Big Al’s Gourmet Butter Made Burgers

Burgers are decent, well priced.

Just waited 35 minutes for a regular burger
Tasty burger if you’ve got the time
We heard them tell 10 people in a row they were sorry for the wait
Better idea would be to either correct the problem or give us a discount
There has to be a better than saying sorry all day long

Way over priced??? I could make better at home. Also, they must think their soft drinks are more special than other places — $ 2.20 for a 16oz drink. Wtf!!!

This is a hangover remedy spot, I honestly don’t see another reason for its existence whatsoever. Let’s break it down:
The burger: synthetic tasting bun (something that would come out of a Sunbeam package at Walmart isle) and soaked in butter later, single patty burger is very small, meat is chain grade beef. I guess they rely on the special sauce to make it different… Milo’s anyone?
The price: I think it’s overpriced for what it is. You are essentially getting Burger King level food at twice the price. I would have gladly given it a well deserved 3 stars purely for the food and atmosphere and good service. However, $ 10 for a small burger and fries puts them into a category to compete with truly «gourmet» burgers, such as Yeah Burger, Farm Burger and Flip Burger. Big Al’s is so far from being able to compete with them on quality that I don’t know what segment of the market they target.
The smoothies: they don’t use fresh fruit to make them, since when I asked for a Banana smoothie instead of Strawberry Banana, I was told they can’t to that. You can’t put a banana in a blender? That tells me it’s some kind of «pre-​mix», perhaps made from fresh fruit somewhere down the line, but I want a smoothie from a real banana without having to wonder how their pre-​mix is derived, processed and preserved.
To sum things up, is it a decent place to come hungover? Sure. Is there many much better options for the money? Absolutely.

I ordered 2 burgers yesterday thru grubhub. I had never tried them before so I didn’t really set my expectations very high.
The burgers arrived hot and I have to say that they were easily in the top 10 of the best burgers I’ve ever had…
They were simple and not so big you couldn’t fit them in your mouth like some places, yet had a great taste.
Will definitely order again.

I agree with other Unilocalers on the service. It is hit or miss. The service is always a hit when the manager is there.
Food:
I usually get the spicy slaw dog and fries, but I have also enjoyed the burgers and the spicy chicken sandwich. The food is always hot, even when I had it delivered by Caviar.
Drinks:
The homemade lemonade is usually good; they add real fruit. Big Al’s also serves alcoholic beverages, if you are so inclined.
They don’t allow tips, currently. If you leave one, it goes to the register not the staff.
Oh, and don’t use Google maps to navigate to Big Al’s. The app tells you you’ve arrived at your destination blocks away from the true address (even though the address is correct in the app).

Great tasting butter burger and good chili fries. The burger is tiny though. A double burger would be more a single in most places. Taste great but where’s the beef?

Horrible service came in for a to go order waited 20 mins when the restaurant wasn’t even busy. The cook staffed were more about joking around then actually making the food. The cashier never even gave me a buzzer for my food when it was ready. The chicken sandwich that I received was covered in condiments. If I wanted to just taste ketchup and mayo, I could have just eaten it from the bottle!

This is the best burger in Atlanta! And the seasoned fries are just as amazing. No a lot of seating but well worth the somewhat pricey ala carte menu.

The food here is really good, but the service was really slow. The turkey burger was delicious and so were the sweet potato fries mmmmmm. I will definitely give them another shot. It’s a cute neighborhood place with free parking.

I ordered a side of fries and a drink. I paid $ 5.20 for and it took me 15 minutes to get these. I had to go up to the bar and stand there to get my fries. I wasn’t even apologize too for the extensive wait. Crazy !!!

Disappointing. Fast food quality taste and service for double the price. I rarely eat stuff like this. Just gave it a shot. Maybe that’s why I feel nauseous.

