vertigo burgers & fries

worst customer service (from all levels) experience ever. on last week (7/12), i called in an order for pick up. since i pretty much trust reputable businesses, i did not check my burger before leaving.  when i arrived back to my office, i realized the burger was more medium rare than medium well (along with the other three burgers that were ordered the same way).  i placed a called to the restaurant and was told a manager would call me back. no call back of course! i called after i got off from work and spoke with a manager who told me to come by and pick up another burger that evening or another day (he said he put my name down). on the following wednesday (yesterday to be exact 7/17), i called to place the order for this burger. to my surprise, i was schooled on what a medium well burger looks like and then asked who was the manager i spoke with? long story short - the individual then placed me on hold for someone to take my order (why couldn't she have taken the order is puzzling to me).  i sat on the phone for 9 minutes listening to other orders being taken, sounds from the kitchen, then what sounded like a break in between taking another order. i screamed "hello" several times and then hung up. when i got in my car, the passenger and i both continued to attempt to call back - guess phone was still off the hook. when we finally reached someone, we were told they were trying to call me back. the person on the phone started talking to someone in the background without placing the phone on hold. her conversations made it sound as if i was lying about what was going on.  she came back to take the order, and we informed her that we could hear everything she said and also informed her that my lunch was over so i would come by after work.  i didn't go back after work because i was really over it at this point.  so, i guess i will never know how good thefoodis at vertigo all because of the customer service plus i have plenty pictures in my phone to remind me of this whole ordeal.

thefoodhere is pretty good, a little on the pricey side, my biggest complaint is about the chairs, those hard metal chairs that are so trendy right now, and quite frankly, not built for the obese people of this country. order it to go...

not for everyone.. let's get something straight about vertigo: they're not the kind of place for the "plain cheeseburger" type, and i'm not trying to sound snooty when i say that. but if you just want a regular old burger 'n' fries, i will kindly direct you to monk's or bird's, which are arguably the better deals around here. now, if a duck burger, greek burger, or quinoa burger sounds more appetizing to you, then you're going to like vertigo. i'm one of those people, for the record. so yeah, don't come here expecting simplefoodat an unbeatable price, because that's just not what this place is going for. also, try the fried green tomatoes with the green goddess sauce.

best burger i have ever had, including my husband's. (sorry for the late review. we ate here thanksgiving weekend 2013.)
i am really surprised at some of the reviews here being so negative, but everyone is very picky about how they like their burgers, myself included.
we are new to the tallahassee area, and are in search of good food. i would be hard pressed to say we had found goodfooduntil we found vertigo. you can get a burger and fries anywhere in town, but nothing like vertigo.
the building itself, i believe is a converted gas station, and the sound proofing is virtually non-existent, with everything being metal, and the roof rafters being open for the industrial look, and the metal chairs are uncomfortable for wider customers like myself. however, you forget all that when you take your first bite of heaven.
i ordered the grass-fed burger with sweet grass dairy's incredible cheese on top. first, let me say, that vertigo cooks all burgers to medium, (the best in my opinion) unless you specify you would like it well done. [it's one of the biggest notifications on the menu folks] vertigo also does something that i don't believe i have ever seen a burger joint do, and that is properly season their meat. they obviously mix in salt, and maybe other seasonings into their meat, before pressing into patties, and this is a very big key. most people put the seasoning on the outside of the patty just before cooking. when putting seasoning in the meat before pressing the patty, you get uniform displacement of the juices and even seasoning throughout. they also do not overwork or over-press the burgers before putting them on the grill, so the meat is not tough. when putting them on the grill, they do not press them after cooking to remove the juices, and natural fats. folks, i fell in love that day, and can still envision the taste, and experience from that day.
my dining companions also thoroughly enjoyed their meals. we ordered the fries and onion rings as sides so we could try them as well. we enjoyed both, however, i will say that for most people, they are a little well done, but we liked them because they were very crispy. it's a texture thing for us. we prefer crispy and crunchy to limp shoestrings.
i can't wait to move to tallahassee full time, to be able to enjoy this restaurant.
the burgers do seem a tad bit expensive, but you are getting what you pay for.
compared to a wendy's/mcdonald's combo meal, you are still paying up to $7 - $8 dollars, why not spend that on a really good burger, with locally raised, and processed meat and cheese, and really enjoy your food.

most people have voted on vertigo when they first opened.. if you know anything about thefoodindustry you know to wait till they have been open a while to go. vertigo is the best burger joint i have ever been to. with all fresh ingredients and all made to orderfoodyou can tell the difference. definitely worth the money. the southern spin is to die for.

came here a couple times initially and didn't like it. came back thinking maybe it would be better. nope. still sucks.


