Baby's Burgers & Shakes

Always a stop when visiting Penn State. Love the little whimpy burgers. Two with fries is perfect. And the kids meals come with little bitty sundaes!

Such a great experience! We went in for a late lunch on Tuesday- the "Two for Tuesday" lunch special of 2 cheesesteaks was a great deal, and he description sounded amazing. Our server, "Small Fry", was super attentive and helpful. The restaurant has a distinct 50s feel, from the decor to the jukeboxes at each table having hits of the 50s and 60s. It was really fun!
Food came out piping hot, and the fries were PERFECTION! My chicken cheesesteak fell through the Amoroso roll, but tasted amazing. We decided to get dessert and ordered the hot fudge cookie sundae on our server's recommendation - she was spot on, that sundae was amazing. She also offered to give us drinks "for the road" since we were walking around town, which was really thoughtful. She was absolutely wonderful, we couldn't have asked for better!
Thank you so much for making our lunch one to remember!

Only thing I got was the whimpy basket reg burger and chicken. Switched the fries to onion rings for a buck 50.

Onion rings were LEGIT.
Probably one of the best or better ones ive had. You dont get a shitload but they were good either way. Not over-battered and good piece of onion.

Hmm so the burgers in the whimpy basket are sposed to be like sliders i think. They were friggin tiny. For $4.5 they aint that much a rip, but I woulda enjoyed a mcdouble for a buck at mcdonalds more. At least they got onions n cheese. If u get the reg burger it jus comes wit onions and theyre barely existent. The patty was dry as hell too. The chicken one was crispy and not bad but suffers from the same prob as the reg burger in that the overall burger is dry and got no other condiments or anything.

Might go back to try a real burger or some mac n cheese but for sure i wouldnt get the whimpy again.

I've visited this location many times over the years since they first opened, and I've almost always had positive experiences. Unfortunately, today - my birthday of all days - was awful. The food was good other than my husband's meal arriving a full 7 minutes after my meal, and this is why I'm giving 2 stars instead of 1. The service we received was awful. As someone who has waited tables, I am very adamant about always tipping, but our server never smiled, never checked back, allowed my husband's meal to be served far later than mine (having said it'd be 2 minutes late), barely spoke above a whisper, and had to be tracked down for the check. We had wanted to order dessert, but we were afraid of how long that might take given the fiasco with our meals.
The food itself was good, but based on this visit, we won't be back, nor would we recommend this location to others.

Used to be one of my family's favorite places in State College but it has gone extremely downhill. Last time we were there, our baby burgers weren't cooked through - if you've been here before, you know how thin the baby burgers are - HOW were they not cooked?!
Unfortunately we won't be returning.

Really a 3.5-I'd give it an extra .5 for ambiance. Oldies playing, everything decked out in red and white, jukeboxes in every table, and you could see the cooks grilling burgers behind the counter. Classic diner vibe.

There was a short wait, but the host was attentive, and we were actually seated even sooner than he had thought. Service was great too, even though they were obviously busy.

Food is a true 3--it's exactly what you expect. Prices are generally fair for what you get, but the burgers really ought to come with a side other than chips.

Good spot overall, definitely worth a return trip.

I ordered the chicken fingers and they were terrible. I took one bite and immediately realized the chicken was either blended chicken byproduct (dyed white) or not even chicken at all... I hate to be harsh, but these were uneatable. I tried to break one in half and it was so rubbery and fake.

My fiancé ordered the Mac Attack burger and liked it! He said it was delicious.

3.5 stars, rounding up to 4!

As a heads up to any recent/upcoming visitors: one of the main managers left recently, as well as half the normal wait staff, so be nice to the current staff!! They're really strapped and trying their best. Big shoutout to our waitress Brittany for being so sweet.

Anyways, I'm a huge sucker for diners, especially retro themed ones! I love that walking up to Baby's, you already start to hear old-fashioned tunes and that you're greeted while waiting to be seated. The decor is lovely (though like many college joints, may need a bit of an update) and everyone is decked out in cute uniforms.

Sat in the lower part of the restaurant with a group of friends and got the Whimpy basket on the recommendation of a friend, as well as a milkshake and fried Mac and cheese bites. Husband got the Baby's basket (2 full cheeseburgers instead of 2 sliders) and said he was a little disappointed in it, but I honestly enjoyed my burger sliders (and honestly... for 2 sliders, fries, and pickles, $5 is not a bad price).

I most anticipated the milkshake and was happy with it (could have been thicker and colder, but can't complain with the portions; they do the old-fashioned way where they give you a glass and what's basically a second serving in the metal cup) - I ordered the Oreo mixed with the mint chocolate chip on the recommendation of the waitress!

Surprise hit were the Mac and cheese bites - someone else had ordered a side of Mac and cheese and said that the fried bites were better. I almost ordered a second helping if I hadn't already been full! Only downside was that it's double the price of the normal Mac and cheese side, but not sure if you get enough to justify the markup!

Overall, inexpensive diner prices and a classic diner environment, and close to campus. I'd like to come back to try more of their extensive menu, but probably only once in a while.

I graduated. Then I immediately went about looking for a local job. It wasn't that I was not qualified or had not tried, but it was only months after 9/11 and while airlines had taken a massive hit laying off middle and low ranking employees en masse and that was where I was trying to get in. I needed a job and State College, at the time at least, had dirt cheap apartment rentals.

Either way, I worked at Baby's getting a job washing dishes. Before I even started, Baby's was sold to Hotel State College. Our general manager, was ticked off because he had a handshake deal with the previous owners that they would sell it to him first. But HSC came on fast and hard and with a big check so they acquiesced without a thought.

Either way, I got a raise and I had not even worked a shift, I could care less. I worked hard and I became indispensable as a weekday 11-1:15 and 11-2 worker and soon Arts Fest occurred (mid-Jul) and we were packed, with a 20-body line out the door ALL DAY. Plus, we were often slammed at 9:30 with High school girls coming from Soccer, Field Hockey, and Basketball camps.

By the end of summer, I was running into the kitchen ,washing my hands, an d then doing salads and toast for the kitchen as well. Then I was working on Fryers as a cook. It was 2-3 months, and I was moved to the flat-top grill as well. I was working about 2-3 shifts as a Dishwasher about 10 hours, but nearly 20 hours as a line-cook. had I stayed, I bet that in about 2 months I had a head of kitchen as a cook in charge of orders headed my way.

The new ownership was initially great for us, but over time, not so much, We had a max capacity of about 65, with room for about 3-6 person, tables and and around 10 or so 4-person booths. Our selling point was 50s -era food cooked and made very quickly, but well. We had a fast turn-around time and a high serving rate. We weren't a 'serve them steaks, go work on your nails an check on them in 15 minutes"place. We were a 'get them out the door in 20 minutes' joint. We turned small profits margins and cheaper prices into the best profits among HSC properties.

I went back there about 3 years after leaving. It had drastically changed. For one, like a lot of businesses they had had an exclusivity deal with Coca-cola. But our deal was beyond just serving only Coke, we had Memorabilia all over the place too. Some of it was gone. The Burgers menu had been expanded and 'tweaked' to include things like Jalapenos and hot sauce, a 'goat cheese' burger, that served more 'contemporary' food tastes. You don't walk into a 50s diner for a 2000's platter.

This popular spot (always crowded with Penn Staters) has a retro feel to it - think 1950's-era diner.

Like a classic diner, there are great shakes here (I like their chocolate shake). Make sure to get an order of Wimpy's (tiny hamburgers) as they won't fill you up, unless you decide to get several orders...