Tasty Burger Express — Restaurant in Porterville

I decided to try this place on a whim after driving by it multiple times with friends and family. I figured I'd give it a scope-out and see what the fuss was about. This location is housed within the old Long John Silver's building that had been there for many years so it was in a very recognizable location as I used to go there almost weekly with my grandma.

The outside of the establishment is quite charming. I tend to value decor a lot when it comes to going to and from a restaurant as presentation of the restaurant itself is often just as important as the food.

When I walked inside I was a little surprised by the amount of AI Imagery plastered on the walls. I am, personally, against the usage of AI art wholesale. While it can look good, it also tends to make me feel like whoever has decided to use it is lazy. I think the establishment as a whole could benefit from more consistent imagery as well, as none of the art on the inside really has much cohesion aside from the mascot they impose onto some of the images.

The menu was a bit of a low point to me. I am generally not a fan of menus that don't use images of the real food and are instead photo-shopped facsimiles of what you're going to be getting because I have no guarantee that what I'm ordering is going to look even remotely like what's on the menu (And in my case, listed later, it wasn't).

When I went in it was quite busy, and it felt a little disorganized but lunch rush is lunch rush and I can't fault anybody working there from getting a little stressed during high-traffic hours. Overall service was relatively quick and the food was packaged very well and I was really impressed with the overall presentation.

After I had received my food I hopped on over to my parents house with the food and was disappointed to see that my burger had been burnt a bit on one side and wasn't even the burger I had ordered, and my Mother's chicken melt was actually just a regular hamburger melt (My mother cannot eat beef, she has a strict chicken or turkey only diet). So, unfortunately, my Mother was not able to eat her meal and I had to go out and get another item from a different place because I felt bad.

However, the food was quite tasty. I ended up eating my Mother's melt for dinner later on in the day and it was tasty, even reheated. Even now I want to consider going there again, but I'm worried after my prior experience I simply won't get the order I requested. The food is great, but if I want chicken, or beef, and get something else that displeasure is hopefully reasonable.

In my opinion it's definitely a place you can go if you're hungry, and the food IS good (I think the fries could be better but maybe I just got a bad batch, they were very soggy). I will go there again sometime and update my review accordingly.

Just make sure you check your order BEFORE you leave...

I am writing my review based on 3 separate visits, 2 dine-in, and 1 drive-through visit. The drive in express is ordered 3 combos, and when I got my food, I checked my bags (I highly recommend you check your bags as soon as you get them too) was missing the phili cheese sandwich I pointed it out and to wait again. Not to mention, the wait was extremely long, but I understand that it was shortly after they had opened, so the hype of checking out the new fast food place in town was high. The food on the visit was okay, just okay. (not good, not bad, just okay) Next time I decide to go inside and dine in, as I pulled in from villa the parking on the north are was all full to most likely employees and i was not able to get the the parking spots east of the restaurant do to the drive-through traffic blocking the parking spots and access to get across. I ended up backing out going onto villa and turning on east on olive, making a uturn and coming back into the parking east of the restaurant. The staff was friendly, but they seemed very confused, I ordered a milk shake with my order and after 10- 15 minutes they called me to the counter to tell me they didn't have the shake I wanted and was put on the spot to trade for a flavor I really didn't want. Oh well, right. When I finally got my food, the fries were super hot, but the food wasn't almost. It seemed like the food sat a while until the fries came out of the fryer. The last time I went, the service was faster. The hype was no longer an issue, but my food still wasn't great it was just okay on all 3 visits. We have at least 3 other fast food places in Porterville that seem to have the exact same menu as this place. The restaurant, tables, and restrooms were extremely dirty on both of my visits that I dined in on. In one of my posted pictures, you can even see what appears to be dried blood on the restroom sink. Well, if you are still reading this, thank you for your time, but please don't take my word for it. Make some time and come down and create your own experience and write...

Honest Review of Tasty Burger: We recently tried out the new burger spot in town, and overall, it was a mixed experience.

Food: The food was just okay — nothing memorable. I asked everyone in my family for their thoughts, and they all felt the same. My son, who likes his burger plain with only ketchup, said it started off good but tasted more burnt the further he got into it. My mother and boyfriend both mentioned their burgers were dry — maybe adding sauce to both buns would’ve helped. On a positive note, the fries were tasty, and the shakes and candy twisters were a hit with everyone.

Customer Service: The staff was friendly and polite, which we appreciated.

Wait Time: The wait time was pretty long — about an hour total — though I understand it’s a new place, so they might still be working out the kinks.

Order Accuracy: Unfortunately, there were some issues with our order. We were missing a burger, even though the worker assured us everything was in the bag. I also asked for ketchup, was told it was in the bag, but there was none — not even napkins. After getting home and realizing this, I had to drive back. To their credit, they remade the missing burger with no fuss, but the inconvenience was frustrating, especially after spending over $100 on our meal.

Final Thoughts: While the food was hot and fresh, and the sides and desserts were enjoyable, the dry burgers, long wait, and order mistakes left us disappointed. Sadly, I don’t think we’ll be returning anytime soon. Hopefully, with time, they iron out these issues, but for now, it wasn’t the experience we were hoping for.

Would love to see...