Kirk’s Steakburgers

Old school burger places are biting the dust left and right, Now I generally like the Kirk’s brand and have been pretty happy with their burger-​bacon-​cheese combos with the massive fries. This locale however sports some really interesting patrons and things move a bit on the slow side. I guess that no longer matters now that they’re closed.

Love the make it yourself burger style with the salad bar set up for toppings. The meat has the perfect charcoal-​broiled taste. The fries are extra crispy. The food is consistentlyvery good no matter which location you eat at.
To earn a 5^th star, I would go back to the way Kirk’s used to make milkshakes with real ice cream… not the cheaper iced milk version.

There’s a change of ownership sign up in the window now stating that the location’s been sold to a Mexican restaurant. Still managed to get a burger today.

Long time reader, first time poster. I have never had such a horrible experience at a restaurant. I walked into the restaurant and a young man took my order. I immediately noticed the young man had on a pair of latex gloves with what appeared to be meat. He took the order, poured my milkshake and went around the corner to clean trays. I sat and chatted for a moment and heard meat patties being made. I was praying that it wasn’t the man with the gloves on. I got up and pretended to walk to the drink station and he was behind the counter and I could only see his arms and hands making patties. Disgusted I gave him the benefit of the doubt and decided to check out what happens if more orders came in. A customer walks in and with those same gloves with meat causing cross-​contamination he took his order and immediately (not enough time to change and put on new latex gloves and not the allotted 15 – 30 seconds of hand washing) I hear the meat patty sound again. One more time another customer in and the same situation. I could not eat my food and I was disgusted and disappointed. My loved one and I began to talk and stare and I could tell that he knew what we were discussing and he goes to wash his hands. I thought to write the health dept but decided to send a comment to the owner. This is our emailed conversation… and he sees no problem with it. He could have easily said thanks for bringing this to my attention and I will handle it immediately, instead this is his point of view. I must also point out that both workers were back there the whole time.
Thank you for your email. I must admit that I didn’t think it was possible
you were correct, but I found out differently today. I talked to Arturo
who said that most of what you wrote was true. It turns out that his
co-​worker was in the restroom and he was left to cook, patty meat, take
orders, and clean tables. He said that instead of discarding his gloves,
he kept them on but washed them. I don’t know if this is true, but whereas
this was disgusting, it probably wasn’t a health related issue if he did.
If you can see your way to coming back (to this or the other Kirk’s on
Bascom), I would be glad to send you a couple of gift certificates. If
customers don’t tell me whats going on, I’ll never know. Just send me your
snail-​mail.
Thanx again,
Kirk
Name: jina williams
Zip: 95 117
Feedback:
I went into your Santa Clara establishment today hoping to enjoy a
delicious meal with a loved one… what I got was a unsettling surprise.
When we walked in Arturo took our order #111 560 we approached the counter
and I noticed he was wearing gloves with some meat product on them. He
completed our order and we sat down. I then heard some meat patties being
made. I assumed it was the other employee making the patties. I got up and
looked behind the counter and I happened to see his hands behind the corner. We then sat and watch him take 2 more orders and immediately go back to making the patties. We discussed writing a complaint which my friend thought was a better idea. I wanted to contact the health
department because I was so disgusted I could not finish my meal and felt
sick from the thought of him making my patties and taking money, and
wiping down trays and tables. Please take care of this
Jina Williams
this e-​mail sent to you from
feedback.
DO NOT EAT AT KIRKS!!!

Hubby picked up dinner for us from Kirk’s thinking it should be better than fast food burger places. For the price, portions and service tho it was bad. The sides weren’t very good either. Kinda dry. For that much money, coulda got a buncha tastier, fresher stuff from costco or safeway. Also hubby paid extra for fries but when he got home and opened the box, there were no fries anywhere.
since all the news on cnn about food safety, we adjust our final review stars up and down based on the santa clara county department of environmental health facility inspection reports. i think this is how consumers can help hold businesses accountable for practicing food safety. kirk’s had 8 minor violations over the past two years including one with rodents so keeping them at 1 star.

