The Little Nugget

So I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. This place is like a landmark in Reno so I had to take my family. I can’t believe how much the prices of gone up. I understand you know it’s expensive to run a business but with the amount of people that go here I just don’t understand why the prices are so expensive. I remember when used to be able to get a burger for $ 3.50 and now it’s $ 9.50 honestly even six dollars would be good but $ 9.50 almost $ 10 is just ridiculous. I mean yeah The awful awful is a good burger but is not a $ 9.50 burger good. The reason why we used to go here because it was so cheap and they were open 24 seven. We come here for the bar eat a giant burger and soak up our alcohol before going home for the night but with the prices skyrocketing I just don’t think it’s worth it. I need to go to any bar and sit in the smoky fill the room and get a decent burger for cheaper like half the price. So overall I mean it’s something you have to taste while you’re in Reno but it’s not worth the return trip.

Not much of a red meat eater but the awful awful burger is so delicious ! I usually get it to go, charging 50 cents per to go item doesn’t really toot my horn.

My absolute favorite bar to visit when I’m in Reno. Cheap, strong drinks, including a 32 oz. Margarita named the «Ass Kicker». An awesome dive bar, which I love — Just try to skip the bathroom if you can. It is truly scary. Oyster shooters served in a souvenir shot glass. Slot machines. Questionable characters, rowdy regulars and out of towners. The real reason to come here of course is for the award winning cheeseburger the Awful Awful. A huge juicy burger with a ton of red onion served on an onion bun. It is heaven in your mouth. If you haven’t been here and you can handle the crowd, GO!

This place is great so far everything I have tried turned out great and great pricing

The last time this place was wiped down was 1973. There is 3″ of grime on the walls, so much grease on the ceiling if you flipped the place upside down you could ice skate. Food all over the floor, half the light bulbs burnt out. The people sitting next to me at the counter look like ex-​cons who haven’t taken a bath or changed their clothes in a week.
Oh and the food: DELICIOUS! And CHEAP!
The portions are so huge I could not even finish. And for a few bucks no way can you complain.
Forget the overpriced tourist chain restaurants. This place is an absolute dump with some of the best and cheapest food Ive ever enjoyed. Will be back!

After stumbling through the casinos at 1am, we were pleased that they were open late. I ordered the Biscuits & Gravy and the Pancake special— all for $ 8!
The biscuit was excellent, but there was too much gravy for my liking. The bacon in the gravy made it taste salty. After half a biscuit I was done. The pancakes were fresh and buttery and it came with an egg. I inhaled that in 2 minutes.

Well. Time has come to move away from the little nugget. Food has gone way to high priced. Win an award and that happens. The awful awful is just that. Gone to crap. Maybe I was drunk last time it was awesome. It’s dry, not much fixings, small tomato slice.
The cook was dirty and sweaty, no gloves, he kept scratching his head and touching the food.
Grill cheese not melted. The service was slow and not friendly at all.
It looks gross and I won’t be back.
About puked. Shit hole, and dirtier than a gas station bathroom.

Nothing wrong about it. Nothing great about it either. ½ burger butt load of fries. Reno, gambling, drinking, why not?! Burger: it’s not gourmet so don’t get it twisted. Beef is frozen to my taste buds. Bun is not out of the oven fresh, but that’s not why «we» come here is it. Middle of the pack ½ star ^ on portion alone. Enjoy my friends I say «Yolo» in confidence.

Soooooo good… Drove here from Fresno one night just get an awful awful. You will never find a better burger from a place who’s entrance is in an alley. I can promise you that.

How can you go wrong with the awful awful??? That’s right u can’t the only people who don’t love this burger are pussy vegetarians and ISIS so when you’re drunk hung over or just famished be a good American patriot and get your ass down to the little nugget and order the awful awful or you will know I am the LORD when I lay my vengeance upon thee

