The Habit Burger Grill

SORRY, ‘THE HABIT BURGER GRILL (burger, fries and shake) are TWICE the cost and not better than IN-​N-​OUT restaurants.
Been wanting to try The Habit Burger Grill for a while now. Ever since I read reviews on Social Media about how much better ‘Habit burgers’ were than ‘In-​N-​Out burgers.’ My appreciation, for a good hamburger has always been a transcendental quest.
So today February 25^th with my taster at the ready, I went into The Habit Burger in Lake Forest. The Service at 11AM, was outstanding; with a very friendly smile and howdy as the guy behind the counter proceeded to take my order. I ordered the charbroiled hamburger with avocado, lettuce; a chocolate milkshake and fries totaling $ 12.75.
As I sat down, the restaurant feels really open with natural sun and sports painting on the walls. Very clean; the seating is as comfortable as plastic can reasonably be. I really was thinking four or five starts at this point of the meal.
My food arrived about ten minutes after ordering. The meal looked really good with excellent presentation. My first bite of the burger did have a nice charred flavor. Then after two bites, the bread became wet and soggier with every bite thereafter. I left about 25% of the burger uneaten, because it was like eating mushy bread with a little meat. YUCKY BURGER IS A BETTER DESCRIPTION. The French Fries at The Habit are absolutely much better than In-​N-​out. The Habit Burger Grill ‘milk shake,’ with what is reported to be ‘real ice cream.’ In my opinion, is full of mostly ‘real ice’ with little cream and some chocolate flavoring. The In-​N-​Out shakes are so much better.
SORRY ‘THE HABIT BURGER GRILL IS TWICE AS EXPENSIVE AND THE FOOD DOES NOT TASTE BETTER THAN IN-​N-​OUT. The Bait Burger Grill is rated a firm two (2) stars.

Came here after a while to satisfy my craving. Line was crazy as usual and the food took longer than usual. I was very disappointed when I got home; I took one bite out the burger and the bread was not soft at all and the patty was super crunchy. Had to throw it away, wasting almost $ 8. (Did the prices go up?) Only reason I gave 3 stars is because
1) Staff is super helpful and polite
2) Prior times I have always gotten fresh buns and a fresh patty
Going to be a while before I come back again :(

Chicken sandwich is ridiculous, go here, order it, and eat it! Simple as that, won’t be disappointed.

One of the best services ever experienced. The food is great, but service is just as important. I am impressed with the constant flow of customers, and no signs of fatigue/​frustration from the employees.

Great food every time. Great service the management here works hard.
I will continue to return. Even when there is a line out of the door you can get in and out fast. Clean restaurant.

Not liking the phone orders… Driving there and they want you to find and read off your credit card while driving. They only let you call in and pay be credit card? Next time I might have to rethink where I call ahead for burger orders. Fuddruckers allows you to pay at pick up. Right acres the street. Thanks for taking more of my lunch break away from me by having to order in person and waiting for my food.

I literally just had the best experience here, I called in an order that unfortunately didn’t go through the call center. They were so nice and apologetic about it, they didn’t ask any questions simply made me a salad. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ great vibe so I’ll be back soon!

Always great food. The tri-​tip sandwich is my favorite. Meat is always tender. This place gets pretty crowded during lunch hours and it’s hard to find a seat. So I suggest going early or after lunch hours.

New managers and this place is back on my go-​to list again. Have gone twice now and both orders were correct. Good burgers, good food.

Awesome burgers! So I got the Santa Barbara and ended up taking half home with me to continue and prolong the glorious sensation on my taste buds at home! Also was tempted to get the veggie burger but once they said it was with a mushroom base I backed out for myself. However my lady got it, she forced me to taste it, and I must admit… that was satisfying also. I would ask «what are you allergic to? Nothing? Ok you’ll love it!» The staff was friendly and positive (Zeek), the establishment was clean. These guys run a pretty plush burger joint! Thanks guys and till next time… Cheers!

