Judy’s Grinders

I forgot that I had a previous review, but here is my most recent experience:
I have been here at least 10 times throughout their history in Davis. I used to go almost weekly last year because of their great quality, good beer selection, price, and environment. I went here last night with my girlfriend for a burger and beer and regretted my decision. The buns they used to use were nice and fluffy, seemingly house-​made, but now they’re the packaged buns you get from Safeway. There was one cashier and one cook working. The cashier I recognized from my previous trips. He used to wear nice server clothing (black shirt and pants w/​apron) but he was wearing a The Hundreds T-​Shirt and worn Jeans.
The prices are incredible for their specials, $ 7 for a ¹⁄₃ burger WITH fries! But the patty also seemed to have decreased in flavor from my previous trips here.
I was saddened by the beverage selection. They have 6 taps, but 5 handles had a Pepsi cup over it, indicating they were tapped. ShockTop was the only beer available on draft. My girlfriend and I each got a bottled beer, which is always a good standby. The reach-​in glass door refrigerator had scattered six and 12 packs of macro beer. Nothing wrong with whatever they wish to provide, but it seemed as if someone ran to the convenience store and grabbed whatever they could carry. I’m less likely to spend $ 3 a bottle when I know you spent only $ 8 on the whole pack, and I have even more beer in my own fridge at home. In a town like Davis, beer refrigerators have every inch packed with bottles and cans.
In order to improve, go all the way with your beer, most likely stick to bottles if you don’t run through the kegs quickly enough rather than trying to have Racer 5, Corona, and other seemingly random (though delicious) beers.
Two of their three TVs had the «No Signal» channel on. There was no music playing, and when the other group of people eating left, the atmosphere seemed almost depressing. It’s a large place and when I am the only couple there, the environment isn’t welcoming, especially for a Thursday late dinner.
Unless they tap into the burgers and beer market more effectively, I can’t see them being prominent when you do have Burgers&Brew, In-​n-​Out, 3^rd and U, and a few other places within a short walk. I hope they do well, but I can most likely say they have lost me as a customer for now.

Always friendly. Great service. I ordered the best Garden burger and salad for $ 7.99. Smelled bacon cooking in the kitchen and I just had to have some. Well I must say, it was worth my $ 1.72. Yummy. Also they have the best banana shakes here.

Came here for dinner at 6PM on a weekday with a few friends. Spacious with plenty of tables, indoor and a couple outdoor. Great for: groups, to take your parents when they visit, classmate project meet ups, etc. Music was loud but not unbearable, top 40. Nice atmosphere. Few TV. There were flies but not unbearable.
You order at the counter and they give you a number tag that you bring with you to the table. Self-​serve drinks and condiments (BBQ sauces, ketchup, mayo).
Most burgers were $ 6.49 not including fries and drinks. I ordered the Hawaiian Burger and I thought it was good. It was a decent size for the price. I liked the teriyaki sauce and with the pineapple slice, perfect combo of sweet and sourness to please my appetite. The onion rings were good too!
Next to Bambu. Street parking available. Beware of bikers since school is in session now :)

First time visit, I was recommended the Cheese Steak sandwich by the cashier. ($ 7.51 after tax).
The sandwich was decent and pretty good considering what I paid for. It was a bit greasy but the flavor was fine and again, VERY GOOD for what I paid.
Burgers & Brew is still my favorite burger joint in Davis, but this place is a bit cheaper and I would consider going on occasion for the different environment, shorter wait times, and convenience.

Went here on a Friday night!
Burger was delicious, portions were large, great variety, the place was clean, and the staff was friendly.
I give it 4 stars because if you don’t order their specials it gets really pricey because everything is «a la carte» and because
add-​ons/​substitutions are pricey.
$.99 to add cheese
$ 1.59 to add egg
$ 1.59 to upgrade to their curly Fries from regular steak fries

the service isn’t so great and the burgers are mediocre and slightly bland.
two customers after me were given their orders before me which was quite annoying. shouldn’t they be worried about those who ordered first and are waiting longer than they should?
anyways, they have many options but no description of what is in them. it can be overwhelming.
I had the guacamole cheese burger. I enjoyed the texture of the bun, it was crunchy and warm. the burger is really hard to eat and messy though. the produce kept falling out and the patty was sliding out from under the buns. the Patty was juciy but the guacamole was bland.
I’ve had better burgers and will most likely not return.

