Don't Believe the Hype. Best Burger in Orlando not at Johnny's Fillin Station

Johnny’s Fillin Station does not have the best burger in Orlando. No way. No how. Do not be fooled by reader polls, your friends, the internet, the sign plastered on the side of the restaurant’s building, or the claim emblazoned on the front of the menus. Granted, they do have good burgers. Maybe top ten or top five in Orlando - but not the best. That out of the way, let me tell you I love a good burger. I’ve heard about this place for some time and always wanted to try it. I was excited to experience the place and taste the burgers there.

Johnny’s is located in a seedier section of what is now known as SoDo – south of downtown. It’s on the corner of Fern Creek and Michigan Ave. The building looks like a hole in the wall, with a much bigger parking lot than any old hole in the wall should need. And the lot was quite full. The inside is bigger than you would think from the outside. The walls are covered with discarded items – memorabilia, old signs, bicycles, posters, junk really. Large flat-screen TVs are everywhere. More TVs than I’ve ever seen in any restaurant of this size. There’s a large dining section with pool tables and the bar, a smaller dining section to the side, and a patio with seating and live music outside. We couldn’t find a hosts stand, so we sat ourselves down in the smaller dining section. The place was busy with only a table or two open.

This is a bar that serves food. A lot of food. A lot more than the average bar. The crowd seemed more of a bar crowd than a restaurant crowd, and they leaned toward the biker/rocker type. There were a few couples and one or two families with kids. A couple of folks had on business attire. I bet it gets a little more rowdy as the night goes on as more beer and less food is served. We didn’t feel entirely at home.

After about 10 minutes, a waitress finally spotted us and came over to see if we were ready to order. We were. My guest and I started with the Sweet Corn Nuggets ($5.10). The fried, cream corn nuggets were served on wax paper in a plastic basket with a generous layer of powdered sugar on top. They were tasty but nothing special. A few of the nuggets were cold on the inside.

I ordered the half-pound Bacon Cheeseburger ($7.65) with Steak Fries (99 cents extra) and my guest ordered the Mushroom Swiss Burger ($7.40) with the same Steak Fries. Both burgers were a little north of medium-well as ordered. The patties were large and juicy but without a lot of flavor. The meat, however, seemed very fresh as were the lettuce, tomatoes and purple onions on the side. The toasted bun was a bit of a disappointment. It was nothing special – like one you would buy at the grocery store. The bun was just too small and too ordinary for what is supposed to be: a special burger. Upgrading the bun would do wonders for the best burger claim. My cheese was American. The kind that comes in the plastic wrapper you peel before eating. A cheese upgrade is recommended. The mushrooms on the Mushroom Swiss Burger were straight out of a can. The best burger in Orlando is not served with canned mushrooms, come on! I think I would have enjoyed the burger more had it not come with such lofty expectations.

Service was slow and inattentive. The waitresses were mostly young and most tattooed. Our waitress never came back to check on us after serving the burgers or to bring us the bill. The waitress for the table next to us saw us staring into space over empty baskets and glasses and kindly brought us refills and our check. Our bill came to 28.90 with two soft drinks.

Would I go back to Johnny’s Fillin Station? No, probably wouldn’t. Not for the service. Not for the atmosphere. Not for the pricing. Maybe for the food. I hear they deliver. Now, there’s an option.

Overall score: 2 ½ Generic Buns out of 5

Johnny’s Fillin Station
2631 S. Ferncreek Ave.
Orlando, FL 32806
407-894-6900
http://johnnysfillinstation.com/