Smashburger - Pompton Plains

The restaurant was fantastic! It was an unexpected stop while I was driving through, and I had never tried their food before. The taste was excellent, and the customer service was outstanding. Honestly, anyone who complains about slightly pink meat probably has the palate of a child.

When I ordered iced tea, one of the staff members kindly checked to see if it was available and informed me that they were out. He offered to make more if I wanted, but I declined since there were other options. Another team member personally delivered napkins and ketchup, asking if we needed anything else. At that moment, we didn't, but later he noticed that one of my young daughters was struggling to eat her lunch. He introduced himself to me and my daughters and offered to give them ice cream if they finished their meals, with my permission, of course. It was a great motivator! I truly appreciated the kindness and generosity of the staff, which made us feel welcomed and comfortable. The restaurant was also very clean, which added to the positive experience.

The service was terrible. The server clearly wasn't trained to manage the front. She brought us our meals without fries, and I suspect they simply weren't ready. We watched in disappointment as they served several other tables with fries. We saw the server twice, and both times she went to the manager in the kitchen, who put a cup of fries under a heat lamp. The fries were left sitting there while the server continued with her other duties. I have five years of customer service experience and the patience of a saint, but this was beyond frustrating. I told the server I just wanted to remove the fries from the bill and go about my day, and I did so calmly, without raising my voice. The flustered server went to get the manager from the grill area. I tried to explain the situation to him, mentioning that my entire party had finished their meals without fries and we no longer wanted to wait for them. The manager offered us free food and other items, but I eventually asked if he was unable to refund the charge for the fries, and he sadly nodded yes. I wasn't sure if it was a policy issue or if he just felt overwhelmed, but he seemed defeated. I asked what he could get for us, and he mentioned he would have fries ready right away. He placed a cup of fries in front of me and instructed his fellow employees to take the fries over to us. She nodded and proceeded to serve two other orders before finally bringing us the fries. To be fair, the food was excellent, and I can only imagine the fries would have complemented the burger nicely. Regardless of the staffing issues, employees need better training before taking on responsibilities on their own. As someone who frequently leaves reviews on Google, I can confidently say this set the record for the worst service I've ever experienced.

Great food and excellent service! However, please consider upgrading to better-quality plastic cups; mine just broke at the top.

The burger was quite good! The flavors of the sauce and toppings stood out more than the meat itself, but it was still enjoyable. The pickles were excellent, the staff was friendly, and they offer a dairy-free shake that is absolutely delicious. Honestly, it was so good that I couldn't even tell it was dairy-free. I enjoyed it so much I drank it too quickly to take a picture!