Merlins — Restaurant in Garden City

Short Version: Superb shakes, decent food, and variable service. There is only one size shake (sort of). I got a small discount for riding a motorcycle. Not sure if this is always the case. Long Version: I don't visit Garden City much, nor do I go to Bear Lake much. I'm usually passing through at random times on random days. A different location stilled hadn't opened for service for the day, so I just went to the nearest place that had cars outside, but not too many cars. There were a lot of people (from my perspective) in line, maybe 12 people. The line circulated quickly because their orders were already decided, and really it was only 2 groups of people. I got my shake before my food, and I think the shakes are their priority. I asked for the shake to be made to the rim, not above (There is only one size shake) since I was on a motorcycle, and I don't want to throw away what I don't eat. The food was prepared in excellent fashion. The patty on the burger was a bit thin, but it was the right weight by my reckoning. The bun was a fancy type, but the burger was okay. Not bad, just the sum of it was okay in my opinion. The fries were awesome, and they come with fry sauce (extra fry sauce is extra cost). I say the service was variable, because they call your name out, and it could cause confusion. Also, when I passed by a few days later they were very busy, so I don't know what the wait time looks like on a busy day. I was there on a less busy day, and it was a wait since the food is made fresh. Fresh food takes time people, if you want a microwave meal get one, but don't expect instant noodles if they are grilling the patties after you order. So, be prepared to wait a bit, and go with people you like. I strongly feel that the workers here want you to be happy, and are trying to do a good job to earn your business. Bottom line. This place is awesome for shakes! I got the raspberry shake and it didn't disappoint. This area is very competitive in...

This is my first choice for a burger and fries place at Bear Lake. As a gluten free person, I love that I can order my burger "bun-less" and that there is not question of how to to that. On my most recent visit I had the bacon cheeseburger, it is served on a bed of shredded lettuce in a burger box. I loved the quality produce served on my bun-less burger. I look forward to ordering the Merlin burger next time, a mushroom burger with grilled onions. The fries are deliciously crisp and are perfect with the fry sauce they offer. They have the ever popular raspberry shake, but if you are in the mood for something new, try the peach shake. My only reason for 4 stars, it the very long lines I see on most visits. I don't know if the extra conversations occurring with the customers upon ordering are to slow down the number of orders in the kitchen or a lack of awareness for customer service. It is difficult to stand in line for 30 minutes or more. That said, the staff are pleasant, the food is delicious, the dining room and bathrooms are clean, but the tables are not wiped regularly, customers are great at removing trays and garbage from their tables, but be prepared to wipe up. Maybe having some self serve cleaning products in the dining room would help those of use who don't mind taking care of this chore as we wait for our order. I will continue...

We had an amazing day at the lake and decided to finish it off at Merlin's...what a mistake! The food was ok, but the service was so awful that it wasn't worth it. We wanted to sit together on the tables outside, but one of the tables was in the way of a sprinkler that was on and had soaked the table. We moved the table next to the other 2 tables and dried it off. An employee promptly opened the window and asked "what the f#$%" was happening. I explained we wanted to sit together and she told us the table was not to be moved because they didn't want their grass ruined. So we asked if we could turn off the sprinkler and were told "yes", only to have a different employee open the window to yell at us for turning off the water. I asked to speak to a manager and watched as the "cook", who was obviously the actual manager, told yet a third employee to speak to me and she said "I'm the manager, what do you want?" When I explained that we didn't appreciate being treated so poorly and asking why we deserved the language we did, the "manager" turned to consult with the "cook" who promptly told her "they didn't have time to deal with this" and she shut the window in my face. Absolutely pathetic service and not worth what we got in return for our...