Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews — Restaurant in Norwood Park Township

Updated review 11JUN2023 Where is the char??

Twenty years ago, a young man walked through the doors of a new burger place near Fort Myers Florida. He reviewed the impressive menu and finally decided on the burger with grilled pineapple and teriyaki glaze because it sounded interesting. What he got was a nearly transcendental burger experience. The pineapple grilled to bring out the sweetness married perfectly with the tangy-glaze covered char-grilled burger patty. A thick patty that was so juicy it left a trail down the young man's chin with every bite. Everything came together so perfectly, and every flavor was balanced. That balance came from one specific thing: char. I know this because that young man was me, the burger place was Red Robin, and the burger was the bonsai. This burger was so perfect that I have continued to order it for 20 years. But today was the last time.

It's a sad day for char-grilled burger lovers. Somebody at Red Robin has made the decision to change the way they cook their burgers. Instead of using a flavor-multiplying, char-producing open flame, they are now using a simple flat-top griddle. There is no char whatsoever. Not on the burger. Not on the pineapple. Not anywhere. The patty is now dense/compacted, dry, and bland instead of being thick, flowing with juices, and bursting with flame-kissed-char flavor. Now it just makes more sense to make bonsai burgers at home for a fraction of the cost or grab a quick & cheap flat-top griddled burger at a fast food drive-thru. Because now there's really no difference between that and a Red Robin burger(except the price tag). What a shame.

*Original Review": We go to Red Robin often, and the location in the HIP shopping center is our most frequent store. The bonzai burger is, quite simply, perfection. And if you come to this location and have the good fortune of having John for your server, you will be in for a treat. Get the campfire mayo to dip your fries in. No, don't argue. Just try it....

This is the first time, we’ve ever felt unhappy with the service. The server Aaron was extremely rude. I wasn’t expecting a great service either but the attitude the server gave everytime we requested or needed to seek his service was rude but we had to keep requesting for his service because he kept ignoring us. We got up 3 times to ask for service because we didn’t want to deal with his attitude anymore throughout the whole service he only came to our table to start us off for the drinks, food, and hand our food and that’s it. Then, from there when we would request an extra re-fill, to-go boxes, receipt and any service of any kind. He wouldn’t respond back. He’ll grab what we asked for and bring it back without any exchange of words. Then, he would disappear again. He was working as if he was there to work and complete his task to take orders and hand food, but beyond that no manners, exchange of words, NOTHING. What really impacted this service was that he would keep rolling his eyes as if he was extremely annoyed of us when we requested anything. At first, I thought we might’ve been at fault but we were never rude. We wanted to eat for the first time as a family since our baby was born… I feel diasspointed that our dining experience was awful. There was another couple and a family of 3 near us and it was surprising that he asked them “Do you guys need anything?.. Is everything fine?” to both tables. When he never bothered to check on us. Which honestly I don’t care but it did piss me off because both tables that he actually was polite and requesting if they needed any service. They were light skinned, and we are Hispanic with a darker skin tone. The only thing I can say is he is racist. We didn’t feel welcomed at all. The only person that we interacted with was the girl that took us to our table and a random employee sitting in one of tables telling us “Have a nice day” when we were leaving. Food was good, but we had to leave because the service with...

On one fateful day, a 16 year old girl took her first steps into an establishment. With the future seeing a symphony orchestra, but the present being a burger. Craving the expected food to enthrall her mouth with unique flavors, she said “Pick up order?” The waitress followed suit, grabbing the order from the back kitchen and coming back with a bag in her hand. “Burnt ends burger?” The woman says, smile on her face and presenting herself in a joyful manner. The girl responds, “Yes, thank you.”

After a treaterous walk back to the bus, the girl sat down with her classmates and began to dig in. Expecting a charred, grilled juicy thick burger, she took her first bite. But.. it wasn’t as she expected. The usual flavors replaced with a unique meat, the taste of the unknown. Burnt ends aren’t… the charred part of the burger? The girl questioned herself, thinking about what her life had meant. With no disclosure mentioned when she ordered the meal 4 days in advance, the girl was shocked to find out what burnt ends were. In fear and shame, she put down her burger. She ate the rest, but she had to take a break to bask and reflect in her experience. With the orchestra waiting, she thought about the strings emulating the cheese she must’ve ate. But.. the burnt ends still remained? Picking off each part of the burger, the girl was left to decide what her relationship with the establishment would be…

That would be this Red Robin. The body of the burnt ended pig “oink oink!” spoke to her, and that girl.. was me. The betrayal hit me hard, but the music later filled my heart with joy that it resolved it.

No thank you Red...