-----10 aug, 2012-----

just ok. not the best burger i've ever had. too salty and overcooked. the concept is nice but poorly executed, and prices are a bit high for the quality of food. when we ordered no one greeted us or asked if we had ever visited. wait staff seems very inexperienced. we chose one of the tables inside and it had not been cleaned, and we waited 40 minutes for what i consider to be mediocre food. burgers shouldn't take that long. i never received my drink, and when ourfoodarrived, one of the orders was wrong.

the fries are good, but all-around experience was certainly nothing special.

avoid. i went here soon after they opened. i brought two of my kids. we all agreed that thefoodwas tasteless, and i felt it was overpriced. hit up voodoo dog instead.

tally...probably gets it.. my bad, tally. sorry to have demeaned you in the way that i did below. you all clearly had poor experiences that i had yet to experience, and so i was too quick to judge.

i have to totally edit and change my review. after going back three more times, i can agree with the consensus now. when i provided my glowing review, it was the day after they opened, and the burgers were cooked perfectly as were the fries (probably by folks from cypress rather than the crud-slingers they have back there now). however, since this initial visit, it has quickly gone downhill. the burgers have been consistently overcooked but somehow miraculously also simultaneously mushy, with no browning or crispness to the outside. the fries and onion rings have been nearly burned, and the staff has been confused, flustered, incompetent, rude and rather un-accomodating for things like phone orders. "we don't take phone orders when it's busy." after being told this, i show up and there are 5 people in the restaurant.

overpriced and underwhelming. skip it. which is a shame, coming from someone that could easily walk to this place and really wanted it to be a nice neighborhood restaurant. nope.


-----03 oct, 2012-----

tally doesn't get it. i think this restaurant confuses tallahassee. they expect a fastfoodburger joint, and that is not what this place is. they are gourmet burgers. are they the best gourmet burgers you'll ever have? no. but they are pretty darn good. the cheapskate rednecks expect a cheap meal. they don't get it here and they are revolting by leaving a bad review. these are the same folks that call monks the best burger in town. gimme a break! come here for goodfoodand great beer.

delicious!. my sister and i decided to try vertigo for the first time last week. i think that a lot of people on here who give negative reviews don't understand that this is not a chain; someone is building this restaurant from the ground up so to speak. so, if some initial reviews are negative it's because vertigo is adapting. i've worked in a restaurant before and it is not easy for those running it. after all, they've only been open since june according to their fb page. i say give it another shot because we were very happy with our experience.

the girl who took our order was less than friendly but the girl who brought us ourfoodwas perfectly cordial. i guess it depends on the person but first impressions are certainly important. i ordered the tremor burger (truffle cheese, mushrooms, garlic dijionaise, bacon etc.) and my sister got the triple throwdown (i believe that is the name). both burgers were delicious! we waited probably about 10 minutes for both burgers and a full order of fries, which we shared. their fries are absolutely spectacular.

i preferred my sister's burger because it was a little more understated whereas mine had the garlic dijionaise and the truffle cheese so it was a little more salty. for two burgers, two sodas, and a full order of fries it was $28. but people are right, if you want a $5 burger that includes fries and a drink, go to mcdonald's. i, on the other hand, will be returning here in the future for sure!

why?. burger joints are made for those wonderful weekend afternoons where you and your friends have the time to just sit down and enjoy the day. if you choose to go to vertigo this will not happen.

my friends and i wanted to try something new. our first choice was bird's, but seeing as they're closed on sunday we settled for what we were hoping to be the next best thing. i was excited to see that the place seemed busy at least - that means it's worth it, right? unfortunately 'busy' was exacerbated by the handling of an incapable (and pretty large) crew, all clueless and loud and rude as they confused orders and shoved aside customers. being a vegetarian, i was willing to forget this less than welcome atmosphere when they told me that they can replace meat patties for vegetarian patties.

it took them 10 minutes to get through a line of only a few people, but thefoodcame out pretty fast. i suppose this was to distract us from dwelling on the nightmare that was the receipt - almost $30 for a couple burgers and a half order of fries. at first the large and rustic bun seemed to promise a good meal, but as i bit into the burger i was confused and disappointed by the varied temperature of its components. the bun was lukewarm and parts of the patty were actually cold. most of the items on the menu boast 'vertigo sauce', and i have yet to understand what exactly that tastes like as the whole thing was flavorless. we followed up our burgers with water, which tasted like it came from a hose, and upon inspection the bottoms of the cups were riddled with dirt and god knows what else.

basically, don't go. i've read some reviews that say 'don't complain about the price since vertigo sells gourmet burgers', but i would personally rather eat something from mcdonald's than go to vertigo again.

vertigo has a fun restaurant, a great location and thefoodwas far from the worst i’ve had. however, vertigo’s hamburgers are very small for the price in my opinion, leaving toppings and bun to finish up without any meat.

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 thefoodservice 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.

this place is spot on. if you like freshfoodthen 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, thefoodfinally 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 greatfoodand great service. it could be really enjoyable. but customers are "dis-serviced".