Hal's Hamburgers — Restaurant in Pendleton

Burgers are basic frozen patties that no where near justify the cost. Fries are good but also basic frozen string fries over priced. Shake was literally soft serve ice cream, pre prepared and sat in a freezer, can't drink it as a shake when served. I'd order fries and ranch if I was craving it, haven't been back since. Update went back for fries and mozz sticks. Terrible experience. Wait time is also ridiculous. For the process they charge you can get a quality burger else where. The food isn't terrible but the reviews over hyped the quality and the prices aren't justified by the quality. Even using frozen burgers from a grocery store you can make better burgers at home for a fraction of the cost ($2-$3 for everything including fries vs $10-20+) you're paying $5 for a basic burger that costs you less than $1 to make at home and it's better at home. $3 for a portion of fries that cost $.50 at home. And way over paying for soft serve ice cream labeled as a milk shake. The guy straight up told us AFTER we ordered that their shakes are just frozen pre prepared soft serve in a cup that sits in a mini freezer until you order it. Their ranch is good. I'd rate better if the whole experience didn't feel shady and misleading. I've paid similar prices for real quality hand made burgers or at least quality burgers. The Frozen patties they use are the same ones you can but in bulk at less than $.25 a Patty and they charge $5 for a burger? You're better off going to McDonald's or burger King, only thing worth it here is the fries and ranch and still over priced...

Whenever we go to Boise we make it a point to stop at Hals Drive in. I would actually be willing to drive to Pendleton from Coeur d’Alene where we live just to eat one of their hamburgers. The bacon is not salty which I love and the sauces they put on the burgers are just right everything is just right from the amount of lettuce and tomato to the size of the Patty which just fills the bun perfectly and the bun itself of course is flawless. Throughout this Covid nightmare we have been able to enjoy their hamburgers because they have graciously Agreed To send a server out to your car to take your order and then you drive up to the window and pick up your food. it’s amazing. To top it all off their prices are extremely reasonable and the homemade onion rings can’t be beat. we’ve enjoyed the double cheeseburgers so much that we have never ventured into the menu to try other things but they do have quite an array of different sandwiches that...

Throw-back to an old drive-in. They got our order right which is a positive. Ambiance is just ok though.

Thoughts on the food: Shakes: Very delicious banana shake!! Homemade Lemonade: Tastes like regular lemonade. Not impressive. Hamburger: Perfect drive-in burger. Moist and flavorful. Lots of good toppings. Nice sauce. Chicken sandwich: Pretty average. Fries: Average but my son liked them.

Bathroom was clean although there were no more paper towels in the dispenser.

My biggest concern was that the cook's cleanliness. I saw him wipe his hands on his shirt while he was preparing food several times. The kitchen and ordering area didn't seem that clean either. I was going to give Hal's 3 stars for an average experience but I've decided to knock off a star for the cleanliness of the establishment. Flavor is important but cleanliness truly is just as important. This could be a 4 star experience with a few...