My husband and I love a good burger, so we were excited to see a new restaurant in Pensacola. We'd never heard of Back Yard Burger and were hoping for the best.

We were unimpressed.

First, every empty table and booth (and there were quite a few at nearly four on a Saturday afternoon) was dirty. We finally picked a table and wiped it off ourselves. Then my husband went to the restroom to wash his hands – he found the facility filthy and completely out of paper towels. The ladies room, I found well-stocked but also dirty. Plenty of employees were standing around, both in the dining area and behind the counter, who could have been keeping up with the cleaning. Not a good first impression.

When our food arrived, I was not surprised to see just one small slice of tomato on my Junior Burger, since it’s a less expensive menu option. I was dismayed to find just a small smear of mayonnaise on the center of the bun, instead of spread evenly across the whole thing. We expected my husband’s Back Yard Burger to be better built, but it was exactly the same, except for the size of the beef patty.

Then we sampled the chocolate shake and found it completely lacking in flavor, and even if it tasted great, it would be overpriced for the size. At one point, an employee named Graham came up to our table and asked how everything was; we didn’t go into all our complaints, but we did tell him the shake was flavorless. He said other customers had complained, too – and said for shakes, he goes to Steak and Shake.

And this may be a pet peeve, but if a place is going to charge a quarter for a cup of water, they should put it on the menu.

Bottom line, the grilled Black Angus patty was good, but the poor experience overall doesn't make it worthwhile. We'll continue to pay a little more at our locally owned favorite eateries.

Recommended: No