Jason Z.
Yelp
Once upon a time (in 2017-2018) when TGI Fridays was considered fine dining and when there were very few of the fast casual/ hipster boutique burger spots, Hopdoddy was considered a gem and a great spot to get some gourmet patties. At the time, Hopdoddy was hip, cool, and delivered on the food quality. The spot in River Oaks was usually packed and very busy. Now fast forward that 6-7 years and Hopdoddy is more of a corporate giant in the space, with non stop commercials while you are watching YouTube and with a chain location in every suburb/ mall area.
Having not traveled to a Hopdoddy location in about 3-4 years, I went to grab a burger during a weekday lunch. The interior is still around the same as expectations, with a very casual bar feel to the spot. You go in and place your order and food is brought out to you but you get your own drinks and such; much like a Torchy's dining experience. I got the nacho fries (sans sour cream) and their wagyu burger (sans Swiss cheese) which totaled somewhere around $27 after tax.
The fries were drenched in a cheese sauce and some pico and served in a metal bowl. It was a bit of an odd and much too casual presentation but power to them, I guess. The texture of the fries were a bit on the soft side and it didn't taste very fresh. There wasn't an epic crunch or great mouthfeel and they honestly tasted close to an air fried pack of frozen fries from H-E-B. Not great but not terrible. The burger was brought out a bit after the fries. The patty itself tasted like 85/15 ground beef to me and wasn't super beefy or flavorful like you would expect. It was also a bit on the undercooked side; if there was some more texture on the outside and a bit more fat rendered out, the patty could've been tastier. The bacon on the burger was a bit hard and tasted pre-cooked, and the rest of the topping were forgettable. The buns were obviously not made fresh. A couple options to improve the menu in my opinion; hand cut fries that were a bit larger in diameter and with more texture difference, freshly made burger buns, better quality meat for their patties, some more appetizer offerings besides variations of their standard French fries.
Overall it was an okay but forgettable burger and meal. Going back to the start, in 2024 there are many other burger chains that cater to the casual bro crowd at the $12-$16 range which do a much better job with ambiance, menu offerings, and execution/food quality compared to in 2016/2017. Hopdoddy no longer stands out for me in that positive light and compared to the many competitors in the same food space, it is overwhelmingly average in both meal experience and taste. Once upon a time, it was a standout spot for an upper scale burger experience that you would want to go on a date to but now it stays firmly in the corporate chain burger space that's in every major suburb.