Burger Hut — Restaurant in Chico

Recently, my wife and I dined at a local Burger Hut chain, and this was our experience at the Burger Hut on Cohasset. I do not leave any comments unless they are grossly above average or caution when something that is grossly below common standards and safety. Our food was average; however, the restaurant crew was above average in service displaying genuine courtesy. The crew that day were noticeably in a pleasant demeanor and performing at their best. Now for the big picture. The fly barrier at the front entrance was out of order; the root cause of an obvious infestation, yes it was infested with flies. You eat with one hand and shew them off with the other. None of this is pontificated!!! Ventilation was out in at least the kitchen as you can feel and see a tangible aerosol grease pouring into the lobby. The air was so dense everywhere and I could only imagine the cook sweating on the food over a hot grill. We observed most people that were standing in line waving flies away and mentioning the "fog" throughout the lobby and eating area. The stained concrete floor was caked with layers of ground in dirt and spillage that continued up the sides of the condiment and salad bar. That filth and debris took a major bite out of enjoying the food. I recommend they ask how you want your hamburger prepared instead of it well done, not a preferred texture and lacking in flavor. I prefer medium/rare, not cooked in a kiln. My wife and I were so eager to try this burger joint. I had the Cowboy Angus 1/3 #, fries/rings combo and a banana malt which tasted like it was missing the malt and just a shake. My wife had the grilled chicken sandwich that was dry but average with the fries/O-ring combo and a large fountain beverage for $48 and change. The fried O-ring/fries combo was the best part of the meal. The atmosphere was atrocious, and we overheard many people also mentioning it at their booths and the salad bar. Based on the poor environment, lack of ventilation in the kitchen and massive aggregation of flying pests, I would recommend halting operations for two days to focus on uninterrupted sanitation and cleaning. Ladies and gentlemen, if it is nasty in the lobby, you can bet food sanitation in the kitchen is non-existent as well. You cannot justify operating in such filth, let alone eat in it. We left after consuming ~50% of our sandwiches, no take home for either of us. It just wasn't good enough to finish and my arm was exhausted having to constantly wave flies off the food and drink while breathing the thick aerosolized grease. Repairing or maybe turning on the mandated fly barrier at the doors and applying some love to the grease trap and Gaylord ventilation hood, which is a potential fire hazard, could manifest as an average or better dining experience. Personally, I feel you should leave a restaurant better than when you walked in. Unfortunately, this was not the case and was a major let down. This was one of the filthiest if not the filthiest restaurant I have walked into. You can assume flies landing on the food for a taste of your meal in the kitchen and salad bar before you are served it. After consuming half of my burger, I felt like I had an anvil in my gut. I have not eaten a single piece of food for 24 hours, so I was ready to wolf it all down. It just sat heavy in my belly or perhaps it was the 20 oz, $7.87 banana malt that bloated me, but not like the $5 milkshake from Pulp Fiction. I cannot attribute the clunk in my belly 100% to the food though. I can only hope if you decide to dine there the deficiencies are properly addressed. We hope Burger Hut's restaurant to the south can restore our vigor. We can consider take-out which resolves much of the issues but then it is ordinary fast food but with a side of flies. We both do not recommend dining in the Burger Hut on Cohasset...

Burgers were ok. The reason I'm giving such a low score is of their poor, inconsiderate service.

During this pandemic, when we are ALL going through a very difficult time, it is VERY important to appreciate the customers who still patronize your business, and make sure you treat them with respect. My wife and I try to support local businesses as much as possible because we know how hard things are for them. So today we decide to go in to the Burger Hut on Cohasset, and we ordered three burgers and fries. We were going to wait on the little benches near the door but the server told me they would deliver our food out to us in our car. He wrote down the description, and said he would be out to us with our order in about 15 minutes.

After about 20 minutes, during which we saw about 10 people go in and then come back out with their food, I went inside to check. The same server hurriedly grabbed a large bag of food from the counter behind him and said our food was ready. I asked him how long it had been sitting there, and he said it just came up "a few seconds ago". Frustrated, I grabbed the bag and went out to the car. Before we left though, my wife and I checked the food, and the fries were completely cold and soggy. Obviously, the guy was hoping we would just drive off and not check the food first.

When I went back inside, a different server apologized after I explained what happened and said he'd make us some fresh food. The original guy eventually came up and also apologized, saying he was supposed to have taken our food to us but got distracted or something. Fine, then why did he try to hide the fact that he was trying to give us old, cold food? Apologies are just words; why would we ever go back there again if they don't care about their customers?

Again, the burgers were OK (although take-out fries always taste like the paper bag their in, and these were no exception), but not worth the extreme frustration caused by the disrespect and the 35 minute wait. First impressions mean everything. If a restaurant gives a great first impression but then messes up the second time you try them, you might still give them the benefit of the doubt and a third try; but it's a lot more difficult to give a business a second try when they show how little they care that first time, because you only have yourself to blame if they do it again. I doubt we will tempt fate again when there are so many other...

This has been my favorite burger place since I lived in Chico for college 20 years ago (before this location existed)... and it still is my go to spot everytime I'm in town. The food is consistently good and my visits are consistently positive, however, this review is specific to my visit last night. We arrived at the restaurant at approximately 8:15-8:20pm. We knew they were set to close at 9pm, but we figured 40+ minutes would be plenty of time. Unfortunately, we arrived to find they were already working on closing up shop. The soda machine was already in the process of being broken down, the condiment and produce bar was not stocked, the nightly cleaning of floors and tables was in progress. So, that was a little off-putting. We were greeted and welcomed by the employees, who were pleasant for the most part... and our order was taken as normal. Once we got our order we asked for the missing produce items and they were provided. My order ended up being wrong, but was fixed without hesitation. So that was all fine. But its a peeve of mine when places state they're open for service until a certain time but then the employees are so anxious to get a head start on closing that they start closing procedures during business hours to the point that it affects the quality of the business' service. I guess for the most part it makes a customer feel uncomfortable and rushed because you don't want to be in the way and you don't want to hold them up. But in reality, they shouldn't be initiating closing procedures until they are closed - or at least only do the stuff that doesn't affect/disrupt a person's experience/meal. I will continue to eat here when I'm town and I will still recommend it as my favorite burger spot in town, I just hope this review provides feedback to the management and the employees and gives everyone an opportunity to understand how these things affect a customer's experience and learn from it. Hopefully, it won't be something I experience again. Not to mention that multiple patrons entered the establishment after we did, so it clearly wasn't a good time to start breaking the place down and I'm sure we weren't the only ones that it...