Jake’s Wayback Burgers

I just wasted 50 minutes of my life waiting for two sandwiches and 4 chicken nuggets here. They were very apologetic and told us it would only be 8 more minutes. Refunded our money and after 10 additional minutes, we went and asked what was going on, and they were like oh we lost some tickets and ran out of chicken nuggets. Are you joking? Seemed like we were getting punked. They seemed so very overwhelmed. I’m not sure why. For a fast food place there were really not that many customers. I’m actually baffled. This was a stop off of the highway – fellow travelers BEWARE. GO ANYWHERE ELSE INSTEAD!!!

Wish I could give zero stars! Someone had the bright idea of leaving two teenagers in charge of the entire restaurant, after waiting 20 minutes (there was no one ahead of us in line) we received a burger burnt beyond recognition. I think this may have been the burger that was used to keep one of the tables level (that’s what it tasted like). I have a feeling the overcooked burger may have had to do with friends visiting and chatting with the fry cook (Spongebob wouldn’t let this happen). It appeared that she was cooking many burgers on the grill while I was waiting, not sure if she kept burning them and tossing them out?! Don’t get me wrong, the girls were nice, but they had no business running the joint by themselves. This location needs new management… what a waste of time and money! Never coming back this way…

Had a cheeseburger my mother brought home. Had cheese, ketchup, mayo, & pickles. I just had to reheat it I was able to put it in microwave with just the bottom bun & meat/​cheese. Reheated quickly well. It was delicious you can tell that it was made with fresh meat. it was not greasy and no grease on the bag or the wrapper. I definitely want to go back so i can I try the fries and various items on the menu. she ordered my burger when she was done with her meal and brought it home we’re about 2 towns West of this location.

The burgers are really good here. I love the toasted buttery bun. Let’s face it, if you’re eating here you’re not counting calories so go for it. The fries are good, onion rings are better. It’s better than Wendy’s and definitely where I would stop rather than going to other fast food chains.
Speaking of fast food it’s all made to order so fast is relative.
Five Guys has moved it just a bit down the road and though I like the Five Guys burger I hate the fries — but I go there rather than Wayback because Wayback serves Pepsi. I can’t stand Pepsi. It’s sad because it really is the better juicy burger.
Another note, you’ll come out smelling like the place. Not the best ventilation.

Been to the Old Saybrook Jake’s a couple of times now… The food is way better then McDonalds or Burger King, anyone who says anything different is probably a bag man for the local chains, but with that being said I only gave them a 2 star because on a Sunday night the chairs are up on the table and the employee’s are sweeping up the floors well before the restaurant is scheduled to close… So I went across the street to 5 Guys which just recently opened and got a great meal at about the same price… They are open till 10pm, and there was at least 7 – 8 people in there after 9pm. I hope 5 Guys maintains it’s just opened attitude, but I also hope there is a management shake up at Jake’s to get it back to the way it was when it 1^st opened…

Very good burgers and black & white shakes but I leave hungry after spending almost 14 dollars on a double burger and shake. Prices should be reduced.

This is the worst place. Waited for 15min for them to screw up my burger and proceed to tell me that’s what I ordered. Awful burger and the customer service is horrendous.

Dispair. A burger chain that makes me long for the Golden Arches. Wholly unimpressive offerings. This place makes 5 Guys look like Le Cirque. I mean I’m in the car right now heading for Burger King — and that will be a monumental improvement.
How can you be a narrow focus chain restaurant (actually, this is a fast food joint, pure and simple) and not exceed on the expectation of having fantastic burgers?
WTF? Please for the love of the sweet tiny baby jeesus put a Steak and Shake north of Virginia! They get it right! Not once, every single time, at every single location.
And, the staff of this place had the 10,000 yard stare of recent tornado victims. While they were not impolite, they seemed overwhelmed by the task of having to actually prepare burgers and fries and shakes. Somehow 5 Guys does this significantly better and they offer peanuts to chew on while you wait for the food.
Jakes Wayback is absolutely on par with McDonalds. Except, MickeyD’s is cheaper, better, the fries are way better, and the food is almost instantly prepared. If Unilocal had negative ratings this place would qualify.

Worse than MacDonald’s. BK beats it hands down. Both at a fraction of the cost. ‘Nuff said.
If you want a GREAT burger or hot dog and delicious and generous sides in Saybrook head over to Jack Rabbit’s/The Rabbit Hole Tavern. We have never been disappointed there AND the prices are about the same!

It’s not cheap and it’s not good. It’s a small restaurant and you can see what happens in the kitchen. The girl who took our order and money then made the fries (frozen out of a bag). No hand washing in between. The burgers are very thin if you order a single. The onion rings were also clearly frozen and served cold. Also, one of our burgers came out a good 5 minutes after the others.

