West Coast Saloon — Restaurant in Lawrence

I wanted to try the burger at The West Coast Saloon, because everyone said it was the best diner-style burger in Lawrence, KS. It did not disappoint and the whole experience was quality.

When my girlfriend and I showed up, the place looked dead from the outside. If there weren't so many cars outside, you'd think the place was closed. The windows are tinted so deeply that you can't really tell what, if anything, is going on inside. When we walked in it was packed. People of all ages having a good time. People playing pool and darts, even children. This place feels like a real neighborhood hangout.

We waited at the entrance for a minute discussing how it worked. Do we order at the bar? Does a waitress take your order? Fortuitously, an older couple at the end of the bar heard us talking. They kindly told us to saddle up to the bar next to them and gave us the run down. Depending on how busy it is there is a waitress, but when it's busy you have to be more proactive to get your order taken.

Apparently, there is a really good secret Philly Cheese Steak that isn't on the menu, but since this was our first visit we knew we had to get the classic burger and fries. We also shared an order of fried mushrooms. Everything was hot off the line. The mushrooms were too hot to eat at first, but once they cooled down a little, they were perfect with some ranch.

The burger almost lived up to the hype. I loved it, but I am not sure it is the hands-down best diner burger in Lawrence. I'd give it a solid 8/10. The bun was really chewy, which I liked. I will definitely be coming back. The prices were very reasonable and the service was quick and friendly. I felt very much at home. I can see why this place is so popular...

This place was a different scene than we would normally eat at. The sign said it had the best burger in Lawrence so, we figured we would try it. The appearance inside was a bit older, with missing and dirty ceiling tiles and it definitely had that locals only bar feeling. We got our food expecting this amazing, "Best Burger in Lawrence" but, it wasn't. It tasted like this patty had been previously frozen. It was thin, dry and just not much of a fresh flavor. We ordered 2 different burgers and split them in half. We ended up only eating half of each of our burger as we were concerned about the freshness. We also had the toasted ravioli with our burgers. They were pretty good.. pre-made, you drop them in the fryer, cant mess those up. I am not sure that I can agree with this being the Best Burger in Lawrence as we have had others that were better. Maybe we went on an off day but, not sure we can go back...

Fascinatingly repulsive. The bartender that makes food doesn’t wash his hands between making drinks and food, while making food bare handed, and is constantly touching his pants, shirt, and face, and everything else behind the bar, while fingering all of your food.

The only recourse I assumed was that my immune system would get a good workout by simply eating a disgusting hamburger and a salad, which was possibly three or four leaves of romaine, and the rest just chunks of white onion and shredded cheese.

I know that dive bars don’t have really any semblance of standards for food service, regardless of location, but the leniency of this place was astounding.

Cheers, though. You’ve been around a while and think...