Grumpy's Burgers & Brew — Restaurant in Auburn

My husband and I were really looking forward to Grumpy’s opening. It took forever, so we had some high expectations. TBH, I’m not a fan of the fast food set up where you walk in and place your order, take a seat and wait with a pager. Not at these prices. Yikes. So we sat and waited. The vibe is mostly sleek and modern - except one thing that was strangely out of place: the 1950’s car grill used as a bar centerpiece where all the beer spouts line up. Could be very cool at Mel’s if they served beer - but it doesn’t fit the decor here at all. It’s not even shiny and polished - it looks like it came from a junkyard. Lots of TVs. So we got our food, not a bad wait, we came off hours. (There was also a camera man wandering around taking pictures of everything which was awkward.) Food temp was fine. I understand the concept of smash burgers. I’m not certain the “cook” does however. Mine was certainly smashed. So thin, all the flavor was gone. It was dry, and an apology is owed to the poor cow who died in vain. The cook needs to understand you cannot smash the very life out of the patties. You have to leave some depth. Also, flavor: there was ZERO seasoning on the patties. Yes I’m sure. I had plenty of excess patty outside the bun to assess this. No salt or pepper, nothing. There was a bunch of their “special sauce” that I think they’re counting on to carry the flavor - but any good chef knows, you layer and build flavor. There was no flavor on the bun (butter, anyone?), no seasoning on the patty, and that sauce isn’t THAT good. The fries, hot and salty - but is that anything to write home about? That’s the bare minimum. My husband had a beer. He could have chosen a better one, he wasn’t impressed. I had a Pepsi, it was fine - but just open a couple of days, the soda machine was already out of two flavors. Seriously? Great planning(sarcasm). The patio was a good idea, and it seemed adequately warm. We were asked a few times if we needed anything, and our table was cleaned promptly a couple of times. I’m thinking that many of the positive reviews are either friends/family or people that are so used to fast food their palettes have been accustomed to subpar cuisine. Ask more for your money. You deserve it. This isn’t it. I hope they can pull it together- it’s expensive to start a restaurant and 70% fail. And Auburn needs decent...

Decided to give it a shot as many say it's good. Price wise I give it a -3 star

Fries and onion rings taste good. Portions way too small for the price. Fries and onion rings flavor 4 star Ps way too much dill for the ranch for onion rings. But for fries it's good. Update eat the fries within 10 minutes or they taste like old cafeteria fries.

The burgers are ok, buns are good, patties way too thin, not enough lettuce or tomato. Had more pickles than tomato. Burgers weren't even warm when we got home. About a 1/4 mile away. Burgers 1 star Poor quality It tasted better than burgers and cream for me, for about the same portion. Burgers and cream wins this as does in n out etc

For the price I'll stick to ikedas. Better portioned for the price. For budget in n out wins.

I'm not sure if they will last with these prices and small portions but hey to each their own.

I'll stick to in n out and ikedas for basic burgers.

Expect 20+ minute wait times.

Some have told me they waited over 45.

The staff seems great. They get 5 stars

Layout 1 star as I feel like I'm going into an all you can eat joint.

This is my view on it. Just like Chinese food I haven't found any Chinese food in auburn that tastes good.

My 9yr old could make a better burger.

Update as I viewed others images. Rich posted a picture of his burger and it looked twice as thick as ours with a thicker tomato and more lettuce. I posted a picture of my 9yr old burger and she even says we aren't going back. She prefers in n out as it tastes better.

Ya I find this a hard no for returning! I wanted to try the crispy chicken sandwich but not for their prices.

(I apologize for how my review seems to run on as I kept adding onto it, due to dealing with...

Ordered online for pickup at noon with plenty of lead time. Three cheeseburgers with one french fry order and one onion rings order. Nothing complicated and it wasn't busy when I got there, about five minutes early. Checked with the front register and they said my order was being put together. No problem, it's still a little early. Then the manager or someone from the kitchen comes out to confer with the employee behind the counter about my order. Clearly, they didn't acknowledge the order and it never got to the kitchen. They were asking him what happened. Obviously they've got some kinks to work out after recently opening. Instead of letting me know, I had to sit there for fifteen minutes while they scrambled to make my order. Nothing from the staff about the situation. No apology or attempt at salvaging the customer service faux pas. Kind of pissed that I left them a fifteen percent tip when I ordered.

As for the food... It was hot, obviously because it came right off the grill. The burger was mid. Cooked just fine but the flavor was lacking. They use shredded lettuce in their burgers, which is a turn off for me. Tomato was fresh. Onion rings were not bad. Fries were not crispy and a little thick. All in all, nothing to write home about but I'm not sure I'd return with the $52.41 pricetag. Not to be rude, but I would rather pay that for a burger at Burger King simply for a little better flavor.

The atmosphere looks nice though. They've got multiple decent sized televisions, with different sports on, and a wood stove in the corner. There are bar seats as well as indoor and outdoor (heaters too) seating. Seems cozy but my mind was distracted by the order snafu.

Give it a shot. You might have better...