Square 1 Burgers & Bar

HAVE VISTED THREE TIMES — AWESOME EVERY TIME!
As I said above, I have now eaten here three times, each time ordering a different burger.
Of the burgers I’ve tried, I would say that the Mary’s Little Lamb burger was my least favorite. Toga Party was great, as well as the Maui Wowie, which was a special made with boar’s meat. SOOO GOOD! My mom got the Juicy Lucy, which was fantastic.
Skip the fried pickles, go for onion rings, sweet potato fries, and/​or the Woo Hoo Fries. Whatever you do, just eat here!

I love the fresh ingredients and awesome staff!!! If you sit at the bar… Samantha makes a great old fashion.
Hands down best burger in town!

Typical burger joint, the onion rings & Mac n cheese were good. I ordered the juicy Lucy & it was ok, nothing special. They completed messed up my boyfriends burger & he had to wait to get the right one. Staff was nice though! Pretty pricey for some mediocre burgers, at least I think!

I love the all American turkey burger and fries, I get it every time and it’s always spot on!

Square 1 never dissappoints! It has been a little while since I had been in but decided to hit it up on my way home from yoga. I was really craving a burger but the the host and server talked me into trying their new smothered chicken. I decided I should try something new since I have never ordered their chicken. I was so glad I did! It was so juicy and smothered in a light sauce with mushrooms bacon, tomatoes, and cheese. It came with a side of quinoa which was also tasty and steamed broccoli. I ordered a side of onion rings because although I am not an onion ring lover, I love Square 1 onion rings! Everything was fresh and our server was great, of course now I feel bad because I forgot her name. We sat on the patio, they had fans blowing just enough air, and baseball playing on the outdoor tv. It was a great end to my weekend!

The burgers here were really amazingly good. I wish there sides would have been better though. (The eggrolls were okay, however the fries weren’t very good.)

Yum! What a great place for unique & delicious burgers (among other things). Hubs and I enjoyed our first visit for lunch today. We had fried pickles as an appetizer, they were fried perfectly and served with a creamy ranch dipping sauce. The pickles arrived steaming hot & were great. Hubs ordered the South of the Border burger and he said the Fritos were an interesting addition. The jalapeños added just the right amount of heat. I ordered the Juicy Lucy and it totally loved up to its name! The burger was flavorful and tender and super juicy. The fries were good too, lightly fried and just the right amount of salt. Our server, Gigi, was exceptional. We’ll def be back!

Good menu. lots of choices. Server was very knowledgeable about the daily specials. My wife had the angus mushroom burger and I had the double cheeseburger with an added fried egg. Hers with rings mine with fries. Two drinks. She raved about the burger and the onion rings. Mine was good but not rave quality.

I am going to update a previous review because my last three visits to Square One have been stellar! Prompt and efficient service, deliciously cooked burgers and just look at my onion ring photo! These are some of the best onion rings in town. I have tried many of the burgers on the menu and its hard to decide on a favorite. Today I’m going with the Juicy Lucy!

This place is pretty freaking cool. The décor is awesome. It’s clean. The bathroom is very unique. They specialize in gourmet burgers.
They offer angus beef, turkey, Kobe beef, lamb and bison burgers I believe. So I got the Kobe beef and my husband got the angus beef. The burgers were really really good but just dripping with grease. When we got out burgers the bottom bun was nearly mush on our plates. The bun was saturated with grease it was pretty nasty. But the burger was good.
They need to figure out a way to squeeze some of that grease out while grilling.
The fries were delicious. The onion rings were perfectly fried so when you bite into it the onion doesn’t pull out.
Pretty good place just extremely greasy.
They also offer happy hour drinks and snacks from 3−6pm then 9pm-​close.

Burgers here are delicious. I got the SOB burger, medium. When it came out, the meat was cooked perfectly, which I think is not common for a burger joint. It was a nice thick meat patty; it tasted juicy and savory. The SOB burger is topped with jalapenos, blackbeans, pepper jack cheese, avocado, and fritos. I really enjoy the fritos and jalapenos on the burger. Fritos gave it a nice crunch, while the jalapenos gave it a little spice. On the side, I had an order of onion rings. I recommend you just stick with fries, onion rings were good but tasted about average to me.
I had no problems with the service here. Friendly, kept our drinks refilled, had some nice conversations, nothing wrong with it during my visit. The booths are made out of real cow fur, made it interesting to feel.
Overall, definitely would come back again. Conveinent location, fast service, and cool patio that lets you being your pets to sit with you.

A very tasty burger.
The service was fast, friendly and efficient.
The burger was good, a medium thick patty. I had the classic American. The meat was juicy and well seasoned.
The onion rings were good, they were very large, which made dipping a challenge. I liked the sauce they were served with.
A solid option for burgers in south Tampa.

