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Great State Burger

2.6 (129 reviews)
ModerateFast Food, Burgers

Great State Burger Photos

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GREAT STATE BURGER ATMOSPHERE

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Good for groups
Good for kids

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Which is bigger? The  burger or my keys? Which has less flavor, the burger or my keys?
Big E.

Great Shame Burger. This is possibly there worst burger I've ever paid for. I don't think it's even possible to make a burger with less flavor. A public school lunch burger, circa 1980, is even better when you include the nostalgia factor. Just about any food in Seattle, is overpriced. I'm starting to figure that out. But this was overpriced AND bad. I am usually very forgiving since I used to be a line cook. It takes truly terrible food for me to reach the max. character limit on Yelp. There are two locations in the Bellevue Square shopping area. The larger one is in the main mall. And there's a smaller location at Lincoln Square South (across the street) next to King Leroy bar that serves as their kitchen and has their burgers on the bar menu while also serving out of a take-out window outside the bar area in the "food hall". I visited the smaller of the two, the one attached to King Leroy in Lincoln Square South. I just finished a movie (on a Monday) and wanted something more than popcorn in my stomach. It was already getting too late to cook something at home. I ordered the Great State Burger. Their namesake burger. How could I go wrong? I'm supporting a local chain right that talks about local, local, local...it's gotta be good, right? WRONG. When I got my food, I thought it was something off a kids menu. It was SO TINY. (I took a photo next to my keys for scale.) The patty was gray, with very little caramelization if any. Almost no flavor. When I say almost, I mean the only detectable flavor was from the pickles. It was swimming in their "great state sauce" which was more like weak thousand island dressing. And the lettuce looked like it has seen better days. The bun (which is the closest thing to Wonder Bread I've had in a long time) was not up to the task with all that sauce/dressing. It held up as well as a wet paper towel, but a paper towel would've tasted better. If you've ever seen the movie Falling Down starring Michael Douglas, he's already nuts, but he's further outraged by the tired, squashed burger he is served at the Whammyburger. The Great State Burger reminds me of that same sad burger in the movie. They charge $10.50 for this? And don't forget since it's counter service at the window, you pay the tip ahead of time, and assume it's going to be good. I normally tip 20%. I gambled and lost. Oh...amost forgot. I had a side of onion rings. $8. I counted 7 1/2 onion rings. That's I think $1.07 per onion ring if you round up to the nearest cent. Also not giving me warm fuzzies about this place. Fogo de Chao in the same building has an all-day, everyday happy hour menu with a $10 burger. (UPDATE: I had the burger at Fogo de Chao a week later and it was 1,000 times better.) Tavern Hall (near the skybridge on 2nd floor of Bellevue Square, eastisde of the NE parking garage) has a $10 happy hour cheeseburger and an extensive happy hour menu. I'll have to give that a try next. McDonald's has a Quarter Pounder with cheese for a little over $7 in the Seattle area, and I know for a fact it's way better (if you get past the whole terrible corporate fast food thing). I'm gonna say Wendy's Son of Baconator is better as well (for sure when it's $3 on the Wendy's app). Jollibee's Angus Cheeseburger is leaps and bounds better, and that's from a place that serves chicken, and burgers are kind of an afterthought. One day after I had the insult to all burgers from Great State, I made a burger at home with store-bought ingredients and it tasted very good. And I'm not exactly a Top Chef finalist. It's not rocket science. There is no reason at all to get a burger from Great State Burger. There are too many other options nearby and nobody should degrade themselves by paying money for such a pathetic and miserable product. Seriously, I don't know how this local chain got popular. It's bad food at ridiculous prices. Granted, food in any kind of mall setting is taking advantage of a captive audience. Fish in a barrel as the saying goes. But this is truly shameful. I wonder if the owners actually try the food at this location and do any quality control, or are the burgers this bad at all their locations? My google research say this chain used to be part of the famed Sea Creatures Restaurant Group lead by Chef Renee Erickson, but it's not longer listed as one of their properties on their website. An Everout (The Stranger) news blurb from March 2023 says Erickson sold the chain to one of her employees Nathan Yeager. Well, judging by the quality of the food, it's gone waaaay downhill since Erickson sold. Or it was never good to begin with?

