- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Bub's Burger Joint - CLOSED
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Drive-Thru:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
15 reviews for Bub's Burger Joint
15 reviews in English
-
Review from Tom J.
8/9/2011
Great burgers and fries - competes with the Five Guys of the world quite nicely. Six of us and everyone was happy.
The ambience is modern and casual, food is served in paper bags instead of plates, which is odd, especially since it shows how greasy the fries are.
We showed up at 6:30 on Sunday and they close at 7. They appeared to be cleaning up and the place was pretty dead, but the two employees were both very friendly. The food came out in a reasonable time frame
If we lived in the area, I'd say we'd be fairly regular and probably pretty fat ;-). -
Review from Lyn P.
7/22/2011
If you've ever been to Five Guys, Bub's will seem slightly familiar. They pretty much do the same type of burgers and fries (with the same ridiculous portions). Some slight differences - Bub's offers way more sauces and sweet potato fries.
Solid place for a better than fast food burger. -
Review from Kenneth S.
Madison, WI
12/19/2010
I can say that everything bad that has been said about this place here and elsewhere came true on my single recent visit. The positive reviews gotta be coming from paid-for bloggers.
It was the middle of the afternoon with only a few customers and still, the wait time for my food was nearly eternal. It's one thing to "cook-to-order." It's quite another to "cook-one-order-at-a-time." Perhaps even that would be acceptable if the food justified it; but it does not. The burger was a notch below a McD's quarter pounder. The fries were inedible - limp, greasy and cold. A whole lot of them is a whole lot of . . .
Most grating though, was the counter service. Two young women were there to take my order. (Suggestion: substitute one cook for one counter girl.) After taking my order, they proceeded to chat and giggle about the chaos going on with the orders, for example, "I totally forgot what this order is supposed to be." I guess they thought that was funny.
When I finally got my order, I got the droned "sorry for the wait." I told the girls it would probably be best not to be funnin' up the incompetency in front of the customers. One of the girls shot back "We know what we are doing," just the way, I am sure, that she sasses her parents and teachers.
So, I got it all: Ridiculous wait; rude service; really bad fries; pedestrian burger. It just goes to show, a good idea does not produce a good result without know-how and hard work. Bub's shows neither. -
Review from Corey C.
Madison, WI
10/22/2010
Bub's has the polished look and feel usually associated with big chains, but don't let that fool you: Bub's is an independent, locally-owned business that sources its beef, beer and many other products from local Wisconsin farmers. The operation feels more polished than most indie shops not because of corporate backing, but because the owner has been a part of the Madison restaurant scene for over 20 years. ("Bub" is the name of the owner's son, if you were wondering.)
Admittedly, the setup isn't entirely original. If you've been to Five Guys, Bub's will seem very familiar. It's a simple burger joint with a decent, basic variety of topping options, all of which are included in the price of the burger. You order at the counter, then after a short wait they bring your order out in a paper bag. Just like Five Guys, even a small order of fries overflows into the bag, providing plenty to share.
We visited during the dinner hour on a Saturday and the place only had a handful of other customers, but that's probably because they're so new. The staff was very helpful and friendly, and brought our food out promptly. Both the burgers and Bub's one signature menu item, sweet potato fries, were fresh, reasonably tasty and less greasy than similar fare at other burger joints we've been to.
Definitely worth trying if you find yourself in the area and in the mood for a burger. -
Review from Nick B.
Madison, WI
Bub's is "ok." The burgers are decently good, although not spectacular. The patties are "homestyle" or in other words seem hand-formed. They were quite moist, slightly pink in the middle (which I enjoyed), but lacked in flavor in their own right. It was pretty much just average beef flavor.
So I'd like to see a bit more savory taste in the burger itself, and less grease on the bun. Please, please drain the patties before putting them on the bun! My bun was partially translucent from oil, and I had to peel it off... On the other hand my companion's burger was not as oily...so perhaps consistency is an issue here.
Toppings were fine: Mushrooms were good, lettuce/tomato/mayo/pickles all as expected. Fried onions could have been a bit crisper and caramelized, but for under $4 not too bad.
Fries: Absolute FAIL. These were probably the worst fries I've ever had. Bub's: What are you doing? The fries were overcooked, mealy, and grey in the middle!! They tasted simultaneously burned and underflavored, with no salt added (salt packets are available), and I'm positive I could taste a vague sweet potato flavor (probably from mixing oil or the drip tray).
The only redeeming part of the fries experience was the Heinz ketchup.
Bub's - I think you may be overlooking what is involved in making a tasty batch of fries.
In sum: A nice, clean, inexpensive place that needs to iron out some new-business kinks in order to bring it up to 4 stars or better: 1) Make fries better. 2) MAKE FRIES BETTER. 3) Seasoning or better flavor for beef 4) Drain patties after cooking 5) Fried onions could be better. -
Review from Richard L.
Madison, WI
8/13/2010 1 photo
This is a brand new place that moved in to the old El Pescador location across from Walgreens.
The Good:
-The burgers were excellent. They have a few basic options and they do it well. Great buns and all available toppings are included.
-The place was clean.
-Aside from regular french fries they also offer sweet potato fries!
The Meh:
-You order at the counter, which is fine and perfectly reasonable, and when your order is up they bring it out to you in a paper bag. I planned on eating at the restaurant but the food was bagged up I just took it to go. They should offer trays or something for people who'd like to eat there, the bags are wasteful otherwise. Also, the bags get greasy fast and it was raining outside. I almost lost my food to a disintegrating bag.
-The interior is pretty boring. Lame framed artwork et-cetera.
-You fill out your own individual orders on menu cards. We ordered two separate types of burgers with different toppings on each one. Even though it was written down the orders were still mixed up.
