Wow! If you love pastrami, try the burger pastrami sandwich. Absolutely phenomenal. It's a little to go place but has some seating in the back. A must try. read more

Stopped here for breakfast on our way north to Big Sur. We were originally going to eat at Summerland Beach Cafe, but the wait for the beach cafe was too long so we pivoted to Tinker's Burgers. Food here was standard, not much to write home about it. Good for quickly picking up nourishment. Portion sizes were adequate. We ordered the breakfast burrito with sausage, double burger, and breakfast plate (scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, English muffin). We ordered the food for takeout. The cashier was friendly. Service was fast. The restaurant was small but quaint. I liked the decorations. It gave fisherman cove vibes. This eatery is located in a very small, cramped town. There was no parking lot and very little street parking, so we had to park in the nextdoor neighborhood which was no more than a 3-minute walk away. We got yelled at an angry resident for "coming from Los Angeles and crowding our streets" and for "****ing up our community" because we were parked across from her house (and not in front of anyone else's house). We were in the process of leaving. There were also others parked along the residential street and no street signs prohibiting parking. I won't be returning. read more

See all

This place is pricey. Terrible food and all in all horrible! Everything is flavorless. No ambience whatsoever but it wouldn't matter given the state of their food. read more

If you like food that is mediocre at best for high prices, you'll love this place. I got one of their "signature" burgers, the Sourdough Bacon Cheeseburger, which has "double meat", a mixture of Swiss and American cheese, and bacon. It had a single thin patty of the lowest quality beef cooked to shoe-leather perfection, with a soggy mess of mayo-soaked lettuce on top. For only 16 dollars. My wife and kid ordered the fish and chips, which was clearly pre-breaded frozen fillets, but at least they were edible. I had to ask for lemon, who does not give you lemon with fish? The guy behind the register was surly yet of course they ask for a tip for doing nothing but take your order. I won't be back. read more

Food is great. Ordered via phone and there was a language barrier but very kind service. Inside is small. Very quick service! Great for pickup. Tater tots were amazing. read more

We love stopping here on the way to the SB Zoo. Great spot to fill up before walking around! Breakfast is 9-11 am. We have tried their breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches, and their burgers. Love the kids mini burger, seriously perfect size for them! Service is quick and always nice. Limited seating inside and outside. read more

Came in on a Tuesday morning right when they open place has outdoor front curb seating an indoor seating. The menu is simple burgers, patty, melt pancakes, breakfast with eggs, etc.. I ordered three things. The patty melt, which I asked for no pickles no mustard but they still included it. $11 I also ordered a triple cheeseburger with no tomato no mayo but they still included it. $11 I also ordered a mini cheeseburger with no tomato no mayo and no pickles, but they still included it .$6 The meat taste like it's 75/25 ground beef which is perfect. The chef was doing great! Bathrooms are clean!! My only request was that the Mayo and other things weren't included in the burgers and melt. The guy at the register must of not relayed the information and I mentioned it when I picked up the food. I understand if it were busy but it was not.. 2 and a half stars given because if I were to be allergic to any of those items you would have a bigger issue. read more

See all

We came here because they had a booth at the lemon festival, but when we looked at their actual menu we wanted to try with all the stuff on the menu. So we ended up eating someplace else at the lemon festival and coming to tinkers for dinner. We ordered a 4x4, pastrami burger, ( both of the burgers on sourdough) bread, tater tots, curly fries, and a strawberry shake. After getting your order they brought out regular fries, which we realized we made a mistake on the order but the guy told us we could keep the fries and gave us a curly fries a little bit later which was nice of him. The burgers tasted extremely fresh and delicious. When it's on the sourdough bread it's not like Jack in the box's buns, it's more like a sandwich bread style. The ingredients on the burger tasted extremely fresh, the lettuce tomatoes onions. We also ordered the Diablo sauce, or spicy sauce. When I asked him how hot it was he said they use habaneros. The flavor was like a habanero and creaminess. That's awesome extremely well with the burger, assuming you can handle spiciness. The fries are the McDonald's style fries, curly fries are nicely flavored. Tater tots were just like regular tater tots. I also enjoyed the strawberry shake because it was not overly sweet and you could see some of the strawberry chunks. I would say this place has that old Burger joint feel. This place has been on my radar to try and I finally got to try it. I personally prefer this place over chubby's. The burgers here are delicious the chefs did an amazing job read more

