Culver’s — Restaurant in Lakeland

Where to begin with this one...

Tldr: bad food, worse service

We arrived just before 10pm on a Friday night, with a posted 11pm close. There were only two people in line inside, and one car ahead of us in the drive through. No noticable patrons seated in or outside, as far as we could tell. That is to setup what happened next.

We ordered two single butter burgers, no onion and no pickle, and one side of cheese curds. That's it. No drinks, desserts, anything else.

We paid just over $15, and then proceeded to wait in the marked spots for almost 20 minutes, for that order. The car in front of us waited roughly five minutes less, and the car behind us waited somewhere between five and two minutes less. Both vehicles received bags the same size as ours, but each with either a drink or custard.

I cannot fathom any reality, where two single smash patties, or fried curds, take 15 or more minutes, even with a single cook (if that was the case) to make on top of whatever else there was.

Now here's the kicker: the kitchen/drive thru window area looked to have at minimum, 6 employees inside. AT MINIMUM. There were surely more working the actual food. What were any of them doing? Again there were three customers ahead of us. Two inside, and one car on front of us. We did not have a large order at all.

Even steak and shake is faster.

So, how was the food that surely was cooked to order and freshly made? The burgers were dry and barely room temperature. They were essentially cold. Not fresh even remotely. There's no way. Cheese wasn't melty, patties were not hot. Bun was dry and stale. Yes, actually crumbly and stale. It had easily been sitting out. Where was the soft buttery bun? Non existent.

It was a sham of a burger and a worse waste of time. The curds were barely any better. They legitimately lacked any sort of flavor, but were at least hot. They were hot enough to appear freshly made. Too bad they weren't very cheesy, more bland breading than actual cheese.

As the clock almost hit the 20 minute mark I hopped out to walk up to get a refund and leave, just then the door swing open and out stepped an employee. I got back into the car without saying anything, and when I was given the bag without so much as a word I looked at the employee and said "this is a sad amount of time to wait" to which he responded "enjoy yourself sir". Not sure if he caught what I said I repeated myself stating "this is an unacceptable amount of time to wait for two little burgers and curds" and received the same condescending "you enjoy yourself sir".

They 100% are aware there is a flaw in how they are doing things and clearly don't care. It's sad that we tried Culver's and we're blown away by their poor food, service, and lack of commitment to customers. This place is staffed and sorely mismanaged.

Owner, if you read to this point, don't just post about asking me to contact since corporate email, instead just go fix the shameful service. I didn't ask for any freebies, I didn't belittle any staff, I wait my turn and received not even close to a fresh order, but also not even an indication of regret that my satisfaction wasn't a concern. This is such a fixable situation. I want to state I have only ever had Culver's out of town, and was pleased with a buttery, tasty, fresh burger. Made quickly and correctly. I was hoping a local Culver's would match that quality.

Skip this location altogether, drive not even a mile in either direction on 98 and get McDonald's or something else. At least with the other chains you know what you're getting and it's consistent, even if it...

Visited Culver's in Lakeland after many years since I last ate at Culver's. Wow, the store interior design and pricing have changed tremendously. Culver's is now becoming more of a fat food chain instead of casual restaurant.

My review will be for the Lakeland store.

Employees and customer service: Friendly and helpful at time if service at the counter. However, many of these employees are standing around while few employees are very busy. There is no line at the ordering line, however, food took much longer to be delivered to dine-in customers! Not sure if this is due to local mismanagement- over scheduling of employees, poorly assign employees where it is needed most. Management needs to review the overall floor process.

Cleanliness: Restrooms and general public areas are well maintained. Trash cans are not overloaded. Trays were removed promptly.

Pricing: Extremely high since Culver's is a fast food chain! A fish sandwich, much better and thicker fish compared to BK or MCD, costs almost $7.00! If you get the value basket with fries and drinks cost over $11! A Swiss cheese mushroom double patty burger with fries and a shake cost $15 plus tax! The burger and fries alone were almost $11 plus tax while the shakes was about $4 plus tax!! $16 for a burger with fries and shakes! I don't remember paying that much for a double whopper or Big Mac with fries and shakes! Clearly, Culver's prices are much higher.

Food quality: The fish patty, possibly cod, is real fish based on the muscle texture. Fish sandwich from BK or McD are minced fish meat. The sandwich dimes with just tartar sauce with minced pickle/ relish. No flavor at all. Just a deep fried battered fish patty.

The Swiss mushroom burger was completely tasteless, no seasoning at all and very thin patties for the price. The flattened burger meat resembles Steak'n'shake meat patties. However, at least Steak 'n' Shakes seasoned their patties!

Nothing extraordinary with the fries. Onion rings are Sysco made quality.

The Shakes -custard, is very delicious. That is what Culver's is famous and known for. Definitely recommend their custard shakes, mixers or malt instead of all the other...

I visited Culver's Location 851 in Lakeland, FL, on April 16th, 2024, between 6:53pm and 7:30pm ET, and unfortunately, my experience was quite disappointing. The staff seemed confused about the menu, repeatedly getting my order wrong despite clear instructions. Even simple requests like a plain burger without pickles and onions were overlooked.

The custard I ordered was only half-filled, melting, and leaking all over. To make matters worse, I was charged for whipped cream that I never received. When I tried to address these issues with the manager, who did not wear a hairnet over his long beard, he displayed a lack of communication skills and empathy. It was frustrating to deal with someone who seemed uninterested and dismissive.

However, I must commend the manager with the pink hat (young lady) for her exceptional service. She was understanding, helpful, and the most professional person I encountered during my visit. Despite the challenges, she handled the situation with grace and professionalism.

While the food at Culver's is usually good, the service and managerial issues at this location need to be addressed. If this level of service continues, it's unfortunate that I may have to reconsider dining at Culver's, as my body no longer handles outside food very well and Culver's has been my only option that does not cause me as much harm as other...