Disappointing food along with poor service doesn’t bode well for Big Al’s in my book.
We arrived after the lunch rush, so there wasn’t anyone else in line. There were maybe 6 tables with guests. Not having to wait was great because we were all hungry and anxious to give this place a try… we have seen their electronic billboard ads for quite a while.
Then the bad experience started. The cashier new less about the menu than I did and this was my first view of it. By the time you ordered a burger, fries and a drink, it was $ 12 — $ 15 which is in-​line with or slightly higher than other gourmet burger places. Concerned, but still open minded.
Next, it took 37 minutes for us to get served (there were 4 of us). I really wasn’t timing it, but had a text come in just as I paid. Once it started to feel like it was taking way too long, I looked to see how long it had been. Now we were clock watching and trying to figure out why it was taking so long.
There was no excuse as they weren’t crowded and had plenty of staff, although most of them were standing around talking to each other while a few worked… reminded me of the DOT. What appeared to be the manager walked past us twice, but never looked our way or asked how it was going. Overall a feeling of not caring about the customer.
When we were finally served, we were dug in and were very disappointed with the food. The burger patty was flat, dry and barely warm. All of us agreed that our burgers were overcooked, small and basically the meat was tasteless. The only flavors came from the extras and condiments. The bun was nothing special, nor were the fries which were way over salted.
Speaking of the fries, there weren’t that many for almost $ 4. Due to their price we almost ordered one order for two people like you can do at Five Guys, but, in retrospect, we are very glad we didn’t because none of us had an issue finishing our own order.
So, we all left very disappointed in the service, food quality/​taste, quantity and price. Nothing positive we could think of. We all felt that Farm Burger, Five Guy, US Bar and Grill, Taco Mac, Chilis… you get the idea… just about ANY decent burger place blows this one away. If they don’t change, I don’t expect them to be around unless they have some really deep pockets. I am being generous with 2 stars.

I’m going to be honest… My favorite thing in the world, is a burger. My last meal would be a burger, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. A burger can be simple and comforting or complex and intriguing. When I think of burgers I think of my parents. My Dad cooked the best burgers when I was a kid.
I’m a bit hungover. Kelly and I went to a wedding last night. I was craving a burger and finally gave this place a shot. Simple and comforting. I got the smokehouse at the chef’s suggestion and I got a double. It was spectacular. Unreal. Delicious.
That’s my word and in sticking to it.

The service here is really hit or miss for sure. I had a decent experience with no real problems or issues, but my friend on the other hand who came in about 15 minutes after I did had a totally different experience. The cashier couldn’t really answer his questions and he just wanted to know what the smoothies were made out of. He also was served the wrong burger, but since we waited so long he didn’t want to go back to get it exchanged.
The food was pretty good really tasty burger and the meat seemed to be seasoned properly. I had the Big Al’s butter burger which had some special sauce (super tasty). If you like plain burgers that don’t have a lot of condiments pre loaded then this might not be the place for you. I think what they come with is just prefect, but then again I also like my burger to have a few things going on. The fires though for some reason just didn’t work. We ordered both sweet potato and regular; however, both were very underwhelming in taste. This was probably the only thing that I can really complain about because I feel like they could’ve been more crispy.
I’ll come back to try that red Velvet shake tho… UFFFFFFF!!!
Lil Al (the manager) came by and talked to use for a few minutes too really cool guy and wanted to make sure he could address any problems if we had them. Step up the fry game!

Don’t believe the hype!÷! Big Al’s bites the dust! I’m not really one to write badd reviews however, this one is sooo necessary. So here it is after a 30 minute wait just to place my order and then an additional 20 min wait to receive my order I have to admit I was over it then! The order went like this… the hambruger was not that goodd. The grade of hambruger meat that is used to make the brugers is a lower grade & it has an the dressing was mediocre, and fries were lukewarm. This was not worth the time and gas spent to get their. on

We had the regular cheese burger and the bacon cheese burger and it was okay. Doesn’t taste any better or worse than a drive through burger to be honest. Like… Hardee’s is better considering the price.
The wait was terrible. 30 minutes for a burger that was lukewarm at best. Didn’t really care for the presentation either.
The whole layout of this place kinda sucks to be honest. Like people are throwing away their trash right in the entrance. And trying to get around them to go to the register is just weird. And don’t eat at the bar unless you want everybody who gets their order to reach over you for their food.
I doubt I’d be back. Didn’t live up to the game hype.

