The Garage Burgers & Beer — Restaurant in Shawnee

If you're a devoted burger enthusiast, it's likely you've heard of The Garage. With multiple successful locations scattered around Oklahoma, this chain is generally revered for their meaty marvels and inviting atmosphere. Regrettably, their Shawnee location deviates from this otherwise gratifying franchise formula, offering an experience as flat as a squashed patty and as bitter as a burnt bun.

From the moment we entered, the ambiance of The Garage in Shawnee felt more like a forgotten shed than a buzzing, grill-filled Garage. A mechanical malaise seemed to have descended upon the staff, most notably our bartender, who proved more elusive than Bigfoot. Even after two respectful pleas to the cashier for drink service at our table, our thirst went unanswered. It seems this barkeep was content to let us idle at our pit stop without fuel, a veritable pothole on our culinary cruise.

Our order-taker's customer service skills were more reminiscent of a desert than the bustling eatery that The Garage should be - dry, barren, and devoid of hospitality. When the time came to deliver our burgers to the table, he didn't even feign an effort to match meals to the right people, instead embarking on a game of 'food roulette'. Each of us was given our plates at random, fostering a chaotic DIY atmosphere that was less 'charmingly casual' and more 'jarringly disjointed'.

The food itself was a two-lane highway to Disappointment. The burgers were as dry as a summer in the Sahara, lacking the juicy allure that should define a solid, satisfying patty. But it was the chili cheese fries that were truly the lowlight of the evening. The sour cream, ostensibly a creamy delight, resembled something more akin to a curdled nightmare. It was a gastronomic faux pas that made us question the quality control of this location.

Comparing this experience to my previous visits to the Garage in Norman is like comparing a clunker to a classic - the disparity is jarring. The Garage in Shawnee has all the potential to be another successful pitstop in this chain of burger joints, but it's currently stalled at the starting line. They need to hit the gas on quality food and customer service, and only then can they truly claim their place in the esteemed Garage line-up.

Ultimately, the Garage in Shawnee offers an experience that, much like a car that's been left neglected in the garage, is in desperate need of some fine-tuning. For now, though, it might be best to steer clear of this location, and hope that they take a mechanic's wrench to their glaring issues soon. Because in its current state, the Garage in Shawnee is more of a 'junker'...

First of all we are traveling through, we do NOT eat big food chains when we travel. We prefer to give the mom and pop establishments a chance. When we find ones we like then we turn into a family thing attempting to stop by whenever we are in the area. First time to dine here, won’t ever darken their door again. It took us a few mins to decided what we wanted. I apologized to cashier, told her we have never been here before. I ordered off the adult menu for my 3 kids (3 full size burgers, and order of fries and 3 drinks), my ole’ man ordered a burger and when he ordered a beer he was given a Yellow number, and directions that there would be someone come take his drink order at the table. I ordered my food, fish tacos I was given a white number. The kids had already choose where they wanted to sit so I cleaned off the table(crumbs) and bench seat as there were dirty paper towels on the seat. After sitting there for longer than he should have the ole’ man takes he yellow number and starts walking towards the bar, he is walked back to table with a staff member and told someone will come get his bar order. Now, more than 10 mins has gone by, we still have nothing no non alcoholic beverages, no food, and no one offering to actually serve us. Finally, I figure out the non alcoholic beverages are self serve. So, the kids go and get those. Probably another 10 mins goes by and a staff member brings us our food. She asked if we needed anything else I asked for sliver ware he again expressed that he wanted a beer. She was gonna get the sliver ware and “yell at the bar staff” to come get his order. After another 5 mins I have yet to have any sliver ware, still haven’t even been able to order a beer. He went and got me some silverware. So service is absolute waste, my fish tacos the fish was good and cooked properly the “slaw”had ABSOLUTELY NO FLAVOR OR TASTE. I actually ended up just removing the fish from the taco and eating eat. The kids seemed to enjoy their burgers. Although, I’m not confident in their judgement ( after all they skipped lunch today and it was after 7pm). Pretty sure they just inhaled it. The ole’ man was not impressed with his mushroom Swiss or the fries. Quite honestly with the bad taste the service left, it sent our vacation in the wrong direction. The awful service and below average food cost us almost $70. Although, we have learned a lesson we...

We like the Garage and this is the third location we have tried. It was our first visit at this location. The girl who took our order seemed to be new as she had to ask another staff how to key in special orders. The staff who helped her who was probably senior staff gave big yearns without covering his mouth or anything in front of us. Not a great first impression... We didn't have to wait too long for our food. It was the same people who took our orders who brought our food. The senior guy, as he passed us our food, dropped one of our burgers and picked it up and put it on top of perfectly fine fries we ordered for the table and took them away saying he would bring the replacement. As I was waiting for my food we were still wondering why he wasted a basket of fries by putting a dropped burger on top... When another staff brought my burger, no fries. We asked again for fries. As I finished my burger, still no fries for the table. My husband finally went to the counter to cancel the order and got a refund. We still like the Garage burgers but probably not at...