Burger Haven — Restaurant in Chesapeake

Hey, they're open! I've been keeping an eye on the building, which was a former Burger King when I'm passing through to hop on one of the interstates and it's been about 3 weeks since I was down there. I saw a review yesterday from Monica A. that they had opened, and the rest is history. Yesterday was Presidents Day and the perfect opportunity to visit Burger Haven for the first time.

I had groceries in the car so I decided the go through the drive-thru on this visit. I was greeted by a friendly voice and decided on the Western Burger combo. Upon choosing your burger they give you the choice of 1, 2, or 3 patties and I chose a double. Since it's a Western Burger it also comes topped with bacon and slices of Swiss and American cheese all covered with BBQ Sauce. Located under the patties is a big onion ring. This is all inside a potato bun. By default the meal comes with fries as your side, however, there are other options such as onion rings, cheese sticks, jalapeno poppers, etc. My drink was a Coke.

The wait in line was about 15+ minutes, which is slow. There were at least 3 cars in front of me. As it turns out the reason for the slowness is because they make their meals to order. While that's a good thing, they aren't prepared to make a lot of orders simultaneously when a rush happens. There is room for improvement there which I hope they'll master over time. The employee at the window was very friendly and inquired if I wanted extra condiments, and napkins, during the transaction.

Once I was home I removed the burger from its foil wrapper and found the burger was also partially wrapped with some wax paper. I like this attention to detail, it keeps the burger from sliding apart and being a big mess. The burger was hot and juicy. The combination of all the flavors was excellent and was very filling. The fries come in a cup, and they're a thicker-cut fry. The closest example I could give you would be they're similar to Wendy's fries. I was a bit disappointed with the volume of the fries in the container. Whoever filled the container should have paid more attention.

All of this came in around $16 and some change. Not cheap, but not terrible either. I think you get quite a bit more for your money here than say my recent review for Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers.

All in all, this was mostly a win on the first visit.

Pro: Good Food, Friendly Staff. Cons: Slow in the drive-through line. The half-full...

I've stopped here multiple times since it opened, never quite wanting to pay the higher than average burger prices. I'd drive away thinking it's just too much money for a regular burger, single, being 8 bucks alone is pretty pricey.

Today, after reading reviews, opted to finally drive-through and try the food.

I'll get going by saying I fully expected to wait awhile, based on other reviews. Maybe because I got there at about 1:15 PM or so, there was no wait. There were 2 people in front of me and I maybe waited 8 minutes from order to receiving and leaving. So, they're pretty quick!

I have to agree with several other posts as to the food... Underwhelming.

The food is good, average. What I do like is the onion rings, though bland, were crispy and not greasy at all!! Right out the bag, too hot to eat, not greasy. Big plus there!! I'd say the rings just need a little flavor enhancement in the batter and they'll be spot on!!

The burger was ok. Again, a little seasoning care in the meat would go miles. The one thing different here than other fast food is that these folks are using actual cow meat in their hamburgers. You really don't get that at any of the other fast food joints so an up-charge for what used to be normal is ok now. REAL hamburger at this place!! No telling what you're getting at ALL the other fast food places... The sauces good. A lot of lettuce. Maybe too generous there. The tomato was fresh and tasty. I like onion but 1 thing they do NOT need to do is place the WHOLE slice on a burger. I don't know of anyone that heavy on onions. The pickles were good, average. Again, too many. The bun fresh. Very good on that!

And to be honest, cut back on the amount of toppings (too much lettuce, to much onion (way to much) and there were also about 6 pickle slices on this 1 burger. Again, too much.

And, you REALLY need to remember to place napkins with the order.

I normally would either be 1 or 5 star, but it's good, not great. Not bad either. It is MUCH better than all the normal fast food burger joints. Much better!!

I'll most likely go back. 😁😁

UPDATE: 4/12/24

Had to raise another star. Owner takes time to read and reflect and answer with detail. That makes it next level in and of itself. Well...

Short summary. Better tasting food than Doumars or Wendy's but since this is fast food and this business is renovated I can compare this restaurant to the same experience. But I know better places with more value for the same price making this not my favorite burger joint. Paying for a well put together Meal but nothing else The bad: cleanliness is bad. Didn't notice at 1st but after eating in the dining area noticed crumbs & dust on the windows seals, the booster seat. The floor needed to be swept. Hand print smudges on the hand rails & the sheet metal panel to the back of the person at the register. There's water damage on the ceiling tiles, the vents showed rust that was painted over but no mold. The parking lot is littered with trash all around the building. My date used the bathroom and was ready to leave immediately afterwards. Saying there was no hand soap & there was some residue looking like vomit on the walls that were painted over. Food was tasty, well cooked, seasoned right, but for the $$ it's not a value meal. Substituting fries cost $2.50 on top of the $3.50 combo and then on top of that add a 12% food tax to the total. We ordered the mushroom burger combo and a western burger the western burger was better. I wanted a milkshake but $6 for a normal sized milkshake I expect real milk real ice cream and actual fruit. Paying for soft serve with syrup flavoring is not the way to go. I've also been trying to get away from sodas which left only tea, lemonade, water. Minute Maid didn't mix properly. didn't even bother to try the tea. So settled on a cola Zero. Personally wouldn't eat here again unless it was an emergency. Better than burger King. I can go to Wendy's or Sonics get a not-so-bad Burger combo with more food while paying less than what...