The Counter Palo Alto

Horrible service. They’ll intentionally seat white families before anybody else. They’ll even do it right in front of you. We (a party of 3, Asian) had been waiting for twenty minutes, and we put our name on the waiting list the minute we walked in. Ten minutes after, a white family (dad with three sons) walked in and put their name on the list.
The waiter confirmed that we were on the waiting list, and after we said yes and showed him where, he proceeded to seat the family of three right in front of us, at a table that had been open the entirety of our wait. When we demanded an explanation, he said he was «sorry» and there had just been a «mixup».
He bussed a table (another three minute wait) and then tried to seat us. We left.

Very charismatic host
Slow food. We’ve been waiting for 40 minutes for (mediocre) burgers, still no food as I type this review to distract myself from being hungry and irritable. With two little kids. Wish we had gone to in n out. Or anywhere else.

I came here to pick up an order of 2 items, simple salad and housemade vegan burgers. For those 2 items, I waited for 40 minutes. The staff in the front were talking the whole time and were not paying attention. If I hadn’t asked them if my order was ready, which was the second time asking, I would’ve waited longer. It delayed me from working.

Nice burgers, but expensive though. The service was very good.
And I wanted my steak medium rare, and it didn’t turn quite that way.

Been here a few times now and it’s always been a fun experience. I love the concept of customizing your own burger and experimenting with different toppings and sauces each time.
The ¹⁄₃ lb beef patty is usually pretty sufficient and the thin cut fries are decent too. If you don’t feel like getting a bun they do make burger bowls. Feel like you need a sugary treat and alcohol at the same? Try their alcoholic milkshakes.
This location has some nice outdoor seating as well.

I’ve had the best service here. And that isn’t an exaggeration. Kenny was hilarious and he made ordering easy for two indecisive people. The other workers were just as kind and quirky. Easily my one of my top go-​to spots now.

Hubby and I decided to have a burger date last night. We ordered our burgers and three burgers to go for the kids.
We ordered a side a fries to nibble on while we waited for our burgers but it never arrived. Our burgers came and still no fries. When inquired, the waiter said she forgot to put in the order. We finally got them when the burgers were half done :(
While our burgers were done right, the take outs were missing sauces.
Seems like business is good so the staff doesn’t care.

One of my fav new places. Not only was our server Shyrissa warm, knowledgeable and attentive to our needs (it was my first time and we had a busy 3 year old with us) but Deen, the manager, was the most gracious host. I moved to California two days ago and this place definitely makes me feel like home.

We have been long time customers of The Counter. Yet it has been continuously declining in service and quality of food. Tonight was the last time we will eat at the Counter. 2 burgers were cooked wrong and took 2 additional attempts to get right. They were then lost and never delivered. Kitchen is a disorganized mess and has a really hard time cooking what is supposed to be their speciality. It’s sad that this place is so badly managed.
Update: Owner reached out to me immediately and seems genuinely interested in feedback to make this place better. Sure hope it does improve!

I love the food here. Fresh ingredients, innovative menu, great burgers, fries, and salads. But service. Is. Horrible. Took forever for food to arrive. They served my youngest child last– everyone else had finished their food. I think they forgot his order. They forgot my other kids’ fries. They forgot my son’s drink. They put my beer down in front of my teenager. They are pretty consistent on the bad service. It was bad the last two times we were here.
So keep your expectations low, the food is really great –and you should be good.

Service is kind but needs a lot of work. Kitchen is asleep.
Missing items that we ordered still took ages to arrive despite two reminders. The missing items were fries. Doesn’t take a chef. In fact they ended up canceling our fries thinking our reminders meant they shouldn’t make it. Meanwhile the people around us were receiving their sides even after arriving 15 – 20 minutes after we ordered.
Crab cakes were soggy and fishy, and we had to send them back for something else.
Again, the wait staff was super polite and kind, but that doesn’t resolve the fact that our overall dining experience was just frustrating. The lunch we had interrupted our really nice, relaxing Saturday.