I love lamb but I didn’t expect that their lamb burger would be as delicious & moist as it was. I was not prepared for the flavors that were bursting in my mouth. They cook it to perfection & without losing the delicate flavor that lamb has. I ordered it with onion rings & was taken a back by how big they were. The batter was light & flaky with the onion cooked with the right amount of texture & flavor. My friend & I order the battered string beans & egg rolls. We enjoyed the string beans more than the egg rolls but funny I liked the mini salad that cane with the egg rolls. It was crisp, sweet, & refreshing. I order a mango mojito & wasn’t impressed by the taste or flavor of it. I’ve definitely had better & expected more in this area. Overall I would go back here to try their other types of burgers but would either forego drinks & stick with something simpler.

The food is great! Fun atmosphere. Took my family of 4. Had the old fashion burger cooked perfectly.

We went here by accident and a very quick plan B decision was made last night Sept 28 on my birthday. The restaurant we were supposed to go to (Bella’s Italian) was closed. when we drove up to it, there was a fumigation tent over the entire building. This closure is not indicated on Bella’s website. So, we ended up at Square 1 Burgers. Never been here before but checked pics and reviews on Unilocal first and it looked good.
When we walked up, a staff member was there to open the door for us! We were seated right away and the very friendly bartender who was working by herself (initials PM on our receipt, I’m terrible with names) asked us if we’ve been there before and since we hadn’t, she explained the menu to us and told us what some of her fav items were. She brought my husband 2 taste samples of beer because he couldn’t decide which one to order.
I ordered a pink greens vodka cocktail which was very refreshing and my hubs got a seasonal craft beer which was very tasty. We ordered fried pickles appetizer, YUM. Our server even brought us extra ranch! I had the sesame glazed salmon with garlic green beans and quinoa (I don’t eat red meat) and it was delicious. My husband got the red wine and blue burger. He said it was very good and cooked perfectly (med rare) but said the burger was a little small. Fries were good too.
I am giving Square One Burgers five stars because the service was on point, the food was very good and came out hot, and our server gave us extra ranch for our to-​go box (couldn’t eat all the fried pickles). Plus they gave us a military discount

Came in the other day with my wife and our children after a long day out of the beautiful bay boating. After being seated close to the kitchen we were created by a wonderful server and ordered the fried Mac and cheese, which I must say was quite good.
However, in a section off from the kitchen across from the bar, there was what I was informed was a manager by the name of Tonya. For the majority of our meal myself, my wife and my children could over hear her talking loudly to the kitchen staff through the window about very personal matters. Mostly gossip and not exactly of a nature that encouraged an appetite. The food was quite good although we left after the appetizer and a drink.
I felt uncomfortable putting our wonderful server in the middle of an awkward situation so I didn’t say anything at the time. Please reconsider who you choose for «management» positions as you have ruined a good meal. Nobody like overhearing a «manager» flirt with cook staff, talking about how good they look, and who they had been with in the past. Etc.
Absolutely disgusting.

Confessions of a junk-​food craver:
I try to eat organic and wholesome… most of the time. I eat quinoa instead of white rice as much as I can… whole grains… but once in a while… my shadow self emerges… The little girl who grew up in a very small of town of Puerto Rico with only one Burger King which opened when she was in eighth grade. I distinctly remember seating on the backseat of my mother’s forest green Buick hearse? You know? One with those wooden like side panels? She was fierce (and still is as feisty as a Gecko.) She would drive two hours with my sister and I to go to the driving and to go to the only KFC in the island. Yeap. I Watched «Mahogany» and «The Lady Sings the Blues» (back to back) while loungeing on a bed mattress and munching in some bucket fried chicken at the drive-​in. I was ten and wanted to be called «Miss Ross» forever. My mom would drive two hours back in the middle of the night. That woman has some serious ovaries.
By the time Mc Donald’s came I was in my senior year of high school. Boo hoo. I grew up deprived… of those certain chemicals which may account for my obvious chemical imbalances.
Two weeks. For two weeks I had wanted cheese burgers (Mc D’s.) I told everyone. I called people. Texted. Begged. No mercy. No pity. All I got was a «you know better,» «stay strong,» «Please, don’t do it,» «we really love you, but ‘no’ means ‘no.’»
So today I knew I could confabulate. I know my peeps. The Finicky Eater loves Square 1 burgers. I don’t have to cajole, manipulate or even ask twice. He is inside the car with the running engine ready by the time I say: «let’s go to Squ.»
GiGi was the bestest. She could tell by my drooling that my mind was set by the time she sat me down and needed to mop the floor. It was a «Hi. My name is GiGi.” – «Wonderful! Get me a cheeseburger medium rare with a side of Mac and Cheese.» She could tell I was in serious withdrawal and I think she was afraid I would do something crazy like steal the neighbor’s bun and run into the kitchen searching for American cheese. I believe it took less than ten minutes to be digging into my delirious fix. Meaty and juicy… melted cheese oozing out… no ketchup. I put some of the mac and cheese in it just because I felt messier. Emily Post would have had an aortic rupture just watching me. Square 1 has the most incredible burgers (of course, I make some seriously competitive home-​made patties myself… the very few times I muster the courage and venture into the kitchen.) I have tried too many of their choices. I have enjoyed their various waiters. All fast and great.
As we were leaving (my accomplice and I) feeling so «unguilty»… a group of rambunctious and victorious little leaguers came in to celebrate and feast. The universe had somehow approved of my sneakiness because, otherwise, as severe punishment, I would have ended up sitting next to them. I would have ended up flirting and proposing to the cook and grilling my own burger.

