This was our first time here, and we were looking forward to it however we've never been interested in going as it never looked appealing from the outside. We the "old school" on gluten free bread and the "purist" with bacon.. Presentation was not the best, kinda sad actually, humongous plate with a little tiny burger on it. Lmao ... We waited about 25 min for the food and we were disappointed to find everything warm to room temperature. I'd expect the burger patties to be warm to hot but it was not. We got the 50/50 onion strings and shoe string fries which were super thin and shredded, not what we expected plus they were cold as well... The ambiance was "meh" and without any soul - like a high school cafeteria, and the wait staff seemed so rushed and frazzled and the place literally just opened. Our waiter was attentive and friendly which was the only saving grace of this meal. You're better off going to Five guys or habit and get your food fresh and hot and you won't spend $50+. If you want to spend that much then go to Nom Burger (Sunnyvale) for gourmet burgers. We could have tried other things on the menu, but we were there for the burger which was a total let down. WILL NOT BE COMING BACK and we do not recommend this place. read more

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

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honestly not bad. we have come here a few times. staff were great. just hope the french fries could be at least regular or steak fries rather than very thin fries... just personal preferences. would be back again. read more

Worst experience last night at 5 when it wasn't even crowded. Got seated, ordered quickly and then got completely ignored. Took an hour to get and nibble at the edges of what could have been a great burger! Bloody red burger although I ordered medium well. Waiter literally shrugged when I pointed it out and said do you need anything else? Wtf. You can clearly see blood in picture! Used to be my favorite place to go with friends. Super disappointing. Def won't be returning anytime soon. read more

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

We tried the counter for a late evening eat out. Great menu and even friendlier staff. We were super late and the server still seated us with a smile and politely asked us for our orders. We were a large group and there was a lot of back and forth with the order. But our server kept her patience and the smile. The food was great too; I tried one of the grilled chicken breast sandwiches. It was good not very oily, flavors were there, not too overpowering condiments. The bread was well roasted just the right amount of mayo on the sides. Came with a pesto sauce that was great too. The place itself is big and can hold quite a few folks. If you find yourself wandering around El Camino late at night, give this place a try. read more

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

Dog friendly patio dog bowl of water quiclkly offered after sitting down Friendly waiter very nice Ordered med rare Beef n blue with extra blue cheese on side Tasty But well done read more

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I ordered pick up on October 3rd and one of the items was the half and half fires. When I got to the hotel withing 5 minutes, the fries were soggy and cold. They were the worst ever and I have eaten at the Counter for years. Anyway, it was if they made over an hour before and they just grabbed whatever they had. The take out employees should be more aware of what they are serving. I wish I would have checked before I left. read more

This review is specific to the Parmesan fries. ABSOLUTELY FIRE!!! Boyfriend and I stop by there for for those fries. They have a super dog friendly patio and parking right in front of the restaurant. read more

reallyy good place to have some quick lunch, food was great overall, customer service was also great. read more

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

We used to love going to the counter when we lived in Mountain View a few years ago but after going twice since we moved back, the prices have gone up a lot and the quality has gone down substantially. Our buns were stale and smelt bad, and both times our orders didn't have all the toppings we chose. We probably would have liked our burgers better from inn n out or five guys for a 3rd of the price. They also add 15% service fee in the prices written in very small print on the top of the menu. We are bummed that this restaurant wasn't what it used to be and sadly won't be coming back. read more

Pretty scammy place. The menu is deceptive with many extra costs not listed. There is a mandatory 20% gratuity for everyone even though there are no waiters or servers. Expect to pay $25-40 per person. Ketchup and condiments are not included even with fries. I ordered a burger cooked medium and it was literally raw - not even just rare but butcher shop raw. They acknowledged it was raw and cooked a replacement burger but this took 20 minutes and the rest of my party had already finished their meals by the time it came out. No apology or compensation given for taking a bite out of raw meat or time wasted waiting afterwards. We will never be back. read more

Food was ok, service was not. The person who greeted us through the door was nice. Our server never checked on us. When I paid the bill and saw the automatic 20% tip that I couldn't change, I realized why. No incentive to provide good service. read more

To say the service is slow would be an understatement, we ordered a salad and a burger, it took a whopping 40 minutes to get our food. We literally had 18 minutes to eat our food before the restaurant closed. read more