See all

The only reason I am even giving this place one star is because the lady at the counter who took our order was really nice. If it wasn't for that, I would give it half a star at best. We decided to try this place while driving south on the 101 heading home. We like to try local places, and the photos online of the burgers looked good. The burgers we got looked nothing like that. They looked and tasted like crappy burgers you get at a second rate college dining hall. And they were massively overpriced for what you got. The kids mini cheeseburger fit in the palm of my hand and cost $7 and came with nothing. That's ridiculous. Had we not spent so much time finding it because our map app sent us in the wrong direction initially, we would have gone somewhere else. But, given the online pictures we thought it would be worth the inflated cost. We were very wrong. The burgers were terrible. And, my husband asked for no pickles and got extra pickles. This place is not worth the stop. Your money is better spent elsewhere. read more

This place is tasty! Cute old school burger place with history. Small menu that covers the basics like burgers, fries, sandwiches and sodas. Tasty burgers- highly recommend! Street parking and great and kind service. read more

Tinker's Burgers - Cheeseburger - Burgers Near Me - Summerland, California

See all

My grandparents lived in Summerland for over 75 years , I remember the year Tinkers opened , I'm 52 now I have visited Tinkers twice in the last 30 days , there's 3 adults working there , both times it was so unprofessional speaking Spanish is absolutely fine with me but cussing in Spanish and every other word is pinche this and pinche that is unpleasant. I love the Spanish language but cussing like that made my mother who happens to be a Pastor really uncomfortable . we did order in english but doesn't mean we didn't understand what you were saying and the disparaging that you were saying about a co/worker that obviously wasn't present . read more

Tasty and very cool inside. My cheeseburger was easy to order and came out quickly. It was delicious and cheesy

The food was greasy and the burgers tasted like they were frozen. We both felt a little sick afterwards. The service was nice though. read more

I had a double cheese burger and tater tots. The burger was ok, nothing special but just fine. The tots were dry and overcooked. And expensive. The serving was huge, enough for three people easy, so why not offer a smaller size at a lower price? And don't overcook them! Anyhow, lots of other burger options in the area, I won't be back. read more

I don't know what has changed since the early 2000's, (ownership?) but the food on this night was mediocre at best. The cashier was helpful when it came to making decisions. And the decor of the restaurant, itself, hasn't changed a lick... which is fine by me. I think what made me sad is the food was meh and it was more expensive than ever for what it is. Probably the last time for me. read more

This is such a treasure- the food is delicious and I love chili cheese fries- friendly and helpful employees

Really good burgers! We stopped by since we were at the beach right across the street. What a great gem we found! I was so satisfied with my yummy burger and a great portion of tater tots. We sat inside and it was so cool! I will have a photo attached of me with my camera where we sat. Chili was also delicious read more

See all

The food was okay not great but not bad. I understand being in a middle of nowhere why it has high reviews. Set your expectations low as it's just a okay. Service was good, people were nice, small sitting area outside and inside, limited parking. Side note they go heavy on the Mayo. read more

Tinker's Burgers - Outside sign - Burgers Near Me - Summerland, California

See all

Friendly and helpful staff. Quick ordering as well as food readiness. A great pitstop for your hunger in Summerland.

Food was delicious we ordered the bacon cheeseburger on sourdough (simple classic delicious), and ordered the ranch hand (it was sweet), and ordered a side of chili fries (delicious and fries are skinny). read more

I work in Goleta (USPS) and live in Port Hueneme so when there's a traffic jam I usually take the streets "Old Coast Highway". I would pass through this joint and see people outside seating on the bench enjoying their hamburgers. Every pass I would say someday I'll stop by and try it out. Today was that someday, I placed my order via website and ordered a cheeseburger with bacon, curly fries and strawberry shake. Oh my God burgers is delicious. Homemade style, curly fries are well seasoned and strawberry shake tasted natural. Friendly staff and helpful. Yes I highly recommend this place. read more

Tinker's Burgers - Cheeseburger with bacon...light mayo. - Burgers Near Me - Summerland, California

See all

Cool little spot located in a great area. The chicken sandwich was good. The staff was friendly and it's a very unique little spot. I would definitely come back and try a burger, which is what they're known for next time I'm here. read more

See all

I love this place -- I stop by every time I'm in Summerland cause the food is amazing. Quick service and very nice people. I really like their decor too. read more

Cute outdoor seating, enclosed back or front picnic tables. Such a cute place with really really really delicious food! Like so good! They even had milkshakes! We were welcomed and it was such authentically friendly pleasant aerobics that make you feel like you're about the have home cooked meal with all the best comfort foods! It's clean and parking is easy and absolutely an iconic place to enjoy! read more

See all

This place is cute, clean and fast. The burgers were delicious and the staff was friendly. Definitely get the tots! They were perfectly crispy and hot. Nice patio outside with picnic tables. Will definitely be back! read more