Two stars only for the food. The food is super good, I really enjoyed my burger with the soft ripened Brie. However, the service here is HORRIBLE. If I didn’t like the food it would have for sure gotten 0 stars if that was possible. The manager is EXTREMELY rude. My friend wanted to order something without tomatoes and he said «well you can’t have that then.» Like what?
The milkshakes are a watery consistency so if you like thicker milkshakes or even regular consistency milkshakes don’t order it.
Maybe this counter just has horrible service but I will never come back.

Chill burger chain that’s been poppin up everywhere. I coordinated with them to set up a happy hour for intl. women’s day and they were super responsive and great — highly recommend if you’re trying to plan a fundraiser, etc.
Unfortunately this location doesn’t have happy hour. lame since they have a great beer and cocktail list. I ordered some tequila jalapeño drink and it was way too sour for me. Too much sour mix. Recommend that you guys ask for the drinks without mixes especially since they’re in the $ 10 range I’d expect they don’t cheap out and not use fresh ingredients.
I ordered 2 burgers and a sandwhich for my family and tried them all. The veggie burgers were def large and hearty but I like them «well done» lol. For some reason I thought something was missing in all the burgers. Great ingredients, good patty… idkkk something just didn’t feel SCRUMPTIOUS to me. I think it’s because of the patty not being cooked enough and same with the bread maybe. Fries were sooooo good.
I would totally come here again for food though. The burgers are less than $ 10 and totally worth it for how full you’ll be.

This review is a bit overdue, but I wanted to take some time and sing The Counter’s praises! I don’t work too far from this location, and always enjoy coming here. The restaurant is always clean and sparkling, and the staff is always pleasant. I truly feel welcome whenever I come here.
As for the food, I have no complaints, whatsoever. The food is always fresh and tasty. I’m a huge fan of the bison burger, with brie. Perfect every time! Also, the shoestring fries with cheese are always cooked to crispy perfection. I still have yet to try the adult milkshakes, but I’m dying to give one of those ago.
With all that said, I’m a huge fan of this location, and will be coming back again and again!

This is one of my favorite places to get a burger! I was in town shopping at the Stanford Mall with my parents and I wanted to show them something new! They rarely eat out and I wanted them to be a little more adventurous but still in their «safe zone».
This burger joint is different than most because you are able to customize your burger in any way you want! You can be super adventurous with your burger or just have a classic American burger. All up to you! My dad was a little overwhelmed with a «customizable» burger so I created his burger. My mom was too excited and had almost every topping on her burger. As for me, I had the hardest time trying to see which combination of a burger would have the best outcome for my taste buds.
We started off with the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ onion strings and the sweet potato fries, which are awesome btw. However, this location does give less than the one at Santana Row. Which is ok I guess since I’m on a diet but not really because fries are life. The burgers took a while to come out, but once they hit the table. It’s chow down time! The brioche buns are absolutely amazing !!! I forgot how delicious they were. My burger was super big and delicious. I couldn’t even finish my burger and happily took it home for dinner. My parents were so surprised at how juicy the burgers were and they were supremely satisfied. TY The Counter for good burgers and happy stomachs.

Always a classic burger place. The Counter is dependable and always satisfying.
I enjoy making my own burger here since there are endless options for add ons and sides. I often get pickled carrots on the side and salsa on the side. As for sauces, the smokey chipotle aioli is number one– I highly recommend it! I also love to pile on all the various grilled onions and confit.
My boyfriend enjoys making his own milkshake here. The large is plenty for two. He enjoys combining vanilla with brownie bits and peanut topping. Tastes like Reese’s in a glass!
Counter had quite a variety of options in both drinks and burgers– just take your pick!

Great idea as you get to make a burger just the way you want. Any topping, and bun, any cheese. It does get to be very thick so plan on using your knife.

We got a burger and salad bowl. The taste was good, prices are a bit steep. I understand that’s largely due to it having table service and a bar — which I did not know before coming — but I fail to see the value in it. My chicken burger bowl would have been fantastic at $ 7 – 8 sans service (a la Chipotle/​Pizza Studio), but $ 11 is a lot. There are too many options (including right next door) which deliver quality food at under $ 10.
Flavor is good, value is lacking. Would not return… unless I felt like taking shots of tequila while eating a cheeseburger.

