Carmen’s Burger Bar

As soon as we arrived nobody greeted us,
Once we were finally acknowledged the lady working said sit anywhere, there was a table with cups but didn’t appear to be in use i asked if it was okay to sit there she said just sit anywhere, i had to pick up the cups my self, then finally another woman came and wiped down the table.
Both women were rude and didn’t make it a good first time experience, neither even making our visit pleasant or at least some sort of welcoming or friendly environment.
We finally got our food and it was AMAZING!
But the service was enough for me too never return.

The service was sub par at best. My order was messed up and while my friend and I were sitting at the bar looking into the kitchen, I saw Carmen herself handle money and tickets, then pull the buns off of plates waiting to be served to check for cheese and other added items. I was disgusted. tlThe fact that my friend was with me is the only reason that I didn’t scold her for such an unsanitary practice. on top of all that, the food they brought me was pedestrian at best. save your hard earned money for something more.

You’re probably better off going to the location on the other side of town if you really want a truly unique experience. This is their second location and they opened it in a mini strip mall which just kills any sort of ambience that you might’ve experienced in the original location. The dining room looks sterile, and the layout is just random with only a few booths and a bar. The service has generally been OK, but the three times that I’ve gone here now nobody has been overly friendly, or even that interested to try to serve you. The staff is just kind of «there.» One disappointing fact regarding this place is that they close at 9 PM. I think that’s becoming a new tradition among many restaurants in the Santa Rosa area but there are people such as myself who do tend to want to eat out later in the evening and to walk into a place like this and be told that they’re closed when it’s 9:04 is simply sad.
The food itself is really good. They are usually pretty willing to make accommodations and let you switch around items on the sandwiches to your taste. I usually go for the mini burgers and change them into many versions of other sandwiches on the menus, all with an up charge of course. The onion rings are really good as well.
I think that I will continue to eat with Carmen’s but I will probably just go to the original location on Terrace. It’s a totally different experience there in a lot warmer in regards to Service as well.

Only four stars because they don’t have gluten free buns.
This is a really fun place to have a burger. It’s located in a strip mall and at first it searched for its identity. This is a burger joint that has a full bar and salad.
The have an upstairs that opens when the joint gets popin’. The burgers are consistently good and the burger comes with fries. Sweet Potato fries are a favorite addition and salad comes with sandwiches.
It’s fast when the place is busy but slow when the place is slow. — go figure.
I thought the managers were cheap with their wine. Even when the wine was obviously bad, they wouldn’t open a new bottle. Staff says they’re not authorized and managers are mysteriously too busy to come out for assistance. I experienced a manager saying to me that those are the rules. You drink the wine or don’t pay for it. The wine selection is average and nothing to jump at. On occasion, I would rather drink water than bad to nominal wine.
It is a meeting place for friends however there is no substitution. Staff doesn’t like substitutions. The booths take a long time to turn over and the clean up is nominal. Don’t lean against the table or you will get dried catsup on your clothes.

Booze cruise to Sonoma and Napa and found this little gem right off the 101, and got the brie and bacon burger which was a nice touch and not a failed attempt to a gourmet burger.
I would give it 5 stars but they are pepsi and you can’t eat a burger without a coke. The bar with a good selection of spirits to concoct a libation added an extra peasantry.

The curry chicken salad is awesome. Why would you order a curry chicken salad at a burger bar? Cuz s’good.

I work nearby for 3 years and have not tried this place. I only have a 30 minute lunch break and decided to order the basic burger to-​go. The price of 7.75 was just right you will get a generous size portion. The bread was topnotch, the meat was lean. They come with a side of lettuce, sliced red onions and tomato. I was not blown away with the fries they seem like frozen not fresh sliced like in and out. Oh well I love their burger and not rating the fries. Service was fast and helpful. The lady was friendly and gave me ketchup and ranch dressing as dipping for my fries. Definitely coming back!

