vertigo burgers & fries

not the worst, far from the best. i didn't have a terrible experience, and the burger was cooked fine and tasted okay, but it was small (especially for the price) and the french fries were nothing to be excited about. there are better burgers and better burger values in town.

i've eaten at this place three times since it opened in august and i'm confident it's getting better. today's spread of delicious french fries, fried green tomatoes paired with bacon mayo or jalapeño ranch sauces and two delicious burgers were worth the $28 tab. that total would have been the same at the neighboring applebee's and probably more at five guys, only for poorer quality fare.
i agree bird's has excellent burgers, too, but their fries come frozen in a bag.
lastly, regarding the review with the two "anonymous" chefs from the "best restaurant in town," what ever happened to the food service rule of not picking on a restaurant into after it has been open for three months? unlike the opinion of that novice restaurant reviewer and the newspaper, an eatery is a monster machine with moving parts that only can be fine tuned in those first three months. that means mistakes will be made and hopefully fixed. i suggest our reviewer take his trio of chefs back to the line to learn some industry etiquette.
as for our burgers today -- triple play and the vertigo -- were spot on, and the outside seating was perfect on a sunny sunday afternoon. i look forward to bringing my parents here when they visit.

3 tries at this establishment. i had high hopes as i frequent their other restaurant, but sorely disappointed burgers not cooked to desired temps, orders wrong, fries not good, bacon super overcooked, wrong order fixed by changing top bun keeping same patty and bacon after scraping off cheese - of which bits were still attached and ketchup still on patty. small burger, large prices for less than mediocre product.

avoid the salad. i am on a diet, and ordered the cobb salad since everyone else wanted to go to vertigo for the burgers. i do not recommend the salad. the only ingredients were about a cup of thinly sliced lettuce, a very small amount of badly burnt bacon, about 1/3 of a hard boiled egg diced, and 4 very small thin slices of avocado. and a cup of ranch dressing to hide the burnt bacon smell. all for the low price of $6.95.

wendy's salads are far superior for less wait, and the same price.

some good some bad. a wonderful concept and great menu ideas. really enjoyed the freshness of the homemade buns, which i think a lot of people fail to mention on here. home made bread is where its at. with that said, it definitely doesn't make up for the size of the burger. i think that a lot of people would appreciate this shop more if they had a bigger burger to go on the bun, which seems to be a common opinion from the masses. i got the burger with blue cheese and bacon on it, and almost felt that there was more bacon then burger! flavor of the meat was good i thought. we tried the half and half split of fries (eh) and sweet fries (ok, good dip) but the onion rings were a miss. very dry and cold. we also tried the veggie burger, which had great flavor but sadly fell apart as we ate it. appreciate the homemade patty, but maybe need a better binding agent. the counter service was good, the girl was helpful with the order, however we watched the line build up and crowd some of the tables which made some people look uncomfortable. decor was nice for a small layout. overall i would give time to work out some stuff and give it another go around :)

this place is spot on. if you like fresh food then you will like this place. just understand this is not a dollar burger place. they use fresh ingredients and actually prepare you order when you place it. glad to see tallahassee finally got a concept burger place like this.

sadly disappointing. apparently it doesn't take much to get a buzz going in tallahassee. after hearing raves, i was eager to try it. went in on a sunday @ 5:50. uh oh, they close at six on sunday. personally, i never want to walk in a place ten minutes before closing time but....oh well.

the service was poor; plenty of girls behind the counter but not out on the floor. the wait was too long. the building was hot and smoky from the kitchen.

although the various "exotics" sounded interesting, for my first visit, i wanted to taste test the prime ingredient, the meat. the basic building block burger at vertigo is the "straight-up". after a long, hot, smoky wait with an almost non-existent wait staff, the food finally arrived. the verdict: sad to say, the "straight up" is not as good as the burger at red elephant or canopy road cafe. the fries are soggy. the sweet potato fries were just okay. and i almost forgot - the burger came from the kitchen with yellow mustard on it. why would the kitchen do that?

come on, vertigo, you can do better than that!

would i go back? yes, i would give them another shot but overall, it was sadly disappointing.