First time at The Counter so I ordered the Old School burger since I didn't want too much on my burger. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium rare so I enjoyed that. The burger is really juicy and flavorful as well. However, the bun was soggy. Maybe it was the oil from the burger, but the burger was just not appetizing afterwards. read more

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

This place is a burger paradise; a wide variety, topped with great service and you really couldn't ask for anything more. The staff has been incredible since this place ever opened over 10 years ago (I hope I am not mistaking it, I am sure the Palo Alto location open around 2006 or 2007). Anyway, my boyfriend and I absolutely enjoyed our experience here and can't stop talking about it. I had their veggie burger -- they have a lot of options when it comes to their veggie patties but this time I wanted something simple. The burger was huge, flavorful and incredibly juicy for a veggie burger! My boyfriend opted for a fried chicken sandwich that included a piece of chicken made to a perfect crispiness. The slaw that covered it added flavor but he wished that it was seasoned a bit more. For the price though, it was really good, a good option to add to the casual places I frequent. read more

Very average dining experience. Indoor and outdoor dining. Plenty of air flow indoors with doors and a large window open. Table distance is ok, but not ideal. Servers all wearing masks. Food is mediocre at best. I have heard great things about this hamburger place, but was not impressed. My 1/3 pound hamburger rivaled McDonald's in size. The flavor was better. The hamburger covered about 2/3 of my sourdough bread at best. They were out of the aioli that we ordered and just brought none and didn't tell us. We had to ask twice for napkins and knife and fork. The Diet Coke that I ordered wasn't delivered and I had to ask twice for it. Never an apology for the problems. This is barely a step above fast food yet they add 20 % gratuity to the check. read more

The Yelp reviews aren't great, but the google reviews are more promising. My husband and I ordered 2 burgers, 2 shakes, loaded tots, and onion straws. - tots and straws were delicious 5/5. - the burgers pretty good, little dry 4/5. - the shakes tasted good but arrived already very melty, almost a chocolate milk consistency and I couldn't eat it with a spoon 2/5. Our bill was $70 (they include the tip in the charge) which seems steep for what we ordered. The meal didn't knock my socks off, but also wasn't awful. read more

My family and I came here for dinner on a Sunday night. It was just o.k. Nothing crazy amazing. I built my own 1/2 lb burger for about $16, it came on a dry brioche bun. Nothing fancy. We ordered regular sized sweet potato fries that were also o.k. My husband ordered a 1/2 lb patty on spinach and pineapple that was also dry. They charged an extra $1 to get it without a bun. The chili was also just average. Overall not really worth the $70 with tip $80 for a family burger night. read more

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The new management seems eager to please but the kitchen is lacking. The prices used to be somewhat reasonable but the quality of the food has slipped. Whatever the reason, it will take a lot to get me to return. read more

There are people who will eat any old burger thrown at them. I am not one of them. But The Counter focuses on quality ingredients and it really shows. Build your own custom burger from their many fine toppings or stick with their specials. Warning: the Bison is Gouda burger may be addictive. With all the many choices here, you would think a girl could branch out. But no, time after time I find myself drooling a little over the thought of a medium rare bison patty covered in melted Gouda and topped with a sunny-side-up egg and chives. There's also some kind of sweet onion chutney that i swear will enslave your tastebuds and demand frequent returns. Get it with sweet potato fries and their horseradish aioli if you truly want to end up needing rehab. They also have root beer floats. Which. Will ruin you. They seem to be doing a nice job during Covid. You can eat outside or pick up your food after ordering online. They all wear masks and have sanitizer at the register. My only complaint is that they can be maddeningly slow. Some people feel they're spendy, but I would say only compared to grody cheapo fast food burgers. For the quality you get here, it's well worth it! read more

They have a build your own burger option where you can add all kinds of toppings to your burger. Aioli they have is very good. Would come back here again. read more

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

Love the concept; build your own burger with a plethora of toppings, cheeses, meat types, sauces, and buns. Or for the less adventurous, just order one of the 10 well put together house burgers. The burger was cooked a perfect medium as ordered. The potential is all there. The knock, when you're a "burger" joint, I want a damn good burger. Really good burger. Memorable burg. It was a decent burger but seemed a bit dry. Part was on me, don't order a ciabatta bun with the burger. Ciabatta is naturally dry, so with a patty that is not oozin the juices, it was very dry. Again, not like I won't return, I'll return. Haven't found my "burger" joint yet in SV so as long as I can build the burger I want. I'll come back. FYI - get onion rings as a side option.... who doesn't like O rings with a mushroom/swiss... read more

