The Counter

Of course in LA you'll find a posh diner. The burgers here can't go wrong because you can mix and match whatever you like. They have the burger in a bowl which is how your burger ends up looking. The burgers are so large you end up needing to eat it with a fork. You have to try the milkshakes of the month. Sure they have the classics, but once in a while they'll come up with these outstanding tasting milkshakes ...ie the Churro Milkshake. Heart-Attack waiting to happen...well you only live once. The service was peppy and had one too many redbulls but they were quick and attentive. There can be quite a long wait so not good for groups greater than 6. A must try and decent price. Pros: Food, Decent Price, Milkshakes Cons: kinda loud, long wait (but worth it) more

I love this place!! I dig the idea of making your own burger.I love their sweet potato fries. I love their burgers--I've had their turkey burgers, veggie and possibly even their (gasp) meat. (Sometimes you just get a craving.) Service has been pretty good from what I remember... Pros: great food, burger how you want it Cons: you have to wait a while for a table--even on a Monday more

I love this place!! I dig the idea of making your own burger.I love their sweet potato fries. I love their burgers--I've had their turkey burgers, veggie and possibly even their (gasp) meat. (Sometimes you just get a craving.) Service has been pretty good from what I remember... Pros: great food, burger how you want it Cons: you have to wait a while for a table--even on a Monday more

Here its done right. Great meat(pick your size: 1/3 or 1/2 or 1 lb), type of bun, type of cheese, + 3 toppings included. I always get sweet potato fries, a mountain of an order good for two or even three people. Always a wait though, counter service is faster than tables. Go! Pros: Great burger and sweet potato fries! Cons: Wait time more

I've been to the Counter several times for lunch and can't find one bad thing to say. I would reccomend getting there early if possible. Otherwise, you might wait for a table. The food is worth it though. Try to the burger in a bowl to switch things up...especially if you're watching calories or carbs. Pros: food is phenomenal Cons: large crowds more

Even if someone gives me raving reviews about a place, it can often be hit-and-miss; hence, I was expecting no more than a diner. We turned up at 2 p.m. on a Saturday, and to my surprise the place was chock full, wall-to-wall, and displayed no signs of slowing down! This was just the first indication of how awesome this place is!\r \r The menu is vast and inventive, the burgers are fresh, the sauces we sampled from the menu (all made on premises) were awesome and very inventive, and even the service was excellent! Basically, you tick boxes on your ""Make Your Own"" burger menu, then they go off and make it to your instructions! They even got the patty right - you can choose how you would like your beef cooked (if you decide on beef instead of chicken or turkey) and they managed to get medium-rare spot on. Even top dollar steak houses I've been to have overcooked on occasions!\r \r I have also heard raving reviews about the milkshakes and the fries - we didn't try them, but it's top of my list on our next visit, which will be a.s.a.p.\r \r BEST BURGER PLACE I'VE SEEN IN L.A.!! YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!! :D Pros: Excellent burgers!! Great service, and very cheap! Cons: Not sure about the parking - we parked on the road without difficulty though. more

I love this place! Their burgers are the best in the city! I made a bacon and grilled pineapple burger and it was sooo good. When I went their this weekend, I found out about this great contest where you can win free food! It's in conjunction with the election coming up. It's called Choice 2008 and from October 1st through Super Tuesday, you can vote for your favorite burger! All you have to do is go to their website or go into the restaurant and vote! And best of all, Voters who enter their email addresses will be rewarded with an email offer for a free dessert and are automatically entered to win a dinner for four at their local The Counter. Once all the votes have been tabulated, one winner will be selected from each of The Counter?s 13 U.S. locations for the free dinner and every voter will receive a free ?fifty-fifty? of fries, sweet potato fries or onion strings for participating in Choice 2008. So go vote guys! Those sweet potato fries are to die for! :) more

I went to the counter for a burger and shake seeing as how I read they were the best in town and I was not dissapointed. They have the most selection I have ever seen for toppings on a burger. They're milkshake was phenomenal. Not too sweet with the right amount of thickness and consistancy. It's a must try! Pros: Great food Cons: Wayyy to crowded, not a good group dining place more

If you want a great burger YOUR WAY, you go to The Counter. Be prepared to wait 15-20mins for your table during peak evenings, but they are organized and it goes by quick...especially if you order a beer to hold you over.\r \r The staff was so professional, and NICE! We sat, we ordered, and in a blink of an eye were enjoying our burgers and fries...OUR WAY! DE-LISH! \r \r This is not the cheapest burger place in town, but you can go crazy with a funky burger, sweet potato fries and a chocolate shake for $15 out-the-door! Niiiiiice.\r \r We went for burgers last weekend in Culver City at the new franchise from Santa Monica...Yuck burger (one way=their way), no service...literally and you have to fight (yes literally) for a table. Not to mention, you'll pay $25 for all this nonsense.\r \r Pros: low cost/no cost parking, fast friendly service once you sit down, FANTASTIC BURGER Cons: You're going to wait for a table Fridays or Saturdays in the evening more

I wondered if this place would live up to the hype that it gets, but I have to say it totally does. Not only do you get to go crazy building your own burger, but it's also one of the best burgers you are going to find in LA. I thought it would be like a decent burger with a kind of novelty element to it, but no the burgers really are that good, and not just the beef burger, the veggie burger too. Such a cool place. I can't even tell you how good it is. You have to go try it for yourself. Do it. Right now. Stop reading this. I mean it. Go. Pros: Incredible Burger, great price, great place more