So I came here after work one day to grub with my roomies and kill some time before an appointment. The area is nice, and the parking is plentiful. The restaurant itself is comfy and somewhat «old-​school». Once you enter, you’re greeted with the sound and smell of a grill cooking up some burgers.
The prices were very decent for what you’re getting… which is a delicious burger cooked the way you like. I personally like my burgers well-​done, which may have added to my extended wait time (compared to my roomies, who ordered medium/​medium rare, and got theirs relatively quickly). The burger was very plump and delicious, and had a home-​made feel to it, which I liked. The fries and onion strings were very tasty and were an excellent accent to my meal.
My roomies and I recently moved to a house just down the street from here, and I will possibly come back here again in the near future. Overall, I really liked this place, and I recommend it to anybody looking for a good burger.

This place sucks.
The guy who took our order, Alberto, started off nice enough. This quickly changed.
He rang up our 2 orders of fries, soda, and beer. The total came to $ 10.89. I handed him $ 11.00 and he promptly changed a bunch of stuff on the register. The receipt came out saying he only charged us $ 5.00. I can only assume he does this with most cash customers and puts the difference in his pocket at the end of the night.
The Coke was too sweet. It had been mixed wrong. When I tried to bring this to the attention of the staff, suddenly none of them speak english. They had no idea what I was talking about when I said «I would like to talk to the manager». These douchbags went out of thier way to provide poor customer service.
Next time i want a burger, I will go elsewhere.

The bf and I were craving burgers. We were initially going to head up to Menlo Park for a burger at Jeffrey’s, but it seemed like such a drive and we opted to give Kirk’s a try.
I was at once pleased and terrified that they grill their burgers over an actual grill, rather than fry them on a flattop, but I have a sensitivity to mesquite, and if they grilled over it, I would have had to leave with my burger hopes dashed. Thankfully, the gentleman at the register was quickly able to tell me that they, in fact, grill over charcoal. Hooray!
After waiting (a long time) for a family of other first-​time visitors to complete their order, the bf and I were up. We both ordered the 1/​3lb Kirk Burger (medium) with bacon, his with swiss, mine with cheddar, and I added grilled onions as well. We also ordered a combo of fries and onion strings, along with two chocolate shakes.
Our order was ready much faster than I would have anticipated. We ordered «to-​go» so we shoveled some of the rather fresh-​looking condiments from the cold bar into a container. The cold bar offered up green leaf lettuce, red and white (or yellow) onion, crinkle cut dill pickle slices, sliced tomatoes, jalapenos, what appeared to be grated horseradish, mayo, and perhaps another couple of items that don’t readily come to mind.
We quickly rushed home to sample the burgers that smelled so fantastic from the backseat. On the way, we sampled the shakes. For being chocolate shakes (complete with a bit of sloppy chocolate mess on the outside of the cup) there really wasn’t much chocolate flavor to it. I didn’t mind, it still tasted good to me, but the bf wanted a CHOCOLATE shake, not a «hint of chocolate» chocolate shake.
Once home, we assembled our burgers, doctored up the shakes with a little more chocolate syrup, split the fries/​onion strings and sat down to eat.
YUM! The burger was cooked perfectly, and the bun survived the trip home, remaining fluffy and toasted rather than steamed and soggy with burger grease. One bite and I was sold! The ingredients seemed to be of good quality, and the grilled flavor was definitely present. The grilled onions added a nice mild sweetness as well. After the first bite, I was almost regretting not getting the bigger burger, but as I neared the last bite, I was very glad I didn’t. That’s one filling burger!
The fries (big wedgecut ones) were good, but still just fries. The onion strings were pretty tasty and I’d likely opt for those over the fries on my next visit.
If I’m judging on just the burger, I’d give them 4 stars, but all told, with the lack of chocolate in the chocolate shakes and the ho-​hum fries, and also the lack of one of my favorite burger toppings (avocado) I’m going with 3 stars.

