Never going here again. Automatic 18% gratuity and they didn't even fill my drink. I mean I was a waiter once and earned my tip. It says support living wages. I'm sorry but forcing gratuity on someone is unheard of especially when they don't earn it. The owners here trying to act like they caring but obviously just pay your employees more. A fast food chain forcing 18% charger. Rent must be high but the other review show that u conducting business poorly. It's only $4 I'm ok with that but not ok with bad service and they still get that. read more

The Counter Mountain View - 18% forced tip - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

Burgers should not cost this much money. Went with the family for a treat but the burgers took almost an hour and they weren't even cooked right. The nickel and dime model of all the "premium" add-ons was ridiculous. One of my kids ordered medium and had a well done patty, another person ordered a medium well and it was pink throughout. Even then, it was not even tasty or juicy. I ordered a drink and they never refilled it. $5.99 for a soda is wild! My side of fries were also cold when they came out, and unremarkable. I think we would have had a better time at McDonalds. The waiters didn't really care either, probably because they got an automatic 18% tip. I don't mind tipping, but its unacceptable to take 18% tips automatically and give bad service. They allow you to ask to remove the tip, but I bet that hardly ever happens, we certainly didn't remove it -- customers shouldn't be put in that position to talk to their waiter about why they didn't deserve a tip, we just won't come back. I'm left wondering why they get so much business. read more

The Counter Mountain View - Their "medium well" burger - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

Food: asked Extra well done on meat; even added, with burn't edges. Husband wrote on paper, burn it. Meat looked broiled or cooked ontop of grill with lots fat. Hus aaked for cheese; no cheese. Service: customer svc courteous, friendly, professional. Cleanliness: hus used bathrm: dirty. Soap dispenser with crud, mold, mildew and dust on top. Sink dirty, stained, spots on metal part. No papertowels in dispenser to dry hands ( though airblower did work). Trash bin up against stall door overflowing...F by dept of public health in my opinion. We will never return here ( not like its a cheap place)! Would give 2 but bathrm killed it. Mom always said, you can tell how clean personnel is by the cleanliness of a bathroom!! read more

I came here with my friend since he was craving American food! He ordered the Counter burger, which he liked a lot. I ended up getting the minis without cheddar, which were delicious. The quality of the beef and other ingredients at this spot are great. We had a really good experience here, the waiters were helpful and made suggestions. I would definitely come back. read more

They have happy hour 3-6 but Mondays and Thursdays it's 3 to close 11pm Pleasant service at the bar. Here for a football game 5-7 so plenty of time to eat and read more

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The reviews don't lie. This place is the worst idea you've had in a long time, think through all those mistakes you made prior to making this one. $45 for two burgers and 1 fries. They trick you by adding a ton of random fees, the burgers are listed for $13 each. They forgot my drink but it wasn't a big deal. Just go to In and Out, this place has nothing you want but loose women, regret, and despair. read more

I am self-proclaimed judging authority on veggie burger :) I really enjoy Counter burger, been going to their first outlet since 2007~ since they first opened in Palo Alto. All thru these years, their quality and taste is consistent and deserves 5-stars for that. I am giving the Mt View place 4-stars as the service can be hit or a miss. read more

We waited an hour for our burgers before asking for a status update. They said our burgers would be out within a few minutes, and they must have made them in a hurry because we got food poisoning. read more

The Hamburgers, whether on the regular Menu or Make Your Own, were OUTSTANDING. Grass-fed beef, great regular Fries, Sweet Potato Fries or Onion Rings were NOT over-fied; they were crunchy without being overcooked. The service was knowledgeable, quick, and very friendly. The place is a bar, but a really contemporary one. Dark colors, but huge windows do keep the space light and airy. When traveling away from home, it is always thrilling to find a delightfully COOL place like The Counter. Thank you for a delightful evening. Sorry no photos. read more