I’m surprised that I haven’t reviewed this place yet, well here it goes. My Mom loves this place. I think she likes The Habit more than In N Out to be honest, so we’ve come here quite a few times through her request. Last weekend we stopped in here for a dinner of burgers. We had been surviving on Thanksgiving leftovers the last couple of days so this meal was a nice break. It was kinda crowded and noisy when we entered. I don’t think I’ve ever been here when it wasn’t bustling with people, so that’s always a good sign. My Mom got in line to take our order and my Brother and I got a booth in the front.
When my Mom came back with our drinks I went right to the soda fountain. The thing I really like about this place is that they have a whole pepper bar filled with three or four different types of pickled peppers. Pepperoncini peppers are my favorite so I always get those. This time however, the peppers tasted old, almost leathery, it was kinda gross. Made me kinda sad. I guess the peppers had just been sitting out there all day or maybe even longer.
The place was pretty busy so it took us a few minutes to get our food, which is understandable. I got a lettuce wrapped charburger with cheese, no tomato. I forgot to tell my Mom no pickles so I got those unwanted things on my burger. When they put pickles on their burgers they aren’t shy about it at all. I had two huge slices on mine, which I removed. The burger was alright, nothing that special or amazing. It had mayo on it which I love, but when the mayo ran out the burger was kinda bland. Mom got onion rings as our side as always. The onion rings here are great, forget the fries and everything else. The ranch that they serve with their rings is perfect, just a little on the watery side. I don’t like my ranch too thick. I could eat that ranch with anything, I even dipped the last bite of my burger in it. The rings were golden brown and crispy, they were probably my favorite part of the whole meal.
I do like this place, it’s just that this time around it was a little underwhelming. My burger wasn’t as good as I thought. I really wish they had fresh peppers out for dinner rush, instead they were old and had an off putting after taste. Maybe next time they’ll do better.

First time @ The Habit, went with the dbl char with fries. Of course if you want cheese your paying extra? What up with that. Overall tasty burger, I’d say it’s has a very traditional flavor, similar to a backyard burger on a open flame. The tempura dipped green beans were awesome. I’ll definitely be back.

Honestly… I like this place better than In-​n-​Out. Yes, I know, blasphemy.
I always get the lettuce-​wrapped char burger and tempura green beans. It’s the green beans, I swear, that win me over. They are amazing. I can’t get enough of them.

I’ve been here more than my check ins indicate, but I’ve always liked this location. The lines can be long, but the service is relatively fast and friendly.
The Habit is my next favorite burger chain after In N Out. The burgers are priced just above fast food, but below most of the other burger spots such as 5 Guys, Smashburger, etc.
The burgers are always fresh tasting and you can get many different options. For those that don’t want a burger can get chicken, fish, salads, etc so there are a lot of options. Besides French fries they have sweet potato fries and onion rings. To finish it all off they have great malts and shakes.
For good affordable food and fast and friendly service this is a great location.

Great alternative to In-​N-​Out burgers are just as good, whole different taste, and same price. If your looking for a great burger, this is the place
Burgers are amazing!

Ok so the experience bar none entirely has to do with one cashier who ruined our experience and expectation of The Habit chain. Knowing personally the original owner of the first Habit in Santa Barbara I know this isn’t the experience I should expect.
Having to drive back after a to go order because of not getting salad dressing after an extremely judgmental experience with the order taker who said the salad dressing is tossed into the to go salad and didn’t give the dressing on the side and not checking the order resulting in me getting a char with cheese instead of my special. This is a measly $ 2.60 difference in price but I probably spent more on gas driving back there without accounting for my 30 mins driving to and from the location. Honestly the 3 stars are for the manager who made it right. The reason why I’m posting this review was the attitude I got from the cashier when I returned. Not only did we have to eat separately we had to deal with this rude kid on two occasions in less than an hour. If I ever see this kid again at this location I will know nothing was remedied and will never go back.

