Slater’s 50/50

Why is this location closed? It couldn’t have been here more than 2 years if that.
I loved coming here. The food and beer was ALWAYS on point. Service was also great (for me anyways). I never had a long wait or bad service even with how packed this place always was. Which leads me to my original question– why is it closed?
It was always packed with people.
So sad, itll be missed locally for us south OC’ers. Nobody wants to drive all the way to Anaheim hills etc. No thanks.
I guess ill see you again when my family and i do a weekend getaway to san diego. Because ill never just randomly drive far just to eat. This was local to me. Oh well!

Sad they closed. Bad location, nothing survives very long there.

We came back to this location finally after 3 years since the Unilocal Elite event.
It was the hubby and myself along with our toddler and a friend with her toddler celebrating his 1^st birthday. We checked in with the hostess and she was accommodating to our needs (big pregnant belly) and 2 toddlers.
Our server was Lauren and she definitely went above and beyond. I’m so impressed with her service. We had the living social deal and a business card with a coupon and they graciously honored both, even though they didn’t have to. We ordered the Vampire dip and Lauren made sure that we knew it wasn’t served in a bread bowl any longer. I was like it’s ok and sure enough it was just as delicious with pita chips, cucumbers, celery sticks and carrot slices. Portion was generous and we 3 adults barely finished it.

I was so sad to see this place close! My husband and I bought a living social deal and now we have to drive up to HB or Anaheim to use it?! Laaaaaaaaaaaaaame!
Well I hope they come back to this location cuz it has great open seating at the bar with lots of open servers and runners to help.
Bartender Shawntay was very sweet, energetic & honest recommending eats.
The Brussels app makes a great main when chicken is added to it — its a delicious salad!
Definitely go a la mode w/​peanut butter and jealousy! My husband doesn’t always try new things but Shawntay convinced him and he loved it!
Bacon poutine was good… Not the most jaw dropping but nice.
Custom specialized food isn’t quick and people need to realize this is an experience for an evening not a quick stop in the night.
Relax with one of the many beers and enjoy some conversation.
They’re working hard to make you happy!

What hooked me was their signature ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger that I sampled at a Unilocal event. Juicy patty with avocado and a perfectly cooked egg. Now I’m addicted to their 1 lb mushroom burger, available on the DIY menu. For you veggie nuts out there, you can even have the option of having it wrapped in lettuce, and filled with an assortment of veggies, including grilled onions, roasted peppers, alfalfa sprouts, avocado mash, and loads more (for $$$ more…)
I also had to try their pumpkin dip that comes with the sweet potato fries. So good! Fried pickles were pretty tasty too. Good call with the Unilocal event! I’ve already had Slater’s twice in a week…

This review is completely for the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger — because I haven’t even been to the restaurant. I actually tried the burger at a Unilocal event and I haven’t stop thinking about it since. It’s quite possibly the best burger I’ve ever had. The egg, the bacon, the guac! LOVE IT ALL.
Can’t wait to come in the actual restaurant for another one.

Slater’s ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ makes one hell of a righteous burger.
It seems that Slater’s ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ has enjoyed being the sport’s bar darling of Unilocal,the OC Register and OC Weekly for over two years now and they do earn their stripes for having been the creator of the 50% Beef and 50% Bacon patty that gives them their namesake. They are also very inventive, I see something new to try on their menu every time I visit and the Lake Forest location puts a Slater’s within a 10 minute drive from Irvine.
Start with the Vampire Dip, no doubt about that. A sourdough bowl is loaded with a three cheese blend, roasted garlic, artichoke and you have fried pita triangles for dipping. This is the business. The Bacon Poutine and IPA Beer Cheese Fries are also off the chain, hook or chart.
As for the burgers, I would start with the flagship Fitty Fitty. This features pepper jack cheese, a sunny side up egg, avocado mash, chipotle adobo mayo on brioche. The rich egg on top of the patty is what puts this into the stratosphere. Also see Old Timey and Peanut Butter & Jealousy. On the latter you will find Brandt beef, peanut butter, strawberry jelly and bacon on a honey wheat bun and this should not work at all. But it does. Well, even.
There are no less than 20 items on the menu I have yet to try as I only get as far as the burgers while scanning the menu. Perhaps one day I will try some of them. Okay I will come clean, probably not. The burgers are just too good.

