and dirty with some weird red residue that I’m only 90% sure was paint and not some bodily fluid. The whole place only had one other table seated - at 5 PM on a Saturday, no less.

The menus were very limited and physically falling apart and there were large padlocks on the display cases for their wine (a bit strange and a little paranoid given the wine in question was an assortment of $12 bottles of Banfi La Rime.)

The staff seemed checked out. Not rude, but they seemed miserable. I don’t expect fake enthusiasm, but nobody ever even asked how it was. They seemed generally annoyed to have to serve us.

The meal was 40$ without drinks and with one side of fries to split between two people, but the quality was on par with a fast food place that costs half that.

Maybe it used to be good, but if so, it has seen better days. The poor attempt at a Tuscan vibe made it feel like they thought they are better than they are. I can’t imagine they will maintain their high rating without a facelift and a...

We have been going to Vivace for years and were excited at the prospect of that level of quality in a burger shop. Previously, our favourite burger ever had been at Gordon Ramsay's bistro in Edinburgh, Scotland. Uptown edged that out of the top spot, and as a bonus, it's quite a bit closer to home! The beef was flavourful and juicy and doesn't leave you feeling like you have a rock sitting in your stomach like a lot of burgers made with lower quality meat tend to do. The different burger styles, from traditional toppings (cheese, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, house sauce) to more creative options such as the Tuscan burger (mozzarella, tomato, pesto)and the French Dip burger (melted brie, sautéed onions and mushrooms with a side of au jus) are fun but not gimmicky and all of the components are there to add to the flavour profile rather than just because someone thought "Hey, wouldn't it be wild to put x on a burger???" The sides are solid, we had the fries and they were light, crispy and tasty. We usually have a policy of "No fry left behind!", but between the generous size of our burgers and equally generous portion of fries, we sadly left a few on the table, we just couldn't eat another bite. At between $12 and $15 per entree, Uptown fits right in with the current crop of gourmet burger shops in Tucson, but the quality ingredients and thoughtful preparation make it great value for money. Uptown is definitely going to the top of our list of fave...