I have been to the little nugget for food twice (once when I was 12 and again when I turned 21). For some reason when I was hear almost 10 years ago I thought their signature hot dog was the foot long hot dog but now it does not seem to be the case. The little nugget is a small diner/​grill type restaurant tucked behind a casino. You will notice that there are many older men and couples who go here to get some food after playing the slots.
The overall diner feels really greasy and looks like the kitchen hasn’t been cleaned in this current century. The first time I came here as a pre teen I vomitted from eating there by dog. Came back at 21 years old and wasn’t vomiting but didn’t think the hot dog was worth $ 10 with no fries or soda. I also asked for sauer kraut on the side and received some warm sauer kraut In a cup mixed with onions and some green leaves. I’m thinking this is to save money on giving me an actual side order of sauer kraut. The hot dog came on a butter fried bun which broke as soon as I tried to pick up the hot dog. Definitely not worth the money or time unless you are coming here for nostalgic reasons.
Price of hot dog $ 10
Price of burgers $ 8 – 12
Price of Fries $ 4 – 6
Soda $ 3 – 10 (you can get a souvenir cup).
Don’t think I’ll be coming back, by the way this place looks the health inspectors will be shutting it down soon.

While I would not go out of the way for this burger (Awful Awful Burger), it was satisfactory and hit the spot. If I happened to be in Reno again I would consider it as one of my meals, but I would also not mind skipping this to try something different all together.
What is noteworthy about this burger is the fact that it is made from frozen patties, and as such you would be hard pressed to tell that it was made from a frozen patty. The meat is cooked evenly, is soft and juicy to the bite.

Came for the «Awful awful» and left feeling awful… busy, overpriced and crappy service. Burger was good but there are far better in Reno! No need to venture downtown and wait 30 minutes!

Dios mio this place it fuuuuunky — Calcutta sewers funky.
So — to be fair I have eaten at the little nugget since 1996 and maybe my recollections from college nights maintain a halcyon days appeal. But by fresh standards the place sucks even before the food — everything stinks of vomit and stale beer mixed in an ashtray — on one recent evening I was present to see a near hobo fight because homeless person 1 was apparently bugging homeless person 2 why he was taking a dump upstairs (which, if you have never seen the bathroom at this place and if you are of a strong constitution and not susceptible to nightmares take a peek — total outhouse of horrors).
So the food — 90% of what they sell is the awful awful — if you ask for anything else prepare for a wait (20 minutes for a club sandwich on a relatively slow night). But even the awful awful is trash — many go because of the famous burger made from fresh ground beef as seen on TV. See the attached photo of cases if frozen burger patties by Smart and Final’s «First Street» brand — the same lips and a-​hole meat you get at the Cal Neva, Siri’s or any high school cafeteria (I do have a photo of the frozen patties box but am doing this review on my phone to include but don’t yet see an «add photo» option).
Fries are decent.
I sincerely don’t know how this place has not been shut down by the health department — eating in the urine soaked alley behind this place is better than dining inside.

My 1^st time eating an awful awful was back in 2000. I’ve ate here 3 times after and the food was great! Was craving a good burger and drove all the way to reno and the quality and service was a disappointment. My wife said the guy taking the order did not like his job and even said bluntly he didn’t care too much about working there he even had a homeless man run errands for him which was weird. Another guy (assuming he was the boss) knocked on an old lady’s head to tell her to remove her hood. That to me is just plain rude and unacceptable especially to a paying customer. I understand that this is a hole in the wall but there still should be some type of respect or at least a bit of customer service. The workers there clearly didn’t like their job and it showed in the quality of the food:
Fries were gross like the oil hadn’t been changed in a month!
The burger was meh
The $ 7.50 Reese peanut butter cup shake was not mixed at all big chunks of candy was at the bottom and was extremely half assed.
The coke didn’t even taste like coke. Tasted more like Shasta or some generic cola
I’m actually surprised they even got some positive reviews lately. I think this business is on its way out. I’m not a loyal patron to this place as its almost 5 hours away from me but when I do visit reno this place was a must, now… not so much. I think they just lost a customer, but I don’t think they’ll mind

The Nugget is the absolute… undisputed «Greasy Spoon» Heavyweight Champion of the World!
The «King of the Hill». A Diner only found in Reno Baby!
If you don’t like this place, hey this is Reno 24 hours a day!

The main reason why I have to give The Little Nugget 5 stars is because I have been going there for late night Awful, Awful cravings since I was in high school and let me tell you that has been a long time. Each time I go that burger and fries order never lets me down. I have now even gotten my husband into these random cravings we have.
Now lets be honest, the atmosphere is a totally divey and really needs to be updated. However, this really gives me a sort of nostalgic vibe. The people that work there are super friendly and you really can’t beat the price for the amount of food you get. Seriously, my husband and I split the hamburger and fries it is so big. I have not tried any of the other items on the menu, but have heard great things about it. If you have never been it is a fun, random place and you are in for an adventure if you stop by, just keep in mind the food is great and don’t judge the book by its cover (if you know what I mean)! Hey and really you can’t beat a place that was a winner of the Travel Channel’s «Food Wars!»