I am super saddened to leave this review. The Habit has been one of my favorite lunch go-to’s since my office relocated to this area. I’ve never had a problem until today but it was big enough to warrant this review.
Before I go any farther, I would like to give a huge shout out to The Habit employee, Kimberli. I have seen her almost every time I’ve visited The Habit. She has always been polite when helping me. And she was the ONLY person today who actually cared that my dining experience was not up to standards. After kindly offering repeatedly to make right what her manager didn’t, I watched her run around the store helping a few disabled customers, as the bathrooms were also out of commission today. Give this girl a raise, she deserves it.
So as for today… My friend, that ordered AFTER ME, received her order 5 minutes before I did. Let me mention she ordered a burger & fries vs. my salad. I was finally going to ask about my order when my buzzer went off.
I generally order the Santa Barbara Cobb Salad, which is what I ordered today along with tempura green beans. The salad is usually really hearty, with the bowl filled up almost all the way with shredded lettuce then topped with grilled chicken, avocado, blue cheese, bacon and crumbled egg.
Not today. I could see the bottom of the bowl, the salad was so skimpy. The a good portion of the lettuce was brown and soggy, there was hardly any egg or blue cheese (by hardly I mean I couldn’t even taste the blue cheese), the avocado pieces were hard/​not ripe & the chicken portion was extremely meager as well. I honestly do not like to complain about my food, especially at places I frequent, so I bit my tongue. Thought, I’ll just try and make it through this salad.
I got about ¹⁄₃ of the way through when I called it quits. I took my practically untouched salad to the counter. A woman in a purple shirt, named Angie, addressed me about a minute after I had been standing there. I asked if there was a manager on duty and she replied flatly, «Yes.» Then stared at me blankly. I then said, «Oh, are you the manager?» To which again she only replied in a snarky tone, «Yes.»
I let her know politely that my salad was not up to par today then explained why. I then asked for my money back only for the the salad, as I had eaten the green beans and they were fine. She looked at me for a moment longer, muttered something I couldn’t hear, rolled her eyes and walked to the register. She processed the return in complete silence & gave me a nasty look as she handed me back my money. I thanked her kindly for her help to which she retorted only, «OK» before blatantly and very obviously physically turning away from me, giving me the cold shoulder.
The reason for this review is mainly because I have never, ever had an issue here before. In fact, it’s been quite the opposite. So for me to loyally return as a patron & be treated with such disregard by a MANAGER no less… to say I’m disappointed is a complete understatement. I completely understand that stuff happens. People have bad days, food goes bad, I get it. This is why I was completely reasonable & polite when handling this issue today. I asked rather than demanded. I said please & thank you, because manners are not a thing of the past. I did not threaten to never return. But instead of being treated with equal respect, I was made to feel, by MANAGEMENT, that my request to be reimbursed for bad food was unjust. I strongly feel that Angie’s boss needs to review customer service standards with her before allowing her to assist the general public.

Never heard of this place so I was like let’s give it a chance! And i’m so glad that I did! I asked her to point out some of the famous ordered that people usually get and she was very helpful (i’m so bad at remembering names, sorry!). The burger was amazing! Talk about quality!
The dining room is very clean, the kitchen as well! Friendly staff and willing help you out!
I’ll be back for sure since it’s a walking distance from my place! :)

I noticed that I have mostly 5 stars for my reviews… I guess I am either easy to please (food-​wise) or that I just pick awesome food places to eat.
Every time I eat here, it’s always delicious. I tried the charred burger, double charred, mushroom burger, and the Santa Barbara Burger – they’re all effin’ fantastic. You can’t go wrong with these high-​quality burgers. And they’re cheap for what you get (between $ 3 to $ 6).
Nice looking place and marvelous dining room. Fantastic, friendly employees. Great food. Yep, that’s automatically 5 stars. Yeah… I’m probably easy to please.

Order your burger the way you want it. The burgers are grilled to perfection (NOT charred to death). Great sides like sweet potato fries and fried green beans. Yes, those are awesome! Eat inside or out. The patio is a great place for larger groups. This is a great place for families, friends, casual business lunch. Open for lunch and dinner. The restaurant is located in a re-​developed «fancy» strip mall, on one of the main roads in town.
The staff are friendly and helpful. They have great suggestions if you aren’t familiar with the menu choices.