Jason J.
Yelp
After driving by Smashburger approximately 3.7 billion times and every time saying that we should try it out, the ladyfriend and I dropped in with a couple of friends to try some burgers and see what the fuss was all about (really the only fuss was the fuss we generated about wanting to try it.)
It's your standard fast-food joint setup, with booths and tables and the counter with a menu next to it on the wall. You order, they send the order to the kitchen, give you a number, and when your food is ready they bring it to your table. It feels like every chipotle/madgreens/noodles&co/bajaFresh/Qdoba you've ever been in, only with burgers.
I ordered the Colorado Burger that had american and jack cheese, with roasted chili peppers, and I added some bacon. also had lettuce and mayo and all that good stuff. I found the burger to actually be really good. Well seasoned, cooked well, and the toppings and sauces (I think they put more than just mayo on there) gave it a little spice, and it was definitely satisfying. For a side I got the flash fried veggies -- asparagus and sweet potato fries. These things were incredibly disappointing. It's entirely possible that I don't understand the definition of flash frying, but they were basically dipped in grease to warm them up, and then put on my plate. They weren't crispy, there was no batter, nothing. I should have skipped them and gotten fries.
The ladyfriend had a spicy baja burger which she said was appropriately spicy, but she had hoped it would be more flavorful than it was. She told me that she thinks it probably would have been more flavorful if she hadn't foregone the spicy mayo, but alas. Hindsight....
One of our friends got a rootbeer float with her meal, and this place almost deserves a full extra star just for the serving of rootbeer floats!
All in all, service was pretty quick, very friendly, and moderately tasty. It's not gonna blow your socks off, and it's definitely more expensive than Wendy's or some place like that (but you are also not getting a fully processed meal...I think) but gets you a decent quality burger for a little less than a bar might, or some place that's famous for their burgers. The atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired, but it's a fast food place. So you ought to know what you're going to get before you walk in the door.
Solid three stars, and I won't hesitate to drop by when I'm craving a burger any time in the near future!