the garage

good price, decent food, terrible service.. i've been to the garage multiple times now. they have a prettygoodselection of beer and their drink prices are good. their food is okay, but by no means outstanding. their service is absolutely horrible, both in the dinning area and the bar. which is why i will not be returning to the garage anytime soon.

ok food, zero service. my wife got a gift card for the garage, so we headed out from okc to give it a try. we arrived with our 18-month old daughter, placed our orders, and went to find a seat. the restaurant part has booths down one wall, and the rest of the tables are bistro-style tables and chairs, with the table surface about four feet from the ground, and tall chairs, as well. this was not going to work well with a baby, and i did not feel comfortable having her seated that far off the ground. one of the waitstaff stopped by and offered to get a high chair for her, and stacked two high chairs, which made me even more uncomfortable. i decided we'd bide our time and wait for a booth to open up.

i noticed my plastic cup filled with diet coke was cracked almost all the way to the bottom, so i took it to the bar instead of trying to get through the crowd at the front of the house where the main soda machine is. i asked the bartender if she could help me, and she gave me an empty glass. i would have thought she could at the very least fill the cup with ice and diet coke. i had to go to the front anyway to get my refill.

when a booth finally opened up, i quickly moved to it to save it for my family, as there were a lot of patrons looking for tables. the table was still full of food from the prior customers, and i waited for one of the wait staff to come bus the table. instead, i watched the wait staff wander the dining room aimlessly, not bothering to come by. so i took the prior customer's food and placed it on our previous table. one of the wait staff came by to clean off that table, and, thinking he'd get the hint, i pushed the rest of the trash to the edge of the table for him to clear off. he didn't even come by the table.

so i moved the rest of the cups to the old table, stood up, grabbed some paper towels and started wiping the crumbs and trash onto the floor. still absolutely no response from the wait staff, one of whom was standing five feet away, watching me clean off our table. additionally, the paper towel roll on our table was empty, so i also had to switch that for another table's roll.

someone delivered our food, and we ate it. the burger was fine, but with so manygoodburger options in oklahoma city, i have no reason to drive out to edmond for it. additionally, they use the cheapest paper towels, so when you grab towels from the roll, they tear in half before it comes off the roll.

nobody ever stopped by our table to ask how anything was, or if we needed refills, but there were always 2-3 people wandering around the dining room looking for things to do.

as we left, i stopped to fill up a to go cup. both diet coke guns at the front of the house were dispensing carbonated water and no syrup. i gave up and left.

i will certainly not bother with giving the garage another shot, despite the fact the food wasn't the problem.

been here several times. the prices are good. the beer selection is great. the food is prettygoodand very consistent. i always get the tacos, they are awesome.

usually like this place a lot, but not last night. ordered a burger and fries and got a whole bunch of grease!! sent fries back twice and got the same grease back twice! horrible heartburn afterwards! service was reallygoodthough! will be quite a while before i return!


-----08 dec, 2012-----

update 9/17/2014:
i returned to this restaurant a few days ago and the food is so much better now than when they first opened! i really liked the fried onion burger and the fries ordered well done (recommended by the cashier). the well done fries are the best!! the atmosphere is still the same, meaning it is still very, very loud in there. hard to carry on much of a conversation. i wish they would do something about that, but the food is reallygoodnow. i will return soon! this won't be a place i go often, because of the noise, but it has reallygoodfood!

it was just ok. the hamburger was dry, but had agoodflavor. the fries, both sweet potato and french fries, were ok. not crispy and not greasy. catsup actually helped both the fries and the burgers. very, very loud. not a place to carry on a conversation. i will try this again in a few months.

the garage burgers in del city. first time at the garage...not impressed, too much bread, its all you taste. and we got ours to go, the fries were barely warm so i asked for fresh..they dumped them back in and cooked them a little longer...they were hotter but they were also hard. i had so hoped it would begoodbecause we just don't have much in del city, to bad we didn't get a smashburger!!

hectic, chaotic, just a hot sick mess. attention: this is a far cry from it's predecessor in norman.

the burger was extremely messy and was just okay. my son's children's burger was charred. the fries were alright. how they managed to turn a former put-put golf building into a restaurant is beyond me, but they didn't do agoodjob. the layout is terrible. everyone is crammed into the area where you order, then you hunt down a table. it is very narrow, loud, and it's really just not all comfortable. maybe this is a case of the environment having a bad impression on how the food tastes because by the time the food was delivered we were really just sort of ready to go.

i can't say that the service was lousy, because we really didn't have any server interaction. we were extremely hurried when ordering, and the person just dumped our food on the table when it was ready and took our number -- didn't even ask if it looked right or anything. it was just not a pleasant visit, enough of a turn-off to not return.

foodgoodservice not so good. great food. waiting in line can be frustrating at best.

do not order the fish tacos. i know this is a burger joint, but if an item is on the menu, it should be of similar quality as the burgers.goodplace for burgers.

good food with agoodprice. no late night food. kitchen closes at 10 pm.

food -goodservice - awful!. food was good, not great, but much better than most restaurants in edmond. normally i will put up with bad service forgoodfood, as normally the situation is there are too few people working, and generally this is where there is a problem. however there were plenty of workers here, they just didn't seem to be trained or know what they should be doing. it was almost like this was their first week of business.

layout is also confusing, as if they don't know if they want to be a bar or a burger joint. too many big screens, all on the same channel and noise level was way too high for lunchtime, even for a bar. it's almost as if they are owned by two people, one wants to have it be a bar, and the other wants it to be a family restaurant and the result is it is neither.