Judy’s Grinders has the typical hamburger stand food! Fatty, cheesy, and trashy, but it’s good! I ordered the deluxe bacon cheeseburger. I wouldn’t say this cheeseburger was the best burger ever, but it satisfied the craving.
Place was a complete mess! No lie either! I wanted to eat outside and ALL TABLES had leftovers with flies buzzing around like if it were their business. Tables inside were also a mess. One of the employees that had not even clocked in cleaned them up for me.
I think there were only two employees working.
I probably won’t be back unless i am craving a hamburger stand burger!

I am not really a «burger guy,» but when I get a craving, I go here. Twice I went and got the Pastrami burger with mustard (awesome), and then the third time was the fried egg burger. Juicy, well-​seasoned, basic burger goodness (nothing too flashy, but well-​worth the money).
The milkshake was ok… my roommate and I usually forgo anything sweet, get all of our savory food here, then walk across the street to Sweet and Shavery. I would recommend that one-​two punch of dinner and dessert combination

I’ve been here a few times and their food is hit or miss. The quesedilla burger was interesting and tasty but their hot dog was awful. The main problem for me is the price, which is competitive with Burgers and Brew and significantly inferior.

We’ve passed by on several occasions and were intrigued by the big pictures of burgers advertised in front of Judy’s. Finally giving in we were encouraged by a fair amount of people already eating there and in line ordering.
The menu is pretty big and took a bit to finally decide on what to order. With 3 huge photos displaying their Texas Pastrami Burger it seemed like a good choice. It took a while for the food to arrive but the staff was pretty courteous and friendly. Although we ordered salads instead of fries our burgers came with, you guessed it, fries. Not a big deal. They let us keep the fries as they would have thrown them out anyway and brought our salads later.
The burgers were huge and were held together with a steak knife down the middle. Usually that seems like for show but in this case it was definitely needed. We cut the burger in half to try and make it a bit more manageable but that was a mistake. The burgers had so much sauce and fixings that it was a mess. They started to fall apart and were impossible to eat by hand. Eventually, we had to default to fork and knife as it was way too messy to eat otherwise.
The burger was OK. The meat was cook very well done so was a bit dry and tough. The bun though toasted actually became kind of hard. Fries were standard steak fries, nothing special. The salad came with quite of bit of veggies. Had we gotten them from the beginning we could have actually eaten most of it.
Overall, the experience was a bit of a letdown. I didn’t dislike it but had high hopes.

Atmosphere: kinda tacky. It mimics an old-​fashioned diner-​type burger joint, but mixes in vintage or other «themes» and the place looks a little messy and confusing. It’s unique (not necessarily in a good way). Instead of using caddys to hold the condiments and napkins, they use those cardboard boxes that a six pack of beer would come in. It looks cheap and confusing. It smelt like grease.
Location: prime location. The place looks small from the outside but it’s pretty spacious, smack dab in the middle of downtown. However there is no where to park on the street if it’s during a busy hour.
Service: awful. Not necessarily the fault of the workers, you could definitely tell the they were not trained well, if at all. On top of that, there was only one girl working the front. From what I could tell, she had to make all of the drinks. She wasn’t making them in order, and she was very slow at it. When we walked in, we stood at the counter for 10 minutes before she stopped what she was doing and helped us. About 5 other people had formed a line behind us. She wasn’t very friendly. Me and my friend both ordered shakes, and we didn’t even get them until we were finished with our meal (which took about 20 minutes to come out of the kitchen). It shouldn’t take 30 minutes to make a shake. The management should have had more people on the floor, seeing as it was during the lunch rush hour.
Food: very average food. It was presented nicely, however it was on par with an In-​n-​out burger. The steak fries were good but they weren’t unlike any other fries you could get elsewhere. I got a chocolate malt, and you couldn’t even taste the malt (which was 99 cents extra). And as mentioned before we didn’t get our shakes until after we finished our food. I also got mozzarella sticks. 5 $ for 5 mozzarella sticks that you could have bought at the store frozen.
Prices: if every other aspect about this place was extraordinary, then I wouldn’t care about the prices. However, everything was below average, so it is not worth the money AT ALL. 8 $ for a greasy hamburger and fries that you could get elsewhere for a fraction if that cost. 5 $ for a chocolate malt. 5 $ for crappy frozen and deep fried mozzarella sticks. Absolutely ridiculous.
Overall this place could be good if it cleaned up the service and lowered the prices. However I was incredibly disappointed. Unfortunately, it was a complete waste of money and I do not recommend it.