This place could easily move up to a 4 or 5 star burger joint and it's understandable there may be some kinks to work out since it's brand new. The details are hard to find out because their website is not up yet and they don't list any info at the restaurant, but apparently this is a local and eco-friendly establishment. Or so I've heard. The meat was definitely of a higher quality. Ditching unnecessary paper bags would be a big step in the eco-friendly realm. It's in a odd spot in town but I really hope they are successful. I'd also recommend they start serving milkshakes. Nothing goes better with a hamburger and fries than a milkshake. -
Review from Greg L.
Madison, WI
9/4/2010
The Good:
I really love the burgers (buns) and the fries. They always play really good music. It was really cheap for what it is. My wife said the walnut burger is one of the best she's ever had, and she doesn't like burgers much at all.
The Bad:
The ordering process needs to be a little better. They're adding more stuff to the menu. When you fill a little checklist for ordering, the checklist doesn't have everything available. We went with a big group (6 total people), and paid with 3 separate bills. The food came out fairly slowly for an over-the-counter order. It also came out by bill, instead of by "party", meaning our party of 6 got served 3 separate times. I was able to eat 2/3 of my fries before the second group of our party got their food.
Pro tip: A "regular" fry is really big. My wife and I are pretty happy splitting a regular fry, and we both love fries. The large fry is absurdly big IMO.
Overall: They still need to work out a few kinks, because it's a new place. But my wife and I already went back a week later after our first visit, and this is the first time she's ever suggested going to a burger joint. The great food really outweighs the few problems the place has. The burgers and buns just taste so much better than Red Robin or any other burger joint I've been to. It's our new favorite burger joint, and inspired me to create a yelp account to say how great this place is. -
Review from Jeri C.
Madison, WI
8/30/2010
Mediocre. I had high hopes for the sweet potato fries, but they were not that great. For what we paid, the burgers were kind of small and lacking in anything special. It wasn't nasty or anything though. I would not discourage anyone from trying it.
Listed in: Get Your Eat On
-
Review from Matt S.
Madison, WI
4/11/2011
Tried Bub's for the first time tonight and thought it was very good. Will definitely go back. I was impressed with this place before I even walked in the door. I called ahead to see how long they were open and a very sweet/polite voice answered and told me 10:00. Great! Plenty of time to get there. On my way there my phone rang but could not answer right at that moment so I let my mail answer. Couple minutes later I checked my the message and here was that same voice telling me that they closed at 9 and not 10. I was shocked and pleased at the same time. Are u kidding me? Who does that anymore?
Couldn't make up my mind what I wanted so I ordered two sandwiches. Bona Fide Bacon Cheeseburger and a Rib eye sandwich. Also fries. Had half of each and both were very good. The fries were great also. Fresh cut and homemade.
The rest of their menu looked great also.
Veggie burgers, chicken sandwiches, sweet potato fries etc. Very creative menu.
For those who ripped this place do everyone a favor and take your cheap fat butts down the street a couple blocks
to McDonald's and order off the $1 menu. You can have all the cold, dried up dry Quarter Pounders and frozen fries you want. Losers!!!
One last thing. That sweet voice on the phone matched the pretty face behind the counter. What a nice change
from the greasy/pimple face jerk working at most burger places. -
Review from Charles R.
Middleton, WI
10/12/2010
Obviously the main attraction at Bub's is the burgers. Verdict? Really good. You can watch them form the patty in front of you, which is reassuring. Taste-wise, they're very flavorful (thanks to the fact that they're cooked medium-well instead of "so-well-done-that-you're-eating-shoe-leather"). The ordering system is nice; you get to pick whatever toppings you want, but it's not like you can't do that at any other burger place. The prices are really good as well; you would expect a "gourmet" burger restaurant to overcharge you since they could probably get away with it, but that's not the case with Bub's.
The main problem is the fries. They are delicious when hot, but after they cool down (about five minutes) they get really soggy, limp, and unappetizing. This is probably due to their greasiness, and the fact that they aren't particularly crispy to begin with. And since you get so many fries in even the smallest size, it's impossible to make a big dent in them before they go flaccid.
Bub's would get 4 stars from me if not for the fries. Usually I can overlook the poor execution of a menu item, but when it's the fries at a burger joint, I just can't ignore it. I mean, what's a burger without fries? -
Review from Joe W.
Sun Prairie, WI
11/16/2010 1 Check-in Here
Fries we're great, both Sweet Potato and Regular. I was not impressed with the burger nor the buns. Don't know if I hit it on a bad night or what but the bun wasn't fresh and the burger was dry.
-
Review from Adam G.
Madison, WI
9/2/2011
Brand new interior, and the selection of specialty burgers was good. Lots of craft beer to choose from too. The fries were very good. I have no complaints and will definately go back and bring a friend with next time!
-
Review from Dave A.
Madison, WI
8/30/2011
Ha! This place is a joke! Undercooked meat, horrible service. The design of the place made me laugh. I even gave them another chance. The same result. There are ten times better burger joints to hit before heading to the Badger games!
-
Review from Travis F.
Madison, WI
8/16/2010
Great tasting burger, good bun and I love the fact you can customize your buger with various toppings. We were excited to try their sweet potatoe fries however unfortunately they were quite soggy. Overall though, good stuff.
-
Review from Melissa S.
Madison, WI
7/7/2011
Burgers are great; juicy and flavorful - great rolls for the burgers. I totally agree with the posters on the fries. They need to go back to the drawing board on their fries BIG time. The dessert basket on the counter deserves mentioning. MONSTER portions of Scotcheroos, rice krispie bars and brownies. Think Noodles & Company size bars. If you like peanut butter and chocolate, you should NOT pass up the scotcheroo. (Course they are simple to make at home too
