Rave Burger

Well I like this place a lot, here is why.
It’s clean. You can tell they put a lot of effort into keeping the place nice and tidy. It smells good and the dining room is not ignored.
The menu has some classics as well as some home town creations. I would have to say as someone who checks out the menu before showing up I still had a hard time picking something out.
Services was a little off. My order did not come as ordered, and once the food hit the table I had a few options. Track down the service staff, take the food to the back my self, wait for the food to get cold or just dig in. By the time anyone came back onto the floor my burger was a thing of the past. It was still pretty good none the less. Even though no one bothered to ask.
Might come back, might not.

The burgers here are good. The beer selection is also good. I would give it 5 stars but 4 of the last 5 times I’ve been in here they’ve overcooked my burger. I order medium rare and I get well done. Not even pink in the middle.

For the longest time, Rave Burger has piqued my curiosity. After randomly coming across photos of their burgers on Unilocal,I almost immediately bookmarked them to try. However, despite said photos, as well as their generally glowing review, I had hardly heard a thing about them from friends, as well as from fellow Unilocalers. Definitely kind of odd, but I have to admit… it only served to fuel my curiosity! Well, that and the potential for a tasty burger.
While I didn’t have any real expectations before walking in, I have to admit it was kind of surprising how nice Rave Burger is. Not that I expected a «greasy spoon”-type of spot, but based on the décor alone, the place looks more like a wine bar (or a former one). The restaurant itself isn’t very large, so I can see seating getting tight when it’s busy, but it wasn’t a problem for the five of us to walk in and grab a table on a Wednesday night.
The menu, much like the restaurant, isn’t very large either, but there’s still plenty to choose from. Of the several burgers that caught my eye, I opted for the 2AM BREAKFAST BURGER ($ 12.50). Not only because it sounded delicious, but because it had nearly everything I would have wanted anyways — Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Crispy Onion Strings, and a Fried Egg (just no avocado). Regular fries are included with each burger, but I heeded my friend’s suggestion and made a last minute upgrade to the Spicy Curly Fries (+$ 3.00).
All in all, the burger was pretty damn good. The bun had the perfect consistency (lightly toasted out the outside, soft on the inside), the bacon was crisp and meaty, and the yolk was still runny. Most importantly though, the patty was terrific — juicy, nicely charred, and really well seasoned. What’s more, unlike so many other burger joints I’ve been to lately, the patty was actually cooked exactly as how I requested (medium)!
As much as I loved my burger, and despite how great the service was, I still can’t give them five stars. It actually pains me to say that, but really, the upcharge on the fries killed it. My friend was right in that they’re better than the regular fries, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the extra $ 3.00. At least, not when $ 4.50 more could have gotten a whole side order for our entire table. Still, that was one tasty burger…
FOUR AND A HALF STARS rounded down.

Not great quality and in a part of town where you have to pay for parking.

Awesome Bison Burger with Blue Cheese on a 9 grain bun!!! Loved the taste, cooked to perfection, great wait staff, friendly and excellent Pinot Noir wine! I was very impressed all around! I will totally be back here soon! :)

Got the crab cakes. Expected nice ones for the price but they were the pre-​breaded pre-​fried store-​bought ones that anyone can get a safeway and fry up themselves. Not worth it.

By far the best burgers on this side of town! The flavors are wonderful and no matter what you have, it will be juicy and tasty.

We have visited this place over a dozen times in the last year, and have had an excellent experience on each occasion.
— food is delicious, flavorful, and incredibly consistent in quality.
— Service is fast, pleasant, and very friendly. The owner makes it a point to greet every table and take care of his guests
— Ambiance is very cozy
Best dishess:
— Chicken wings (buffalo style)
— Jalapeño salsa sliders
— «Rave burger»
This place is a gem, period!

