Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews — Restaurant in Bloomington

UPDATED REVIEW (07-05-25): I went back today because someone wanted to take me and my wife there for lunch. I was not going to argue about a free lunch. Based on recent experiences at Red Robin, I wasn’t expecting much. Guess what? I was disappointed again. Why in the world did they stop chargrilling their burgers? Again, why?!? It robs the whole burger of flavor. Whoever’s bright idea it was to start cooking them on a flat top grill like McDonald’s does was certainly lacking in understanding of what a great burger tastes like. it’s not great at all.

PS. The place was clean and beautiful, and the server was excellent. Just wish the burgers tasted like they used to. 😔

UPDATED REVIEW: I used to really love Red Robin - I've been there MANY times over the past several years. Unfortunately, in the past year or so, the quality of the burger has dropped significantly.

I used to really enjoy their burgers because they had a very distinct flame-grilled taste. Now they taste like they been fried in a pan - YUCK!

(Update 07-28-24: Went back and found out that they stopped chargrilling to ‘improve’ their burgers, but it had the opposite effect. Frying a burger is NEVER better than chargrilling it).

In addition, it doesn't seem like they're using as high quality of meat. Again, that rich, chargrilled flavor is no longer there.

At first, I thought the above changes were a fluke, but I've had a similar experience 3 times. From now on, I'm no longer willing to pay $14 for a hamburger of similar quality as one I can get at McDonalds for $6.

07-28-24: Had to give it another chance because I loved Red Robin at one time, but I now have zero interest in going back…ever.

Review from 4 years ago: One of the best burgers...

This resteraunt has drastically gone downhill. My wife and I used to order from here every week. The food and people were great. Over the last year or so it's gotten progressively worse. Now we rarely go. We decided to today and I have never been so disappointed in service. My wife and I like what we like so we usually order a basic burger and pay extra to add all the toppings. So I always check before I leave and try to be very apologetic if something was missed. Today my mushrooms were missed. No big deal. I go ask if they can get some for me. I was confused when they took the whole burger back instead of just bringing me a small container but didn't mind. I just wanted the item I paid extra for. So I stand there for several minutes while they take my burger and vanish. I thought after a while that maybe they made me a new burger. Now I should have checked but all they had to do was add mushrooms and my wife's food was already cold so I wanted to leave. I get home and it's the same burger and still no mushrooms. Why did they vanish with the burger if they were bringing me it unchanged? I don't know. I'm usually pretty chill but as prices here have gone up, portions of toppings have gone down and decreased in quality. Then I have to ask for mushrooms twice, paid extra to get them and somehow despite several minutes of effort, still didn't get them. I just don't understand what...

We did pick up. The food we received was good but... One of the sandwiches was the wrong order and we didn't get the Mac n cheese we paid for. This was after the drinks the person brought out were incorrect. We recieved 2 cups of soda that were supposed to be bags of pop. The paper tag even said they should be bags. My son took the food because I was walking my dog real quick. So I then had to run the soda in where I was just left standing there so they could "check it out." The bags were finally brought back but they were dripping with soda. I asked for napkins to wipe them off with but was still holding other drinks. It was a mess. I didn't realize about the missing& wrong food till I was home. I admit I didn't get to call back right away. I was busy and honestly very angry. I called and spoke with a manager who apologized. He then took my info, said they had some new people and that coperate would be sending me a gift voucher. Well it never showed up. Normally they get all their stars... But as expensive as they are and to have service fail at so many levels is disappointing and exausting. Everyone has a bad day and this wasn't their greatest. But, as long as that rant was it was more about service than food. Make sure you get what you paid for... And your taste buds...