the day i was there the coke dispenser didn't do the proper mix and was spitting out mostly carbonated water with just a slight bit of mix. i should have known something was wrong with the mountain of ice in the dispenser when people dumped their drinks to try another flavor. also they had a tea dispenser labeled "unsweetened". it was the only one, so not sure if there should have also been a sweet tea dispenser also.

plastic cups were wet as they handed them out at the register, and with all the other problems it made me wonder if they were actually clean. also what is with the plastic knife? if you have reusable plastic cups,why disposable knives?

i want to like this place as it has potential, but it just appears to be managed so poorly and the staff although friendly just appear to be clueless as to what they should be doing, again pointing back to poor or inexperienced management. fortunately the kitchen staff seems to know what they are doing, and that can make up for a lot of issues with the people up front.

probably will be back as other than the layout of the place, i'm hoping they were just having an off day, as the place really does have potential with it's simple yet expansive menu.

good food, ordering process a little to be desired. new 'garage" in edmond has great food. we visited about 2 months after they opened. fries were awesome, burgers are huge and tasty. but i must agree, the ordering process is a mess. long line, in small entry way. we felt rushed to place our order because of the 'urgency'. don't even think about asking any questions about menu selections. order taker / cashier was not friendly, certainly not a warm welcome. it seemed their attitude was to herd you in, hurry tell me what you want and getting a seat will be your problem.
however, with all that said, we will try it again thinking we might have just got caught up in grand opening and they have been able to address the minor short comings. the burgers are just togoodnot to give it another try. it has potential to be a new favorite in east edmond!

a delicious diner experience. people meander about, catching my eyes. cheering and talking fill my ears. the smell of delicious food overwhelms my senses.

the garage is a well-known restaurant snugly fit into the row of restaurants and shops on main street in norman, oklahoma’s small, historic downtown. since its beginning in 2010, the garage has earned a stellar reputation in the oklahoma city area, including unstoppable word-of-mouth raves and the number four ranking for norman cheap eats on urbanspoon.com.

walking into the restaurant for the first time on a recent weeknight, i saw people enjoying their food in all the booths and half of the tables. families with small children, dating couples, professionals of all ages, sports fans, and college students all seemed to enjoy their food and the energetic environment.

the restaurant has the dark, intimate feel of a sports bar in the front and, in the back, the family-friendly feel of a diner, including an english-style phone booth for pictures, arcade games, and skee ball. to complete the sports bar theme, fifteen televisions all over the restaurant show different sports games, news stations, and old movies. because of the restaurant’s long, shotgun construction style, the two different dining sections are separated enough to make it feel like two different restaurants.

as the name would suggest, the garage is themed after cars and highways. walking through the restaurant makes you feel like you are going on a road-trip down route 66. pictures of sleek shelby gt mustangs line the walls. vintage road signs and diner-style decorations hang above each booth. in the back, license plates from all over america cover an entire wall.

now, for the important part, the food arrived quickly. i ordered the fish and chips from the kid’s menu, which came with two pieces of fish each the size of a fist, a fountain drink, and a popsicle for less than six dollars. the fish was deliciously greasy. the well-seasoned french fries filled my basket to the brim and were made perfect with a side of ketchup. the only thing that i was missing was sweet tea instead of regular tea.

all of the menu items are very well priced for college students or families. the most expensive item on the menu is “the big g” burger for $7.50 that comes with two meat patties. the menu includes typical american dishes with a spin. any of the burgers can be made out of angus beef, bison, a garden burger for vegetarians, and a turkey burger. for a gluten-free option, you can simply make it a lettuce wrap burger.

the burger add-on options cost a little more, but they give the burger a unique flavor. for a little extra money, you can add sour cream, salsa, cheese, bacon, avocado, slaw, fried eggs, or hatch green chiles. the tacos have the same protein options and are served with chips and salsa.

if you enjoy eating at chili’s, red robin, or bj’s, you will enjoy the cheaper and equally delicious food at the garage. to fans of cheap, delicious, american food, sports bar atmospheres, 1950s diner experiences, andgoodservice, i wholeheartedly recommend the garage.

good food.goodatmosphere. i am always attracted to non chain restaurants. the garage has a great burger. simple, but tasty. it is also great to grab a drink with a friend or watch games on all the big screens above the bar.

not impressed. after hearing a lot of hype, i was totally unimpressed with my visit. first, let's delve into the decor and atmosphere: is it an 80s theme? music says yes, but the decor is a weird mix of antiques from the 1930s through the 1960s. the music is loud. and tip to restaurant owners: quit thinking you're being clever with all the high-top tables. sure, they're popular in bars. but they're not comfortable for eating out, and with the garage, high-top tables out number all other options. service? slow. food quality? fries were cold, the burger was ok, but notgoodenough to make the garage worthwhile. go to half calf cafe, tuckers, smashburger, five guys, or heck, even johnnie's for a better meal and dining experience.

great burgers, nasty fries. i've been to the garage twice now with friends. we all had a different entree & were in agreement that the garage is a hit. second visit today, and i tried the beef cheeseburger & asked for a few jalapeños on the side. this seemingly simple request threw a wrench in their day. when said burger was brought to the table it was covered in grilled jalapeños. i scaped 3/4 of them off & it was pure deliciousness. my lunch mate had fish & chips. this consisted of three smallish fried fish pieces on top of some undercooked fries. nothing special there.
my fries must have been sitting on the bottom of the basket for a while. they were cold, over seasoned and extremely soggy. blah. i sent them back & asked for my $$ back. no problems.
no drinks at lunch today, but they have agoodfull service bar that we enjoyed on our first visit. i like the garage and support local always! please continue to work on consistency & those fries.