The burgers are salty and greasy. The fries have no flavor. The haystack onions are greasy and limp. The chicken is pretty good. The real problem is the service. Went there last week with my husband and son. The wait was long. Ordered fries, but was charged for and received vegie fries which are not what I wanted and more expensive... and this place is expensive enough to begin with. When I pointed out the mistake the server took my burger and the vegie fries away. I then waited as my son finished eating. My husband insisted on waiting with me so his food was ice cold by the time they finally came back with my food which only happened after I asked about it twice. Tonight I went in to get food for my son after practice. Burger, fries and chocolate shake. The food was done in a little over 5 minutes. I heard the server tell another server the order was waiting for a shake. The shakes are individually hand made and can take some time, but should never take more than 10 minutes. I waited another 25 minutes. I finally got up to ask what the problem was and the server actually lied to me saying she had called my name three times. She had not even called my name once as there would have been no point in calling my name because the shake still wasn't ready. She hands me the food which has been sitting under the warmer and a few minutes later I finally get the shake. The shake that costs $4.29 and they only fill the cup 2/3 of the way. I will not be going back. read more

So I think the food is good...pricey but good...I can't eat Habit every day right? So the 2 stars due to this...and I'll admit first that I have worked in the food industry and understand most employees get busy expediting orders and don't always give time to tend to the bathroom...however...usually people like to drain and wash their hands before eating hand foods...that being said... YO MANAGER OR OWNER OF SMASH BURGER SAN CLEMENTE...MOP THE PISS OFF THE FLOOR SO I DON'T HAVE TO STAND IN IT ...and considering the price point of the food equaling higher margins...please call a local plumber to clean/prime you floor sink so sewer gas doesn't fill the bathroom all day...I can't hold my breath long enough to get in and out of the bathroom without at least one inhale of those toxic fumes...seriously it's a health hazard violation I'm certain... You can see the kitchen looks pretty tidy from the lobby so not sure the disconnect... Some owner has his/her head up arse thinking a few hundred dollar plumbing bill will be an inconvenience... I like the dichotomy of standing in piss and inhaling methane while anticipating the food that's on the grill for me... So needless to say I'm boycotting this place until the owner/managers step up...similar situations to mine are on other posts so it's a continual problem... Habit here we come! read more

Try the McDonalds nearby for better quality burgers. This one is in a weird twilight zone. Crap burgers, SLOW service and dirty restrooms. I've seen better $ joints in TJ ... Worst smashburger outlet. I'm never going to visit one. read more

We went after a soccer game. The kids enjoyed their burgers and my salad was pretty good but the many gnats that clung to the walls was a real turn off. Not sure I will go back. read more

I have been coming to this Smashburger for about 2 years and here is my final summary review of this place. - I love the food! Looks fresh, comes quickly, and tastes delicious - the bathrooms are disgustingly dirty all the time. Missing toilet paper, and paper towels for hands. - the drink area is always nasty esp the tea canisters look like they have never been cleaned. Dirty finger marks. The last time I was there I sucked up a big chunk of build up that was in my iced tea. It's like they just kept putting new tea in the canister without cleaning it. DISGUSTING!! No more drinks from there. Today, I went to the Starbucks next door to get my tea and ate my spinach goat cheese salad with grilled chicken. Their cleanliness and customer service is complete shit. I always wondered who is managing this place. It seems like nobody is or if they are, they just don't care about these issues. My advice: get the food to go or if you eat there, stay away from the drink station and tea canisters. Try not to have a bathroom situation. Bring some hand sanitizer for after dining. read more

We went here opening weekend, got a milk shake that wasn't completely melted asked for a new one and it was the same way!!! Was told its because the ice cream was melted and there was nothing they could do. Burgers aren't anything special, proxy for what you get read more

I so wanted to like this place. I must say the "seasoning/flavors" were good but there was sooo much grease in EVERYTHING that I felt sick eating it and wreaked of grease and onion for several hours after. I also felt that $31 for 3 people to eat burgers in a semi fast food environment was too pricey. I won't be back. Good Luck SC with this one! The Habit has it beat by a mile!! read more

Food is tasty but the service is terrible. At least this time drinks came before good was gone. Can't figure out how they can be this slow with such a limited menu. read more

Gave it a 3, 5 for the friendly courteous employees, 1 for accuracy. Decided to bring dinner home tonight and ordered 2 grilled chicken sandwiches and 1 grilled chicken club. When ordering the employee double checked my order and confirmed I wanted grilled and not crispy chicken, so when I go my bag to go, I didn't feel a need to check. I should have, cuz when I got home I discovered we got 1 grilled chicken sandwich and 2 CHEESEBURGERS!!! Frustrating and annoying. read more

This is the worst burger i've ever eaten in my entire life it was oily greasy and the yolk bun maybe want to throw up I tried twice thinking that it would be good but the second time it was as good as the first disgusting I will never eat there my entire life again I also went to the one in Mission Viejo at the mall and it was pretty bad also not as bad as the actual one and cycle money. read more

The hype was much better than the meal. A little seasoning on the burger might have helped a bit. Fries and onion straws good, but for $24.00, I'd rather go to Biggie Burger or Burger Junkie. More adult supervision would probably be a plus! read more

Burgers were terrible. The meat tasted old and was mushy, yes mushy. However, the fried pickles were good.