Pretty excited to try this place after having a talk about «good burgers» in NorCal. A few people mentioned «The Counter» when I asked about a good burger place. So, my husband and I were pretty excited to be off and have lunch here. Busy place. We were greeted by a friendly server, ordered caramel coffee malt, half/​half fries, The ContraIndication, and a «Custom Burger». Pretty disappointed w/​my overall meal. Walked out wishing I went somewhere else to enjoy a lunch date.
Caramel Coffee Malt: SUPER SWEET. Did not have a coffee taste at all. Literally tasted like straight up syrup. Not even milky or malty taste. Lucky for us, serve came and offered to switch it to something else. Too bad the serve didn’t ask if we wanted a regular or large size, but automatically gave us the large one. We re-​ordered a regular vanilla shake since we were scared for a repeat of sugar overload. Much better. Creamier and not as sweet.
The Contraindication: Description sounded super good. Veggie patty, bacon, cheese, fried egg, and spinach. The patty was mushy, not sure how well it was cooked which made the overall burger bad. It was 95% rice with some beans. I would say I had a similar but much better patty at the hospital cafeteria. I ate less than half, then proceeded to eat my husband’s burger.
Custom Burger: ¹⁄₃^rd pound, avocado, cheese, bacon, greens, and tomato. We asked for it to be cooked medium. When the burger came out, first thing I noticed as the button of the avocado was left on it, which threw me off slightly. I just cut it off w/​my knife. Meat was more medium well, not even pink. It was dry, hard to eat, and overall not a tasty burger.
Half/​Half Fries: not too bad. But nothing special. Luckily they were hot and crispy. The ketchup made the fries much tastier. Usually, if fries are good to me, they don’t need any dipping sauce to make it taste good.
Overall, not satisfied. Pricey for not go great food. Disappointed at the recommendation. Will attempt to find another burger joint.

If you have a fatty friend and want to be healthy, they have a salad option. You have to pay a dollar more for greens when the buns are free… that doesn’t make sense. I got my chicken with bunches of toppings and I admit it is pretty good but I paid 12 – 13 for a tiny salad when plutos would give me a heartier one for half the price. Bloop.

The Counter ist eine gehobene Burger-​Restaurantkette die ja in einigen grossen Städten der Welt zu finden ist. Dennoch kann der Unterschied gewaltig sein. Der Counter in Palo Alto hat so ziemlich den besten Burger zubereitet den ich je in meinem Leben gegessen habe, schon mehrfach in konstanter Qualität, der Service war 1a. Ganz zu hause im Land des Burgers kann man zwischen zahlreichen Fleischsorten, darunter mehreren Rindsorten wählen in vorgefertigter Kombi oder ganz Individuell mit mehr als einem Dutzend Soucen und Topings. Das Fleich kommt auf den Punkt gebraten und ist von allerbester Qualität. Aber Achtung, unbedingt reservieren sonst muss man gut und gern ½ h Wartezeit einplanen bevor man einen Tisch bekommt; die regelmāßig entstehende Schlange vorm Restaurant (man bekommt zum Warten aber ggf. schon einen Drink serviert) spricht wohl mehr als für sich.

Delicious, organic, hormone free. Who doesn’t want to build-​your-​own burger? I usually go for chicken, but I always make the mistake of getting a salad rather than a bun ($ 1 extra, but it’s not very clear on the menu). The chicken is very tender, and ¹⁄₃ lbs is enough to keep me full. The beef is delicious, and I often regret choosing chicken over beef when my friends’ orders come out.
I’ve always gone in a big group, and there’s a wait both for a table and for food. At one point, my friends vowed that they would never eat-​in at The Counter again because it’s much faster to do take-out…somehow we never remember that until we sit down.

