MadHouse Burgers — Restaurant in Duluth

I live in St Paul but I'm up in Duluth about every other week. And I love Smashburgers. To the point that's the kind of burgers I make at home when I make burgers.

The places seems new, so take my comments with a grain of salt as there is typically a learning curve. It also looked like they were short-staffed.

I went there for takeout before a meeting. The place has a nice vibe. They have a couple tables outside, and if it had been nicer I imagine people would have been sitting outside. Hopefully they add a plant or two between the tables in the parking lot but even without it it seems nice enough to still enjoy.

The inside is attractive and well laid out. I really appreciate that they didn't crowd the tables because that is a major pet peeve with me.

The bar is short but seems fine if you're coming in for a quick beer and a bite.

It would be nice if they had a little more signage about the frozen yogurt. I came in just to grab a burger and some tots, but found the setup for yogurt interesting but I didn't really see signage about it. I asked if they did some sort of pup cup as my dog was in the car and they don't. Imagine you could buy a little frozen yogurt, but I didn't see if they just had a plain vanilla nonfat option. I would definitely buy my dogs something to snack on if I were getting a to go or eating at the outside tables.

Okay I've kept the food for last because I truly hope that mine was an isolated incident. But if not then this can be a learning moment. Or maybe Duluth has a different version of Smashburgers then we do in Minneapolis St Paul so my expectations are off.

It was pretty empty so I was surprised my meal took as long as it did. I ordered one cheesy smash and a side of tots.

When I got my bag I asked for some ketchup packs but she didn't know where. It wasn't that important and there were people waiting so I left. Once again it sounds like they're really new, so she may not have had to give people packets of ketchup yet.

As everyone knows that when you get takeout from a burger place with tots or fries you stick your hand in the bag while you're driving to whatever you go and you eat some of the fries or tots. Unfortunately the tots were not cooked through and they were a little on the raw side. They also must not have had any kind of binder as they just crumbled apart.

As to the Burger I was really happy to see a big chunk of lettuce ( although oddly when I went and looked back at what the toppings are on the burger I actually ordered lettuce is not one of them.) There were slices of small Roma tomatoes which is kind of a brave thing for a burger ( Also not on the menu which has me wondering if I got someone else's food.) And also had a couple pickles. There was quite a bit of cheese on this cheeseburger which made me happy.

Unfortunately the burger itself seemed very well done. It was very dry and kind of burnt looking as opposed to having a nice char. My first bite was surprising as it was fairly flavorless. I had a second bite to see if I was missing something and I found it to still be very dry and flavorless. Not sure have they season their meat or what kind of mix they get or if they press it will it cooks after flattening pushing the juices out, but I was disappointed. I skipped eating the rest of the burger and obviously didn't finish the semi-raw tots.

One hopes that all of the five-star reviews means that this was just a fluke.

The prices are very good. And as I said it's got a nice vibe to it. I believe in second chances so perhaps I will try it again sometime...

This place was definitely awesome when I saw the reviews and went inside. It was very clean and there was a Sammy’s Pizza Restaurant vibe when I walked in. There was a long hallway that lead down to the counter with art on the wall of the hallway and lights hanging from the ceiling. Then you turn and have Chilly Billie’s frozen yogurt. I’ve never tried Chilly Billie’s frozen yogurt so I have nothing to say about them, other than I saw some yogurt machines and a treat bar. Then there was a counter where you could order. (By the way this is a good thing to know you have to seat yourself.) The service was nice and they have root beer on tap. This root beer was really good and it was I believe to be a craft root beer. Then we sat ourselves at a nice booth at the end of the booths and got our drinks almost immediately. The root beer was awesome and they have Coca Cola. Then we got our food. Unfortunately they were out of bacon so I couldn’t get the Bacon Cheese Smash Burger so instead I got the Cheesy Smash Burger. My dad got some sort of jalapeño Cheesy smash burger. The overall burger was decent but the burger patty wasn’t very good. It was like those premade patties that you can buy from the store that are sirloin burger patties. It was very peppery too. If you love black paper go ahead and go here but it tasted like they dumped a whole entire thing of black pepper seasoning on my burger. And it was the same for the rest of the meals that the people at my table had. Then we exited the place and went to the mall. Honestly this place I don’t recommend unless you’re getting something other than a burger from the menu because it was so peppery I almost didn’t eat the whole thing. This is Madhouse...

I do not like leaving bad reviews. I sat down at the bar when I first got there. One of the servers behind the counter asked what I would like to start with. I told her a Galactic Face Slap. I was served my beverage, and I was expecting to be asked what I would like to order. 20 minutes goes by and I had an empty glass. Another 10 minutes goes by, and I went up to the cash register where others were ordering from. I asked the lady if they don't take orders from the bar. She apologized to me saying that there were a lot of people, and that if it were slower then she would have come taken my order. I will admit that there was a decent sized dinner rush. However, there was also a second server behind the bar that filled drinks and dip cups. When she wasn't needed, she went and stood in the corner. She could have easily came and taken my order.

The food was ok. Nothing special. I was just not impressed with the service. If that's the standard at this place, to order at the register, then put a big sign up saying "Order Here" so that it isn't confusing. Otherwise, instruct your staff to wait on the people at the bar.

Edit: In response to the owner, I would like to say that as a first time customer, I did not notice the signage saying that I needed to order at the counter. If that is how you operate, I understand, but at the same time the staff could pay a little more attention to the customers at the bar if they haven't ordered food. A little better customer service would go a long ways!

I had the southwestern burger with cajun fries. I thought the burger was a little too salty. I also did not care too much for the batter...