The Counter Mountain View - Custom 1/3lb burger: ciabatta, mushroom, Swiss, jalapeños, lettuce, grilled onion, garlic aioli. - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

One of the creepiest marketing ploys was when I received a card in the mail announcing my birthday with my name on it and a burger featured from The Counter with candles in the background. In this information age I really wondered how much information the really have on me to market this. I kept the card for quite a while and read the fine print on the back. The card wanted me to patronize The Counter on California Ave in Palo Alto, but after reading the reviews on Yelp I decided not to. https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-counter-palo-alto-palo-alto-3 The Mountain View location had better reviews so I decided to go here. The fine print says you can go to any location and the card is only good for $12.00 credit towards your purchase. You have to pay the rest of the balance and tip. I arrived at the Mountain View location around 6PM and it was half way full. The nice receptionist let me have my own booth near a window which was nice. My server was very nice and appeared to be unfazed when I presented my birthday card up front. One thing I found daunting was the amazing amount of choices as for a premium you can build your own burger custom to order. I quickly added up how much that cost and opted for a BBQ Burger with bacon and a side salad to keep me within budget for this outing. I think they have the burgers premade because mine came out with lighting speed from the kitchen. The couple in the next booth had to wait considerably for their order so I guess they chose a custom burger. That is where everything went downhill as it appeared to me to be slightly warmed up and not grilled or made from scratch. The side salad was a nice accompaniment with the small serving of Thousand Island dressing as well as a small serving of BBQ sauce. So if the burger had been hotter in temperature and juicy and tasted like it was right of the grill would have made my day. So this was a disappointing experience as I make my burgers from scratch with chuck, brisket, and short rib ground up at home. https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/recipes/burger-blend-beef-chuck-brisket-short-ribs-recipe So my personal 'encounter' with 'The Counter' was a filling, but disappointing experience. Sorry The Counter creepy marketing guys. read more

The Counter Mountain View - My BBQ Bacon Burger with Side Salad. - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

I love the custom made burger! I always do the veggie burger and i can add whatever i want. So delicious! Totally recommend it.

I have been going to The Counter for many years . They really do have the best tasting burgers around. However, my recent Mountain View experience was less than expected. My order was for well done ( "no pink"). Unfortunately, this was a to go order so when I got home they were cooked Medium at best. This is a problem because it's too late to do anything about that mistake. Also, this same situation has happened before (about 50% of the time). If I was at the restaurant I would have asked for my order to be redone. Also, I tried to use my Counter reward card but was told that they couldn't credit my purchase AFTER I had charged it. Seems like a strange policy... read more

The Counter (ordered through waiter.com) Old school burger - $11.75 Fried dill pickles - $6.50 I heard great things about the counter! So i had to order take out and give it a try! The old school burger was a classic burger with cheese. The patty was thick and was perfectly cooked medium as requested. The brioche bun was soft! Though the overall burger taste was very "vanilla" and could have used a sauce to make it.... more special. I saw that you can customize your burger with soo many ingredients and i may try that for next time! Fried pickles were just okay! The crisp factor was still there when i received it and there was a good amount. The accompanying apricot sauce didn't pair well and i would have preferred a creamier dip! read more

The Counter Mountain View - Old school burger with fried pickle chips - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

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Horrible service, dirty ambiance, and they messed up our order several times. All this for the low low price of 65 dollars for two poor quality burgers with zero compensation to the obvious mess ups in their service. If you want food to match in quality go to an in and out the only difference will be that you walk away with better cash value. read more

Just ok the burger tasted funny and the bun was dry. The French fries were outstanding And the employees were very nice. read more