My friends moved into a new apartment in Lake Forest, and we decided to have a little housewarming dinner at Slater’s. We’ve all been to other Slater’s locations, and we had all agreed that it was a good restaurant with good service and food. There was no reason to believe this one was any different… but we managed to catch it on a really, really bad day.
We arrived around 5:30, which is the tail end of happy hour (3 – 6 pm). Nice! We were seated right away and had $ 3.50 beers all around. We also asked for waters and appetizers since they were ½ off (onion rings and fries). Our beers came after 15 minutes, and clearly were not freshly poured (no head and no carbonation). We were teased with our server bringing out a tray of water, but it turned out it wasn’t for us. Mind you… it was not packed. We were kind of annoyed at this point but at least we had beer.
~ ~
35 MINUTES — finally got our burger orders taken
45 MINUTES — another server comes by to confirm that we did indeed order appetizers, and we also told him we had yet to get water. Our server is shocked that we don’t have the apps yet. Wait what? But you’re supposed to be bringing them to us!
–at this point there was a lot of longing glances thrown at another table that arrived around when we did, except they were happily eating their food–
1 HOUR — finally the apps get here. The beer that I wanted to drink with my food is long gone. Lots of apologies, apparently the oil had to be replaced and that was why it took so long.
1 HR, 20 MIN — burgers get here.
1 HR, 30 MIN — server checks up on us, friend says his buns are cold. Mine are too, but whatever. Manager is summoned, and he apologizes, saying the server is new, and there was a medical emergency in the kitchen, which was why the order was delayed.
1 HR, 45 MIN — we conclude our meal, and split the check evenly 4 ways. One person gets charged twice, but at least we got part of the meal comped. We tell the waitress that we hope the kitchen personnel is okay, and she had no idea that there was any emergency.
~~
We felt bad about complaining and finding out that someone had a medical emergency, but when I thought about it… why didn’t management let all the servers know that had happened in the kitchen so they could in turn let the customers know? Plus, that still didn’t excuse how long it took to take our orders and bring the drinks. The waitress was really sweet, but we were all kind of upset after that. The majority has given glowing reviews, so I have no reason to believe this kind of service is a common occurrence… but yeah letting your customers know upfront that there’s a problem should be a given.

Leia and Lindsay were phenomenal tonight. They were on point with our beers and food suggestions. We ordered their burger of the month (Bone Marrow Burger) and it was delicious. They put truffle string fries into the burger which put it over the top!
Things to order:
Vampire dip
Onion rings
Any Bugers (get the ²⁄₃ patties; ⁵⁰⁄₅₀)
Wedge Salad
Beer selection is awesome. They rotate their selection. We odered Enjoy By (Stone) and Calm Before The Storm (Ballast Point); it did not disappoint.
Cime here for friendly awesome service and great food/​drink.

Allie is awesome. We came with a big group and she was incredible; not rushing us to order or to eat, but also helping guide us with her various suggestions. I really appreciated her help because I and another in our party have Celiac’s, and thus cannot eat gluten… Allie is familiar with Celiac’s, and was able to help us decide what to eat in a way that no one at slater’s has been able to before!!! For example, everyone else has always told us that the fries are gluten free, but Allie was able to let us know that they ARENT safe for someone who is truly intolerant or allergic, because they’re fried in the same oil as onion rings (contaminated) and then dusted in seasoning that may or may not contain wheat flour! This was absolutely vital information, and we were so grateful for it!
Also, I appreciated that Allie let us get a milkshake for my husband’s birthday dessert, since we can’t eat the brownie. The nutella bacon make your own shake is by far the best!!!
One of our friends in the group ordered the ghost alarm burger, which comes with gloves. He didn’t find it to be overly spicy though. He enjoyed the flavor, but it definitely wasn’t as spicy as he expected.
The separate gluten free make your own ordering sheet is super helpful, and something I’ve never seen at the slaters in Huntington. It made it easy to order without getting sick or asking questions about every ingredient.
Definitely order the fried egg, thick cut bacon, and guacamole on any burger you design! It is an incredible combination!!!

Ate here today with hubby and our boys 3&1
Slaters never disappoints
We had the vampire dip, split an old timey and a banana bread pudding for dessert
kris was our waiter and did a phenomenal job serving us
The Angels game started about 10 min before we left and most of the tvs were changed to the game, when trout hit a homer the whole restaurant cheered
We had a great time and left stuffed and with left overs
I can’t recommend this place enough!
We had D last time and she was great too!
Slaters keep it up!