Went to Kirk’s with the hubby
Ordered 2 burgers with grilled onions
Ordered medium steak fries
Ordered a shake
Problem
Burger — Dry
Fried — Lukewarm
Bread — toasted too crispy
= One sad girl.
I’d rather go to Joe’s cable car san francisco, anytime.

I was looking for a means to get out of the rain today, so upon realizing that the Santa Clara Library is closed today (due to maintenance/​repair), I decided to head next door for some steakburger goodness.
In all honesty, I didn’t really find it here.
I think of steakburgers as a heaping portion of REAL steak on a roll, and this is exactly what I didn’t get. I ordered the Kirk’s Griller ($ 7.50) and got what appeared to be a regular looking patty with grilled onions and swiss cheese in a steak roll.
Don’t get me wrong — the burgers here are pretty good, but it’s nothing spectacular. In fact, I think you can get a tastier burger for the same amount of money by ordering a $ 6 burger at Carls Jr.
I’m a fan of getting great food at a generous price. The food here is rather expensive, given their portions. Plus, fries and drinks are extra (no combos? Wtf???).
If you’re looking for a place where you can get GREAT burgers, I suggest going to a Nations chain instead. At least there, the pricing is reasonable.

When I want a steak sandwich, I’m not looking for chopped up meat like a Philly cheesesteak, nor am I looking for strips of beef that have been stir-​fried. I want a half-​inch thick slab of rib-​eye, cooked rare, between bread. After going to Amato’s, Rosie’s, Bobbie’s, and the Burger Barn and being disappointed in one way or another, I was thinking I needed to drive back to Ontario to get my fix (see my first review).
OK, I finally found a steak sandwich that lived up to my expectations, and I didn’t have to drive 380 miles to find it. I got a coupon for Kirk’s in the mail, so a group of us checked them out. Every one else had a burger of some type, but I saw the steak sandwich on the paper tacked up to the bottom of the menu board and knew I had to see if had found the object of my quest.
When the food arrived, everything looked good. Roll, check. One big slab of beef, check. I have to go to another part of the shop to add my onions, peppers, lettuce, etc. that’s fine with me, as it lets me decide what should go on my sammy.
Anyway, the steak sammy was good. The roll wasn’t quite what I expected. The battered onion strips were good. The fries weren’t my favorite, although I probably shouldn’t eat fries that often. The rest of my group enjoyed their burgers, and I was happy to find a steak sammy in my metropolitan area. With a better roll and fries I’d give them five stars, but can only give up 4.
While I know where I can go when I get a craving for a steak sammy now, the quest for the perfect one continues.

OK– so I didn’t order the triple Kirk’s but I had the special. ½ burger, garlic fries, and a large soda. I ate the bun this time and as always, I cleaned everything up.
I can’t stress how juicy the beef was. I loved it!

Um, wow. Not all Kirk’s locations are created equal.
This was, without a doubt, one of the worst burgers I have ever had the displeasure of sinking my teeth into. Very possibly THE worst.
First of all, we arrived at around 4:30-ish for a super early dinner. Or linner, if you may. Although we were the only ones in the entire joint, and three of the staff saw us immediately when we came in, they ignored us and left us waiting at the counter for about five minutes. Hrm.
Okay, so it’s a burger joint. I don’t expect frou frou service, so I was willing to let that slide. I ordered a Kirk’s Griller, which I have had several times at the Palo Alto location. It’s basically my favorite way to have a burger, aside from it being on a steak bun (I prefer sourdough) — I was psyched. I also shared some garlic fries with my accomplice.
The burger came out and my heart sank. One bite into that sucker and I thought that I was going to vomit. It was cooked extremely rare, despite the fact that I had ordered medium rare. There were no charcoal marks, and the burger tasted like it had been STEAMED. An overly wet, fatty patty that had a very thin crust of doneness all around and then straight into red throughout — which is how I can tell it was steamed somehow. You can’t get a burger to cook like that if it’s properly grilled or even pan fried.
Mushy and flavorless, it is possible that this is the grossest burger I’ve ever had. I couldn’t even shove down more than 3 bites, despite the fact that I was starving. Unfortunately, the garlic fries weren’t any better. They were super duper greasy (literally DRIPPING with oil) and the garlic had been overcooked so much that it had browned and was extremely bitter. Ugh.
Foul burger, garlic abuse, mediocre service, filthy tables and booths. Do not want.