Food was fresh and appetizing, service was pleasant but nothing special, they were super busy and we had to wait for a table so we went next door and had coffee at Bad Ass and came back-​they lost a star for cleaning off the table with super strong bleach phew!!! Glad it’s clean, but hey, dilute that please.
My friend and I split a greens and veggies salad some sweet potato fries and a burger with bacon and Brie –all very tasty. We stumbled upon this place because we were hungry after attending the wedding expo at the Wells Fargo center –I give them 3.5 stars .a little on the Spendy side for a burger joint. I would go back .like that we got a 10%off check in from Unilocal

Great burgers and chicken, the ladies working there at lunch are nice but tonight some guy was the server there. Completely ignored me, had to wait 15 mins for coffee (burgers got there before the cup of ‘fresh’ coffee and I had to literally ask him what his name was, flag for the bill, and for a simple refill which was practically thrown on the table. For a place that only has a few booths and a bar, the service is such that I’ll never go back. Well, the food was good, maybe for take-​out.

I like Nations burgers better. Service was good, just not too impressed. I had cheeseburger, fries, and tried the chili.

The waitress never even acknowledged us, after about 20 minutes we just walked out. It was busy but it would have been nice if she said «We’re short staffed it’s going to be about a _​_​minute wait.» But we didn’t even get a hello! Horrible customer service. Not a great first impression and probably my last.

Upon my arrival I’d asked a patron who was just leaving the restaurant «is this place any good?» but was just hungry enough to walk on in instead of getting back in my car when he replied «it was ok» while shrugging his shoulders…
Because it wasn’t ok. Lame beer selection, overcooked burger on a hella tough roll that I could hardly bite through, and the absolute worst fries I’ve ever been served. Greasy, limp, undercooked, and unsalted. Um, yeah. I won’t be going back and neither should you because it’s terrible.

Hamburger joint? Mexican restaurant? Make up your mind. Or I’ll just go to Denny’s, Not! Nothing special bout this place. Not clean looking, not cool looking, nada. And the bun they serve the burger on is a diabetic special. They did serve a hefeweizen beer. That’s bout it, oh we we only went because willies bar was busy & we were going to see a show at Wells Fargo center.

We ordered the chili burger, the avocado burger, garlic fries, sweet potato fries, and the chicken curry salad. All was delicious!

I come here good atmosphere and great burgers good price, plus I live right by so they got me.

Best burgers in town. I usually get the Carmens burger with Swiss instead of jack. Both salad and fries are delicious!
Update:
Now I have also tried the Avocado Jack burger and that was yummy. Today I’m trying the Bacon & Cambozola burger. The most expensive beef burger in the line-​up; priced at $ 9.95.
Oh, and last but not least. Yum yum!

Carmen’s burger with fries is absolutely the best tasting hamburger I have ever had in my life and I shall be celebrating my 71^st. Birthday on August 14^th., so needless to say i have had a few burgers in my life. I always stop here whenever I go to the Santa Rosa VA and have even made the drive from Calistoga with my younger brother just to turn him on to the world’s best hamburger and he agreed 100%. Friendly staff, quick service and great prices. Do yourself a BIG favor and make the trip to Carmen’s Burger Bar you will become a fan for life as I am.

Great family owned restaurant
Friendly people and great customer service
Nice place to have burgers fries salads and drinks
I highly recommend coming to this place and fair prices on food

Staying at Safari West and not wanting to pay for their expensive dinner, we considered the limited number of close dining options and chose this place. Upon entering, we were confused. Were we supposed to seat ourselves? Was someone supposed to seat us? We didn’t know. (FYI: you’re supposed to seat yourself) It took a few minutes before a very busy employee noticed us and told us what to do, and another few minutes to get menus.
However, things got better. The service was prompt. The food came quickly and was quite tasty.

Have passed this place many times and decided to stop and try it. The place is not huge but is nice. The food is good and reasonably priced. Try the onion rings. instead of fries.
The service is good and the people are friendly. If you check in on Unilocal you can get 10% off your bill. I would eat here again.