Great burger place, juicy burgers, yummy fries and heavenly onion rings. Also, the design and atmosphere are great.

These are good burgers...I wouldn't say excellent. These guys have a very creative menu though. They use a lot of unconventional "burger joint" ingredients, such as Ahi Tuna and the Lobster Roll. In fact, "The Greek" which is a ground leg of lamb burger was featured, and won, the "Throwdown with Bobby Flay". I will admit it has a unique flavor. What keeps these burgers from being Excellent is the inconsistency in the flavor. I've come to the conclusion that my burger is going to taste like whatever the most popular burger was that day. I've consistently ordered the same 2 (different types of) burgers on separate visits. even ordering them the same way doesnt ensure its going to taste the same because when they get busy, the grill has limited space. I've physically seen them slide off a lamb burger, and plop a hamburger into the same spot. The burgers are generally cooked to medium, but I always ask for well done for the aforementioned reason. The great thing is they never over cook their burgers. Even a well done burger comes off the grill at medium well here. So it retains the moisture.

The new soda machine is cool, but meh! I'm not convinced that the new coke machines with the touch screen offer the same flavor as the old school syrup boxes that clunk up and knock the nozzle into your cup. I feel that one day we are going to miss those. Especially because there's never a quick solution to rebooting this stupid machine! I hate waiting for my phone to reboot when it crashes during a phone call or taking a picture. Waiting for this soda machine to work is even worse. I don't blame the restaurant, but its still their responsibility to make sure they make this an efficient process. Particularly since this location has a little bit of a cramped space for patrons to get to the soda machine. It gets awful during the typical lunch rush.

Fries -- yeah now these are pretty darn good. Nice and crisp, salted just enough to not overpower the fluffy taste of the potato.

You will want to try a shake. I say go for it, but don't expect any Magic. They use Giffords and Breyers ice cream, which used to be a big deal. There's just so much competition and innovation, in terms of flavor, for ice cream that this particular shake just feels like they put it on the menu because they had too. And the staff never looks all that excited to make a "hand spun" milkshake.

I would love to see the staff be a little more vibrant, and the music be a little less loud. There are a couple of guys that seem energetic, but the rest have that typical DC Swag "Dang Young, What chu want man?" look on their faces. They seem to have quite a bit of turnover so that may be a contributing factor. The management should really focus on how to build short term team morale. I think they could actually win more repeat customers that way. This is a high competition environment. The DC Metro areas -- specifically Bethesda -- are starting to have more alternatives for lunch with the introduction of the food trucks roaming around. What really makes those guys appealing is not always the food. I had only been to one of the trucks (that will remain nameless) twice before the owner remembered my order; and then around the third of fourth visit, he remembered my name.

So what makes a burger "Excellent"? Well, that's clearly a matter of opinion. However, I can tell you Cleanliness, Friendliness, and Consistency will make me come back often. I don't have any incentives or motivation to visit BGR. I'll go back, but now my expectations are low.

wonderful food ewonderful atmosphere.. great service and the price is right...

Like everything in Bethesda, the food here is overpriced. A burger costs a fortune and fries and rings are extra. That said, GO anyway! The decor and music is fun, the staff is great, the food is well worth the short wait. The milkshakes are fantastic and the cheeseburgers and onion rings are wonderful. We don't go often, but we always enjoy it when we do.

Oddly, they once ran out of vanilla ice cream on a Thursday evening and 6 people had to settle for chocolate milkshakes or do without. How does a burger and shake joint run OUT of vanilla ice cream? Luckily, the choclate milkshakes were great, too.