burger express

cool old school vibe with good classic american burgers check out the patio on a sunny day they opened in 1983 ! the best family owned burger business in federal way

nostalgia can often trump objectivity. my daughter-in-law was adamant that we try this place, one of her childhood favorites, before my grandson's baseball practice. "it's a federal way institution", she insisted. my food b.s. meter registered red, but off to "burger heaven" the seven of us went. a clean facility with smiling servers greeted us as we entered and my meter indicator started to droop. our meals took a few minutes to prepare, a fact that never bothers us if the food is made after you order it. out came hot burgers and fries accompanied by a rainbow of different shakes. these were freshly made and flavorful burgers with crisp, fresh toppings. contrary to many reviewer's comments, the fries were properly prepared...crisp and hot (maybe they read and react to reviewer's comments). by now, my b.s. meter had ashamedly turned itself off. i made a mental note to ignore the damned thing when my d-i-l  makes food suggestions. by the way, the shakes were really well done.

gotta say, pretty disappointed with this place now. the burgers are ok. pretty generic. very unimpressed with the sautéed mushrooms that tasted like they came from a can. and 60¢ for sautéed onions?

the fries were the worst part. they used to have good fries but now they're doing them "fresh." except that they are not cooking them correctly. no crisp. soft and greasy. no thanks. you gotta double fry them from raw potatoes!!

not going back. there's a fatburger a mile away.

slow and disorganized. i was the only car in line. it took a total of 15 minutes to get two orders. i ordered a double teryaki burger and got billed $9 for it. i recieved a single burger with everything on it, and made the mistake of not checking my order piror to leaving. once at work i discovered thier error. since no reciept was in the bag, and everthing is in a plain white bag, i googled them then called to explain, not once, but three times to two different individuals before they could understand what it was i ordered. fries were good, but not worth the wait or the hassle. had i discovered it prior to leaving, i presume it would have been another 10 minutes, thus making my trip, in a drive up window a total of 25 minutes. keep in mind it was 1 pm and not a single car was behind or ahead of me the entire time i was there. hmmm ?

so good!!! if you're looking for a greasy yummy burger this is the place. fries are just ok

"the boz!". the undisputed heavyweight champion of the single patty burgers in all of king and pierce counties. sure the "big mouth" from "zippys giant burgers" is awesome and delicious.... but the big mouth also has 3 patties. the "boz" has but 1! it also has ham, bacon, sauteed mushrooms and loads of other goodies. this is a big, no apologies burger that most women and children could not finish. it is made fresh to order and comes half wrapped in paper to help hold it together. it takes both hands to eat this burger. it's juices will run down your forearm to your elbow. i would highly recommend a large order of onion rings with this order. you will be full. as like zippys and red mill, their fries are awful. if you come on a sunny day you can down a few beers on the deck while your order cooks. this is a family friendly place.,, but, its nice to have that option. they also have some killer shakes if your so inclined. i'm always looking for a better burger. .... but, this one has kept me coming back for many, many years.

still great. i had not been here since i worked in federal way over 15 years ago, and i am happy to say that it is still as good as i remembered. i had the mt. high burger which has all the usual suspects (lettuce, tomato, onion, sauce, etc.) and also both swiss and american cheeses and a slice of ham. the burger patty is char broiled and the bun is griddled so it has a nice crunch at the edges. all the burgers come with fries and they are hand-cut and delicious (also a little crispy -- which i like). they do the burger right, wrapping it in paper so it doesn't get soggy, the only negative thing i can think of is they shred the lettuce but then the sauce/spread is on the top of the meat patty so the lettuce (under the patty) did not turn into soggy goo too. onions are sliced and not chopped, another plus. i will return, hopefully before another 15+ years pass. the "boz" burger is waiting to be tried...

ok, a visit about a week later -- i had the "boz" burger and it is absolutely enormous! but it is also delicious, a half pound burger with all the usual stuff and bacon, a slice of ham, grilled mushrooms. i wisely did not eat all the delicious fries this time, but they were still crispy and delicious. i'm gonna change this place to a "favorite".

best burgers ever. our whole family comes here more often than any other restaurant in federal way. their burgers are great but i love the salmon burger the best. my husband gets a "bro" burger like the fair serves and they serve a ton of really fresh fries with each order (not frozen) we usually get a couple of combos with fries and two of us change ours to onion rings instead of fries. they have amazing chocolate malts for dessert on the way out too. the prices are definitely reasonable and everything we've eaten here has been wonderful. very nice staff and they've all been very helpful. we'll be visiting them for many years i'm sure.

its just ok, seriously. sort of overrated, just like a lot of burger places. they have an ok bison burger and blt. i hate their fries! i have never had fries that were worse than theirs. is this really the best burger joint federal way has to offer???

awesome california burger. awesome home made frieso