The Thurman Cafe

Lets start with the parking. There is none, it is street parking and you can expect a walk. That is fine being that is built in a neighborhood and the restaurant cannot really control the amount of street spots available. So we park and head inside, to a small area that is simply packed! We waited two hours to go into the actual eating area. Once inside we realized the issue, this is a bar! This is not a restaurant with a bar, this is a small bar that serves burgers. However, we were still very excited to eat. We had heard only good things and were wishing for the best. We ordered our burgers and began the next wait. After another 40 minutes our burgers emerged. As they brought them toward us the waitress says you can have this in a minute we need to borrow it for a picture. WHAT! They then put my food that I am going to eat in front of some other lady so that she could have her picture taken with it! No asking if it was ok. Just hold on this lady wants to touch your burger! The burgers were just simply mediocre. Comparing them to Brazenhead burgers they were bad. We saw our waiter one time, when he took our orders. We had to get refills at the bar ourselves! Nobody asked us if we could use anything, get us anything or if things were good. I have had bad service before, but not like this. Listen to the negative reviews, they are accurate. Save your money, save your time and annoyance and go somewhere that is happy to serve you. I will never go back, and I will never recommend them to anyone. There are much better places in Columbus to eat a good burger! Pros: Big Burgers Cons: Service, Price, Parking, Taste and Wait more

Have been waiting to visit Thurmans, only to be disappointed with the entire experience. The okay burgers are not worth the wait or the bad service--trust me. I'm never going back. Our wait time was at least two hours, but we were willing to wait for these ""legendary burgers"". Finally seated, served drinks and placed order -- never to see the waiter again until it came to boxes and checks. Another waitress brought us our food and after waiting a good fifteen mintues to be checked on, we went to the bar to refill our own drinks. The burger itself was big but disappointing. The taste was not great. I had one on texas toast and the bread turned soggy. Completely agree with ""Underwhelmed""'s review. I would never waste my time going back. If I'm going to wait that long for a burger, I at least want it to be good. Go to Brazenhead, at least you'll enjoy your food. Pros: mello yello? Cons: service, wait time, burger more

Are the Burgers good, absolutely. Is it worth a 2 hour wait, NO! We went mid-week after lunch rush and only waited only 10 minutes, that was just fine. Pros: Tasty Burger & Fries Cons: Potential Wait more

Was not impressed!!! No flavor just a lot of food... guess people like quantity over quality. The wait is not worth it as you can expect it to take an hour or two. My suggestion would be go elsewhere unless you are dying to try (remember I told you so when you?re disappointed). Honestly Teds Montana Grill is better and Winking Lizard one of the best burgers too. I need to try Graffiti and Brazenhead. How does Thurmans get voted best burger in Columbus several years running?????? Pros: Cheap and lots of food. Cons: Long wait and poor service. more

We are new to Columbus and had heard The Thurman Cafe was the place to go to get an excellent burger. We decided to go on a Saturday for lunch as a family. We arrived to an incredibly crowded holding area with standing room only and ended up waiting 2 AND A HALF HOURS to get a seat. The food was rather bland and overpriced and the decor was a bit to be desired. We will never return. Pros: Easy to get to. Cons: Long (incredibly long) waits, poor decor, disappointing food more

I've lived in Columbus for 8 years and finally made it to Thurman's for lunch. I was looking forward to it because I heard so many good things about the burgers. We had a group of 6 and arrived at 11:30 AM. The place was already packed and there were eight names in front of us. Finally, we were seated an hour later into a very tight booth. The waitress was friendly but after she brought out our orders (which were correct), that was it as far as service. I tried to catch her eye several times to ask for a take-away box and one of our party wanted a refill on his iced tea. Although at one point she was wiping down the bar, she couldn't seem to notice us. I got the Jack Cheeseburger, which was so soggy that I had to eat it with a fork and knife. And yes, the burgers come with chips so you have to pay extra for their fries. The fries were good but at $2.79 a plate ($3.99 a basket), too pricey. Here's the deal: If I have to 1) Park 3 blocks away 2) wait 1 hour to be seated and 3) pay about $15 - then doggonit, I want a waiter who pays attention. One of our party finally went to the bar to get me the take-away box (I didn't realize that's what she was doing, I was ready to do it myself at that point) and also grab our checks. (Surprisingly the waitress didn't even seem to have time to give us those.) I'm stunned by the amount of people who consider a long wait, inconvenient parking, and inattentive wait staff to be ""part of the experience."" Fine, you can have it. Listen, if this is a Columbus ""landmark"" (and been in existence for so many years), then for the love of pete... HIRE. MORE. SERVERS. Meanwhile, if you want a delicious burger and better service, head to The Rusty Bucket. Their burgers are delicious, juicy, and you can actually eat one without utensils and looking like a slob. (P.S. Chris1961, if you comment, I'll comment again. I think at this point we all know you're a die-hard Thurman's regular. To each their own. Oh, and I don't work for The Rusty Bucket, Easy Street Cafe, or McDonalds.) Pros: big burgers Cons: parking, slowslowslow wait, frazzled wait staff more

