Smashburger — Restaurant in New York

I’ve been a Smashburger fan since they first opened – I used to go out of my way to visit their locations on Boston Road and even on Long Island. Unfortunately, over time, the quality and overall experience declined, and I stopped going. When this new location opened, I had high hopes and figured I’d give them another chance after several years.

I decided to spend some quality time with my young daughter and, for a treat, we chose fast food. She’s usually reluctant to try anything outside of her go-to spots like Raising Cane’s, Wingstop, or other top-tier burger places, but I told her Smashburger offers chicken tenders, and she was excited to give it a shot.

We arrived and placed our order: a double burger for me, five chicken tenders for her, two orders of fries, and drinks. When I asked for shakes, we were told they weren’t available today—maybe tomorrow. That probably should’ve been a red flag, but the gentleman at the counter was friendly, so we stayed.

When we got our receipt, we were informed the bathroom code was printed at the bottom. That in itself is fine—many places do that to deter non-customers—but when I went to wash my hands before the food arrived, I was hit with a level of filth I didn’t expect. The bathroom smelled horrible. A spare roll of toilet paper was sitting unwrapped on the floor, and the sink looked like someone had vomited in it days ago and it was never cleaned. That really should have been my cue to leave.

Then the food arrived. My burger was okay. But my daughter, who like many kids is a chicken tender connoisseur, took a small bite and immediately sensed something was wrong. She asked me to try it, and the texture and taste were off. On closer inspection, the tenders were raw inside—pink and rubbery. We checked all of them. Every single one was undercooked.

We told the staff, and the response was: “Sometimes' it’s just the one on top.” That’s not an acceptable answer when it comes to undercooked poultry. I had to initiate the solution myself and told them, “We’ll just take a plain burger instead,” since no alternative or resolution was offered. At no point were we offered a fresh order, a refund, or even an apology. Just an indifferent shrug and no follow-up. I stayed calm, but I was honestly shocked and extremely disappointed.

This isn’t about one bad visit—it’s about poor food safety, indifferent service when something goes wrong, and a lack of accountability. I’ve looked through the Google reviews and see a lot of repeated apologies from management, but it’s clear that nothing is actually being fixed.

The food isn’t cheap. I spent over $40, tipped the staff, and ended up with a meal that could’ve made my daughter sick. Smashburger has potential, but without better oversight and a focus on cleanliness, food safety, and customer service, it won’t survive in a market with so many...

I finally decided I would stop in here and check out smashburger. I've seen this place in a number of different cities in New York. I ordered a single burger for my friend and I ordered french fries for myself. I was totally disappointed. Someone had told me that the french fries taste like cardboard and of course just like others I'm the type of person who have to try it for myself. I did. To add insult I had to wait 15 minutes in order to get my order. I don't understand it this is a new smashburger inside the mini mall or Maurice Avenue here in maspeth Queens. They had approximately four individuals working two in the cooking area one packing and one as a cashier. Once the cashier had no customers to attend to and she saw how things were beginning to get a little behind she came and assisted the person packing the foods and as a result it helped to move things along a little faster. I think because I had to wait as long as I did my French fries were cold and yes I did begin eating them immediately once I got out so I cannot blame myself for them being cold they were served cold. My friend had his burger and he said it was very gummy in texture. He was not happy with the flavor so he dressed it up with a whole lot of mustard and ketchup. It's a shame that I couldn't write a great review on a place that I have been passing for more than 2 years and now finally I decided to stop and try them out and was disappointed by customer service as well as the food. Yes it was only french fries I had however french fries is American dish by itself. I did not like the condition of the bathroom it was untidy and smelled of urine. A bathroom should be checked on regularly and because it was so early in the morning one would think that this should not be the situation. So yeah I'm totally turned off maybe today just wasn't a good day for smashburger. I will venture one more time and if it does not improve then I'll just Chuck it up that this is the way smashburger presents their food and their customer service. I can't believe all three of us customers waited as...

Before I start my review, I just want to inform people that I also leave good reviews when warranted. With that being said, let me start. I live in Maspeth and this place is never busy, and with that they still manage to basically butcher my whole order. The young lady with the braces had to walk over from packing orders to take my order. Not a single customer was in here dining at around 7:20 pm on a Saturday. I was supposed to get a single bacon stack smash without mayo, a BBQ bacon smash and reg fries with a small drink. I was brought out 2 bacon stack smash and 1 had mayo on it. To make matters worse, the bacon was cold and so we're the fries. This is because they make food and no one comes in to order then it's passed on to whoever walks in later on. They at least gave me a new order of fries. I had them give me a new bun top because I didn't want to wait any longer. Their food safety and quality control doesn't exist. This will be the last time I ever visit this location. The kicker to this whole ordeal is I had to ask for my damn cup to get a drink after my order came out! Not sure how this place hasn't gone out of business yet!!! What a shame because I love to endorse local businesses. Even my receipt had the wrong order on it when I checked it. The employee was just not paying any...