Hands down best burger spot. So much flavor. It burgers where so juicy. Thank you so much to the staff. They did that!
Smiley Smiles Smiley Smiles Smiley Smile Smile

Alright! So, I finally made it to Big Al’s. This place was mediocre at best. First, the pictures made me almost believe this was about to be the best burger I would ever have. The restaurant is cozy and quaint. Not too big, few booths, few tables and a couple of bar area chairs.
I ordered a few different things so I could taste a few since I knew I probably wouldn’t return. Let me start with the burger. The burger was cool. Nothing spectacular. The bacon added a nice touch but was a tad bit hard. This burger in no sense compares to Vortex, H&F or The Albert but it was alright. Just alright.
Next, the cheese fries. I order cheese fries a lot of places and these were a disappointment! First of all, tell me the cheese on top of the fries has a hint of jalapeño or whatever spiciness to it before I order. I tasted these fries and was highly upset. I don’t like spicy anything, so for me. these were a 1. I ate 2 and left the rest. Jabari didn’t like these much either.
Next, I got the bacon cheese dog. Their hot dogs are Nathan’s, so I was automatically excited because I love Nathan’s hot dogs! This was cool. Not the best with the liquid cheese but the bacon added a nice flavor.
The ONLY reason I’m giving this place 3 stars is because of the chicken sandwich. First, most places with chicken breast are usually too dry for me and I have to add a ton of mayo or honey mustard. Al’s doesn’t have honey mustard but the bbq chicken comes with Big Al’s house sauce and bbq sauce. it didn’t need it because the chicken was perfect and could stand alone.
I didn’t have anything to drink but water. I definitely won’t return here but if for some reason, I happen to it’ll only be for the chicken sandwich.

Here is my review in a neat little nutshell:
If you love Five Guys, you’re gonna love Big Al’s Gourmet Butter Made Burgers.
In all honesty, all of these new burger joints seem to taste extremely similar if not identical to Five Guys. It is getting to where if I did a blind taste test I probably wouldn’t know the difference. Big Al’s gimmick is to add a dollop of butter on top of its Angus beef burger while cooking. I’m not entirely sure this is a flavor enhancement you can truly taste, but I can say without a doubt this is a mighty fine burger.
My biggest problem with ALL of these burger joints popping up around town are the prices. On average, for a meal that includes fries and a drink, the totals are ranging between $ 12 and $ 14. That’s three times the cost of a McDonald’s double cheeseburger and about double the cost of a double cheese meal @ Wendy’s or Burger King. Better than a fast food burger? Definitely. Three times better? I think not.
In any case, I believe Big Al’s will be a big hit and hold its own in this growing gourmet burger market. I wasn’t a fan of the french fries, but the restaurant is clean, the décor is inviting, the service is friendly and the burgers are delicious. Not to mention they ‘had me @ hello’ when I sat down and saw a bottle of mayonnaise at the table.
SIDENOTE: The owner of Big Al’s also owns the U-​Bar

FINAL THOUGHTS
In my opinion, burger costs are getting outrageous making eating out less and less affordable (especially for families). But that’s just the curmudgeon in me wishing for those simple days when $ 5 got you a filling value meal. Fact of the matter is so many things have increased in cost that it’s almost impossible for a business these days to survive without significant price increases… but it’s getting out of hand. While I’m likely going to spend more time cooking my own burgers, I am grateful for places like Big Al’s where I can put a burger in my mouth worthy of the calories. I just wish feeding my family there didn’t costs nearly as much as filling up my gas tank!