Aurelia C.
Yelp
Disclaimer, I have worked in the restaurant industry for over 10 years and I HATE giving bad reviews.
We were staying at the Rio and decided to have dinner at smash burgers.
Let me give the short story.
Food was either not seasoned at all or overly salty and overly priced.
Now for the long story. We arrived and ordered. The cashier seemed young. He wasn't overly friendly but he wasn't rude either. Seems like a young kid who's doing the bare minimum for a job that probably pays the minimum.
The chairs were already closed off in the outskirts of the eating area (I assume it's easier to clean and less chaotic for the workers). I'd understand that IF they cleaned the remaining seats. Luckily my bf and I found a two seater that wasn't completely a mess. The seat next to me had napkins and ketchup on it. I assumed they would eventually get to it but never did.
I then witnessed what seemed to be the manager on duty, get upset with the cashier for maybe using the wrong cups? It wasn't a very nice conversation and I believe that shouldn't be discussed in front of guests. We get our food and as we're eating, this lady tries to sit in one of the chairs that's put away, and the manager yells at her and said "THAT AREA IS CLOSED" from across the room. I was just expecting a little more respect or manners for guests trying to enjoy their meal or even a "excuse me miss, that area is closed for the rest of the night". Although her intent wasn't meant to be rude (maybe) but her execution definitely was. This also forces guests to sit in areas that are dirty. It wasn't busy and I'm sure sidework on downtime is to clean the dining area. I also witnessed people (workers) scratching their hair and having their hands in their mouth for most of our visit. I really don't want to single anyone out because I really don't want anyone in specific to get in trouble.
Now let's get into the food because although I'm HUGE with customer service and I'm fully away that customers are not always right so I try hard to be reasonable because people do have bad days, some people could care less about the service and care all about the food.
The food was not worth it. I would suggest to take that 20 min walk to in n out on the strip for better quality food and more of a reasonable price.
We got a classic double smash. Every bite tasted like the patty was dipped in salt. I finished it because we paid for it. My bf ordered the bbq bacon cheddar double and he said his patty had no seasoning. We ordered one smash fry and haystack onions to share.
The haystack onions had SO MUCH potential. They were almost all battered together (not sure if delivered frozen) but the breading was extremely salty as well. It was literally like taking a spoon full of salt. We couldn't finish it. The fries were DRENCHED in olive oil. Each bite was soaked in oil. I poured it out and had to add napkins and you can see the oil pour out of the container. It bled through the napkins and will post the pictures as well. The one thing that was good was their hibiscus tea drink! It was sooo yummy so I'm giving an extra star for that. Although the containers they make it in stayed out in public view right next to the sodas for our duration of our visit, it was still extremely good.
I know this review is really negative. I know I could have expressed my concerns during our visit but with my history of working in restaurants, this place didn't seem to friendly and I didn't want to create any problems verbally. We were also traveling all day and were just super hungry. Unfortunately we threw away the onions and fries. I'm not looking for anything, but I hope this review helps with staff realizing that people are watching to hygiene is important and maybe add a little manners in how we speak to others will go along way. As for the salty food, I'm not sure if that's just where the company gets their food, or if they add seasoning but if yours not a fan of salty oily food (not in the good way) than again I'd definitely try somewhere else.