Humdinger Drive-In

A gem from another era. This is the quintessential «mom and pop» burger stand. You will not find brioche buns, tarragon aoili, or free range buffalo burgers here. This is a good thing. I like to splurge on a gourmet burger as much as the next guy, but there’s some times where all i want is a bunch of bacon covering a fresh patty… and the Humdinger delivers this and more on a jumbo Franz sesame bun. The milkshakes are delicious, and the décor is charming in an endearingly kitschy way. If you find yourself heading down Barbur and you crave a burger… stop on in. My only major criticism is the lack of any beer on tap, but I understand that this is not a concern shared by everyone.

Just do it. You drive by everyday and and always remark «I should go there!» And you should because it’s places like this that make portland what it is! Home made. Home grown. Home spun. Whatever. Delicious.

This place has been here for ever. If you like it big and greasy this is the place. The tots and crinkle cut fries are both good. The burgers are hefty but a bit greasy. I have a hard time leaving this place without a milkshake. Prices have crept up and I have heard that this places may be disappearing which makes me sad as this is a Portland place. Definitely gets a sentimental star from me.

Milkshake was great. Burger made me poop six times, opposed to my usual three-​shit day. The owners greasy hair is charming; I wonder if he grease the grill with his mop pre-​shift??? The universe may never know

Completely agree with a lot of the reviews about the angry old owner and long wait time. He’s flat out rude and condescending. There is zero customer service here. Had to convince and coax him into giving me the drink I paid for before my food because I was dying of thirst… Not a shake, just a simple drink he could have poured in seconds. Why should I have to plead my case as to why I would like it now? The side of potato salad made my stomach hurt. Between the bad attitude, mediocre overpriced food and the long wait, this place is not worth visiting. Plenty of great burgers in town, I’m definitely never coming back here. Why run a business or work at one that you hate and just run it into the ground? The whole place just left me feeling dirty and like someone random reprimanded me for absolutely no reason. If this is the way he treats his customers and business, how much care is he putting into making sure the back of the house is clean and up to code, etc?

We saw this place featured on the news and thought the burgers looked fantastic so we had to give them a try– we were very disappointed. Not only did they open 10 mins late with alot of people waiting outside it took forever to place our order– it was so slow. I ordered my Hunger Halter with swiss cheese since I’m intolerant to american and was told it would take longer since it’s a bigger burger. This I understood but it took 30 mins for us to get our food and when we did my burger HAD american cheese with swiss slices thrown on the side. I went ahead and tasted the burger and it wasn’t even that good– it was bland and soggy. I won’t be back. The price alone ($ 10 for just a burger) was a major turn-​off.

Long Wait + expensive burger + angry owner = 2 stars.
Oh and don’t order the onion rings if they are busy. He will tell you loudly NO we are to busy to make those ⁉

You definitely don’t come here for the service or environment. So, how’s the food? I think it’s a solid «not bad». There are definitely better burger joints around, but they make a decent burger. The bacon I had on my deluxe the last time, though, was way overcooked. (When *I* am pulling BACON off of a burger because it’s better without it… then something has gone wrong.)
I want to go back and try their Pizza Burger sometime, but I expect you need to be REALLY hungry.

After hearing my wife hype this place up from a radio show she heard about Humdinger on, so we decided to come here for lunch. First off they opened up late (about 13 minutes). The older ‘gentleman’ proceeded to let us know that he was the only one there and that we would have to wait. No problem, we had some time so we got a booth and waited for him to get all situated. We had a front row seat to watching him grimace and get curt with everyone who stepped up to order or wait. Someone eventually arrived to help him out. My burger was dry and a little burnt/​charred on one side. This was the first time that I have ever had to apply ketchup between bites of a burger to make it moist. The veggies and the bun were good. The bacon tasted like it was bulk deep fried and that the oil was not up to temperature. Kinda oily and rancid fryer tasting bacon. French fries were good and fried perfectly. Tip: Do not look up at the sheer window coverings above the booths, unless you want to play the ‘ID the bugs game’… naaaasty. Obviously this was not their best performance moment, and the short staff problem likely contributed to most of the issues. Out of all the burger joint choices in the area, I will likely pass on Humdinger in the future.

A true Portland institution. Great price for some amazing food. The milkshakes are especially delicious.