Pros
2am breakfast burger: the meat was seasoned and grilled perfectly. Any burger that comes with bacon and a fried egg is better.
Service: service was quick and friendly.
Interior: it’s a place where you can enjoy a conversation with your party since seating was comfortable without it being too dark.
Cons
Garlic Fries: the garlic fries were weak, I wish they could toss the fries in more garlic.

First time visit. Met a friend for lunch; got there early so street parking was easy. Burgers are the claim to fame, so had to try them. They have big burgers, of course, but also a nice selection of sliders, so we each ordered two sliders and shared a half order of fries and a half order of beer battered onion rings. The half orders weren’t shown on the menu, but the server offered the option, and the portions were perfect. My sliders were delicious — one mushroom and swiss and one with avocado — meat perfectly cooked (no pink, still juicy), toppings generous, and buns toasted perfectly. My friend’s fries were very good, but I was in onion ring heaven. Crispy, sweet, and delicious, big golden rings… best I’ve had in a very long time.
Service was helpful and prompt, but not intrusive. Appreciated the half order suggestion. Ambiance was pleasant and not too noisy (yay!). Don’t often eat on this side of the bay, but I will definitely return any chance I get!

Although the meat is of good quality, it was cooked poorly. I asked for a medium and it came out rare (see photo). Too pricey and waste of good quality meat if it is cooked poorly. Will not come back.

Never waited for a burger for this long in my life. I think it was about a 30 minute wait for our food. It’s a small restaurant and there was only 1 waitress. I’m a patient person but I can’t handle it if someone who orders after me and gets their food before me. The waitress also forgot our water. :(
What is the hype about this burger place. Its OK… We ordered the 2am breakfast burger and it just fell apart in my hands. I ended up having to eat it with a fork and knife. Booooo. The meat was tasty and juicy tho so I’ve them 1 star for that.

We came here by accident and it was great. The service was awesome and I liked how they used ipads. The food comes out pretty quick and my burger and fries were perfect. I’d definitely come back.

Rave Burger is close to my work. I was craving a burger during lunch, but I did’t want anything heavy because I had to go back to work. I went in alone and sat at the bar. It was not too busy. There was 1 large group and a few other tables.
I saw sliders on the menu so I thought that would be a perfect small meal. I got 2 guacamole sliders and a half order of sriracha curly fries. The sliders were delicious! The fries were yummy as well. It was the perfect amount of food for lunch.
The service was not super friendly but it wasn’t bad either. My food came out quickly and I got the check quickly as well. This was all great because I had to go back to work.
I went back a couple weeks later with a co-​worker and we shared sliders and fries. Again, very quick service and good good.
This is my go-​to burger spot on week days.

I don’t often eat in San Mateo, but I found myself right around the corner from Rave Burger and decided to give it a try.
Figuring that they were called Rave burger for a reason, I got the… Rave burger, their signature. It’s a burger that’s dressed to the 9’s… and then set on fire. I love spicy food, but I was still pretty surprised and how much punch it had. I was sniffling through the entire meal, but it was really delicious. It was cooked exactly as I asked, and presented cleanly… though I promptly made a mess of eating it. It was a BIG burger and I actually took half of it home.
Overall, I was really happy with my experience here. I tried them at a slow time (right at 11 when they opened), so I’m unsure if things change when the place is slammed, but I’d definitely be willing to come back again and find out.

Omg! If you like the Counter go here!
1. It tastes way better!
2. Cheaper and portions are reasonable
3.Ambience: Loved it! Totally expected it to look different than I had imagined.
Went here during Lunch Time and bought the Mushroom Burger & Oreo Milkshake. Pretty awesome meal & I left this place stuffed!
Next time I’ll try their Sliders!

I came here on a Wednesday evening for dinner with my friend. A near empty restaurant should have been caution enough.
I arrived at the restaurant first and while waiting for my friend, I kept trying to get the attention of single waiter that seemed to be working that night. He was extremely distracted chatting it up with the man eating at the bar. When my friend came, the waiting game continued. Finally, he came over to take our order.
I ordered the Rave burger with a side curly fries. The side of fries was definitely on the smaller side and the burger was good– but that’s it. The food wasn’t nearly as good as it could have been to justify the terrible service or the price.
If my friends insisted on coming here, I wouldn’t be appalled. But I wouldn’t be excited for it either.

