Burger 21 - Carrollwood — Restaurant in Citrus Park

Not sure if this location is under new management or what but this was terrible tonight. My kids' orders were good so that is the only reason this review isn't a 1 star. I was very reluctant to even give a 2. Ordered the burger I always get, the #8 BBQ bacon with turkey patty and lettuce bun (I prefer your original turkey patty recipe, by the way). It came out already nearly room temp and without onion straws. The fries were barely warm, too. They used to bring out the fries first so they were piping hot. I prefer that.... Anyhow, the onion straws are half the reason I love that burger. So, I took it to the shake counter and let the girl know. She seemed like she was having a bad day. Could have been a little more personable and sympathetic. She asked for my order number, spent a minute looking it up in the computer, took a receipt back to the kitchen and a few minutes later came out and told me they had run out of them so they are making more now. So.... They sent out a burger knowing it didn't have all the right stuff? Bad form, kitchen.... An employee, maybe the manager (?), was walking around asking how everything was. I told him my burger didn't have onion straws. He said, that they were making them fresh now. At this point, my kids were done with half their burgers and my burger had come out just warm to begin with so I asked if they were making a whole new burger because mine is now cold. He said, as if asking a question, "We could?" So I handed him my plate and told him that would be great. 10 minutes later, the burger was perfect, the fries were gone, and my kids had been done for about 8 minutes. I have only ever had pleasant and nearly perfect staff attend to us here and Westchase (and most of the staff tonight was amazing, except for the shake maker and the table toucher). There were many missed opportunities to get this right starting with the kitchen sending out sub-par food. I prefer supporting small, local businesses which is why we chose B21 tonight but it will be a good while before we go back. Considering the close competition with Red Robin and Burger Monger, I am surprised and really disappointed to see this slip.... It's a pricey meal to start and slow served, which I get, and always look past, because of the care that is usually put into the food served. That level of care totally missed the...

When going out to eat, there is always an understanding that one should be prepared to pay more for the meal. Not only are you paying someone else to prepare food for you, you are also paying for the service, the ambiance, and the experience. With that, let's begin.

The food. The main reason anyone chooses any restaurant. My experiences being unique to me, I could not bring myself to pass along a full score. The presentation is superb. You get the food as it appears in the marketing. However, the taste falls just short of "excellent." There is a sense that the flavoring stops short of fulfillment, which makes me wonder if it's intentional. You can always add more seasoning, but you cannot taketh away. "Shoot for the moon. If you miss, at least you'll be among the stars." 4 stars.

The atmosphere. It has an ambiance level of mixed dining. Is it a 50s diner? It's it a modern-age diner? I think the answer is, "yes." Their blend has a sense of Johnny Rocket meets the 21st century. All they are missing is a jukebox. Good enough to take a familiar date or family. Not really the place for important events like marriage proposals. 5 stars.

The service. Their team seems very in tune with each other. They all have a support role that drives their mission. Effective solutions is one of their goals. This team is lead by Josh, at least during my visit. After ringing up an order that was 3/5ths of a "cent," it was time to claim my point before purchase. The system would not read my QR code. Instead of giving me the brush-off, they continued to troubleshoot... even beyond my expectations. They power cycled their register, played with connections, and even tried many angles with the scanner. Finally, with my permission, Josh placed my account on his phone and it went through. He then signed out and showed me it was cleared. This single act places him beyond the stars I can give... 5-stars plus honorable mention.

Be prepared to polish a penny before spending money at this restaurant. We averaged just over $20 per person. Worth being subjective to your own calculations... the experience, food, and service was worth it to me. Maybe not for an everyday occurrence, but I can definitely see myself going back.

Good job Josh. Please send my thanks and appreciation...

OK three strikes your out for Burger 21 Carrollwood location. I heard really great things about the place. First time in, my friend and I went in about a month ago and placed an order sat down and waited at least 45 minutes for the meal to arrive (it's a burger for pete sakes) and lo and behold when it arrived it was not right. Well at least mine wasn't,I ordered again and told them it was a to go order. The server comped the order (gave us a card that stated the order total and initialed it). A few weeks pass and I go in and order a simple burger and sweet potato fries,the order comes to the table and it is clearly not my order and I tell them so, thinking of course it's a mix up...the server argues with me that it is indeed what I ordered and takes no initiative to get what I ordered...I walked out but not before telling the management my experience. So tonight after a long day I decided to place a phone order for a take out meal. I got there and it wasn't ready...so I waited at the counter and the servers were very nice and told me it would be ready in a few. When it came out I presented the card and the server told me it was her first week and she'd have to get someone else to handle this payment. I said fine. She spoke to a man and explained to him,he walked over and made a shake for someone and took forever. The servers apologized for my wait. The man walked by me and asked if I'd been helped,I said not yet because I am waiting for you to approve the payment. He asked me more questions that the law should allow as to who gave this to me and what did he look like,was he tall ,was he short and how long ago this was etc etc... I said you HAVE to be kidding me,I am appalled at the management here and I've had 3 dismal experiences ...and once again I walked out...without food and...