I think I'm done with the Counter. Used to be our go to place as a family for burgers. Based on how empty it was, I guess many have come to the same conclusion. 1) The waiter did not accept my buy 1 get one free coupon - first time the Counter has not accepted this coupon and the main reason I went there tonight. 2) They were out of the only good beer on the menu - Original Pattern IPA. 3) Two kids in one of the booths yelling at the top of their lungs the ENTIRE time, but no manager ever had a word with them. 4) Just remembered there is an included 18% tip and then I tipped another $7 on top of that, did not remember until I got home. So I tipped about 30% for my worst experience at the Counter ever. Sad to say that I won't be going back. read more

Super friendly staff, but food surprisingly takes a while to come out. It was probably a good half hour before our food was served, and we'd thought we'd beaten the lunch crowd. Came here on a chillier day. While The Counter is known for their infamous burgers with unlimited toppings, the venue also has salads, soups, and other appetizers. Since it was cold, I gravitated towards the hot soups, which turns out to be chili. Beef Chili || $3.25 cup The cup of beef chili is served with sour cream, cheese shreds, sliced onions, and a light sprinkle of chopped green onions. Overall a nice hearty dish that's generous enough (along with another single serving item) to satisfy as a meal. Shoestring Fries || $3.25 single serving Thinly sliced fries that are perfectly crisp and crunchy. Ask for ranch and BBQ sauce to compliment them :) The burgers my companions got for lunch looked delicious, so next time I'll definitely have to try one of those! read more

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This is a review of the impossible burger and the impossibly complex ordering process at The Counter. My vegan friend brought me here after I had consumed an entire bag of popcorn and a blue raspberry icee. Despite the recent indulgence, I ordered an impossible burger. The burger menu has more choices than Tinder. They both can lead you badly astray. I picked the vegan brioche bun, mustard, thousand island dressing, grilled red onions, pickles (obviously), and lettuce on a 1/3 pound impossible burger. The impossible burger is a meat alternative burger made to look and taste like real meat including the blood made of heme. Blood coming out of meat never had much appeal to me as food considering I do surgery on human flesh and am not named Hannibal Lecter. The burger tasted great. It was better than the typical vegan burger that is usually a slightly moist version of cardboard. Disclaimer: I don't usually eat a lot of cardboard. Great job to The Counter for carrying the impossible Burger and promoting humane food! read more

The Counter Mountain View - Impossible burger for ethical consumption of "meat" - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

Our team was super excited with the build your own burger bar we setup by ordering catering from counter burgers. They offered chicken, beef, turkey and also the vegan impossible patties to choose according to our convenience. The orders go by the number of patties you order. They will provide all the items like buns, onions, tomatoes, pickles, cheese, sauces and all other condiments to build your burger based on the number of patties ordered. For the sides, we ordered fries and tots along with trays of simple salad. I definitely recommend this for your office party. read more

The Counter Mountain View - Build your own burger bar - catering delivered - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

Actually I took my grandson to The Counter a few months ago. The food was good, menu a bit confusing. There were so many burgers, each one we wanted to change a little. Finally we ordered a plain burger with the cheese, veggies and toppings we wanted. They had a special of tri tips which was so delicious. My grandson nearly devoured my entire dinner! I hope it is still on the menu. Being from the east coast, I thought the prices were high. Perhaps they were in line with other burger spots. We will go again for the tri tips! read more

I've been coming here for eight years and the burgers are excellent. But after my last three visits, I gotta say I won't be coming back. The primary reason is lack of cleanliness. Maybe there is surface cleaning, but basically the bathroom is filthy. Dirt swept into corners where it has accumulated. Toilet paper dispensers empty, and the floor disgusting and sticky. Also, I happened to be seated in a way I could see into the kitchen - it looked just as dirty as the women's bathroom. Ironically, we are sitting eating and the guy starts sweeping around our table! Not good restaurant etiquette at all. A more minor issue is head banging acid rock. Like why??? I'm bummed as it's been a place for a reliable burger, but it's too gross now. read more