Decent burger. I ordered the Rave Burger and I cannot say that I was «raving» about it later. It was a pretty good tasting burger with the cheese, toppings and sauce. But there is a lot of local burger competition and not sure I will be coming back really soon.
Nice décor inside and the waitstaff were attentive.

I’ve been here twice now and both have been due to work lunches, since I work down the street. The first time around i had the Rave burger and although it was big, the bottom bun had pretty much disintegrated due to the ¹⁄₃ pound burger. The meat was missing seasoning and the burger was pretty average.
This time i had the mushroom burger and it had a thick slice of iceberg lettuce between the patty and bottom bun. The meat was still under-​seasoned and it was again pretty average.
Overall the ambience is great and bit on the modern side. It’s not a bad place but i wish the food was better.

Met my boyfriend here for lunch and now I wish I knew about this place earlier!
Their burgers are cooked perfectly. I only had a mushroom swiss slider since I was not that hungry and it was delicious! Even the buns are cooked perfectly. I will definitely be back.

I had the Rave Burger a couple of weeks ago and it was FANTASTIC! The patty tasted good and was neither too dry or too juicy. The lettuce and bacon were crisp, and the stringy onion rings were great! The Rave Burger is huge and you can choose the fries that comes with it. The spicy curly fries were crispy and well-​seasoned but I didn’t find it spicy. If you love garlic, the garlic fries would be up your alley… just be careful who you talk to afterwards. :) It will be hard getting burgers anywhere else now since I like Rave Burger so much! Service was quick.
5 stars is definitely just for the food. The restaurant looks clean and modern, but avoid the bathroom here if you can. It wasn’t clean and the smell almost ruined my appetite.

Came here for lunch today on a Sunday around 12ish PM… modern burger joint! We peaked at the menu before entering and knew we would find something we liked. They offer slider options and you can order solo, two, three, or dozen. Yess. I repeat 12. I guess to share! I think it’s a great way for you to mix and match and get something of each if you can’t decide. I ordered three and ended up only eating 1.5…they’re regular sized sliders but I also ordered an order of garlic fries to share with my friend. It was $ 8 a plate but such a big amount we got full off of that already.
Recommend the pulled pork slider, comes with coleslaw inside as well. The mushroom slider was just okay for me. not but but didn’t stand out. Service was attentive and friendly. glad I stumbled upon this place

I love how clean, modern and inviting this burger joint is! Their sliders are cute. You know how you can’t decide which burger you want because you want to try them all? Well, you sorta can here because they have a good selection of sliders where you can mix and match!
Started off with a Caesar Salad to share. Pretty standard with crisp romaine hearts, seasoned croutons, and grated parmesan cheese. Large portion and enough to share with 2 – 3 people as a starter.
I ordered two sliders which is enough! I got the Avocado Salsa Slider with a small grilled beef patty and avocado salsa, topped with lime aioli. I couldn’t really taste the lime aioli but the avocado salsa was tasty.
The mushroom slider with swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms is my favorite. Juicy mushrooms and melty cheese, can’t go wrong with that!
The service was amazing! Our server did not try to upsell us and let us know that the meals we ordered is enough, explained the sizes and portioning and worked on a deal for our mix and match so we didn’t have to overpay. Will definitely come back!

I craved burgers in a major way on Halloween night. We arrived here and got seated with almost no wait. I ordered the Rave Burger with garlic cheese fries. yum! The Rave burger comes with bacon, fried onion rings, jalepeno, etc. It was delicious and came out quickly.
This place has a modern upscale décor and is definitely pricier than the average burger joint. However, their burger was solid. They also have slider options that you can mix and match if you aren’t as hungry but want to sample their burgers.