Friendly service, good food & good prices.
The burgers are huge! They come with. 1/​3lb patty and you can upgrade to ½ and 1lb. You can definitely share the burgers and the side are pretty big too.
Great selection of beers. About 100 beers to choose from. I had a coconut porter which was very tasty.
If you like a good burger and beer this is definitely a place you need to check out!

Came here on July 4^th and tried the ‘MERICA burger of the month. #BOMnation
It was DELICIOUS.
One of the better burgers I have had in a while.
Order:
–Beer
–Beer Battered Onion Ring
–Beer Battered Jalapeño
–Fries
-‘MERICA
All the fried food was good. If I were to nitpick, there could have been less batter. It was hard to taste the Onions and Jalapeños, but the fries were solid.
Now… The ‘MERICA burger was what stole the show.
Their July Burger Of the Month is 100% Ground Bacon Patty, Sriracha bacon, bacon jam, bacon American cheese, fried mac N’ cheese, tomato, field greens, bacon pretzel bun.
I decided to substitute the Bacon Patty with 100% Ground Beef Patty (²⁄₃ lb). The beef patty and bacon toppings complimented each other very well. The Sirarcha bacon and bacon jam did taste a bit sweet, but man. was it fulfilling!
If you like Burgers and Bacon, this is where it’s at.

I meant to update this…
The owner made it right. We came back and had a great experience! The service was so much better and the food is really good!

I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. Their burgers are OK– but they mostly just put you into a food coma for 8 hours. I do enjoy their wide variety of add-​ons and options of pre-​selected burgers. I saw a lot of posts about the Vampire Dip, but it was greasy and tasteless. I wouldn’t order it again.

Slaters is always tasty but they didnt have my favorite beer at this location… that beer happens to be horny devil a 10% BSA from Alesmith (SanDiego, CA) here =(
None the less I am able to get any burger that I normally get here and it is tasty… its just not outstanding… but the problem is, i am starting to feel the total chain vibe here lately. Then again they have so many locations now, that it just isnt feeling like it used to. Its become corporate. *shrugs*
None the less this was a slightly better than average burger. The service seemed different at this location. Perhaps it was because its South OC perhaps its because of the different feeling here? It was no longer the were going to bust our azz at all costs to make our customers happy but the were going to follow corporate policy and if you are not happy about it we will run a study to find out why not. *SMH*
My parents and I had met here for lunch with the Munchkin joining us. It honestly was almost a Chili’s Friday’s or similar experience. I have definitely had better experiences at other locations but it was just average here for me…
cest la vie =\

Slater’s doesn’t have the best burger I’ve tasted, but it’s pretty darn good. The sides we tried were equally delicious, and the service was quite attentive and good as well. Their beers on tap selection is pretty impressive, and the walls are lined with TV screens for any games of interest.
Fried pickle chips: This just seems wrong, but works so well. The pickle slices were cut thin, and fried crispy with a delicate golden batter. I really liked these, and so did my wife. The kids though, thought they were just a bit weird. ⁴⁄₅ stars
Vampire dip: As everyone else states, this is pretty tasty. It’s essentially a thick cheesy fondue with plenty of flavor, served in a sourdough bread bowl. We all liked this, but it wasn’t something I would rave about. Just good to me, but heavenly to my son. ⁴⁄₅ stars
French fries: Pretty much just french fries, served with bacon ketchup. I think I would have rather had just plain Heinz over their concoction. ³⁄₅
Burgers: These were very good. I tried the meat alone from both the regular burger, and the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ with half ground bacon. I thought it would be too much, with all that bacon, but it had the texture of a regular pre-​prepared patty, fairly dense and not at all greasy. Both patty types were delicious on their own. The toppings were numerous to say the least, and a lot of fun to choose. Choose your meat, your bun, the cheese, sauce, and the thousand topping choices. Pretty cool. We were all happy with the burgers. ⁴⁄₅
Burger of the month: The January burger was the foie burger, which was my reason for visiting. Foie gras was just made legal again, for the time being, and I jumped at the chance to sample it in a burger. It was advertised as coming with a crisp marmalade to accompany the foie, and visually it was an impressive looking behemoth, at least on the picture. The phone attendant stated that it came with two ounces of foie gras, and the server stated that it was four ounces. Whoo hoo!
Well, not really. The foie was a bit dense from overcooking, and very thin. I think they left it on the sautee a bit too long and lost all the fat. That’s what the texture told me. Also, it was so thin as to be perhaps one ounce, not the two or four. Finally, no marmalade. There were tasty, crispy fried onion rings, and a flavorful burger, but the foie was lost in it, as the delicate flavor wasn’t apparent. I did notify the manager that the burger was really misrepresented all around, and he took it off the bill. I didn’t ask him to do this, as it was still a good burger, but at the $ 19 price tag, I was grateful that he did.
Milkshakes: My daughter ordered a cookies and cream shake, which she loved, and my son had one with bacon in it. Bravo. It was quite good.
Overall I would have to say that I was pretty impressed with Slater’s, as my whole family enjoyed their meals. On a side note, one of my daughters ordered fries with her burger, and only ended up having two small bites of the burger. She was that full.
I ended up feeling pretty awful after dinner. Fried pickle chips, vampire dip, foie burger, martinis, fries, taste of the shake etc. All the things not to eat, but I’ll be back to do it again, perhaps with a portable defibrillator.