I built the greatest hamburger of all time: Feta Cheese, Olives, Grilled Onions, Bacon, and the Original Steak Sauce. Topping it off with a side order of pickle chips. Choose Beef over Turkey, but go crazy experimenting with everything else. This place is super fun and delicious. more

That's right, BEST veggie burger you will ever eat! I had been wanting to try the Counter for quite some time, but with great burgers at Father's Office and other gastro pubs, how amazing could a make your own burger be? Well, pretty good actually b/c they use quality ingredients. I really only went there b/c I was craving sweet potato fries (and though decent, probably the only thing that didn't satify me.) Well, you can't really beat father's Office fries, or the dipping sauce that comes with it, but the portion is enormous and they are decent. Now on to the burger. My friend got a beef burger and it was huge! It was the smallest they had but a good portion, and it was cooked perfectly. The bun, the cheese, everything you put on it turned out to be top notch. I ended up getting a veggie burger, and let me tell you I normally HATE veggie burgers, but I decided to go vegetarian this yr and I had a huge craving for something resembling a burger. Usually veggie burgers are made of mystery ingredients (which is almost as scary as mystery meat), have strange flavors and a weird texture... but NOT here. You can not only SEE the veggies but it tastes good too! It's hearty and flavorful (but no pungent strange ones) and I would order it even if I wasn't a vegetarian. Overall, a surprisingly great experience! Burgers are about $8.95 plus premium toppings and fries are about $5, which is decent for a gourmet burger and fries that are a pretty good portion. I would definitely go back! Pros: Veggie burger, quality ingredients, and good portions Cons: sweet potato fries and parking more

Answer: yes. Since moving to Santa Monica, I have been searching for a good, solid, standby burger joint, and The Counter is that place. I w... more

I have been here 3-4 times and I keep coming back because the burgers are great, the burger in a bowl idea is fantastic, and the SWEET POTATO Fries. If you do go beware that they are feisty about seating. They have all these house rules like you must order before sitting and you can't call your order in. I had the horrible experience of faxing in my order for a co-workers farewell luncheon (only because we were thinking ahead and new that the kitchen would be busy). Once we got there our food had been wrapped to go and we weren't allowed to sit down. We tried speaking to the manager, but everyone was very rude! No one seemed to understand that it was an ""occasion."" The place wasnt' even crowded (it was a rainy day). Pros: Good Burger and Burger Salad Cons: Horrible Service! more

WOW!!! After hearing about this place from numerous friends and reading some reviews I had to try it out for myself. We had a bit of a wait... more

I went to The Counter last night excited and ready to build my own burger. After waiting 20 minutes longer that what I was told the wait wou... more

I went here with friends, and it had a fun environment. The food was good and I liked the choices that I was given, but the service was really slow. Pros: Environment Cons: Service more

It's a great place to take the kids! Lots of them the night I went. You get to build your burger off a checklist. Sounds like fun so far. Except I don't have kids and I don't want to voluntarily spend a dinner with your precious creations. Ok, so maybe the burger is awesome and its worth putting up with the Future Leaders of Tomorrow excitedly buzzing about. Wrong there, too. My burger could best be described as lifeless. Starting with the meat, it was a self doubting solid gray throughout. I am pretty sure I ordered medium rare, but it had taken so long from order to table, I had forgotten. Already uninspired by this alleged protein, its shy flavor even tasted gray. I still had hope, maybe the bacon, onions and blue cheese would coax some personality. Not to be either. The sauces? All the flabby goodness of the canned coffee shop variety. I want a brightness, a texture, vibrant colors; a crisp brilliant green lettuce, a snap from the juicy red tomato, the slightly sweet caramelized scent from the grilled onions. No, not here. It just didn't come together the way I had hoped. Wasn't great, wasn't bad, not worth the cost or the effort. You get my point. Not all is lost, though. It's still a great place to take the kids! Pros: kids will dig the checklist Cons: everything on the checklist more

It is impossible for me to leave The Counter in Santa Monica without stuffing myself silly. I like to start with the 50/50, of fries and onion strings. I am usually full at this point, but I go ahead anyway and I build my own burger, working my way through the check list, usually choosing avocado, bacon, onion marmalade and blue cheese - somewhat reminiscient of The Office Burger. There is not a place to check off how you would like your burger cooked. I always order medium rare, and they tend to cook it medium. I have always enjoyed fatty foods served with fat, and you may certainly do this here, but if you want to eat on the lighter side, you also have the option of veggie, chicken or turkey burger. I am certainly avoiding the low-carb option of their ""burger in a bowl."" A mound of groud beef with toppings - nothing sounds less appealing. When you visit The Counter, forget the diet and just go for broke. The space is open and comfortable. They have a large counter, and large windows operated by garage door openers. Don't miss out dining here on one of our warm summer days. \r \r \r \r \r \r \r \r \r more

I paid my first visit to the counter with my parents, including my constantly-hungry father. The place was packed and there was a wait of about 15 minutes. While we waited outside on the front steps, a waitress came out with a beer menu and offered to bring us a drink while they got our table ready. Once seated, you get a clipboard menu where you can check off the items that you want on your burger (they also have the whole thing on their website). I would have expected too few choices, but they let you pick three things and I had trouble picking there were so many! And it turned out that three choices were more than enough to construct a delicious burger. The 50/50 fries were probably the best part of the meal and I would go back just for them, but the burgers were pretty good too. If you order the bleu cheese, make sure you like it a lot, cause they really pile it on there. In general, I would say the burgers are all too big, but I guess it's better to err on the side of hugeness. Everyone left stuffed that night! Pros: Fries! Huge Portions, Parking Lot, Custom Burgers Cons: Hard to see from the entrance to the lot, Messy! (Not really a con!) more