Sparky's Burgers, BBQ & Espresso — Restaurant in Hatch

Been driving the hour plus one way trip to eat here for 3 years now. It would have been a 5 star rating, except for three trips where the service was lacking. But for the most part, it's good. This last trip has restored our faith in their ability to possibly keep us coming back. We usually get the world famous, which is the best burger I've had in a long time. The patty is a good size, they don't skimp on the chile and cheese and their wedge fries are delicious.

The 15 year old gets the double and it's twice as good. We've also tried the brisket sandwich, which is delicious, as well as their sausage bites. Their decor and t-shirts are awesome. Although, it does seem their menu has changed this time from our last bad visit, the fish and chips are delicious. It didn't appear to be on the menu anymore. But in case we just didn't see it, it was a Friday thing only and very much worth the drive.

What kept us from going so often was the bad trips. The first bad trip, our food was lacking. The patties were a lot smaller than usual and there were very little fries. The teenager, who usually gets full with the double, was not full. We figured it had something to do with it being very close to closing time, so while not happy, we figured it to be a fluke, given all the good experiences prior.

The 2nd bad one was the very next trip, where it took over 40 minutes for the food to get to us. What stood out is that it wasn't a busy day. We sat in the empty middle seating area and watched it fill up as we waited. Then we got to watch everyone else get their food, in the order they arrived. Minus us. The kids were patiently playing on the Ms. Pac-man table they had, so they were fine. But after 40 minutes since the time on the receipt, I got up to ask where the food was. I was told, "you already have it". When I said that we didn't, she came with me to check on the table and as she asked us where the food went, another server came over with our stuff. The first server then says, "OK, there it is", and as I ask her what the delay was, she tells me it's because we have a large order and walked away.

I did take issue with that, simply because we are a family of 5. While big, the amount of people in the dining area who got their order before us were more than that. This was two times in a row that we didn't enjoy our experience, which made us not want to come as often.

When we finally did come back a few weeks later, the experience was a long wait again. But this time, there was a group of 9 people who ordered after us and got their food about 15 minutes before us. This time we had my father in law with us, visiting from California. But we didn't have a complicated order. After 30 minutes of waiting, I went to ask and was told that it would be out soon. My father in law sat there noticing everyone who ordered after us getting their food before us. But the final insult really was watching the group of 9 get their food ahead of us. When they finally brought ours, I asked what took so long and was given a,"thank you for coming".

This made us stay away for a few months and truly the only reason we visited yesterday is because someone in the family wanted a tee for Christmas. But I have to say, the service, speed and food were back to being good again. Don't know what changed, other than the menu and the Ms. Pac-man table being gone. But if they can keep the service and food to fast, polite and delicious, then we'll continue making the trip once or twice a month.

Pictures of a double, a patty melt and a...

Pricey. I wish I could give this place 4.5 stars instead of the 4. The flaws in this place are made up for by a great product.

Driving through Hatch, N.M. on my way to Tucson and had just fueled up and was feeling hungry. I saw everyone standing in line and walking across the street headed to this place, so I quickly google searched and found it to he highly rated. I busted a u-turn immediately and headed back. Parking is weird as there is some on the business side of the street but there is the most across the street. Things operate slower around there and the speed limit is set at 25mph. But you still have to walk across the street to get to the burger joint. Not that big of deal. Big menu board with pictures of each combo they have so you know exactly what your getting. I think all restaurants should do this! My first real problem with this place was the price... A #1 world famous 7oz green chili cheese burger a side and drink is $12.49 and the double patty of this is $16.49!? I get it, if the food is good charge accordingly, but damn $4 for an extra patty? I ordered the #1 with wedge cut fries. I also threw in a sticker and a container of their meat seasoning that a gentleman was telling me about while we waited in line to order. The sticker was $4!!! And the seasoning was $4!!! The sticker was of very low resolution and the quality was not good, yet the seasoning came in a ziplock bag with a high quality label/sticker for the same price?

Then I waited. 23minutes from the time I placed my order to the time I picked it up. There was plenty of staff so that was not the issue. If your stopping at sparkys most likely you are travelling and to wait for that long for your food is going to slow you down. Ok for some not ok for others. The next problem I had was the speaker/intercom system to call your name when your order is ready, the volume is low and there is lots of semi trucks stopping and going at this intersection so its loud and hard to hear the speaker. Turn it up! Lol. When they finally called my name I went to pick up my order and they gave me a drink with no straw? They said they do not serve straws? Ok cool no plastic in the landfills, im ok with that, but for the price of my burger and the price of my sticker i should get a paper straw if requested.

Now to the food.... I open my styrofoam box and am immediately hit with the amazing smell of fresh roasted green chili!!! There is nothing like that smell and my mouth watered immediately! After stacking my burger together I realized there is no condiments or garnish with my burger? Again the price, and not receiving any of this? I dug in, and was blown away at how good the burger was! Juicy, cooked to order, seasoned, and a nice grille/charbroiled taste!!! Absolutley amazing burger. This made up for all of the small issues with this place. I sprinkled some of the seasoning I bought over my last couple of bites and was blown away at how good that was as well!

I am ok paying for good food, but I still feel the prices were a little high. I will definitely come back but will look up other resturants first to see what else is around Hatch when...

They do Not have lettuce and tomato at this restaurant. I am always so disappointed when I eat here, however, the other restaurants were already closed, so to Sparky’s it was. The only good thing about this restaurant is the coleslaw and beans (they’re labeled as pinto, but we were given ranch style beans; which I preferred). The rest of the food, in my opinion, is nothing special, and neither is the staff. This place is always packed because it’s “famous” and has cool vintage stuff to admire, but the staff is so rude (a ton of young kids) and we waited 45 minutes for two cheese burgers and a brisket sandwich!!! The burgers are nothing to write home about (one of ours was undercooked even) and the brisket sandwich comes with some weird, possibly chile bbq? But the coleslaw and the beans are amazing, and the different flavored lemonades are good. That being said, their “world famous green chile cheeseburger” should actually read “world-famous-green-chile cheeseburger” since the chile is really the only famous or good part of it. Not a fan of the pulled pork, or brisket, and I’m not sure what style I would describe them as, but they are really dry. As for the staff, the kids that are running the place are the rudest, attitude filled people I’ve seen. I asked if tomatoes and lettuce came on the burger, after I picked up my order, and this young girl with blue colored hair said that they didn’t have lettuce or tomatoes there, with that face that says “deal with it” then started munching on fries while the other girl sat on the big freezer eating as well. No kindness, just attitude and “you’re wasting my time” written all over her face, and that’s NOT customer service; not to mention eating while working and serving other people’s food, GROSS!!! I do not know why it takes so long to get food out to people, but I think That’s why it’s always packed. The atmosphere is cool at first, and then you realize you’re just surrounded by a bunch of other people with empty table tops waiting for their food too. I would suggest to others, order the coleslaw, maybe even a lemonade, look around at all the cool stuff they have, maybe even enjoy some of the live music, but eat a big meal somewhere else, it’s much faster and tastes...