So I’m not a burger person, but I’m
Always up in trying new burger joints. Ha! I finally tried this place a few weeks ago which was a good experience.
I had to try the vampire dip due to the Unilocal reviews; I must admit it was so delish! I also tried the fried bacon Mac n cheese balls, both appetizers i highly recommend. I also tried the hawaiin burger, nothing crazy but still yummy! Next time, I’ll try building my own burger, which is fun because you cave name it.
Id come back here again, our waiter was great. Very professional, accommodating and attentive

Wow, I finally got to try this place! My fam and I came here after running in the Race for the Rescues. ‘Cause I just totally want to ruin all those calories that I just burned…
I always thought this was just another burger joint, but I guess the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ means 50% ground bacon and 50% ground beef. Hells yeah. The bacon is incorporated in a lot of the menu items as well if it’s not in the patty.
Anyways, since this was my first time here, (my sister and) I ordered the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ ($ 10.95). Hubby got the Fritos Crunch ($ 10.95), big kid the baked potato mac n’ cheese ($ 7.95), and little kid the mac n’ cheese with bacon and Cheez-​its from the kiddie menu ($ 6.95). We also shared a side of fries (with bacon ketchup), onion rings (with BBQ sauce), and fried pickles (with spicy brown mustard), all $ 4.95 each.
To be honest, I wasn’t as impressed with the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. The flavors didn’t quite come together for me. Hubby’s burger was good, as was big kid’s potato mac. What I really liked were the fries with bacon ketchup and the onion rings. Bacon ketchup… mmm. The onion rings were light and crispy (greasy though). I usually don’t like onion rings because of the fried bread crumbs batter, but these I can keep eating (minus the grease). The fried pickles were greasy too, and with the spicy brown mustard, it was sodium overload (they were good, but I just couldn’t eat too many).
This is not a place that I can frequent even if I wanted to (gotta keep my health in check), but it’s a fun place to come for a casual lunch once in a while.

I had a great experience here. Didn’t go for the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. Went for the Turkey Burger instead. I thought that would be more healthy. The portion is huge, especially when you have french fries (I wasn’t crazy about the pumpkin dip but it was still good enough) and a milkshake. Yes, the french fries and milkshake don’t constitute healthy, but the turkey burger was a more health conscious choice than the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger (half red meat, half bacon).
I felt like taking it easy and truly enjoyed the turkey. I took advantage of being able to add toppings. Had a chili topping, which was savory. My ingredients were fresh. There was more of a wait than expected, but it was October 24^th and a baseball game which looked important was on that night.
Our waiter seemed distracted but was totally nice and apologized for his errors. A manager even came over and comped 2 or 3 items from our bill. We didn’t even ask for any compensation. They were just gracious. What good customer service they have. The bill was low and was paid in cash. Didn’t see the tip; that’s a mystery, but hopefully it was good.
I would try the turkey burger if I were you.
Side note: I only ate half of the it. The other half was put into the toaster oven the next day. Using a toaster oven gives a better rewarming result than what you’d get if you used the micro…