We came to this location because the Palo Alto one was packed with people waiting. This Mountain View location also had a line of people waiting, but the restaurant is comparably larger. PARKING + AMBIENCE The restaurant is visible from the street, it's located in a large plaza. There's outdoors and indoors seating, we decided to sit outside since there was no wait. Heat lamps kept us warm on a chilly night. FOOD I did the build your own burger ($9.95) which allows you to customize the burger from the size, bread, and protein to the cheese, sauce/dressing, and toppings. A yelp check-in for one free premium topping is currently available, otherwise it's a $1 charge for each. There is no limit to the toppings, but you want to avoid picking too many because there's certainly a limit to how much a burger can hold. The burger was okay, depending on what you decide to put in it. SERVICE Service was extremely slow from the get-go. We walked into the restaurant and were not acknowledged for at least 3 minutes. Finally, somebody came and seated us outdoors per our request since all of the indoor seats were occupied. Our server was very friendly and accommodated us well, the food came out in 7-10 minutes. He did forget to waive the free premium topping on the bill, so make sure your bill is correct before paying. It was a simple mistake, so I wasn't mad, but it did take a while for him to come back and revise the bill. CONCLUSION The Counter is good for a burger fix, but it isn't the best burger joint I've been to. The customizable options is nice for people who want to create their own burgers, the quality of the ingredients were okay. It was extremely busy on a Wednesday night, so be prepared to wait on any given night. Personally, it's too long of a wait for an okay burger. read more

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

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I have given this restaurant multiple opportunities to get my burgers correct and i am never successful. Why when i.m ordering a hamburger online and i.m given the opportunity to select how it is cooked and i take the time to select well done and then even in the additional comments box i capitalize well done do i always get raw meat? I just don.t understand. This isn.t the first, third, or even the 5th time i.ve tried getting my food made correctly. Well done does not equal pink meat. Pink meat is raw. I spent 28 dollars on a burger and fries and had to throw away over half my burger because it was under cooked. I.ve tried and tried to give this store the opportunity to get it right and its been failing me for years now. And on top of that the character limitation so low on the section for additional comments that i couldn.t even type in what i wanted. Its useless. And why is it that making your own bacon cheese burger costs more money that the bbq bacon or jalapeno burger? They all have the same basic ingredients - bun meat cheese lettuce tomato pickle bacon and the plain bacon cheese is more money for less items. Im done waisting my money here. I.m being asked to add what could have made this better by yelp. How about cooking the food. Its very simple really. Quit rushing and actually check with a thermometer if its cooked, not that you burned it but cooked it. read more

The Counter Mountain View - Pink meat that was ordered well done - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

Came with a couple of friends to try the Impossible Burger, which I've had at a couple of other places and am curious about--it was kind of interesting to actually be asked how well done the burger should be. As a vegetarian, you pretty much never get asked that unless you're ordering an Impossible burger, and a number of other places actually also don't ask about the Impossible, so that was cool. The Impossible burger was great--both of us who had it were happy with it, although my friend had hoped it would hold together a little better. I was surprised by the generous portion provided, as a lot of other Impossibles I've had are on the thinner side (which, come to think of it, may be why I am not typically asked about done-ness). The service was also quite good, and honestly the only reason this isn't a 5 star review is that the space itself was a little awkwardly arranged (not sure if the tables are normally set that way or if they were rearranged to accommodate something) so it was a little awkward being nervous about pushing my chair out too far and bumping into the person behind me. All in all, great burger place, and I hope I will be back again for another Impossible burger :) Thank you, Counter, for having good options for your vegetarian and vegan diners--you've got a good veggie burger, too, but I think the Impossible is my new favorite ;) read more

The Counter experiences are often unusual ones. The food is good. Always has been, and hopefully always will be. Yesterday, was another bad experience with the service. We were on our way to Rave Burger in San Mateo, but due to the living hell that was traffic, we decided to eat here instead. Seated within 20 minutes so that wasn't too bad. Greeted almost right away, which was perfect and then nothing. Apparently the guy who greeted us wasn't our waiter and eventually our real waiter showed up. Still everything was at a slugs pace from there. Food, drinks, and even the check took forever. Horrible. However, the silver lining was that the food was good and tasty as always. They really do make great burgers, and they even have burgers with egg now. Just the way I like it. The only counter's where I had a really good experience is the one at Santana Row. That location seems to get everything right. This one, not so much. read more