Ehh, the burgers just aren't that good. They don't cook at a high enough temperature. Not sure I believe the marks are really grill marks. Kind of soggy. Fries are great, but with so many places to get great burgers, really no reason to come here ! read more

I ordered takeout and ate in. This restaurant feels like an upscale Chilis. The food is decent, nice staff, and a good place to take your family out for a Saturday lunch. The only negative is they didn't give much sauce. You pay by phone so it was easy and quick to get in and out if you are in a rush. We ordered the following: -Nashville hot chicken sandwich -BLT&A -fried pickles -fries -ranch read more

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Food -- Their Sweet Potato Fries are probably the best in town; they're really delicious and the aioli it comes with is definitely on par too. However, the same can't be said about their burgers. Though they aren't dry or overcooked per se, it just seems like there's something missing in terms of flavor--even with their HUGE array of customizable sauces (which are lovely!!). Even with the "Create-Your-Own-Burger" option, the burger somehow feels incomplete as a dish. Their lemonade follows suit with their burger in that it's lacking sweetness. Personally, I would come solely for their Sweet Potato Fries but not anything else--they're quite pricey without those BOGO cards they mail occasionally. Atmosphere -- The atmosphere in the Mountain View store is a lot better than the one in Palo Alto; there isn't a lack of smoke smell coming from the kitchen as it is separated from the dining area. Recommendations -- The drink menu can be improved drastically in terms of flavor, creativity, and presentation to lure in foodies. Furthermore, as this is a burger joint, nailing a juicy, flavorful burger is of utmost importance! read more

The Counter Mountain View - Burgers & Fries - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

I am not one to bash businesses, but the experience at this Counter was one of the roughest experiences I've ever had as a customer. I ate in a group, no one said their food was delicious, and half of the group eithet couldn't continue eating their meal or said it was below average. Two had their meats cooked improperly. Had nothing else been problematic, this would have been a 2-3 star review. At least one of the servers was friendly! What else went wrong: A server/ bartender rubbed her hands on her forehead and nose multiple times then directly touched drinking glasses before washing her hands. Even worse she put the drinking glasses on the ground before placing them in the chiller. Add in another server touching their forehead directly before grabbing a customer's plate and we were all grossed out by this time. The 15% service charge was well advertised so I wasn't going to complain about that until I was also asked to tip a full gratuity on top of the 15% charge. Our server said the built in 15% wasn't gratuity. We each agreed we will never go back to this Counter location again. It's too bad because a few of us were very hungry. read more

From the advertisements and opinions of some friends who recommended me to try the counter. I. Finally. DID! My thoughts about this burger joint are honestly not well! It was disappointing for me ! :-( The only best part of my whole time at The Counter would be the half & half sweet potato fries and tater tots. Before even getting any of our food we had to wait almost 30 minutes. My bison is gouda burger was just not cutting it for me for $18 it seems like a burger I could purchase at a jack in the box and add an egg on it & even jack in the box has tastier burgers.. My boyfriends bacon burger although is alright as he said. It actually looked a unique burger although it could have been tastier. As for the staff at The counter they seem as if they don't wanna be there. Always busy talking and not giving much attention to the customers. The counter also could have used a more lively ambience to the place. It was very quiet where you could almost hear the other customers near you chewing their food. Also it was very dark inside during the daytime. For me its just not worth it to come back and try again. :( read more

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Messed up my order and gave me the completely wrong burger for takeout. Careless? Had to come back for a replacement. Burger was already cold when I reached home 5 minutes away. Not seasoned well and for $19 I felt robbed. Don't come here and head to In N Out instead. read more

Really solid burger at a reasonable price - You can build your own to have the burger exactly how you like it. The meat was more flavorful than a lot of burgers I've had at other restaurants, medium rare with hints of garlic and black pepper. read more

The Counter Mountain View - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

The food is good, the service is ok, a bit on the slow side. They now charge extra for condiments. What a joke,I now have to bring my own mayonnaise and mustard because they charge extra, even though it says it's a free item on the menu. Apparently, the prices went up but it's not printed anywhere. read more