Pretty good hamburgers but it has become the running joke with my family whose order they will mess up. Unfortunately we have bad luck with the people who work there. Also for some reason, all their sodas taste kinda funny, not sure why. We have been here maybe 5 – 6 times and I think we may give it one more shot.

I’m surprised after reading the other reviews. My family had a great experience here. It is more of a fast food atmosphere, but we chose to eat outside. Burgers are my daughters favorite food, so she wanted to eat here for her birthday. She loved it. I’m not a huge burger fan myself, but even I thought it was great. We also had the irish nachos which were also good. All of the staff was very friendly. My husband and daughter also had a milkshake, which they said was good. My daughter can’t wait to go back.

Although my burger was fine. The people who take your orders make you repeat yourself. They’re rude. These youngsters gotta remember we pay their salary coming here. Loose the attitude or get a new job. Maybe their manager could help with that.
But my burger was great.

i read all these reviews and thought jeez these people are pretty harsh on jake, but sadly it is so. the burgers we had were disappointing. the fries were the best part. next time just get fries. the veggie burgers are fried — not cooked on the meat soaked griddle, which is nice but did nothing to make it taste good. the buns were cold, generic lifeless lumps, the lettuce was weeping.

Jake’s has some great potential, and I would like to return and write a more starry review. Before I can do that, we must do something about food that is slow, expensive and substandard. If anyone would like to know what this stuff is supposed to taste like, take a trip to Five Guys, where quality is a thing.
My fish sandwich had the texture of something salvaged from the deep frier.
The hamburger meat tastes like margarine.
Come on people!

2 stars. «Meh. I’ve experienced better» sums it up perfectly.
I ordered the Jake Burger, which is their standard 2 patty burger. I watched as the guy cooking added the 2 lumps of ground beef to the grill, then proceeded to press the burgers with every ounce of his strength. He was on his tip-​toes, pressing every bit of flavor out of the burgers. Any more effort, and his feet would have come off the ground. This rendered the burgers tasteless, and quite average. (And VERY thin) Out of all the toppings available, I asked for tomato only. If you make an «OK» sign with your fingers, you will understand how big the one slice of tomato was. The fries were good, and plentiful, but very over-​salted. They do offer milkshakes, and the chocolate one I ordered was good.
Priced about the same as Five Guys. Jake’s burgers and fries both can’t compare. Jake’s offers milkshakes, which Five Guys doesn’t. That isn’t enough to make me go there again.
Thoroughly mediocre.

Food tastes great! That’s the last of the positives… The entire menu is way over-​priced. The service is HORRIBLE. The waitstaff all weigh 300 pounds or more. The food is unhealthy, full of grease and fat, and obviously unhealthy. If you want to pay to commit suicide by artery clogging, this is the place for you! The single reason this place will survive is on the business of the high schoolers of Old Saybrook…

The burgers are great. The interior is echo-​y, but the basket liners include reading material (the grammatical and spelling errors are free too!).
The menu has a nice selection for most carnivores to find something they will like. Like Five Guys, this place has a lot of toppings to choose from. Unlike Five Guys, the double burger isn’t overwhelming. The food is made to order, but I have never waited more than about 5 minutes.
If that 5 minutes for a delicious burger is just not fast enough for you, go to McDonalds where you may wait 5 minutes, but at least you don’t have to worry about it being delicious and fresh.

I’m giving one star only because I can’t give less.
My overall experience here was absolutely horrible. The woman who took our order was a bit standoffish and rude. The wait was long as the place was mobbed. I witnessed terrible food handling practices behind the counter.
WAYBACK=No WAY I’m going BACK!

Shortly after Five Guys entered the state Jake’s Wayback showed up with similar burgers and a similar setup. This is the 12^th Wayback Burgers in the nutmeg state.
I say «similar» because in my opinion Wayback’s burgers and fries aren’t as good as Five Guys. The burgers might be debatable but I don’t think anyone will disagree that Five Guys makes better fries.
While the building is nice, it is sort of odd. I doubt it was originally designed for a burger joint because it is quite small and better suited for a Dunkin’ Donuts. I sort of feel bad for the employees because they’re shoe horned into a very cramped kitchen space.
During its first week of operation the place was jam packed with lots of curious customers, myself included. However the staff did an excellent job in efficiently handling the masses especially considering they had very little experience under their belts.
Next time I want to try the WB Cod which their menu describes an Icelandic fish fillet. I sort of have an insatiable obsession with just about anything Icelandic.
It should be interesting to see if this place can survive in this part of Old Saybrook. Because it’s quite far from the center of town. I sort of have my doubts. The true test will be in the winter time when the town population decreases and all restaurants slow down along the shoreline. However Sal’s Pizzeria up the road moved in a few years ago and has been doing very good business, both in the summer time and winter time. So if they can survive all year long perhaps this Wayback can survive as well.