See all

The place is cool. The employees were fun. But the burgers were ehh. And we got 3 burgers and 2 fries, no drinks and blew $32. What am I missing? If the patties aren't frozen they sure weren't impressive. The bacon was weird. And that cost $32??? I don't get it. read more

See all

Super yum. Cool place. Great stop on a road trip. I don't know why I must meet an 85 character minimum. read more

I don't know who took it over, but they went from combo meals hamburger soda, fries hell of a lot more expensive must be a new ownership. Don't think it's gonna last. read more

Nice hole in the wall burger joint. Main complaint was the price to food size and amount ratio. Burger was small and the amount of onion rings you get for $9 was VERY small . Other than that decent burger. Wife had a veggie burger she really enjoyed. They have fountain drinks and bottled drinks. 2 burgers.. about 8 onion rings a fountain and bottle drink and a corn dog. $45. If we got bigger burgers and more onion rings then it would be a valid amount to pay. Service was good. Food was good. Very clean bathroom! read more

See all

Delicious! We had the $13 sourdough bacon cheese burger. Bread was buttered & toasted as expected. Cheese was thick, pickles & onions included. I came in hungry & left with leftovers. Charming back enclosed porch. Def not square! Also several picnic tables out front on the street. Everything was Clean. Staff was pleasant & helpful. We were lucky enough to talk with The Tinker himself. A bonus. read more

The pastrami burger is loaded with delicious pastrami, two burgers, and cheese. Old fashioned burger shack vibes. Over all great for family and a nice spot to eat read more

Everyone talks about Tinker's as being one of the top places to eat a burger on the Central Coast--one that is "50's style," although I'm not sure what that entails. Tinker's has been in business going on 33 years and counting. I have passed by countless times and figured I was due for a visit while in Summerland. From the outside, it seems unremarkable and like a weathered beachside surfer shack. I could definitely picture it on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (mostly for the 'dive' aspect). I was greeted by Susan who was at the register and absolutely STELLAR! My interaction with her alone is worth five stars. I was staring at the menu for some time and she had realized I was a Tinker newbie. She guided me in the right direction on what I was searching for. Of course, I went with a Tinker's Classic Double Burger that comes on a sesame seed bun with mayo, pickles onions (which I requested to be grilled), lettuce and tomato. I skipped on the cheese. The burger was decent but I wouldn't say the best I have had in the area. I think I prefer Chubbie's more. It's a given but I was also craving something fried to accompany my burger. Tinker's offers french fries, curly fries AND tater tots. Given my inability to make decisions, Susan had the cook give me a sample of their french fries; a "sample" being almost an entire basket! They were truly tasty and slightly salty so I requested that they add more fries to the basket as part of my order. Overall I would give Tinker's 4 stars if not for the service. They have a small indoor back room to sit and eat, picnic tables out front or you can take your food to do. I recommend taking your sack of food to Lookout Park on the opposite side of the 101 to soak up some sun and grease. read more

See all

Amazing on all fronts. Can't go wrong with anything on the menu! Bring your appetite. read more

Decided to give Tinker's one more shot. The upside is that the staff was friendly. The food was average. I don't really even mind that, but I will say that the pandemic and recent increase in costs hasn't been good to Tinker's. I paid $60 for 3 burgers, 2 fries, an order of onion rings (for $9 and they were frozen and not made fresh) and a drink. Unfortunately, if I'm paying $60+ dollars for lunch, I need more value for my money. I really want to support local small businesses as much as possible, but I just can't justify this. read more

This place used to be so cheap and they would give you a good amount of food but now prices went up and portions are smaller but still good.

Great service and atmosphere and awesome burgers! Highly recommend! Grab it and eat there or take it the beach

We tried this little burger place once when we couldn't get seated at the place across the street. Now we actually prefer it! We've had the Sourdough Bacon, the Bacon Blue Cheese with a turkey patty and the fries and onion rings and more. It's all good, and the service is fast and friendly. You can park on the ocean side of the freeway and walk up to the corner, on the street or in the parking lot diagonally across from the place. We bring our dog to get there early and nab a spot outside the front door. read more

I came here to try a burger but they didn't have it anymore. I was a bit disappointed. But i did have a burger and it was pretty taste. This is a good spot to stop for a break while driving on the 101 going to LA or SB. @raulvsfood read more

Tinker's Burgers - Burgers Near Me - Summerland, California

This used to be our go to burger joint. Not anymore. We went there recently and had a burger that was mediocre at best. No seasoning on the meat, the bun was soggy and the fries were cold. We decided to give them a second chance and had the same experience. Also way over priced!! Nearly $50 for me and my wife! read more

Quick service good food clean and dog friendly We both thoroughly enjoyed our burger and fries!