We had a perfect experience. Service was great, seated right away, drinks right away, server was very attentive all through our meal. Ordered a side of loaded tots, a burger, and a turkey burger. The turkey burger was a healthy option, but it was good! Soda prices are kept low here, which was a nice change from the overpriced sodas these days so that was a pleasant surprise. Overall, the place was crowded and we didn't understand the lesser reviews as we had a great experience. read more

Confusing menu. Rather ordinary burger Terrible service Automatic service charge added. Probably because no one would leave a tip. We waited over 20 minutes for a brownie with a scoop of ice cream. Better service and better prices at McDonald's. read more

For a totally decadent experience, I can highly recommend the Mini Burgers and Loaded Tater Tots from the Happy Hour menu! That includes only two Mini Burgers; outside of Happy Hour, you can order the Mini Burgers, but they come four to an order. This works great for me to split with a friend, or I'll bring half of them home. For Super Extra Decadence, add their delicious chocolate shake! This isn't health food, but it's a fabulous treat. And I am so pleased that they continue to make their patio an inviting place to eat. The south-facing patio is enclosed, so it's pleasant except on the coldest winter days. Then I place my order and wait inside and then go outside to eat. read more

Arsh is THE best server I've ever had. So accommodating and kind. The food was great! Nice atmosphere and great place for conversation.

We've dined at the MTV location more often in recent years since it's much more convenient for us (and our friends) when we have get-togethers (vs. Santana Row + PA locations). While their fries/sweet potato fries/loaded tots & milkshakes are consistently good at all 3 locations, I've yet been impressed by their burgers after all these years. I do appreciate the ability to customize order but could never get myself to fully love the giant burgers that always require cutting (and is impossible to eat while holding in my hand). While I know there is a solution to this problem (by making it a salad bowl), it just doesn't make sense to me to have to pay extra for it. Will we go back to this place? Most likely since our friends love it...and I'm just bummed that I probably will never love this place as much as they do! read more

Plenty of out door seating available and very quick service! I got the southern chicken sandwich and make your own burger. Both were delicious! read more

The Counter Mountain View - Southern Fried Chicken - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

This place used to have great staff, but apparently the new owners haven't bothered to train the new waiters. My wife ordered chicken and our waiter asked, "What temperature do you want the chicken?" My wife was at first confused and then he started listing, "medium, medium rare...". We explained that chicken and turkey must always be fully cooked beyond the beef temperatures. He admitted he just started working there. Today is January 4, 2024, and I recommend waiting a few weeks before trying this place. read more

SO we are at a crossroads of sorts with the Counter. There was the "foil" incident at the Palo Alto location that I detailed in a previous review and did not occur at this location. Then there is the 25+ minutes it often takes to get food out EVEN during slow times. But what really has gotten to us time after time is the wildly inconsistent results we get when ordering. Not just at this location but others we have been at as well. The sweet potato fries are consistently among the best you can find, and the loaded tots are pretty good as well but........ This time was no different. First off IMHO the burgers are good, but not world beating. However, the chicken they serve is excellent and consistently consistent. Its always well cooked, super tasty and good. But then rest of the bowl? Meh. The lettuce was a bit tired. Mine was missing several ingredients, but I got quinoa which I did not order (my wife had ordered it and to be fair she got hers too) A few of the onions were pretty charred. Look when you order an egg sunny side up, the yolk should be runny. If I want a fully cooked chalky yolk I will order it over easy. The bacon was a mess as well. It was three thin slices that were kind of stuck together in line like they had been cooked that way. My wife got mostly what she ordered and we rolled the dice on the Mahi Mahi. It was fresh tasting and properly cooked but seriously underseasoned. The charred lemon was a nice touch. However, he mixed greens and spinach was mostly spinach. I mean we check off the boxes on the sheet no? So it should be pretty easy to follow that. The coffee milkshake tasted okay and we liked that it wasn't overly sweet, but it was really runny. The staff is always friendly and unobtrusive. Most locations and this. one included have a great draft beer selection. Look we could ask to have it fixed but how many times should we go through the motions? I think its time for us to move on.............. read more

