MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes — Restaurant in Walnut Creek

Our daughter is a young chef and is incredibly selective about the restaurants we visit. She recommended MOOYAH when we visited Heather Farm Park across the street last weekend. I was skeptical at first because the burgers she makes at home are fire. I gave in to her relentless requests...and I was not disappointed.

Service: The friendly lady at the counter was incredibly patient with me while we considered our options and placed our orders through fractured conversations with my little people. She explained the ordering process and even offered to swap out one of the drinks for a Cookies and Cream shake (more on that below). We received our food about twelve minutes later (fairly quick for 1 PM on a Saturday). The order was presented on clean metal trays with parchment underneath for a nice touch of nostalgia!

Food: My son is young and is quite picky about his burgers. Granted, he only gets his with a bun and the burger. He hoovered the kids size one and even complimented the flavor. I chose the "Iceburger" with two 1/2 pound patties and no tomatoes. This is the FIRST time I have been served a bun-less burger that was built properly. Two thickly sliced layers of iceberg lettuce substituted the bun and it was actually a pleasure to eat. The burger stayed together until the last bite. This may seem trivial, but consuming a poorly made "protein style" sandwich is often annoying at best. They really knocked it out of the park. The patties were cooked perfectly and even a little crispy on the thin edges. The house sauce was excellent and all the additional condiments were fresh.

THE MILKSHAKE: Seriously...it was handmade like the ones I used to get at the local dairy where I grew up. They serve it with wide straw because its so thick and the chunks of cookie were large and fresh (not mushy like typical "fast food" chains). If this is the only thing that brings you here, I will be happy. You will NOT be disappointed.

Thesis: I would drive the twenty minutes from my house just to get a burger here. The whole experience was pleasant and the food is so fresh. If you are in the mood for a classic burger and a walk down memory lane (geriatric millenials and older), this is the spot.

Well...

First off, thank you Max for your superior customer service at the register.

Next, the place is a nice little joint. Just the right size for a local lunch crowd.

Third, the food: The fries were great. If you're more of a fried-potato-mush-shaped-like-fries-dipped-in-batter McDonald's kind of person, this won't be for you. If you're into real-potato skin-on fries, you'll like these.

The Coffee shake was pretty danged good. Two thumbs up. Thick, creamy, not cheap tasting at all. Love it.

The A1 Burger... Hmm... It tasted really good, but it's not my favorite style of burger. The meat was tasty, and properly seasoned with a good crust. Thin fast-food style. The onions were chopped and caramelized properly. The bacon was cooked just right. The bun is sort of a brioche style bun, but it's very thin and greasy. Certainly not bad, but not my favorite either. Definitely wouldn't throw it out of bed, but I do prefer a thicker, fluffier, "cleaner" bun. I mean, the whole point of the bun is to allow you to pick up all that meat and cheese without getting it all over your hands, right? I don't know what happened there- maybe it was smashed before it cooled or something, or maybe the cook has been asked to brush it all over with butter, I'm not sure. The place has a neon sign out front that says "Fresh, Hot Buns", so I expected more.

Overall, the burger was good. I will be going back.

Lastly, they're trolling for reviews over there. I think that's fine, but here's a pro tip for you, Mooyah: If you really want a lot of reviews, offer to enter anyone that writes a review into a raffle, and then raffle off a bunch of gift cards for free food every month. Every few months, raffle off something kind of expensive like a new iPhone. Just my two...

EDIT:

I’ve upped my review all the way to 5 stars. First, Loren from Mooyah reached out after my initial review and was super, super understanding and kind. She offered up a do over and I jumped at the chance, like I said, I really wanted to like this place.

This is a great example of first impressions being wrong. The food was fresh and amazing!

The fries were warm and salted jusssst right and the offering of green chili queso is a must.

The burger was so. Good. I had the Diablo Burger and it was definitely on point.

I want to take a moment and apologize for dragging the folx over at Mooyah as hard as I did, it was clearly an off night and I now know better. I promise not to go all Karen/Ted on you again.

Thanks for the second try, Loren!!

Listen, I hate to give a bad review, but my feelings were hurt by this joint. So, I'm taking it into Karen mode.

The peeps who were rating this place ANYTHING above one star were either drunk, stoned, or have never had a decent hamburger in their life. Bacon was undercooked which is just gross. There was nowhere near a quarter pound of meat, but I think they tried to make up for the weight with salt. Just salt, there were zero other seasonings.

Also, how can fries be burnt, stale, and soggy all at the same time?

This is what I get for trying a new place. I'll stick to Super Duper or Broderick's. I mean, even 5 guys is better than this joint. zero stars.

I'm so sad bc I really, really...