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****REVIEW 400**** I ended up meeting a buddy of mine for lunch at The Counter. Thank goodness this location is very close to me. We ended up meeting up before the lunch rush (around 11:30am) and were seated with no delays. This was my first time at a Counter location, so I got assistance from my waitress. To start things off, I got a large order of Parmesan fries for us to share. That was the easiest thing I ordered. These fries were absolutely amazing! Crispy fries topped with melted and stringy Parmesan cheese. These for sure were habit forming! Next was the challenging part, customizing my burger. Let me break down my burger just in case you'd like to try my combination. I customized my burger as followed: - 2/3 beef patty with a wheat bun - Jalapeno jack cheese - Lettuce blend - Sauteed onions - Fried egg - Applewood smoked bacon - Chipotle Aioli Sauce I really out did myself customizing my burger. I couldn't have done with perfectly cooked ingredients. The Angus beef patty was cooked medium well. The lettuce had that crunch from being fresh. The egg and bacon tasted like I was having breakfast with my burger. The melody of ingredients made the burger taste wonderful with a kick. Without the help of my waitress I would've just ordered a plain cheeseburger! read more

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Definitely a legit upscale burger chain. The fries are also good, and as of yesterday afternoon, I found myself surprisingly impressed by the salads. A good choice when you have a little time for lunch and want something nice but not pricey. read more

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

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Somehow, I remember this place being better. It's still great, but I'm starting to feel like the price is a bit crazy for what it is. Two things: 1. HUGE fan of the veggie burger - who said vegetarians couldn't have fun? 2. Say YES to the fries if you have a big party to share them with. Worth a splurge for your group - and you can mix and match too! TIP: redeem your free topping! Didn't see this earlier. read more

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

The food was good. There is no service. They charge for salad dressing when you order a salad. Then charge a service fee. They don't do anything except bring your plate out. Not something I would recommend.I ordered a salad and asked for a ranch and an Italian. I was charged .50 each. Then I asked for ranch for my fries that I had to add to my order because fries didn't come with my burger and got charged another .50. Just a rip off and no service to be expecting a 20% tip. I was a server for many years and I feel you need to go above and beyond to gain that extra cash! read more

Came here on a Friday afternoon for lunch for a coworkers bday celebration. They placed us closer to the front door as we got there fairly early, which was freezing whenever someone would open the door so we all had to wear our rain/winter jackets while we waited/ate. Our server was friendly and nice, and we put in our orders after checking off everything we wanted on our custom burgers/salads. However, we waited, waited, and waited. An hour later, our food finally arrived. At this time, 3 of our other coworkers, that came after us, were leaving after finishing their food. Unbelievable. Patrons near our table who came 30-45 minutes got their food faster! It made us so annoyed as we needed to go back to work and wee starving. Food was really good, I got the veggie patty on a bed of lettuce with a bunch of toppings and bacon! I also got shoestring fries with cheese which were amazing! Food was all really good, but not sure if I would come back since service was so slow. read more

The Counter Mountain View - Veggie burger salad with bacon! - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

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Service was horrendous. Waited an hour to even get fries and had to ask multiple times for updates. The hostess seemed to take our order, very unprofessionally. Leaning on our table writing on paper, hair flowing on top of us. Terrible all around. read more

I love the Counter! The food is always delicious. I recommend the homemade veggie burger salad style. It is sooo good. This location is pretty good with customer service. I would like more attention from the staff though. Every time I eat on the patio the staff is quick to take our order and serve our food but never comes back to refill drinks or check up on us. We always have to ask someone to get our waiter. The big reason why I come to the Counter is the pups are allowed on the patio. I love taking my little Yorkies out to restaurants with me. They have lots of fun eating boiled eggs and sniffing other dogs visiting the restaurant. There are no special treats for your dog at the Counter but they will enjoy hanging out with you while you eat. read more

The Counter Mountain View - Chewy and Solo love to hang out on the patio while I eat lunch! - Burgers Near Me - Mountain View, California

This was a while back. When they brought out my burger, there was a LIVE COCKROACH on the plate. Not wanting to make a scene, I calmly point it out. The waitress replied "ewww, they do not pay me enough to deal with that" She went and got the manager, who squished it on the table and said "sorry it must be because of the rain" The real kicker comes when the manager came back with our receipt, and charged us for the meal, with no sort of compensation. read more

I love going to The Counter in Mountain View. We get great service, the food is great and the drinks are great. Everyone that works there is very nice. read more