These burgers are nothing to rave about. All burgers have to be cooked well-done (must not use that great of quality of beef then). They also are served with chips. Who serves burgers with chips? Ridiculous. They wouldn't even substitute fries for the chips. You have to order a whole basket. The service was very poor. Of course, we also waited in a long line. Go down a few buildings for a great burger at Easy Street Cafe. They are fantastic! Pros: Good options Cons: All burgers well-done, served with chips, poor service more

This restaurant has been in the same location for over 50 years and is rather tiny. However, that is part of it's charm in my opinion. We waited for over 1.5 hours and that was fine. The service is a different style. They will treat you like a regular even on your first visit and you can't be bashful. They might give you a hard time, but you can do the same right back to them. Thats what they expect. Food was pretty good. I had the Thurman Burger, which was as massive as they say. Only complaint I would have is that there was so much beef that by the end of the burger thats all I had. I needed more onions and such to go along with it. Fries were great. Its a busy, overcrowded family owned establishment... and thats why we love it! Pros: Unique atmosphere and Good Food Cons: There is a wait... more

The legendary giant burger is not worth enduring the tight layout or brain dead staff. The plating is extra slobsville. Pros: nice location Cons: too cramped, slow snobby service, messy - just ok burger, more

I can't believe that some of the last reviews have been bad. I make it a weekly to bi-weekly effort to go the Thurmans. Just from being in there, I can tell you that everyone in there has a good time. The people writing these complaints are probably the ones who want there butts wiped for them. The service there is different, but great. They don't baby you here, but they do have fun with you; it feels like a second home. The food is fresh, high quality, relatively inexpensive, and darn good. I RECOMMEND THE BLEU CHEESEBURGER WITH BACON (and I like it rare). WITH A PITCHER OF LIENE RED. There is usually a pretty good wait there, but I don't see it as a wait. My Thurman experience starts out in the lobby. Getting to the table is just the next phase. We get pretzel bites and a pitcher while we hang out in the lobby. If you go out with friends, then hanging out for an hour or two really isn't so bad. I love the Thurman Cafe!!! Pros: Burgers, Atmosphere, The Wait!!! Cons: What are the drawbacks? more

We heard about this place last year but due to the wait we had to leave and didn't get the opportunity to try this place in 08. Being from out of town we would not get the chance to taste this burger until this past week. There was a line even at 2:30 in the afternoon so it must be worth it to most. When we got seated the poor service took over. The waitress was irritated because one of our party went back to the car to retrieve his glasses. She would not take our orders and ignored our attempts to get her attention. When she finally did acknowledge us she was abrasive in her responses. We hoped it would stop there. Our food did come and we received exactly what we felt she would give us. Each of the orders in our party were incorrect --ie. no mayo meant to her extra, no mushrooms meant an extra layer mixed in with the cheese so that they could not be picked off. What ever was requested that not appear on our burgers showed up in extra amounts. The burger was large but not as tasty as I thought it would be-- the Fuddruckers burger is better. The Thurmon burger experience is not one to be repeated. Cons: Rude-Nasty Waitress ruins visit more

I've been twice in the last 3 months. The first time the service was so slow but the server was apologetic and the food was ok so we went back. The second time we were sat, and waited about a half an hour and no one came to our table! the server walked past us a number of times, talked to the two tables seated on either side of us and never even stopped to get our drink order. I watched her and the other server joke around with some patrons at the bar, have a sip of soda, stock some straws, and sit down. All the while we were never even acknowledged. We left. And yes, I've had the burgers and they are just ok. They wount even cook them to temp for you! Cons: HORRIBLE SERVICE more

The food was great, the service was good, and the atmosphere was awesome. We had a party of 9 and we waited for 2 hours on a Friday. I think that is pretty extreme even for that size party on a Friday night. But would definitely go back!! Pros: GREAT food!! Cons: Parking and waiting to be seated more

Had a ham and Swiss sub bf had the thurmanator , slow service but worth the wait and small cost more

This hole-in-the-wall joint is great for burgers. The amount you get is amazing and the taste is phenomenal. I have been an avid goer for 5yrs now. Service is slow at times and the walls are covered in items but definitely a must if you're in Columbus. more

What else can I say but the worst service in the history of mankind. After seating after an hour wait at 4 o clock in the afternoon, we sat at our table for 10 minutes before we even got drink orders taken. After our order was taken the waiter didn't come by again until we got our food. After that we never saw the waiter again. After waiting 35 minutes after we were done eating for our bill, we left. If you want to know why you wait so long to sit down, you now know why. The food was ok, just big, not much flavor in the burgers. I've had better burgers at chain and qsr restaurants. Pros: Great decoration Cons: Service, Service, Service. more

Bigger is not better here. Consistently soggy sandwiches swimming in grease, cheese, etc. Pros: It's a local neighborhood bar/grille Cons: ridiculously sized food that's nothing special more

...you sink your teeth into one of their hamburgers. I've yet to have on I didn't like, but I recommend the Thurman for newcomers. Pros: Fantastic Food Cons: There can be a long wait more

Thurman Café is a fun place to be. The atmosphere is very laid back and you feel (well, I did anyway) like... more

Thurman Café is a fun place to be. The atmosphere is very laid back and you feel (well, I did anyway) like you’re in a friend’s living room or some... more