You’d think that a place with single burger meals starting at $8 for plain burgers would have great-tasting food, impeccable service and to-die-for decor. Not so at Lush Burger.
To be fair, the decor isn’t that bad at the north Scottsdale restaurant and is probably the best thing about it, in fact. It’s a funny thing to stand out, but I really like their all-white bathrooms and pretty hanging lights throughout the restaurant.
The cow print seats in the bar arear are a turn-off (I don’t like to be reminded cows had to die for all those burgers), but I like the red-focused color scheme and the overall classiness of the hamburger joint. There’s also a big patio with really nice flat-screen TV’s.
The thing that has disappointed me the most about Lush Burger is the service. All three times I’ve been there, it has taken at least 20 minutes for my parties to get our food–even when the restaurant wasn’t busy.
The first time I went, I requested a veggie patty on the Lushburger Classic ($8). I’ve never experienced any type of problem when making a request like this anywhere else that offered a veggie burger–if you have a veggie burger on the menu, you should be able to substitute that veggie patty on any other burger. The waitress at Lush, however, didn’t understand this concept at all and said the only option available was to get a portobello mushroom burger, which wasn’t listed on the menu but was vegan. It didn’t come with the stuff I had wanted from the classic, like pickles, but it was fine. Still, having to add cheese for $1 and fries for $3 (none of the burgers come with fries) that resulted in an average-tasting lunch was disappointing.
I had a Farmers Market Salad ($8) next time I went. It came with lettuce, corn, artichoke, avocado, edamame, cucumber, carrots, tomato and jicama with a champagne vinaigrette. The salad parts were OK, but the dressing was bland and the meal was almost freezing cold.
The third time I went, I got the veggie burger I wanted the first time–funny how I should have been able to get that all along.
The quinoa and grilled squash patty did taste great, but it should be made with something that helps it stick together better, because the burger kept falling apart. The veggie burger usually comes bun-free because of this, and I really wish Lush had a better veggie patty option for people who want some of their other burger options without the dead cow.
While I can’t comment on the meat burgers, I think it’s pretty annoying Lush charges for fries. And since all my experiences there, both service- and food-wise, have been mediocre, I’m not rushing to go back any time soon.