My family and I came to celebrate my son's birthday on Sunday the food was delicious. the burger were very juicy and the service was great the employees were very friendly and the restroom were cleaned.... they even went the extra mile and sing "Happy birthday" to my son we had an amazing time ... thank you everyone for making my son happy ..... we will definitely come back .... thank you to the smash employees and the owner for singing happy birthday...;) read more

This is one of my Favorite restaurants best burgers in town Smash fries were soooo amazing will be coming back! Highly recommend Bomb place

This place has some of the best customer service that I have seen at any restaurant. While being the only employee at the front Jonathan, the manager, was very patient and chill the whole time. He was able to perfectly describe what was in the food which made making decisions a lot easier. Jonathan later served the food, made sure I had everything that I needed to enjoy the meal, and bus the tables afterwards. This guy definitely deserves a raise! read more

Burgers good, one visit frie and rings ok, next time just puddles of grease on plate.

I love the food here- and love grabbing a burger as long as its during "off" hours. If you go in anytime after 3- be prepared. The service is slow, unfriendly, and you'll have to ask multiple times and send your food back to get the order correct. read more

First time eating at Smash burger. I thought it was a great burger; fresh meat, fresh produce, and a tasty bun. Smash fries were also crispy and not too salty. Gourmet burger at a fair price!! Other friends have eaten here and had nothing but good things to say about the quality and taste. Not sure why there are so many bad reviews. read more

Great burger, Great service. Andres aka Ishod helped us out choosing the dankest burger bro, you gotta try it bro.

Would not recommend, although we love Smashburger this location is terrible,always dirty and the help is incompetent! I've been at This location quite a few times and it's always the same story, very poorly managed! read more

This place is awesome!!! The food was tasty, quick, and generously portioned. We had a pleasure of meeting Jessica Garcia, and she is an outstanding individual! What an awesome representation of this company. I wish more people would be as kind as her. She deserves a raise! We highly recommend this place! read more

First and last time I will go here, unfriendly kids that work there, slow service and food not good. Got home and had to throw my burger and fries out! The burger was completely covered in all the sauce they put on it, and so soggy! The fries had so much salt they were horrible, and I love salt! Over priced and gross! Go to burger junkies! read more

Jessica rocked it today at our local favorite spot for a fresh dark leafy green salad for lunch!!Thanks Jessica!!!

Love the burgers ! But I have to say their choice is cashiers is questionable. On several occasions I have had to deal with very rude snippy young women who really just were not taught manners and courtesy to their patrons. DTownsend San Clemente read more

It was a nice surprise to have a burger that had so much flavor and juiciness, plus to walk away paying less than $35 for 4 in my party!

We found Smashburger almost 3 years ago and up to now have been regular customers ever since. I would buy a hamburger at least twice a week. We found their employees to be great, but, most of all, I found their burgers to be the most delicious around. The restaurant, at this location, proudly stated that they only served ' certified Angus Beef, always fresh never frozen.' No doubt that was the reason for their delicious hamburgers. They even were justly reviewed by a Chicago Newspaper as the best hamburger from a national chain. My problem is that recently this has all changed. I am not sure when I noticed that their burgers didn't taste as good anymore. At first, I thought that it was me, but other people have noticed this also. Then I looked again at their statement of their burgers, no longer does it say: Certified Angus beef. In other words, they no longer serve fresh Certified Angus Beef. Their burgers are no better than McDonalds, etc. Their staff is still fine, but I will no longer be a loyal customer. I am so disappointed, I really loved the old Smashburgers. Now, I will have to look elsewhere for a delicious hamburger. read more

The food is great when they get the order correct. We've been there five times and every time its wrong. They ignore phone calls and we've witnessed them picking up the ringing phone then hang back up without answering. Our orders are always extremely simple and they are ALWAYS completely messed up, causing us to drive back over there. We are never compensated. I will start going back to Habit. There they get the food right each time! read more

