Smashburger — Restaurant in Upper Dublin Township

I’m shocked by the reviews for this place. My experience was below satisfactory. This place doesn’t beat its competitors in any category. First of all, let’s talk about the prices. I paid $7.19 for the Classic Smash. This is just for the burger! No special toppings. For that price, you can get a whole combo meal from any of the fast food chains. Then I had to pay $4.09 for the sweet potato waffle fries. I love sweet potato fries so I was expecting these to be very good with that price. I did not order a drink. My total bill came to $11.96, just under $12 for a burger and fries! Now, for the burger itself. I get that the name is “smash burger”, but wow, they really smash it thin and cook it well done where all the edges are super crusty and crunchy. I mean, if you like your burger like that, this is the place. But for someone like me who actually likes to taste the burger, this was unappealing and not enjoyable. The patty was salty and thin, so you’re not really getting any value from this burger. I will say that they did find on the LTO. But they went sloppy overboard with the condiments inside the bun. Mine was dripping with mustard and ketchup, which I thought was weird because that’s a personal preference that the customer will add in. Now for the waffle fries. I was very underwhelmed and disappointed by this. They were very thin, crispy, and overcooked to brown! They had a lot of crusty pieces attached too. My guess is that they don’t change their oil in the fryer, which they should be changing it weekly at the very least. But it didn’t even taste good. I took a few bites off the ones that weren’t overcooked and just finished the burger. Later, I asked the girl worker a question. I told her that I had an issue with the fries and I didn’t expect them to come out this way. I asked her if I could switch them out for regular fries. I told her that I am pregnant and I don’t feel right about eating these fries. She handled it well and placed a to-go order or regular fries for me. She said I wouldn’t have to pay extra. I’m glad she said that because I paid more for the waffle fries, so if anything I should’ve gotten some money back for it. The fries came out and as I stood there watching her place them in the bag, she accidentally knocked the bag sideways (fries spilled inside the bag). She quickly looked up at me and continued grabbing napkins and ketchup packets to place inside the bag and walked it over to me. I asked her if the waffle fries usually come out that way. She said that they come like that (frozen) and they just cook them. I told her that I thought they would be thicker cut like Chick fil a’s. Well, now we know. I opened my bag of regular fries. And they were worse. They were clearly over fried with brown ends. Again, I can tell that their oil in the fryer is old because of the darker color and the taste. They have a greasy taste. Fries cooked in fresh oil will have a clean, crisp taste. These did not. Overall, I would not recommend this place. It’s extremely overpriced, there’s no value in your money, and they can’t cook fries well. I just don’t see the lure. I feel like I wasted my money and my time (which I won’t get back). I am hoping to reach out to the manager and ask...

This location opened about a few months ago. I live only 2 minutes from it, and was excited because we love Smashburger! We went here a few weeks after it opened. The place was packed, and it took quite a while to get food. I said, no problem, let's try it again after they get their process down.

Came back again in Dec on a Wed after 8p. I placed an order online for 3 burgers and drove over there immediately. Except for one table and one person ordering, I was the only other customer there. There was one cashier and 2 people in the kitchen. I waited for about 6 minutes (yes, the person was still ordering), and no one greeted me. The people working in the kitchen were idle; no food on the grill. I was wondering why my order wasn't ready, and yet, nothing was being cooked. Finally, another employee came out, and I asked her to check on my food. She looked at an empty paper bag with a ticket on it, looked quickly into the kitchen, and said my order isn't ready. She then disappeared to the back. Waited another few minutes, same person came back out. I asked her again to check on my order. She then looked under the heating lamp, and said, oh, those are yours, and we are waiting for fries. I said I've been waiting here for 11 minutes, and no way would I eat that food sitting under the lamp for at least the last 11 minutes.

They agreed to re-fire my burgers. They put several patties on the grill. More people came in, and now the place was packed. I waited another 20 minutes for the 3 burgers to be done. I was thinking, if it takes 20 minutes to make 3 fresh burgers (they put my 3 patties on the grill as soon as I requested them re-fired), then how did they make the original 3 burgers in the 3 minutes that I took to drive over. Nobody else got food in those 20 minutes. The cashier actually had to go into the kitchen to help expedite.

Thankfully the food was good, but I will never come back again. I can go down the street to Mod Pizza, where they can build a pizza from scratch and get it cooked within 10 minutes. I've been to other Smashburgers during packed lunch time and gotten my food faster than the 30 minutes I waited in total. I can drive a little farther down to the Willow Grove mall area to get sushi, ramen, Cheesecake Factory, and other restaurant food in less time than I waited for 3 fast food burgers and an order of fries. I actually have driven to Popeyes on Street Rd and back within 30 minutes.

This location should be a gold mine! Tons of people live nearby. I'll give it at most 1 year to survive if they don't fix the way they are operating. Too bad, we really need some great fast food around here. I am giving it 2 stars because the food is at...

UPDATE: About 2 weeks after my review went live, I got a call from the regional Smash Burger rep. She acknowledged that this store is having issues and promised to send some coupons. Instead, all she did was to put me on their junk email list.

This place is messed up from the top down and needless to say, we are never going back. I'll be shocked if they survive in the long run.

Original review: Orders are ALWAYS* take much longer than promised and are almost always wrong. Our last visit was the last straw. The order was ready 20 minutes AFTER the quoted 30 wait minute time.

*One exception, the order said it would be ready in 90 (NINETY) minutes, but when we picked it up, it was stone-cold.

On this order, three of the 4 burgers were completely wrong. One was supposed to be a double, it wasn't. One was supposed to be plain, it had everything on it. One was supposed to have ONLY cheese and cooked onions. It had everything BUT cheese and cooked onions.

And yes, the order slip was correct.

To add insult to injury, it took another 20 minutes to redo 3 burgers, and there was NO apology. And the manager argued with me even though my order slip was correct and the burgers, clearly were not.

The manager had to read and reread my ticket several times to grasp one that of the burgers was a plain burger, even then one was still remade wrong.

Also, there were 5 or 6 groups in the store waiting for orders, yet there were NO burgers even on the grill! And as others have mentioned, the crew had NO hustle, or even a slight sense of urgency.

And while the restaurant was 2/3 empty, they were telling new customers it would be at least 20 minutes to get their orders. Most turned and walked out.

Then, when I posted my comments on the Smash Burger website, it said "Would you like to write a Google review now?" but when I clicked "yes" it said "You cannot post reviews for this location".

Gee, I wonder why.

I then tried to contact the corporate office, as it appears the complaints go right to the local store, who obviously do not care. They did respond asking for the store number, which I provided, along with the order number, but then, nothing.

So not only will I avoid this particular store, but all...