vertigo burgers & fries

really wanted to like this place. great concept but it wasn't executed well on my visit. i upgraded to the local kbh beef and asked for it medium. i got it rare. bloody. redo came out fine but if your only menu items are burgers that really shouldn't happen. restaurant was freezing cold, chairs were uncomfortable and acoustics were really loud. atmosphere basically sucked. fries were fine but onionringswere greasy. all that being said, i will probably it give it another try sometime. until then, when i want a gourmet grass fed burger, i will make my own.

burgers were delicious, i tried one with goat cheese and fig preserves, which was different but good!  the onionringswere also very tasty.  very crowded when i went, but kitchen got orders out steadily and accurately, which is what you should expect.  i like this place over burgerfi or five guys, would definitely go again.

great burgers. onionringsa little over cooked with the batter falling off and not much onion inside. a bit pricey for a burger. great shakes.

like it, but am not in a hurry to return. the place is cool, and there are a lot of fancy options, but the burger didn't satisfy in the sense that a great burger should. the meat was cooked properly but lacked great flavor, and the sweet grass dairy cheese was good, but the arugula just mad it too "fancy-pants". not that i mind fancy burgers, but wanted flavors and proportions to be better for the price. the onionringswere slightly greasy and over-seasoned, and the homemade fries weren't a huge hit. nothing about the burger was particularly bad, but nothing was enticing for a return visit.

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 good food until 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 onionringsas 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.

awesome. i had the greek burger yummy i could of had 2, my only average was the onionringsas they were overcooked, but it was good will go there again.

will not be returning. we were really excited to try vertigo. especially after all the reviews saying it is the best burger in tallahassee, if that is the case, that is the only burger i will be eating in tally. the burger was way to small for the bun, i didn't even get any meat in my first bite. my bun was burnt as were the onion rings. not only were the onionringsburned they were cooked in old grease, as were my french fries so they had a bitter taste. we paid $25 for a meal that we couldn't even consume. thank goodness the coca-cola was decent. highlight of the meal!

great burgers. i have tried almost all of the burgers on the menu and they are all great. i have never had a problem with my burger being too done or mushy. the onionsringsare good but i prefer more crispness. their fries are good, they arent super crunchy but they also arent floppy. its good and i will continue to go back.

best onionringsi have ever had. all the burgers were amazing, and they serve great beer and wine options. this place is awesome!

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 onionringshave 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 fast food burger 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 good food and great beer.

terrible, save your $$. i ordered the only chicken sandwich on the menu which was completely unseasoned and void of any flavor and might i add it was burnt! the crunchy raw green and red peppers looked and tasted like an after thought and entire sandwich was dry. my husband ordered the greak which is a lamb burger with greek flair. the husband didn't hate it but he didn't love it either. for the money, he was definitely disappointed. we ordered the half fries and half onionringsto share and let me tell you, these were totally over cooked and way beyond a nice golden brown! all is all, we will not be going back until i hear a ton of positive reviews.

yummmm. every now and again a girl just needs a really good burger! the triple throw down with half onionringsand half fries made my week. awesome!

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 onionringswere 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 :)

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 onionringsto 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, onionringsand a drink is crazy. it is nothing special.

first time a charm!. popped into vertigo's after being out of town for a month. i had no idea this place was opening, but i am glad i found it.

my first try revealed a staff that was anxious to please and boasted good training and good skills. i sipped a draft while waiting for my order to go. nice choice to allow me the time to snoop around. oh, one of the owners popped out of the wings to take care of customers and right staff....

food packed into brown bags lured me the entire route home!

the wait was worth it. my partner and i shared a lamb burger and i had gotten 1/2 n 1/2. the fries were somehow amazing and put mine to shame and left 5 guys in the dust! the onionrings(and dip) were spectacular! yes, spectacular! the burger was so far beyond anything i expected, i don't know where to start, other than saying a lot of folks are not gonna get this place...too much, too good, too foodie! ok, 'nuff said, besides, i hope this is not like tv shows i like...i hope this place not only makes it, but replicates itself in other locales. don't want to spread bad mojo....