Whataburger — Restaurant in Mauldin

When my husband and I saw that Whataburger was coming to Mauldin, we couldn’t wait! Even calendared the opening date, August 12. Coming from Florida where the chain Is top-of-the-line, we were so excited. .

OPENING DAY. It’s 11pm and we couldn’t believe what we saw. The blocked left turn lane, police directing traffic, staff directing cars in the parking lot that mimicked a wait line at Disney (which by the way, went on for at least another month) but our excitement prevailed and we said “what the heck, let’s go help them celebrate.” The dining room was closed so drive thru orders were being taken on foot (Chick-fil-A style) but without an adequate number of staged menu boards, so it was a good thing we already knew what we wanted. One chocolate shake, 2 cheeseburgers, 2 fries.

Picture this. 2 full lanes. We are in the inside lane. No escape.

50 minutes later, we almost made it to the window and got an offer from a supervisor with another milkshake in hand as an apology for the long wait. It was strawberry so we took a pass and suggested he give it to the car behind us. If the milkshake gesture was a genuine service act and not an order mistake, the supervisor should’ve said “oh, no problem, I’ll bring you another chocolate shake.” Didn’t happen. We’re almost laughing at this point in our Whataburger adventure.

Finally, after one hour we reached the window and were handed our favorite orange bag containing the rest of our order. It was piping cold. All this coming from a store with a flooded amount of staff buzzing around. It looked like chaos inside. We drove away, shaking our heads, thinking “growing pains.” But we’re not WB quitters.

3 months later, the disappointment continued. Yeah, we kept taking the hit at least 4 more times hoping and believing it would eventually achieve the amazing Florida service and taste level we expected.

Time for management to go visit Chick-fil-A and see how ordering the masses is done.

The food is still consistently cold, well below par tasteless fries, and the only reason we are giving two stars is because they still have a delicious 5 star thick chocolate shake.

FINAL MISTAKE. Last night at 10:30 pm with only 2 cars in line, I thought I would try the Woodruff Road location. While the wait time was reasonable, the food was truly laughable (except the chocolate shake was as delish as usual). This time the hamburger bun was hard as a rock. I could literally knock on it. Another reviewer describes the fries as being the caliber of those you would find on your car floor. The perfect analogy.

YES. We have now stopped recommending and bragging about the chain to our neighbors and friends. Given the amount of time they have been open, we expected improvements along the way, non of which have come to fruition in our experiences, even with fewer cars in line. So I think the days of preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best have ended for us. Culver’s and Chick-fil-A, we’re all...

I did let it slip this was my first time at whataburger and went in the middle of they night when they weren't busy, but I had a nice experience. Despite whatever cleaning they had going on in the back 3 different people offered to take my order before i knew what i wanted. I dined in, so when i got my food the manager brought a little tray over with condiments and napkins. I normally feel awkward people waiting on me like that, but i thought it was a nice touch. I had already grabbed a few napkins expecting them not to offer any like most places, especially dine-in, but she left me a nice pile of them, always a good sign. The fries were piping hot like they were made fresh instead of sitting under a heating lamp and cut around the size of mcdonalds ones. They were perhaps slightly over-salted, however id prefer that to having to salt them myself or them being under-salted. Even their normal ketchup has a nice richness to it. The burger is wrapped like a deli sandwich with stickers for the mods. My burger was pretty big, the bun being larger than normal too so I didnt feel like I was just eating a hunk of meat. I paid 11 something for this large meal so on value and quality I'd say this place is a cut above the likes of McDonald's or burger king for sure. I cant say the burgers are quite as good as 5 guys or freddys when they get the burger right since im partial to grilled onions, but it was very good and still probably a better value. Their mustard provided a wonderful tingle on my tongue. Most importantly, my burger held together well and every bite was consistent. Instead of stacking a cpl of bigger lopsided tomatoes like you might get at 5 guys that can make your burger fall apart, they spread out a few smaller tomatoes. Maybe im mistaken but I swear there were a decent amount of pickles on there. It was a little skimpy on the lettuce, but I suspect that's intentional to keep the burger held together well. With the tomatoes, onions, and pickles loaded on there i didnt miss it. I hope their quality control is as good as chikfila whenever I head there for...

Yesterday was our first experience with Whataburger. The lady at the front desk honestly was probably the most pleasant experience of it all. She was kind courteous and patient as we figured out what we wanted to eat despite being packed out. After placing our order we were able to quickly find a table that we had to clean ourselves. Also, may I add around the drink machines it was dirty as well. Several employees were on break I assume at that time sitting in the lobby so I have to give some grace to think that when they got back off break someone was emptying the full trash cans and wiping down tables. The problem truly came into play on the wait time for food. We dined in and waited approximately 7-10 minutes for food, in which immediately we noticed we were missing our daughter’s chicken sandwich. We told the sweet girl handing out sauces and she immediately took the ticket back to correct the issue. However, whatever lack of communication from that point forward from the people working on the line in the back and cooking food caused our daughter to have to wait an additional 15-20 minutes. By time she got her sandwich we were already done eating. There were 3 managers present in the building from what it looked like (3 collared shirts), one on break sitting directly behind us, and not ONE came to address the issue. It took both of us walking to the front and me having to start to verbally speak my frustration before we got our sandwich. And oh not to mention that sweet lady at the front got yelled at by staff in the back when she asked how long on the sandwich. It took everything I had to not yell back for her. 5-9 employees were out in the lobby either on break or a meeting. Several orders were messed up from what it seems like lack of communication or human error. None the less I won’t be back. Oh and if you think on Tuesdays your kids meal is free, it’s not you’re paying $0.50 per meal which is false advertising. Can’t imagine this will last long. I’ve had better service...