Beef cooked perfectly: medium. Cheese melted, not too many sprouts, chipotle aioli sauce to make your mouth water, and avocado to keep it fresh on a tasty brioche bun. This burger was delicious. Was it because I created it myself? Maybe. But it wouldn’t be as good if they didn’t cook it as well as they did.
The shoestring fries were great, with just the right amount of salt, in a perfect serving size.
I didn’t have room to try a milkshake, but after looking at their milkshake options, I don’t know which one I would try if I did have room! They have almost every flavor you could imagine in a milkshake, and I overheard other customers remarking on how delicious they are. I definitely want to return whenever my boyfriend is free to have lunch with me on week days :)

Fancy Fuddruckers!
Growing up some of us all had the same burger options — fast food, local burger place, and Fuddruckers! I even had a birthday party at Fuddruckers one year — you got the hat with the cookie ticket, they had the best burger and dog buns (we would even get them for barbecues), and of course the food itself. There was something cool about going in, choosing your size, your cheese, and then hitting that toppings bar.
The Counter keeps that spirit alive, but as I said, makes it fancier. You get wait service instead of ordering at a counter (though you can still get that if you order to go). They also have a huge menu with salads, grilled cheeses, sandwiches, selected burgers, and then the real reason you come here: the make your own burger checklist.
You get a huge list where you choose the patty (beef, bison, tuna, chicken, and more), you choose the cheese (american, swiss, provolone, gouda, and more), you choose the sauce (peanut, ranch, chipotle, and more), veggies and toppings.
I went pretty basic for my first time: ¹⁄₃ bison, smoked gouda, smokey chipotle, grilled onions, spring mix, and bacon. Solid burger, though the «grilled» onions were disappointing. I was expecting caramelized onions, not «on the grill for a second» onions. And I know this burger was pretty basic, but it included all my favorite things.
Next time, going to try something with peanut butter, bacon, and there is another Thai seasoning. Or I might just go crazy and really get the piled high and can’t taste anything burger.
Really liked this place, but the price can slowly catch up on you, so definitely not a frequent thing.

Si vous êtes aussi aux US pour une expérience culinaire (si si, c’est possible!), voilà un bon endroit pour déguster un burger typiquement américain. L’ambiance est décontractée, le service attentif et on peut y voir des matchs de baseball ou de football américain grâce à deux écrans.
Il est possible de composer son burger de toutes pièces à l’aide d’une liste avec des ingrédients à cocher ou d’en choisir un de la carte. On peut commander les burger selon le poids de la viande: ¼ pounder ou half-​pounder. J’ai choisi le «Counter Burger» et je n’ai pas été déçue: la viande tout comme les autres ingrédients sont de très bonne qualité et c’est fabuleux pour les papilles. Sans aucun doute mon meilleur burger aux US jusqu’à présent. Pour les plus aventureux: le burger à la viande de bison. Mon copain l’a choisi et il a adoré. Les milk shakes sont bons aussi. Prix des burger entre $ 13 et $ 19 suivant la taille et la composition.

Ich liebe den Counter.
Innerhalb von vier Wochen Aufenthalt in PA war ich fünf mal dort so geniale Burger hatte ich zuvor noch nie gegessen.
Anhand eines Ankreuzzettels kann man sich den Burger selbst zusammenstellen, mit einer RIESIGEN Auswahl an Belag aber sogar das Brötchen kann man aus vielen Sorten auswählen oder auch den Käse. Und natürlich auch Art und Menge des Fleisches.
Ganz große Klasse auf jeden Fall nicht umsonst ist es hier Abends oft ziemlich voll.
Auch das Personal ist super freundlich. Würde ich in PA wohnen, würde das mein Stammlokal auch wenns hier nur Burger gibt (und so ganz stimmt das ja auch nicht, bedenkt man allein die verschiedenen Sorten an Pommes).
I love the Counter! Thank you for this great time!

Un bon endroit pour avoir du burger «haut de gamme» et vraiment à la carte, on peut y commander n’importe quelle combinaison de pain, taille du steack, sauce, et autres composants.
Les prix sont très correct et le service rapide, les frites y sont bonnes aussi.