Alley Burger

Came on a sunny Friday for a (614) Burger + Beer Week burger. This restraint has always had around the 3-Star mark, so I figured since Ringside was not participating in B+BW, why not. The inside is skinny and long. Booths down both sides and a long bar flanking the other wall. There were no other patrons at 12:30, literally. The gal (owner/partner maybe) seemed preoccupied; of course, when you have to work, and if your an owner/partner and there are no customers (usual), I'm sure it can get boring; somewhat understandable. I tried their special $8 BBQ Bacon Burger (bbq sauce on the side), Cher got their Classic with pepper-jack. My burger was really good, had to smash it down to get my mouth around the sucker. The onion straws were warm and crunchy - very, very good! The burger was seasoned nicely. After leaving, I did realize the "bacon" component probably comes via the bbq sauce. I didn't even sample it, was assuming it was plain bbq sauce, which I'm not too fond of, so I'm definitely bummed I didn't. The accompanying fries were also tasty; love their truffle oil and the hints of garlic. Crispy on the outside, soft and flavorful. My food was great, but the ambience/atmosphere, didn't really peak my interest. The lady manager actually was surprised at the slim crowd for a beautiful Friday (null, haha!); they serve brunch Friday-Sunday, and she said they usually get a healthy Friday lunch crowd, so this was definitely not the norm. I wouldn't mind coming back with friends, if this place were suggested. I thought the quality:quantity:price ratios were great. I did not look at their regular menu however, fyi. I do miss the general downtown buzz that was always present before the pandemic; workers were always out and about during lunch hours, especially on nice-weather Fridays, and this Pearl Alley corridor seemed to always be happenin' (morning, day, and nights). Pure nostalgia, haha.

Came with my Father and Brother before a show at the Palace theater.Service was ok. Our server was professional, though very short. Doesn't bother me much, but should be noted.Wait time was on par with what I expected of a non franchise place. A little longer, which is fine.There was a bit of confusion on the 18% included gratuity on parties of 2+, as it wasn't itemized on the receipt. We left a tip after mathing out that it wasn't included, though there is fine print on the menu that it is.Menu doesn't mention that fries are included in the price of a burger.These are relatively minor issues, and would warrant 3 or 4 out of 5 stars.Now lets talk about the food.I got the Cowboy burger, my Father got the Classic, and my brother got the Alley Chopped salad which comes with fried chicken.My Father's burger was under seasoned and over cooked. He requested Medium Well, and was given a hockey puck that had less salt than a potato salad with rasins in it.My brother got the "Chopped" salad, which was just a normal salad with tyson microwave chicken fingers on it.I got the cowboy burger, which I order medium. It has less seasoning than khaki pants holding a tiki torch, and was far past well done. I could have bolted that burger to my Jeep and used it as a spare tire. As well, The jalapenos were burnt, the onions tasted of nothing but oil, and the "cowboy caviar" was a few kidney beans.Portion sizes were good, and the fries were spectacular. Had to ask for ketchup though.Over all, none of us will be back. Alley Burger sits in a competitive location, with other great burger places around it, that have far superior quality and better pricing.

My friend was craving a burger after we attended high spirits festival and wanted somewhere close. When she mentioned the name I wanted to give it a try remembering all the hype this place got when they opened. The decor was pretty cool. The hostess didn't know we walked in because they were jamming to the r&b music as they should. We were a group of 3 and wanted to make sure we could accommodate the tallest one of our group and bartender made it her place to convince us to sit at the bar so she could serve us while we were discussing our options. Her service was very mid. Seemed like she made up her own drinks off the menu and took forever to grab our waters even though there was maybe 2 or 3 other couples max. I did ask if the burgers came with fries since it wasn't listed on the menu and she said yes. I ordered the bbq bacon burger which is the same height of the pictures so I was very excited at first. The fries were truffle fries which was not explained and tasted over bearing to the point where we couldn't eat them. We did ask if it was truffle butter or fried in truffle oil to which the bartender had to ask about. She let us know it was truffle oil and they were making plain ones for us. The fried onions were very seasoned but super oily and my burger was medium not by preference.If I do come back I would get just the burger hold the tough bacon and mountain of fried onions.

The food was amazing!! I mean AMAZING! I got the burger and wanted to buy a second when I left just to have at home.

I don't like to write negative reviews, but this was really tough. We couldn't even finish our food. I had a big piece of paper in my hamburger. They didn't have most of the food listed on the menu. Service was bad. The booths barely had any vinyl left on them. We all tried hard to like it.

Wow !! Absolutely amazing food and service. The Double Alley burger was delicious and plentiful. Also the slushy drinks were boozy and tasty. Sit at the bar and enjoy talking with the wait staff and watch the game.

Party of 11 on a Saturday night. We made reservations but didn't need to as we were the only people there when arrived at 7:30pm. Drinks were 1/2 off till 8, some were good and some were watered down. We ordered food, some got there's and some didn't. We asked to talk to the manager and they were unable to locate him. The waitress told me to go find him when I asked how long it would take for the last four people to their meals. We ended up canceling our orders as they could not tell us and others in the party were don't eating. Here's where it's goes down hill. The waitress comes back the table and calls me a "Karen" and proceeds to instigate and ask if anyone except for the "her" needed anything. There was more but it was a terrible experience.

It has been a long day, and my friend and I were ready to just relax and unwind. Our server was great, and I loved that it was a quieter night. My friends burger looked incredible and the fries were perfectly crunchy. The buffalo chicken dip and the mac and cheese hit the spot for my indecisive self. I especially appreciated the longer time the mac and cheese took because the chef didn't like how it had come together so he remade it completely before I even saw the first attempt.All in all, it was delicious and somewhere I'd go again if I was local.

That was an unfortunate experience. I always love giving good reviews, but this was not a good experience at all. It was possibly the worst visit in a restaurant I've had in many years. The first problem was the wait time. Took over an hour to get the food when it wasn't really that busy, until 7:15 p.m., but we showed up at 6 pm. In the long run, I'll take a long wait time if the food is good and have a friendly staff. The second problem was that the order was wrong. My wife and I got their classic with no cheese, no pickle. After a long time of waiting, it came smothered in cheese and had pickle. In the long run, I had to jump in myself and say I guess we'll take it, since the guy with the hat on walked away after talking it over with our waiter when he had to tell him twice they ordered no cheese. The customer sitting next to us at the bar switched me since he had no cheese, which was nice of him, but the customer shouldn't make the houses mistake right. I guess he was in a hurry to get his food, too, and leave, and he waited the same amount of time as us for his food, but was there before we got there. He wanted cheese and no onion on his, but it had onion and no cheese. No money off or anything. Still full price. $55 for two burgers, fries, and two sodas. Other places that messes up usually will give at least a 5-10% discount if they're in the wrong, but they didn't even care. Pay full price for what you didn't ask for seems too high. The buff guy that worked there was very nice, but with him to be the best part of the place since he was friendly and apologetic, the rest of the visit was not fun. The burger was bone dry, well done, I'm not sure if you can get it cooked any way you want because I was never asked, but the fries were delicious.

Cool place. Very chill vibe. Food was great. Had the chicken jerk fries and they were amazing.