The Counter

The best counter I've been too. The burger is cooked medium and juicy when you bite it. The waiters here are really nice nd make sure your order is correct. Try one of thei special milk shakes. I came back to try different combinations of burgers. However I don't recommend getting the bigger burger party. It takes really long and the meat gets dry. more

Tuesday burger/beer pairing is INCREDIBLE!!! However, for the most part, you build your very own burger here. This place is more for the experience and extreme quality product. This is not a good place to go if you want a standard In-n-Out type of burger. It's not upscale per-say but it's definitely a much more sophisticated burger joint. The flavors are so good and by far our favorite burger place in LA. Sweet potato fries are to perfection (don't miss out on these) and the beer selections are also to die for. I heavily applaud this wonderful restaurant! Dah-rool dah-rool!!! more

I love this place! Was great as a first date location or a lunch with my sister. I had a lot of fun picking out toppings, but I have to say, their menu choices are AWESOME. I love carbs, but their burger bowls are amazing. The southwestern and Mediterranean bowls are both really, really good. And if you skip the bun, you don't feel as guilty about ordering the Parmesan fries to share, which are totally worth it :) I also like the ambiance and the beer selection. Any place that has Stella on-tap is the restaurant for me, but I liked their other brews as well. more

The Counter has one of my favorite veggie burgers around. The patty is hearty and flavorful and their selection of breads for the buns and huge variety of other toppings to choose from is fantastic. I enjoy the veggie burger more than their other meat based patties. The concept of customizable burgers is a commendable one - the number of possible combinations of ingredients is vast. Maybe if I take a menu home with me one day I'll do the math for you. But suffice it to say it's certainly far more burgers than you can eat in a lifetime of dinners. I think their system for ordering is kind of silly from an operational efficiency standpoint. People pile up at the door filling out the little forms for their orders. I think they should submit them directly to the kitchen right then and there, but the Counter links your order to your table by making you wait until you sit down to turn in your form. This is still an improvement over the initial model where you filled out the form, and then a waiter would take your order and basically copy down the information a second time, which was a total waste. more

Tips: Fried Onion Strings, Cole Slow, Bacon and Horseradish cheddar. You heard it here first. more

Burgers were good, I didn't have a problem with a crumbling bun like everyone else did...I just built mine with the plain burger bun, but I used a knife and fork also, as the 2/3 lb. burger was looking a little messy to grab. I can see that they're going for a young hip ambience, but it should be inviting too...it seems a little forced and a little too bright...definitely not a date place... a burger, a beer, and splitting an order of fries will be more than 20 bucks, so plan ahead! There are other gastropubs around town that have better ambience and better taps ... but it's good to have this as an option also. Pros: good beef, good taps, good service Cons: ambience is not quite cozy, a little pricey more

We are original customers of the Counter in Santa Monica. A Counter burger was worth the drive from Pasadena. On our last two visits to Santa Monica we were disappointed to realize they had switched buns. Originally they used a good bakery bun which was equivalent to the quality of the meat. Sadly, Pasadena is following this same path. The bun literally crumbled around the beef. Gus's is now one of the best places for burgers in the area. Period! Pros: Lots of topping choice, good beef Cons: Terrible hamburger buns more

I was really looking forward to eating here and didnt find the food or atmosphere to be as good as I anticipated. As for the burger the bun crumbled so I had to eat it with a knife and fork. the onion frings were tastless and greasy. the only thing that was enjoyable was the sweet fries. I think I will stick with Islands and In and Out, the value and the food is much better Cons: noisy not as good as the hype more

This legendary West Side gourmet burger establishment has now claimed ground on the East Side with their scrumptious build your own burger concept. With all the fresh ingredients you can imagine and your choice of how to create your own burger, how can it not be the best burger in town right? I mean you made it yourself so it's not the best, then try again... it's on you! The staff is very friendly and attentive. The decor is chic industrial style but warm. They have flat screens to watch ball games and a cool bar where you can throw back a wide variety of beers, wines, cocktails or even milkshakes. Thursday nights they have a DJ spinning. You can also get mini-burgers and beer pairings to grind on while you cruise to the tunes. Simply bitchen place to hang for a variety of moods. Pros: Burgers, Staff, Atmosphere Cons: None that I know of more