Wayback Burgers — Restaurant in Sacramento

About two weeks ago, we read about a free French fry offer on National French Fry Day from a new hamburger restaurant chain in the Sacramento region with three locations, Wayback Burgers. Through a series of events, yesterday, we took the opportunity to visit their Florin Road location in Sacramento.

This store opened on May 21, and you notice a few things upon entering, one of which is cleanliness. Many in Elk Grove may have heard about a brand new, popular restaurant that has experienced cleanliness issues to the point they were compelled to close for a few days.

You will also note the unique design, which has a touch of a 1950s diner, complete with a four-stool counter and more contemporary touches like high-definition TVs. Also noteworthy is the grill where the hamburgers and other sandwiches are prepared is completely visible to patrons.

As for the name, not only does the dining area have a touch of nostalgia, it's the way the burgers are prepared, in earlier times, that we suspect gives the restaurant its name. A franchise, the Florin Road location is individually owned.

Even though it is relatively new, it seems they already have some regular clientele. The restaurant staff greeted an entering customer, as they do by all customers entering, by his first name. Kurt said he has been there several times and enjoyed their limited-time hot chicken sandwich.

While we were dining, another group of four 20-something men who looked to be from a nearby business came in, as well as a Door Dash delivery person.

Now for our hamburger entree. In a word, it was fantastic!

I visited the store after the lunch rush and asked Allie, the order taker, for a recommendation. She said the double bacon cheeseburger was the most popular, but if this was my first visit, try the Classic double cheese.

Seeing how the grill area was open and the kitchen wasn't crushed with orders, I watched Isabel prepare my order.

Two fresh, never frozen, approximately three and a half ounce patties were flattened, grilled, and assembled. You have your choice of toppings, but I chose the standard with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and grilled onions.

As noted, the burger was fantastic. After having a few bites, and then confirmed by Isabel, there was no salt added during grilling.

It may seem like a minor point, but too often, the taste of the meat can be overpowered by salt, especially on hamburgers. The skin-on-fries were tasty and only lightly salted, and the hand-scooped vanilla shake (they have several flavors) was terrific.

Like many restaurants, according to store manager Tamra, they accommodate requests. Tamra showed a customer creation they were preparing they nicknamed the Rodeo Burger, which was two patties, cheese, sweet barbeque sauce, and topped with onion rings.

Along with several options for burgers, Wayback also offers chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, and cheesesteak, which the staff said is their favorite. That may have to be ordered on the next visit.

Burger lovers have many good choices, and Wayback Burgers should be placed high on any list of go-to-places. They...

So, first, let me start with this. Cleanliness. I always wash my hands before eating. Not everyone does. So upon arrival, I went to THE ONLY bathroom they have. The soap dispenser was not only empty, but had NEVER been filled. So my 1st thought is, where are the employees washing their hands after using the restroom. Well, wanting to give the benefit of the doubt, I convinced myself there is a sink in the kitchen area, which by the way is surrounded by glass so you can see everything...... except a sink....... but again. Benefit of the doubt. I was impressed by the dining area. The seating and decor was unlike anything I've ever seen in a burger joint. So thumbs up there. Having never been here before or even heard of it, wanted to try a couple things. So got the hot dog and got the classic. Also did the fries upgrade with bacon and cheese. Wait time wasn't bad. Food presentation was to be expected. Nothing like the menu pictures of course but not unappetizing. Now.... the food was fresh. I'll give them that. But absent of any kind of hint at flavor. I could taste ketchup? Maybe? But aside from that, I've NEVER had a more bland burger in my life. The hot dog was ok. At least I could taste the dog and the jalapeños. The bread was NOT a brioche bun. It was your standard store brand white bread hot dog bun. On to the fries. The bacon tasted like it came out of a container. Maybe bacon bits for a salad? Don't know there. And the cheese was your average every day canned processed cheese served over mediocre fries. Kind of get the vibe that seasoning, even the most basics like salt, are banned in this place. Sad. So.... overall, that was my experience. Staff was friendly. But the lack of soap and the lack of taste will keep me from ever returning. Of course, maybe that was a one off experience so take it...

Food came out with all the burgers cold, they had to remake it with warm buns, and when we got our food, the blt chicken sandwich, 2 big easy came with no bacon 2nd time food was returned. Then ordered chicken sandwich added swiss cheese but came with no swiss cheese that order was returned. When told about the missing items at first was told they do not come with bacon when on the menu clearly stated bacon. 2.The person angeligue who took our order very nice and helpful, apoligized for the mistake we understood, cook called out so they were doing their best. Then this other women IQRA came to our table with hands on hip full attitutude, " goes what is wrong with the order, we told her she explained and rolled her eyes and walked away, no idea where the attitude came from when you came to our table wanting to know the issue. When the other girl Angelique already was taking care of us. When i confronted her about her rudeness she had full attitude and said no i didnt have an attitude when 7 ppl saw her attitude and her colleague even aplogized for her rude behavior. Everyone knew she had an attitude.

We were given the number of the owner to talk about our rude experience but no call back or answer was made. Even the employees who were calling owner did not pick up and said we do not do refunds or even tried to compensate for the all the wrong food that was made and for uneaten food because they were bad.

Never will be going back to the establishment for there rude customer service and refund policy for bad food, cold burgers and missing items. If food is cooked to standard on what is written on the menu there would not even be the need to ask for refund. But when food is wrong, taste bad and the employees know they made a mistake still no refund that...