Please note I went here SOBER. Wow, it’s been almost 3 years since I didn’t eat here.
Since I work close by, I decided to break my boycott, and get an old familiar.
Bad news is I think it’s frozen hamburgers (didn’t ask, but could see them on the grill) from Smart and Final (thanks Drew for the picture!) now whereas if used to be fresh ground meat from Blue Ribbon Meat in Sparks and was cooked to order.
It used to be ½LB burger, way back was 2 burgers, then it went to 1 giant ½ burger, and now appears to be a frozen 1/​3LB from Smart and Final (thanks Drew — see his review and picture). I asked for it cooked medium, and was told it would be medium to medium well, and I said I prefer medium.
It came out well done and hardly any juiciness to it. It’s okay not tasty by any means. However the fries were familiar being abundant although not much seasoning and were actually crispy.
The last part is it used to be $ 5.50 when I was last there, it’s now $ 9 plus tax. So my review is really based on the fact it used to be anywhere from 2 stars to 5 stars and now it’s, «Eeh Me Thinks Not» since it used to be a different price, ingredient quality, and taste.
I would eat there again (no rush), but probably peruse the menu vs. getting a burger I could make on my grill direct from my freezer.

Genius, Reno. Genius. One block away from the ‘olé Reno-​Arch (Biggest Little City…) you put a place that epitomizes the uniquely Reno-​esque experience: Sorta stuck in the past, but in a good and nostalgic way, has drinks and gambling, and provides ways to eat in a delicious, hearty and affordable fashion. And, it’s 24 – 7.
Rankings and «The Best» awards can be misleading. You may have heard of their Awful Awful Burger. Best Burger in Reno? Well gee… Going in with that expectation, it can only be adequate. Go in with none. This Burger is damn tasty. Big Patty, Melted-​Cheese, Lettuce, Onion, Tomato and Thousand Island. Mmm Mmm… The Fries aren’t great. They need to be cooked more. The Biscuits and Gravy were tasty. They have all sorts of good deals.
They have a full bar. They do an Ass-​Kicker, which is a 32oz Strawberry Margarita. (Target audience? … ;) I had one, and it was just fine for a liter of margaritas and a souvenir sports bottle that says Ass-​Kicker at $ 8.
My caveat is this: I watched the Super Bowl, bet, and had a Reno-​kinda-​afternoon before stopping here later. No, I wouldn’t use this review to figure out where to be on an Anniversary Dinner… depending on your taste… But, gosh darn it, when you’re rallying at, well, any hour, and you want some dinner while you’re crushing the Reno-​sance, feel free to come by anytime.
Reno, Baby. Reno. If you like Reno, you’ll probably like this spot. If you hate Reno, then a) you’re wrong, and b) you’ll likely hate this place. Personally, I love Reno. It’s my Camp David from SF. With sports, skiing, gambling and the Awful Awful.

Seriously, how can you visit Reno and NOT stop off at the Nugget Diner? It’s something you just have to do. Yes, it’s a dump. Yes, it’s a dive. Yes, it’s dirty. Yes, it’s cheap! But it’s something that everybody needs to do at least once! I make a point to hit it up every time I’m in town. The food’s not great but the people watching is unlike anything you have ever seen. This joint is open 24 hours so the later you go, the better your «view» will be. Trust me on this.
The Awful Awful is what you need to order. It’s «awful big» but I’m not sure I agree with the «awful good» part of their claim. No matter. My burger was cooked right in front of me and was served hot off the grill with gooey, melty cheese and a super soft, fresh bun. The produce was crisp and fresh too. The mountain of hot and crispy french fries was tasty even if you aren’t a big fan of the beef. Get one to share, it’s huge.
I think the «fake» Coke and Pepsi is funny and it tastes pretty good. It just adds to the overall atmosphere of the place. It tastes like a store brand RC Cola and it goes great with your cheap, greasy, gargantuan burger.
There’s limited seating inside (go to the Nugget and walk straight back as far as you can go and you’ll hit the diner) but try to grab a stool at the bar. Do NOT take your picky friend here or she will be absolutely disgusted.
If you are into dive spots, you will love this place.