Amazing salmon burgers and a great selection of draught beers to wash them down. Everyone loved their dinner– We’ll definitely be back. The wait staff was great and went over the menu and all the options which was great for us «square virgins».
Only complaint — the Juicy Lucy cheese was on top — not inside the burger like they do in the Northeast. Not a show stopper… Still delish.

As soon as I walked in, I was lustfully stared at by a worker (I’m assuming a cook?) but not greeted or seated.
Okay… –_​_​–
A server walks by and tells me to just sit anywhere.
Okay… –_​_​–
I sit down and stare at nothing because I was not given a menu!
Okay… –_​_​–
A server finally comes by and greets 2 other tables but does not come to my table
Okay… –_​_​_​–
I give the server death stares like HELLO?! PLEASE GREET ME! I’M RIGHT HERE! (she doesn’t notice those stares though and disappears for 5 minutes)
Okay… –_​_​_​–
She comes back and I have to shout «Hi! Can I get a menu… and maybe something to drink!»
Okay… –_​_​– (but to be fair, she sincerely apologizes and says she didn’t see me in the corner BUT to be fair, she never even looked up to see any other tables!)
So after that everything goes smoothly except the part where I thought I was going to have to die of thirst before the server noticed my dry… non-​filled… empty glass of water.
The food was delicious and the portions were decent but sorry guys, I’ve been ignored in better places.

Have been three times and had a blast each time. Service was great, food is pretty darn good, was pleasantly surprised by the buffalo/​bison choice. Portion size a little smaller than expected. Drinks were amazing l! Yes a full bar woot! Great atmosphere for sure felt super cool.
Maybe just portion size holding me back from a five star.

My last visit here confirms my 4 star rating. The burgers are really good and offer such an interesting variety that you could come every day of the week and then some and enjoy something different.
Although there were a couple of hiccups in this last visit, the service and management response was above and beyond and kept me from giving this 3 stars.
I’m sure I’ll be back, but I must share the experience because it was more than just a good burger…
First, our server, Kelly, was really really great. She was very attentive and extremely accommodating. Any request, questions we had, apparently that night we had a ton… she was all on it!
We ordered the friend pickle chips. They were good, not great. A bit greasy and the batter wouldn’t stay on the pickles that well so when you dipped in the sauce, most of it would come off. That’s ok, they were tasty anyway, but maybe they can fix the batter so it doesn’t fall off.
The burgers we ordered were the SOB (South of the Border) and the All American with cheese and bacon.
The SOB was supposed to be just above medium (not quite medium well) and the other straight up medium.
When we got the burgers, they were unfortunately flopped. And the All American was missing its bacon. Ok, well, that was a little disheartening but we did tell the server and she immediately corrected the bacon and shared with the manager and he came right over. Dillion was very apologetic and explained that the cook thought he got it right but as it turned out, saw where they had made the error and talked with us for some time and were appreciative that they took the feedback well and sent us home with complimentary desserts.
All in all we’ve had good experiences here. Sometimes there are mistakes. As long as they are handled well, it’s worth keeping on the list and returning.

I visited Square One six or seven years ago before the burger craze, and I’m glad to see that the restaurant seems to be doing well despite so much more competition. My husband and another couple visited on a Saturday evening just in time for happy hour.
We tried out the happy hour fries and wings as appetizers and had a round of drinks (excellent $ 3 happy hour price on one of the beers from Cigar City). The fries were okay, but my friends said the wings were excellent. Both of the guys in our group tried the Rise & Shine burgers and both of the burgers disappeared pretty quickly off their plates. My friend ate the Bruschetta Burger, which impressed me with a huge slice of mozerella cheese! I felt adventurous and gave the Samurai Salmon Burger a whirl. I’m a fan of avocado which the menu advertised atop the burger, but I found a bigger bite of cucumber instead. The burger was well-​seasoned and came together really well either way. Fried mac and cheese was also a hit as a side dish at our table.
We dined outside and the cars were pretty noisy going by on a busy highway so it may be wise to sit inside next time. Staff were friendly and attentive. The prices are steep so my tip for those who are frugal would be to enjoy the happy hour prices on drinks and apps and split a burger with someone.