St. John's Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Sunnyvale

This place went downhill fast. I was raving for years about them to my friend in Menlo Park and I finally got him there today for his favorite food: a plain old cheeseburger and fries. I have always aimed for the blue cheese bacon burger, which used to be fantastic. Prices seem to have doubled, but so have McDonalds. Unfortunately the comparison to McDonalds and St John’s now goes deeper, and “clownburger” may have surpassed them now.

My $15 plus tax blue cheese bacon burger started with a basic bun, onto which a patty with the look, feel and taste of burnt shoe leather was added, along with the cheese and a dried out thick bacon piece that had very little flavor was added. The mayo probably gave more umami than the bacon. Some onion, pickles and tomatoes were added to this. But starting with an awful dry, thin, overcooked burger patty can never be disguised as edible by adding all these things, it just tasted and felt like a patty leftover from yesterday that had been briefly reheated and passed off as food. My friend’s first experience with this place will definitely be his last, he only had a burger and slice of cheese so it was even more obvious the terrible quality.

Fries had always been pretty good here and their boutique ketchups are fun. But these fries also seemed to be nuked from the day prior, they were half hot, moist, and mostly flavorless. I was scooping the curry ketchup in attempts to make them palatable.

For around $50 to sit and try and eat these I feel ashamed and this restaurant ought to also be ashamed - used to be so damn good and reasonable here. Needless to say, there won’t be a second chance for my friend, he’ll stick with the Dutch Goose that has fed him consistently well since 1984. Sad to see St. John’s go so...

I've been to a number of great burger places in the bay area including the counter in palo alto, clarke's in mountain view, and more than one red robin and in-n-out. Also been to several great burger joints that don't bill themselves as such. All of the above are great places for a burger, but St Johns is the best.

Wednesdays after 4pm and Saturdays have 1/2 price burgers. However, they have a few premium kobe beef burgers that they won't put on the menu on those days (because they aren't 1/2 off), but I think you can still order them. Worth checking these out as they are tasty.

All of the burgers are excellent, my fave is the mushroom burger with a little swiss cheese - not sure why they always cut this one in half though. Their fries are also amazing and come in very large quantities. Be aware that a full size order of fries will be another plate full - might want to share.

The service is great as long as you don't expect a fancy restaurant. You get in line to order, you get a buzzer, you come up and pick up your food when it goes off. They get pretty busy at times, I've seen the line out the door, but they are very efficient and can move that line fast. Unfortunately if it is unpleasant outside, seating can occasionally be a problem, and it's a "seat yourself" kind of a place. There is some extra seating in the back right side of the restaurant that nobody usually spots...

Very disappointing visit. It's been some time since I was a regular at St. John's Bar and Grill having moved away about 7 years ago. I remembered it as a great place to grab a burger, some fries and a beer and kick back after work. Back then the Burgers were ample, the fries hot and fresh and the selection of beer was great. The employees I remembered were extremely helpful and friendly.

The mushroomburger I was served was overcooked, the mushrooms undercooked, sparse and the swiss cheese I requested was nowhere to be found. The only thing large about the large fries I ordered was the container they were served in. On top of that the fries were soggy and barely warm as if they had been sitting for too long under a warmer of some kind. The only friendly and helpful employee I encountered this time was the bus person. The person taking orders was in such a hurry I believe he is the reason my burger came without cheese as ordered. The bartender was so busy talking to a hottie a half his age another patron at the bar was complaining he had been waiting for over 5 minutes so I gave up and got an ice tea. The poor quality of service hasn't seemed to negatively affect the place as it filled up pretty fast after we found a booth and sat down. I know I will balk at anyone who suggests St. John's Bar and Grill to me again but will probably give it...