Johnny Boi Smash Burger — Restaurant in Richmond

27Aug24. Edited to add: They have a new permanent menu with more items. The prices for fries/tater tots are lower than when they first opened. They also have Mexican Pepsi (sugar, not HFCS). There is a new item, the TROMPO (essentially a Johnny Boi burger topped with al pastor, American swiss cheese, pineapple and Chipotle sauce instead of their smash sauce, caramelized onions instead of jam), which I'll try on my next visit.

They also added a "Little Bellies" menu for kids - Mini Smash and Kiddo Tenders - both come with fries or tots. Juice box, too, all at a great price.

NOTE: I was charged a 3% credit card surcharge for using Google Wallet. I didn't know until I looked at the full transaction receipt sent to my email. I'm not too keen about that and may bring cash from now on.

ORIGINAL POST: Point Richmond has a new eatery! Located on the corner of Tewksbury and Santa Fe Avenues with the bike path located conveniently in front, Johnny boi is brought to you by the same owners of Masa Tamale & Taqueria. They are currently serving food under a soft open with a limited menu, and anticipate their grand opening sometime in the next 2-3 weeks with a full menu to include Impossible (vegan) burgers and shakes. Their liquor license for beer and wine is forthcoming, but for now expect your standard soda fountain selection. They are working on getting their website up soon.

We ordered at the counter, and when your food is ready they call your name to pick up your food. Water, napkins and cutlery are at the end of the counter. We ordered a Johnni Boi ($9) and a Burger bowl ($8). Both come with a smashed patty topped with American cheese, smash sauce, bacon jam, pickles and caramelized onions. The bowl also had two slices of tomato and shredded lettuce, while the Johnny Boi did not. (You do get those on the Fat Boi, which contains a double patty ($12).

We shared a side of tater tots ($8) so the combination was a satisfying portion of food for the two of us. The Burger bowl is gluten free (no bun). Our food was well cooked, the tater tots were crispy on the outside with a perfectly cooked texture on the inside. Thinking back, I think I would have enjoyed dipping my tater tots into their smash sauce instead of catsup, but that's just me.

The majority of tables are high where you can sit or stand, but there are a few along the walls that are of standard height.

The murals on the walls are gorgeous and I love that the artist embraced tagging, something you see everywhere in Richmond. There are four TVs in the middle of the room facing opposite directions, something the sports viewers might enjoy.

The current plan is to be open seven days a week, 10am - 10pm for you late night eaters. I am looking forward to their grand opening and checking out the rest of their menu.

Johnny boi smash burgers is guaranteed to be a smash in...

I really want them to succeed because there aren’t many smash burger spots in the Bay, but this was my 1st experience so I’m hoping some of this gets taken into consideration as they continue to grow and build and work out the kinks.

Food: ordered the Fat Boi. patties were not seasoned. Got 3 massive pickles, 1 thick slice of tomato and 5 threads of lettuce - pls season the patties, just 1-2 pickles, thin out your slicer for tomatoes and add a little more lettuce. Bun was great, I like that it’s extra toasted so the ingredients and sauce didn’t soak into the bread right away.

Fries and tots were were soggy and stale. I age a pretty high tolerance or soggy carbs because I just love them. But these carbs need to be given equal amount of attention as the burgers. Maybe do a quality check before they go out and if they’re not super crispy, refry for like 3-4 mins?

Wings: got the garlic parm wings. Love the flavor of the sauce and tenderness of the meat but not the outside texture of the wings. My preference would be to have a coat or dredge on them so that the sauce has something to stick to on the surface of the wings. But If that’s not your style of wings, then I will adjust. Just wanted to share my thoughts on it.

Otherwise service was good (they just forgot our fries and needed to show them our copy of the receipt) and the cashier/expediter was working hard and checking in on their patrons. Absolutely love the atmosphere inside with the Blood in Blood Out decor and Bay Area...

First time going there today, the gentleman who took the order from my wife also was the one who called her name when our order was ready. We ordered 2 burgers with tater tots and a kids mini burger and fries and a medium size root beer. Everything was good except he never gave me our drink. I stood there waiting and he ask me if I need anything else? I mention we also ordered root beer and he looks at me and ask If I didn't get it on the other side? I told him no, and he's looking at me like I'm lying. A female worker then steps in and tells me that she will get it for me over on the otherside so I'm like cool ok. I then went to take our food to my table and then waited for her at the place where they take your order where they gentleman was suppose to give you your drinks to begin with, but then she wasn't there I spot her walking back to the gentleman who never gave me our drink to begin with, and he calls my wife's name again. So I had to walk back to the place where they call your order when your order is ready. Just bad, bad costumer service. It's a soda that they never gave me and these workers think that I'm lying and trying to steal a medium size soda. I can buy 30 sodas if I wanted too I don't need to steal. I work 9-5 with a job that pays well. I'm never going...