Go with the hunger halter and tots. You won’t regret it
Milkshakes are also life changing

Never again. Took 40 min for our name to be called. Get to the counter, and only half of our order is done. Food is cold and flavorless. Another 20 mins go bye we get almost the whole thing. Finally 7 to 8 mins later we get the rest. It could be a good place but they just don’t have the help to do it.

What a unique fun place to dine. The old man behind the counter is extremely grumpy, but he’s probably been at it for a long time so I didn’t look too far into that. After trying their double bacon burger, nothing else mattered! Hands down the biggest, baddest, greasy burger that my son and I have ever had the pleasure of eating. Thick strips of real bacon and real thick slices of cheese. Highly recommend!!!

Used to live in the area 15 years ago and frequented this place often for the burgers and fries. So while visiting Portland I made the trip to go back to this joint. Sadly it has gone down hill. The décor is still the same. The owners a husband and wife were holding down the shift, barely, between their bickering, the fryer not working so we got screwed out of fries and the employee who seemed to have taken advantage of the owners and took a longer break than he should have. Ordered 2 burgers, overall time at establishment from ordering to getting order was 50 minutes, they were slightly busy but team work could help move orders along faster. Burgers were ok, I would say quality has gone down over the years. Sadly I don’t see this place sticking around long, maybe someone will come around and buy them out and keep concept.

First and only time I visited this place. Overpriced for frozen products. Way too dirty and deteriorating; greasy and gross looking duct taped booths. With the poor quality of food, crumbling infrastructure, and high pricing, where is all the money going?

I had 17 minutes to spare, since I was waiting for the bus. I ordered a small smoothie, which was $ 6.50, and wasn’t even able to drink it because the bus arrived before they finished my drink. Seriously.

Decent food, but WHAT is up with the pricing? I feel like my bank account has just been taken advantage of. I feel sad and angry all at the same time, mostly angry. I walked in knowing I wanted a simple hamburger and fries… I saw SO many signs for a root beer float priced at $ 1.95, that I just had to have one. So I get to ordering… Deluxe hamburger on the menu says $ 3.95 *order a side of fries for only $ 2 extra* Okay perfect. Add on the root beer float… Wtf, $ 14 is my total? I’m sorry but that doesn’t quite add up. Oh, the float is only priced for happy hour all over the place… No actual price for this thing anywhere. My boyfriend was also presumably overcharged as he paid $ 18 for a burger, fries, and a milkshake. Totally disappointed and will not return. Change your menu if your prices don’t match!

Spendy burgers! Tiny premises! Smelly kitchen! Grease-​stain-​shirted none-​too-​friendly big dude behind the counter! Cranky old man looking suspiciously at me from the kitchen!
Why, I must be at Humdinger’s!
Really wanted to like this joint. The locale does have its charm and during summer, sitting outside is nice. Tried it many times, never really did it for me. And the combination of all of the above just got old.
Next!

Just a weird ass little hole in the wall is all I can say. You walk in and feel like you’re in some sort of a time zone to the 70s, as every inch of the walls are covered with faded yellowed photographs modge-​podged onto small wooden block frames, and the framing of the entire restaurant is a bright school bus yellow color! The food is great and they serve all the diner classics and have dozens of hamburgers and sandwiches to choose from. The place is ran by a couple that are easily in their mid-​late 70s and walk around the joint like they’re in pain. But they’re generally sweet and get the food out in not horrible time. Food was amazing, but prices were crazy expensive… We got a burger, philly, and onion rings and spent nearly $ 30! We wanted shakes, but at $ 5 for a small, passed. It was ok though, bc the meal was so big we couldn’t even finish what we ordered!

Ever since my minor heart attack in May, I’ve tried to eat better in general, and avoid red meat in particular. Yet sometimes the «tractor beam» of convenience is just too strong. In my recent situation, my Son was off to a Halloween party, and all I wanted to do was have some decent food in the hotel room to go with a previously purchased cold beer.
Humdinger, with it’s yellow diner vibe is certainly a throwback, and of exactly the type that draws me in. The old guy waiting on me (and I’m 58) reminded me of «Uncle Joe, moving kind of slow at the Junction», but I had time and the inclination to soak it all in. I ordered a cheeseburger and tater tots (a Midwest delicacy) «to go», which came out reasonably fast and hot. Both were delicious, although I purposely only nibbled at my tots because of my self-​imposed dietary restrictions. Limited indoor seating is available, which is best occupied with long time friends.