Bearden's - Rocky River — Restaurant in Rocky River

We were celebrating a birthday and the guest of honor chose Bearden's as their restaurant of choice. They had been before but the rest of our party had not.

First impressions on driving into the parking lot was that it had a very 50's era diner feel. On the side of the building is a 1/4 half of a vintage car on the side. You place your order at the counter on walking in, sit, then they bring out your order to you.

It was quite busy when we arrived as a large group arrived just prior to us so it took 15 mins or so to get to the ordering counter. The ordering process was very straightforward and the menu is fairly focused so it makes deciding pretty easy. It's burgers, some various fried side dishes, a hot dog, chicken sandwich, fish option, and a salad option. The place knows their focus and the menu reflects it expertly. I always get weary of a restaurant offering pages of menu options. It usually means they don't excel at any one thing as there is no way a kitchen can be that flexible without cutting corners.

Food was brought out very quickly and piping hot. Our group had a wide range of stuff ordered but some of the highlights were: breaded mushrooms, fried pickles, slim Jim fries, the 1/4lb hot dog, various types of burgers, and the fish. Everyone was very satisfied with their food but the portion sizes were large and unexpected. This led to a lot of discussion in the future of ordering one serving and sharing amongst the group.

All in all, it would be a place we would visit again. It had a good atmosphere, excellent food, and the restaurant staff were working extremely hard. From what we could see, only 4 total employees were working at the restaurant and they were all busting to get orders...

Painful is being kind. I live a half mile from this place. I had to order on line as the phone went to voice mail, I should have bailed right there. I placed an order at 5:40 and the order read that it would be ready at 5:50. I knew this was optimistic so I gave it an extra 15 minutes before I arrived. There were 3 people ahead of me at the pickup counter. I wasn't even acknowledged for another 10 minutes by the raspy manager (I use the term loosely). During my half hour standing around I got a real education in how not to manage people and guests for that matter. She was yelling at the staff, throwing things and generally confusing an already bad situation. At 10 minutes in I was told my burgers were done but they were waiting on fries. About 20 minutes in I got to watch raspy argue with a customer that was requesting a fork and knife. Raspy had them in her hand and I'm not quite sure why she was reluctant to hand them over to the poor girl that just wanted to eat. Anyway, after another 10 minutes I saw the fries arrive but it was obvious there was no milkshake in sight. She yelled at the kid to make my milkshake. He ran to the machine to find it empty so he disappeared for a while and returned with 2 gallon jugs of the magic milkshake goo which he dumped in the machine. At this point Raspy yelled at him again to get my milkshake. It was at this point he informed her that he couldn't make it because the milkshake goo was not frozen. I did not bother to stick around to have raspy tell me how long that would take.

It's a shame this place is so screwed up because it has been a fixture for decades and the food...

Shopping makes me very hungry (especially clothes shopping). After spending the afternoon in Crocker Park, my girlfriend and I wanted to try something new in the area. We don't go that far west too often. I just wanted something simple, and Bearden's looked like the place to go.

I absolutely love old-fashioned places. Established in 1948, this place is straight out of a picture. Neon signs, checkered floor, sky blue booths, all of it!

Instead of having a server, you order at the counter, they give you a number, and they run your food out to you. I am a big fan of this system. It makes everything a lot simpler for everyone. We both got a Single Burger, a side (I got Fries, she got Onion Rings) and a Milkshake (Peanut Butter, Vanilla)

It's a good thing I only got the single, because it filled me up pretty quick. It's a very classic Steakburger, with a sweet, toasted Bun. The Milkshake was one of the creamiest I have ever had - very delicious! The Fries are the very thin-cut ones, which I like. You didn't get a whole lot of Onion Rings, but the flavor and the batter were incredible, and they were surprisingly filling. Some of the best I have tasted.

This is such an awesome throwback place, serving up classic diner fare the good ol' way. Whether you go with family, friends, on a date, it is a fun spot that...