Made an account just to review this place. The layout of the place is really bizarre and not exactly the most welcoming but that’s just the nature of the building that Judy’s moved into.
The ambiance is quirky and could use a little improvemnt/​professionalism but it’s still a fun place to relax.
Burgers are amazing in both taste and portion. Would recommend the Supreme Pastrami Chicken. Grilled chicken breast that actually tastes like you grilled it on a bbq is refreshing. Buns are soft and quality. Finally a burger place in downtown Davis to compete with Burgers and Brew.
Please go here! Restaurants never seem to thrive in this location and I love this place.

Dissatisfied customer over here!
Boyfriend and I came here on a Sunday afternoon. Post-​Valentines Day. Pretty empty when we came in, but after 1pm groups started trickling in. I thought that the prices were atrocious. About $ 6 for a burger only? Then $ 2 – 3 extra for Fries? umm.
Together, we like to split our burgers/​sandwiches so we can have a try at two meals. Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and the Guacamole Cheeseburger is what we decided on. Philly Cheese Steak is what they advertised outside the restaurant, so we were eager. It was a tad too oily on the bread for my liking, and it was MUCH smaller than my burger. It cost the same amount as the burgers, so maybe we should have just chosen two of those instead.
Despite not coming with the burgers automatically, the fries were pretty good. I also liked the mango smoothie! Friendly service as well. Just not within my college budget.

Friday night. Everyone’s bar-​hopping in DT ‘cept me because I’m not 21 for another two months and I’d rather not go through the trouble of getting a fake ID. Oh well, there’s nothing like watching a Warriors game while chowing down on a burger.
Honestly, I came here because the Burgers and Brew line was ridic and this place was new. The menu was extensive with burgers, sandwiches, gyros, fish ‘n chips etc. There were meal deals for less than $ 10. Plenty of seating and seemed pretty clean.
I got the jalapeño cheeseburger cause I like things «kicked up a notch» like Emeril. Although the burger was practically the size of your face and held together by a butter knife (clever), I don’t think it was anything spectacular. The jalapenos looked canned and the patty was overcooked — wished we had an option for medium cooked. Mine had a mini cheese skirt going on which was kinda cute. Also, I wish the fries were cut thinner for more crispy-​ness. Food was 2 stars as in «Meh. I’ve experienced better».
However, extra star for friendly service. We asked a worker to change the TV channel and give us forks (sorry, germaphobe problems). They were patient and willing to help us. Nevertheless, my heart for burgers still go to Tommy J’s or B&B. Can’t beat their hand-​pressed patties and divine sauces.

DISGUSTING. I just left the building… as fast as I could.
TLDR: Waste of money.
The first time I came here with my boyfriend, I tried a chicken avocado burger. It was alright but not worth the trouble. The burger was way too salty. The chicken was almost undercooked. Thinking back on it now, who knows how close I could have been to getting salmonella poisoning?
Today, I decided to try something adventurous. I know it’s not a good idea to order teriyaki chicken at a burger place, but I asked the cashier what she thought of it. She said that it was one of her favorite dishes and she gets it all the time. Okay, I thought. So I ordered it. WORST MISTAKE EVER. The vegetables were old and soggy, they were super sour, and to top it off, they were covered with cheese. WTF?! Who in their right mind would do that? My stomach started feeling queasy. I decided to just eat the chicken. But the sour lemon juice had already breached through all security. Everything on that plate was under attack. The chicken had a weird gummy texture and the teriyaki sauce wasn’t even sweet.
SO DISAPPOINTED. I’m not planning on returning anymore.

Food was alright. I had the chicken club which would have been a lot tastier if they would have put a different cheese on. The chicken fingers and fried were really good. Even after I took some home and re-​heated the food. Location is nice it was pretty empty when we went around lunch time on a Tuesday.