REEDEMED! First visit here was disappointing and I posted a review. Smashburger team responded with great customer service so I returned. Second visit was spot on!! Order was correct (this time) and food was delicious (both times). I am impressed with the level of customer service. Now that the order was correct, food was delicious and customer service was awesome.....you have a loyal customer!!! Thank you!!! read more

It should not take 25+ min for an order of 2 burgers and fries. You could go to a sit down restaurant and get food faster

Finally tried smashburger and my boyfriend and I both loved it. I had the avocado bacon burger and he had the BBQ bacon cheeseburger. Both were a great size and juicy. I was surprised how much flavor my burger had. The smash fries were also good. I'm defiantly going to go back and try the Baja spicy burger and maybe a milkshake!! Price was $18 for two burgers and one French fry but it was worth it. It was busy as we were there at 6pm but it took only around 10 minutes to get our food. Well be back for sure. read more

I really like their online ordering process. The truffle mayo is amazing with mushrooms :) I thought the skinny Smash Fries were fair, perhaps next time I will try the sweet potato fries or buffalo fries. The only thing is that sometimes parking is an issue with the san clemente location because it is so close to the high school. Sometimes you just want to run in and run out without spending 10mins waiting for a spot in the small parking lot. read more

I'mma comin' back. I got the Original and it was perfect. It was messy and flavorful and I can't want to stuff my face with another one. Unfortunately, I can't give this place the fifth star because the fries and haystack were salty to a point they were inedible. I'll be forgiving and say it was a one-time mistake and cross my fingers that the next order of fries don't disappoint. read more

After walking by this place multiple times I decided to try it out. Horrible choice I made today. I order a avocado bacon burger and receive a very nasty old grease well-done bacon and one thin small slice of avocado. As I was ready to leave I notice I was locked in. Don't know why the doors were lock at 12:30pm but they were and took one of the employees to unlock it for me as there were people outside waiting to get in barding me why the doors were locked. I don't know! But after spend $26 on a crapy burger and 2 kids plain cheese burgers I won't be coming back. read more

I ordered the basic cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and onion. The French fries were greasy but tasty, nothing to say about the smashed meat other than it was flat meat with no flavor. read more

My husband and I tried this last week. We were very disappointed. First, our order was wrong twice. The kids from the High School were there and very unruly. They were actually bouncing out of their seats, very loud and disrespectful.....one young brat sat at our table twice and I told him to leave, as if once was not enough. High School kids using the F word that was every other word..High School kids running in the restaurant...the food was dry and very greasy..the one who we believed to be the Manager was very polite and made our order correct and seemed stressed. He should have asked these kids to leave. We will no be back..it is too bad..we were excited about this new place. This business should get a D rating!!! read more

I have been meaning to write a review of this place, I tried it about a month or so ago. I had never been to a smash burger, and was welcomed very warmly by the staff, I believe the person that was helping us was Brittan, She was so Kind, helped us through the menu and gave us the best recommendations. We loved the verity and the food was great. She is quite the asset, she was so kind to everyone else who walked in after us, providing the same service again and again. Thank you. read more

Mitch and Kaitlyn know how to take care of their customers. Had a screwup the last time I was here and called to let them know. It was an off night will a full staff of trainees at the time, and it showed. This next visit, they comped the whole order as a sign of good will. Customer service at its finest. read more

Well alright! The burger was cooked great, right temperature and fixins were just right too. I ordered over the web, and my order was on time. Only thing I could see (smell) wrong is the strong smell of sewage. I think it is the common grease trap that they and next door Chipotle share. Needs to be cleaned out more often. I wouldn't be able to sit there and eat my food, with that stank. read more

This place serves good food near the high school, beware your child will graduate high school before you ever get served. I waited 19 MINUTES for a salad before I left this evening with no meal. I had to check the receipt to see when my order was placed - 19 MINUTES!!!!I was disgusted with the slow service and watching workers stand around waiting for 2 other people to prepare food. 5-10 people stood waiting for the next millenium, or for their Smashburger meal whichever comes first. Good luck getting a meal here, and I am sorry for the employees that have to deal with weary customers. read more

I arrived to eat within an half hour of their closing time, which is slightly rude, but I was in need of nourishment! They gladly served me, the food was ready unbelievably fast, and they were extremely accommodating. They even unlocked the patio furniture so that we could dine outside if we wanted to, even though they knew they would have to re lock them whenever we ended up leaving. I ordered the jalapeño Baja burger with sweet potato fries. Both item were delicious. The burger was packed full with flavor, the meat was juicy, and I really enjoy the bun...although I'm not sure what kind it was. The fries were just enough crunchy with soft delicious middles. This was my first time at smash burger, but I definitely intend to go back. The only slight hiccup is that this establishment is not a cheap option. read more