Burger Monger — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

My family, a friend and I went to this location on Sunday May 6, 2019. There were 8 people in our party. I've been at this location one other time and the first impression was good. The first time around, I ordered one of their signature burgers (recommended by a friend) and it was pretty good. They advertise that they use Akaushi Beef. Not sure what that is, but it was good. Our family does eat out often. At least once a week, maybe more depending on the month. My 17 year old son, who is a 260+lb food critique/football player claims its the best burger he has had. And I promise you, he's eaten his fair share of burgers. Now for the second time around is the reason why I chose to write this review. This past Sunday when we arrived we were greeted by an employee named Samantha. To preface this part of the review I'd like to mention I spent most of my life as a corporate trainer. I've trained for many different companies/positions and I've always had a heavy emphasis on customer service. So when I walk into a business, especially these days, I'm always impressed to find that one gem of a person. The individual that truly has a passion for what they are doing. This was Samantha on that day. Somethings she did amazing: Keep in mind, we're a big party. We lined up and some folks queued in behind us, so we were like - you guys go first. There were two people taking orders and the people behind us went to the register furthers away from the line. The register closest to us was Samantha. She actually came out from behind the counter to where we have moved away from the general queue area. The reason she did this was to find out if we've been to the restaurant before. Regardless to why she didn't, it was an extremely personal touch. Hardly ever do you see employees go to customer these days. Her knowledge of the menu, her level of customer service made me believe she was the owner or maybe part owner. I later found out this wasn't the case. I had mentioned this to the friend I was having lunch with and he said 'funny you mention that'. He then told me a story about the fact that he arrived about 10 minutes before us. And he was standing off to the side waiting. And Samantha had approached him and asked if he was ok, which turned out to be a pleasant conversation. Throughout our stay in the dining area, she was attentive, making the rounds, checking to see if everyone had what they needed. On my way out, again, I see her talking up a gentlemen dining alone. People like this are worth their weight in gold. Sometimes even more. Lastly, I had ordered the chicken sandwich. I know what your thinking; who orders chicken when they're serving up Akaushi burgers? This guy does that's who. And this guy was not impressed. The battered chicken was just bland. So bland, they should really consider taking it off the menu. Regardless, my family and friend were completely satisfied (because they all ordered the burger ;). But I just wanted to drop my two cents on Samantha. Good find! I hope she gets the opportunities any passionate hardworking employee receives. She set a great example for your staff that...

DISCLAIMER: I WOULD LOVE TO GIVE 0 STARS! This place is close to our house so we have gone a few times. We usually have a decent time at this restaurant, even though every time we have gone here they have screwed up our orders in some way. The food is good, don't get me wrong but the customer service, management and order process is TERRIBLE. This experience was absolutely horrible. We came in, after ordering online and waiting the 20 minutes it suggests to make the order. We walk in, prior to a swim team coming in too. This wouldn't have been a problem if they ACTUALLY made our order, but of course they didn't. They claimed the "didn't get the order" even though the app clearly says the location and time that it was received. So they took our order over again (before the swim team) and we sat down and waited. After half the swim team received THEIR food, they brought our food out to us even though we ordered it to go. ALSO it wasn't even what we ordered. So they remade it not once but TWICE until it was finally what we ordered. ALL IN ALL: We received our food AFTER the entire team got their food. We waited for an hour and a half in the restaurant for food we ORDERED TO GO 30 minutes before coming in. Also, to specifically call out employees, Kaylani was the one that messed our orders up and she seemed unfit to work in a good establishment. She was flustered and confused the entire time. Besides her we had to deal with a white girl with dyed blonde hair, I don't her name it could have been Lauren but I'm not 100% sure, who delivered the WORST customer service skills and had the nerve to give us attitude for expressing our displeasure in service. We payed $70 for a subpar meal, and an hour and a half of aggravation. Very unhappy...

"Meh" pretty much sums it up. We tried this place years ago, thought we'd give it one more try.

So for 2 single patty burgers, 1 order of fries, 1 order of onion rings, 1 domestic beer, 1 soda, tax and tip* it was well over $50. While the food wasn't terrible, with the "service" i tipped* for, this place wasn't worth anywhere near that much.

Burgers were OK. Patties smashed and cooked until crispy around the edges, kinda dry. Toppings and sauces were tasty enough, and it did taste freshly cooked.

The fries tasted fresh. They were very generic, like the lambs frozen shoestring potatoes every dive bar has. And there were 12 of them. Yes, 12 fries for a side in a $50 lunch.

The Onion rings were, almost breaded or battered, but not quite. There was so little on them i couldn't tell which they were trying to do. Basically 5 naked fried strips of yellow onion.

The dining room was dingy, dust/cobwebs/mold/whatever all over the walls, open holes (that I'm pretty sure are a health code violation for pest control), etc. I mean, if they're too lazy to even get a duster and swipe the walls, i wonder what the food contact surfaces look like?

**So the tipping, i will admit i just don't like this thing at quick service places where you order at the counter like a McDonald's, they ask you to tip, then you go sit down and eat. I tipped 18%, and got nothing except a girl dropping a tray of food at the table without making eye contact or saying a single word. I won't ever return solely...