We had quite a disappointing time here last night. After reading the rave reviews of Judy’s, we were interested in seeing what the place was all about. We realize the restaurant is new and clearly still working out cooking procedures and what not, but not everything can be excused by the newness of the place. We hope that it was just an off night for Judy’s.
For starters, by the time we got our food, we could have ran to the grocery store, gone home, and made our own better and cheaper burgers. Good lord. Sat and waited for a half hour before we got our burgers. And, although our strawberry shake came out right away and was delicious, we had finished it by the time we got our food. Also, everyone else in our party was done eating by the time we had just finally gotten our food.
Secondly, they got our orders wrong. I ordered the Bleu Cheese-​Avocado burger and it came without avocado. The BF requested no onions on his and guess what his burger came with? That’s right — onions! Another girl in our party commented on how the guacamole in her burger was actually just smeared avocado — not flavored guac after all. The poor waiter tried his best to help out — one of the redeeming qualities of the place.
Lastly, our burgers were not tasty. They were overcooked (all of the burgers came out too well-​done — EW), which explains part of the reason it takes ages to get your food. Bottom line — if you’re craving a delicious burger, stop by In-​and-​Out, not here.

Went here a month ago and still could not erase the odd experience from my memory…
Maybe it was a bad day, but something just felt off about the atmosphere. This older (Asian, but not that it matters) lady, possibly the owner or manager, stood behind us at the counter as if breathing down our necks as my boyfriend and I tried to decide what to order. She never greeted us… just stared. The cashier was extremely friendly and gave pointers when we asked about items on the menu. He ordered the Texas Bacon Burger with a side salad and I got the cheese steak sandwich.
We tried to take advantage of the cheap beer deal ($ 1) if you add it on to your order, but was unable to because our birthdays were not before May 2013. BUT we had been 21 for months already during the time of the visit. Very strange, but there must be reason I just didn’t care to ask.
We seated ourselves but I still felt the stare of the supposed manager which was extremely uncomfortable. She paced around the restaurant periodically…
His meal — patty and salad mix could possibly been purchased in bulk from Costco. Nothing special. The burger was something you could make yourself at home.
My cheese steak sandwich was better. Crispy bread, a decent amount of meat, but the portion itself was on the smaller side and did not come with anything else. I went home afterwards and made something else to eat.
I don’t believe being in «Grand Opening mode» excuses anything. Service on the part of the cashier and cook was great, but the atmosphere was inconsistent and uncomfortable. Food is average, and value is below average.

I came here the other day for dinner. I had the western one with the bbq sauce (sorry I forgot the name). It was a pretty good, but it wasn’t anything to jump out of my seat for. The size of the burger is what you’d expect for the price you’re paying. The only bad thing I’d have to say about my burger was that it was super wet with sauce. I found myself wiping my hands and mouth after each bite. A little bbq sauce can go along way, so maybe hold off a little on some of the sauce. I felt bad for using so many napkins!
Anywho, the interior was cozy and it seems cozy and welcoming. I like how they have random décor pieces everywhere; it gives the place a quirky touch. I especially liked the two stuffed bears hanging on the wall by the soda machine.
In all, I would try this place again. It’s a good alternative to the usual burger places in Davis. Maybe I’ll try one of their sandwiches; my friend got it and she quite enjoyed it.

Another burger place in Davis with an extensive menu and good valued lunch specials. The staff loudly welcomes customers when they first enter and take your order with a big smile. Order at the counter. There is an open kitchen and plenty of tables.
I ordered the deluxe cheeseburger lunch special ($ 5.99) and my friend had the philly cheesesteak ($ 8.99). I had fries with my burger and they had a delightful crispy crunchy exterior… great fries! The burger was very satisfying as well, with fresh fixings and a nice sauce. The bottom bun was already soggy when my burger came out and I was slightly surprised the patty was only a ¼ inch thick and looked like it was left on the grill for too long. My friend thought his philly cheesesteak was ok and liked the fries as well. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and thought it was very filling. I’ll probably be coming back to try other menu items.
I believe there is a $ 0.99 beer special going on right now with the purchase of a menu item.