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When ordered Manager said Burgers worth the wait. Lol, not impressed. McDonalds and In and Out out strip this place. read more

The Counter Mountain View - $20 burger, yeah right. Stuffed yup coming here. - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

burger was good, service was basic (took our order, gave our order, gave me some ranch as requested, and gave me the bill) ... was there when they opened around 11am for 2 people...maybe 2 other customers there... but not busy at all... but what took me by surprise was the automatic charge of a "service fee - dine in of (18.0%)" that was on my bill... would be a kind gesture to have a sign somewhere warning your customer's. like in front of the menu or when you open the menu... i've heard of a dine in fee of a party of 4 to 6+ people... but for 2.... server then says you can just sign it - the tip is already added to the bill... well then.... if i can rate this place with a zero star i would... this experience has totally altered my rating... not only have i shared this experience here but with other people as well...they too were shocked and agreed not to support this business!!! "remind me not to go there" read more

The Counter Mountain View - OH BY THE WAY!!! SURPRISE CHARGE!!1 - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

Very underwhelming. The service was good, therefore two stars. The burger was meh and the tots had no potato in them. Just the crispy exterior. So strange. The bartender was sick. He kept coughing. I had to get out of that germ petri dish. My friends were puzzled as to why I showed up and then left in a hurry (made the food to go). read more

The food is pretty good BUT The 20% gratuity is too damn much, we're talking about a damn burger joint not a high class restaurant, but even then the waiters know you're paying 20% so they have ZERO motivation to serve you, our waiter took our order, and gave us our food and disappeared, another waiter had to bring us condiments and the bill, I, as a consumer should be able to decide the tip, based on quality of service, it should not be pre determined. read more

The Counter is pretty good, and consistently good. Here's how I see it in terms of pros and cons Pros: tons of toppings available with no limit for no extra charge. I like my burger STACKED and this place is ideal for that Lots of "repeat" value in coming here because you can vary your sauce and topping selection Milkshakes are good, (alcoholic ones available too), decent beers Decent service and atmosphere Great fries Amazing veggie pattie Cons: expensive, regardless of how you order Something about the meat pattie just isn't quite as good as I'd like A bit more unhealthy than you'd expect if you look at the nutrition Can be loud Overall, if I were not thinking about money, I'd probably say The Counter is still the best burger spot in Mountain View, despite being a chain that's all over the bay. read more

Excellent service, always great attitude and fast service, the food is always fresh and delicious we always get something new but the counter burger is my favorite! read more

As of January 26th at 7:45pm my significant other and I came to the counter and we sat at the bar. My significant other order a corona lite and the guy bartender asked nicely if he can see her ID and she gave him her ID and everything was fine UNTIL the rude manager (in a blue work shirt) wanted to see her ID 4 different times and kept staring at her and I .. like YES WERE A LESBIAN COUPLE AND YES SHE'S A MASC LESBIAN. Rude service and everything except the bartender guy Luis, he was alright. Also, we are NOT dumb enough to go sit at a BAR if we were under age. My significant other is 22 about to be 23 in a few months and I am 24 going to be 25 soon. We AREN'T KIDS but we may look it. I just hate how we get judged but sh¡t at least we'll look young when we're older. read more

$83.00 dollars for 2 burgers, fries, cokes and sundaes. To top if off, they impose a MANDATORY SERVICE CHARGE which was over 10 dollars, and is basically forcing a LARGE tip with a note on the receipt stating it's so they can pay their employees livable wages. Price gauging customers because you can't manage your business is YOUR problem, not the customer's. Will absolutely not be coming back, ever. read more

Service was good they checked on us often and delivered things quickly. Food however was terrible. Burgers had no flavor except salt which would explain the need for sauces on everything. Patties were dry even with some pink in the middle. Would be even more disappointing if I didn't use a coupon. read more