Alyssa W.

Giving two stars. Was the food good? Yes! Was one tiny little burger and tiny French fries worth $21 NO!! The two starts is for the flavor. The lack of anything more was the sheer volume of food for the price. My teen daughter and I shared a burger. $14 for the burger and $5 for fries. Next time I'll just swing by McDonald's wheee it tastes about the same and I'd get 12 times the food.

Main counter and seating area

Visited Great State Burger in Bellevue Square Mall. It's an easy place to find on the second floor near the center of the mall. No dedicated restrooms, and parking is shared with the mall as expected. The ordering experience wasn't the smoothest. The staffing seemed a bit light. Food was pretty good though, definitely the highlight of the visit. Seating is open right outside the restaurant, so it really depends on how busy the mall is. Not the fastest or most convenient, but solid if you're craving a burger mid-shopping. Efficient: No First-Time Friendliness: No Would I Return: No JY review

J K.

Located inside Lincoln Square South Tower next to other eateries, Nordstrom Rack and Cinemark Reserve movie theater dine-in 21+. It's a small order/pickup joint but ample seating shared with other restaurants; accepts cash/card; quality local ingredients; good burgers but on the small side yet surprisingly filling; excellent crinkle fries, not soggy; yummy shakes; fast/friendly service; safe/upscale Bellevue environment; free garage parking on weekends. Many reviews are negative because of the portions and price. As previously mentioned, the burgers are small, similar to Dick's but are made with much better quality ingredients. Bigger is not always better. The burger was juicy but not greasy. I didn't feel like I ate cheap fast food. I got a Great State Burger/fries/shake combo for $14.99+tax. It's not cheap but the quality & safe/upscale environment justified the price and seemed relatively reasonable for me considering how everything has gotten more expensive thanks to Bidenflation. A similar combo meal at McDonald's or Wendy's is almost or about the same price. I can imagine the rent is very high at Lincoln Square. Negative reviewers should stick with Dick's, White Castle, McD's, etc. and stay in Monroe or Tukwila. If you want a decent simple bite to eat after work or a casual spot for a date night at the movies, I recommend this place. Support your local small businesses & restaurants

Great State mall front
Marcus S.

Aw man Bellevue Great State Burger, more like bad state burger. If you're looking for a burger, I'd wait til you leave the mall for a better one. I came here on lunch break and having had Great State at a standalone location and found it pretty good, my expectations were set. It disappointed here. First off it seemed they were kind of disorganized. I approach the counter and the guy taking orders walks away without saying anything then the cook comes over and the order guy comes back, it just looked weird and was curious why the one guy didn't just say, be right with you. It's not like there was a big crowd. Just a weird interaction. The biggest problem was the burger itself, I decided to keep it simple with a cheeseburger. It didn't deliver, plain and simple. It looked like it was already made and seemed more evident since it came out so fast. The bun was dry as was the burger. The cheese was not melted, and it was not at all like the last time I had a Great State burger. Again, it wasn't even busy so I can't excuse them. They get an additional star because the shake was pretty good. Beyond that, I'd avoid this Great State, that does not live up to its name.

Burger
Charlie T.

We were waiting next door and thought it would be good to try this out. The burger is decent for what it is. The burger had a good texture and was made fresh. I think there was just something slightly off with the flavors, but it did its job of a quick snack before our meal.

Ripped off!
Kevin S.

Burger was edible but just that. Way too small. Onion rings were overdone but get this...$7.00 and we got 5 onion rings...well done; no extra charge....don't, just don't!

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4 years ago

Great burgers every time! Fast service & clean environment, employees are usually pretty friendly too

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3 years ago

My goodness. The burgers are sooo small. Like tiny. And the meat is unseasoned. Worst bite I had in a while

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Got the classic burger. Was barely warm, cheese not heated just thrown on cold. No sauce. Payed $7 for that.

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8 years ago

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Ask the Community - Great State Burger

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