The Counter Restaurant Review

Reviewer: Foodnut.com

The Counter

369 California Ave (Ash)

Palo Alto, CA 94306

650-321-3900

The Counter Website

The Counter Palo Alto 4

Another trendy fancy burger place… The Counter opened in 2006 and is another fancy casual restaurant located in the Palo Alto, California Avenue shopping district. They have locations in CA, CO, GA, NC, and TX with many more coming soon. We revisited in March 2011 at the brand-new San Mateo location, click next door to Trader Joes. Loud music greeted us as we entered the place along with some flat screen TVs at the counter.

At The Counter, you get to build your burger. Select a patty, up to 4 free toppings, optional premium toppings, choose a cheese, sauce on the side, and a bun. This is almost identical to Custom Burger in San Francisco.
You can get certified humane turkey, 100% natural ground angus beef, certified humane raised & handled, never frozen, hormone & antibiotic free, certified humane chicken, and veggie burgers. You can order takeout or have a full serviced sit down meal at The Counter. They serve beer and cocktails, a major plus!

The Counter Palo Alto 3

The Counter Palo Alto 9

The Counter has very modern decor with a unique bar where they serve beer, wine, and mixed drinks.  Lots of college kids (Stanford is nearby) and families were eating. The San Mateo location has lines in the evenings. Head straight to the counter in the middle to avoid lines.

Menu pics: (Click to zoom in on any picture)

The Counter build your own burger

Build a Burger Menu

The Counter’s menu had tons of customization options for burger fans.Vegetarians and offer the veggie burgers or one of their sick salads. They also have three sandwich options. We love their build your own cocktail options! We’ve never seen one of those before.

Picks:

The counter hamburger

Burger with onion strings

The counter cheeseburger

The 1/3lb Beef burger ($7.95, weight after cooking!) was pretty big, we had to smash it down, so that it would fit in your mouth.  They do ask how you want the meat done and default to a slightly pink in the middle, medium rare. Ours came with  very little redness but was still juicy.  The Tilamook cheddar cheese tasted good.  The bun was solid, although the onion bun we had one another burger was very good. The grilled onions, organic mixed greens, dill pickle chips, and tomatoes were fine. The sweet BBQ sauce was on the side and was really, really sweet as was the honey mustard. It’s a good thing they keep it on the side.

We’d rank this burger right in there with top places like Custom Burger, Pearls, Peninsula Creamery, and Mo’s. In the Peninsula, this is easily better than places like Jeffrey’s, Rave Burger, and Jack’s. Godfather’ s still has more style.

Fifty-Fifty ($4.95) French Fries and Sweet potato fries was also pretty solid. The fries were very thin and a bit salty, while the sweet potato fries were excellent. Horseradish mayo is served alongside the fries.

The Counter Palo Alto Shake

Smores Shake Special ($4.95) with marshmellow, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream, and graham crackers was good.  Relatively thick and not too sweet.

Mediterranean salad ($8.95) 1/3 pound natural turkey Patty, lettuce blend, Greek feta, black olives, sliced cucumbers, spicy pepperoncinis, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce is a good option for burger haters. The turkey patty was excellent unlike most non-beef patties we tried.

OK:

The Counter Palo Alto Fries

French fries ($3.50) with some seasoning salt on top were of decent quality and in massive in quantity. Two people could easy share this.

The Counter Palo Alto Fifty Fifty Fries Onion Strings

Fifty-Fifty ($4.95) French Fries and Onion strings was also pretty big. The strings are very good but extremely greasy.

The Counter Palo Alto Kids Mini Burgers

Kids Mini Burgers (2) ($4.95) with American cheese, pickles, and Fries were a good deal and enough to feed most kids upto 8.

Ahi burger ($12.95) was the special burger of the month and frankly looked like a pale colored patty with canned tuna in it. It did taste better than it looked, but we expected a real slice of ahi tuna. This burger was served with wasabi aoili on the side.

Pans:

The Counter Palo Alto Fried Pickles

Fried Dill Pickle Chips ($4) with apricot dipping sauce were weird.  Crispy and piping hot, but an acquired taste.

The service was fine with a young waitress trying very hard.  It took about 15 minutes for the burger to arrive. They also have a kids menu.

If we wanted a good burger and were nearby, we’d definitely consider The Counter.  Price are on the high side though.  A burger, fries, and a soda run almost $16! There are so many customization options that almost anybody could be satisfied.

You can also down an adult beverage of your choice at the same time!

Counter on Urbanspoon

The Counter on Urbanspoon

Now open at:
41 West Hillsdale Boulevard
San Mateo, CA 94403
650-212-2300

The Counter Santana Row
3055 Olin Ave
San Jose, CA 95128
408-423-9200

201 Corte Madera Town  Center
Corte Madera, CA 94925
415-924-7000

1005 Galleria Blvd
Roseville, CA 95678
916-773-2333

1699 N California Blvd
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-935-3795

Restaurant Map:


The Counter Overall Rating: (Good 2)

Come Back?

Food Rating: (Very Good)
Service Rating: (Good)
Atmosphere Rating: (Very Good)
Value Rating: (Good)

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:Full Bar
Attire:Casual
Hours:Mon-Th 11am-10pm. Fri-Sat 11am-11pm. Sun 11:30am-9pm
Parking:Street
Reservations:No
Prices:$5.95 - $12.95

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6 Comments

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    […] The burger took about 5 minutes to come. Service was cordial, it was clear they are doing their best to please. Value for the combo deal is pretty good. The burger reminds me of Burger Joint’s as both use Niman Ranch meats. While this is good stuff, it is not a guarantee of the best burger around. This is better than the usual fast food joints, but not as good as top places like Pearls, Custom Burger, Mos, or even The Counter. […]

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    […] authentic Mexican food give this place a try. Other restaurants we have reviewed  nearby include The Counter, Jin Sho, and Bistro […]

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    […] high as top notch places in San Francisco including Pearls.  We would also rank Palo Alto’s The Counter and nearby Rave Burger as better than Jeffrey’s Hamburgers for burgers. If you are in need of […]

  • Palo Alto Creamery at Stanford Restaurant Review, Palo Alto, 94304 | Foodnut.com
    January 21, 2011 at 12:05 pm

    […] Service was fast and they did check back to see if we needed stuff fairly often. Price are pretty standard for a diner of this sort. The burgers were solid very good ones, better than most. Only the couple top places can beat this place like Pearls, Custom Burger, Mos, or even The Counter. […]

  • Godfather's Burger Lounge Restaurant, Belmont | Foodnut.com
    March 28, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    […] for some food. Be sure to try the garlic fries. We’d rank this place slightly ahead of nearby The Counter, Rave Burger and Jack’s, but not into top notch Pearl’s territory. Kid’s menu […]

  • Burger Joint, Burlingame | Foodnut.com
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    […] the usual fast food joints, but slightly below top places like Pearls, Custom Burger, Mos, or even The Counter. $25 Dining Certificate for $5Burger Joint Overall Rating: (Good 2)Come Back? Food Rating: […]

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