Third visit in 3 months. Disappointed yet again. Fries were really greasy and heavy. Medium rare was raw and took 20 minutes to get when there was only one other customer in there. One and a half stars rounded to two because I’m a nice guy.

Ordered a Big Kirk with Cheese ($ 8), and a Kirk’s Melt ($ 8.40).
Yes, you read it right, $ 8 for a burger.
I was expecting the best burger experience in the world with the kind of money I paid, but no luck. Even the fries were extra!?!
You can get your own condiments and toppings, but once again, I expected a lot more from a $ 8 burger.
The taste was perfectly fine, nothing bad about it, but it is not worth $ 8. I apologize for my continued ranting on the price, but this is totally not worth it. Spend your $ 8 elsewhere.

My review mirrors almost all the others. Below average service. Burgers lack taste. They have bags of charcoal piled up in the corner. Steak fries are below average. Over $ 10 for a small fry, cheeseburger and small soda. Give me a break.
The condiment bar is OK, but personally I’d rather just have good o’l lettuce, onion, tomato already on there. I don’t mind putting my own ketchup/​mustard/​mayo on, but the rest should already be done for me.
I can honestly say that the new angus burgers from Mcdonalds are a better value. I won’t be returning.

The prices weren’t worth the amount of burger you get. I enjoyed that you are able to put your own toppings. sometimes there’s not enough lettuce or too much, the onions might be too big but here they have a choice of red or yellow onions, sometimes pickles just don’t seem right on the burger so you get. the cashier was really nice and patient with us since it was our first time and we had no idea what to order. i’m a sucker for wedge cut season fries and theirs were straight outta the fryer (burnt my tongue a little) and tasted pretty good.
one star for customer service
one star for steak fries/​topping bar

¹⁄₃ chedder cheese burger for $ 6.65?
You get to select how cooked you want for your beef patty but it came out
SOFT
TASTELESS
BUN WAS NOT TOASTED
I like the free standing condiments bar (peppercini, pickles, red/​white onions).
Otherwise, I won’t come back. They have a few Kirk’s burger joints around the bay area. My first time here and I won’t be back!
Red Robin or In-​and-​Out tastes better than this joint!

Burgers – enthusiastic 5 stars.
Everything else – wretched 0 – 1 star.
Poor atmosphere, poor, slow service, limited selection, CANNED mushrooms (UGH!), high prices…
Tender, juicy, deeply flavorful burgers.
It is worth it. Get a big meat patty. Do not get mushrooms.

The burgers here are okay, but not worth the price. I paid almost $ 8 for a burger and drink (no fries) — this is definitely premium pricing for a burger so I expect excellent burgers.
I got the ¹⁄₃^rd lb steakburger with grilled onions, no cheese. The restaurant was dead, and even then, we had to wait about 20 mins for our burgers. Come on — even with frozen patties that is no excuse.
The burger was pretty good, but was not worth the price or wait. I would rather pay $ 8 and get something at Carl’s Jr which I think tastes better. And I’d get more food and have to wait less. On top of everything, they don’t even have restrooms here (maybe they’re outside — I didn’t see them).
All in all, I would skip this place. You can do better elsewhere for less money.