TrueBurger
★★★★☆ 3.7 (364) • $$
"I devoured my Bacon Cheesy TrueBurger if that tells you anything. The burgers, fries, onion rings, and milkshakes that we had here were excellent and the service we received was great. If you're craving a burger in Temescal / North Oakland, I recommend this place.We visited on a Saturday around 11:15am. The restaurant wasn't busy at the time of our visit, which worked out for us because we had kids in tow and could spread out and relax a little. There's a decent amount of seating inside. No outdoor seating that I saw. The setup and atmosphere is that of a fast food restaurant, like In-N-Out, but TrueBurger is local to Oakland. The kitchen is open so you can see them make everything.There are only two TrueBurger locations at the time of writing this review: (1) The original location which opened on Grand Ave in Downtown Oakland in January 2010. https://www.yelp.com/biz/trueburger-oakland (2). This second location which opened in Temescal, Oakland in January 2015. This location is significantly bigger than the first location downtown.My niece is a fan of this place and asked us multiple times, "Can we go to TrueBurger?" She got her wish. Her 10-year-old taste buds agree with mine. Everything was delicious (except for maybe the vegetarian Mushroom Burger, but that's not something I'd normally order; my sister got it).The menu here is simple. TrueBurger serves 5-ounce beef burgers, cooked medium, with garlic mayo, lettuce, and tomato by default. Cheese, bacon, onions, pickles, and a portobello mushroom patty are options (onions and pickles at no extra cost). TrueBurger's Mushroom Burger reminded me of Shake Shack's 'Shroom Burger. Both mushroom burgers are made with portobello mushrooms and stuffed with cheese.During our visit, the burgers ranged in price from $8.00 for a plain burger without cheese to $11.00 for either a Double-Up (double beef and double cheese) or a True Deluxe (burger with cheese + a mushroom burger patty on top; again, similar to a Shake Shack item -- the Shack Stack, which I've had on multiple occasions). TrueBurger also serves hot dogs, the aforementioned fries and shakes, onion rings, ice cream, root beer floats, strawberry lemonade, fountain drinks (standard self-serve machine), and bottled and canned beer.I had a Bacon Cheesy TrueBurger ($10.50) with garlic mayo, lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles. It was fantastic. It tasted fresh, and it was filling and satisfying. TrueBurger serves their burgers in paper wrappers like In-N-Out, Shake Shack, etc. Their burgers are ground daily. The ingredients were good quality, including the bacon which was scrumptious.We got a couple orders of fries for the table, both regular French Fries ($3.75) and Garlic Fries ($4.25), plus Onion Rings ($6.00). The onion rings came with a side of ranch. We also asked for a side of garlic mayo ($0.95), the same garlic mayo they put on the burgers, to dip our fries and onion rings into. Along with ranch and garlic mayo, TrueBurger also offers chipotle and barbecue sauces.The fries were the slimmer, smooth-cut, crispy variety, kind of like the fries served at McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. However, these were better. I saw the staff cutting potatoes by hand. I highly recommend the Garlic Fries. They were incredibly tasty and addictive. The Onion Rings were terrific too. What I liked about them was they weren't too greasy, but were still nice and big with wonderfully appetizing texture.We got Chocolate Milkshakes for dessert and they were outstanding. They really hit the spot. They were thick, smooth, creamy, and gratifying. We watched as one of the employees handspun the shakes. If you've made it this far into my review, then you've probably realized by this point that there is an extra level of personal attention to the food here. I think that helps set TrueBurger apart from the competition. It's a difference in quality that you can taste.Even my Dr. Pepper from the soda fountain tasted good (and you know those machines/drinks aren't all created/prepared equally).The staff was polite, efficient, and well-trained.No wonder why my niece likes this place so much."
"Oh? I haven't reviewed this place yet?Yo, this place is fucking incredible. If you're in the east bay and are craving some good food? You GOT to head here. Why? it's a local chain, the food is bomb as **** and good lord do they give you great portions! Talk about incredible service!I gotta say though that when it's raining, the patio does tend to leak which is a bit annoying, but it's not going to deter me from eating here when I'm in the east bay"
"I like the atmosphere. However, we must have visited on an off day because our entire party left food on the table. We were one of four tables, so it wasn't busy. Onion rings were greasy. Sandwich was poorly made. Steak was grisly. Pizza arrived at the table with the cheese sliding off one edge. Mushroom burger had few mushrooms. Fries were unevenly salted- one side extra salty, other side unsalted.The curds were great and the only item completely eaten. But the portion seemed less than a full portion when compared with pictures from other yelpers."