it wasn't even a "near miss". i see fellow reviewers are grumbling about the prices. good materials and folks that can execute it don't come at the price of a whopper or quarter pounder. but, when you are trying to distinguish yourself and be upscale, it all has to work. what was seen? a prep/sides chef that was working his tail off with every order that came in. then a serving staff that made everything collapse, and collapse hard.
when a guest comes in, they wanted to be greeted promptly and in a friendly manner. they want to have questions about their options answered professionally and accurately. guests deserve attentive service; notice when beverages need replenishment. ignoring guests just because you think you're adorable and deserve a tip "just because" doesn't hack it. maybe all front of house staff should be forced to watch "restaurant stakeout" repeatedly....until it sinks in.
then this place would be worthy of a repeat visit. i had no qualms about the food. nor paying separately for sides. but when i drop a my money for an experience, i want a positive one. vertigo can be such a place. casually upscale, funky, fun. but it needs both great food and great service. it could be really enjoyable. but customers are "dis-serviced".

gourmet burger fail.. i had high hopes for vertigo, ever since i saw them renovating the old looper's subs (whom i miss dearly). my optimism faded pretty quickly as i surveyed the menu and moreover, the prices on the menu. paying $10 for a hamburger -with no sides whatsoever is a real stretch. this isn't kobe beef we're talking about here.

so i ordered the 'local' burger, i forget what they call it on the menu. it sports local beef and cheese. i noticed a sign by the register that says something to the effect of "all burgers cooked medium unless specified". i was okay with medium. unfortunately, what i got wasn't medium, it was dripping blood rare. i returned my $10 burger to the counter, and instead of being served a fresh, correctly cooked hamburger, they took my bitten-into patty, put it into a metal dish, and stuck it in salamander. that was really sad to see, and i was insulted that they didn't make my burger fresh. who wants to eat a burger that's been cooked once, bitten into (letting the juice out) and then cooked again? for $10?

then there's the portion of meat. it's paltry. for $10 i want a big burger, not one that i can down in 6 bites.

the fries were good, fresh cut like chicago style. but to pay ~$15 for a burger, fries, and a coke is ludicrous. the burger was good, but not that good. i am used to getting my burgers at bird's aphrodisiac oyster shack, and how sad a commentary it is that a place proclaiming to be a "burgers and fries" establishment gets their butts kicked on hamburgers by a place claiming to be an oyster bar. bird's burgers taste better, have way more meat on them, include fries (though not fresh cut fries, unfortunately) and still manage to cost less than the pathetic little squibs being hawked for $10 at vertigo.

the staff at vertigo was pretty clueless. it seems like they are all running around not sure what to do.

unless they radially change their pricing and/or portions, and get a clue how to actually cook a burger to medium, i'm staying away. all this burger talk is making me hungry, so i think i'll be going to bird's tonight!

i think it's great. i went when they first opened ad it was a bit inconsistent, but now that they've been around for a few months, the cooks and staff seem to have a better grasp on things. the creole spin and tremor burgers are unreal!

i like this place a lot...you can go to byrds or somewhere to get a good burger, but vertigo is super creative with what goes on their burgers and capture some great flavors! it's not just a burger like one you'd get from byrds. it's creative, and all their ingredients are apparently fresh and locally grown!

don't have any doubts about coming to vertigo...it's an awesome atmosphere and an awesome selection of burgers and flavors!

skip it, go to birds. tiny burger, overpriced, overcooked. they don't appear to care if you were satisfied with you meal. management appears to put no effort into responding to comments. was unable to locate a manager in store and a comment left via facebook was not responded to. sorry, but if a burger, fries and a drink are going to run me $15+, then i sure better not leave hungry and you'd better be providing some semblance of customer service. birds remains the king for a burger in tallahassee.

vertigo burgers & fries is located at 1395 e. layfayette street in the building that formerly housed looper’s subs. the exterior has undergone a major update and exudes urban cool. 

wish it were closer to midtown - love it. burger was good - i will say if you want it med. rare ask for it. sweet potatoes fries awesome. they do need to get some chardonnay!

not worth it. way over priced. no fries or drink with a $8 burger. burger was good, but small for that price

bad food, long wait. i ate at vertigo on a tuesday after lunch and there was a long wait to get my order. once i got my order, i received cold onion rings. i returned the onion rings to get hot ones. the second order came out, and one on the top was hot, the others were cold. also, if you want a burger, go some where else. for the price you pay, you are going to get more bun that meat. it is a total waste of money. $15 for a burger, onion rings and a drink is crazy. it is nothing special.