[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Great selection of burgers, as everyone has said, and reasonable prices. BUT, we waited 45 minutes to be seated (arrived there 1 pm on Sunday), my wife finally gave up in a serious evil mood and left, so I stuck it out with my daughter (for which my wife is now threatening divorce – seriously :loco: ), and once we were seated we waited another 45 minutes for our burger to arrive.
True, it might’ve been just bad luck as there was a party of 20 or so college-age Taiwanese ahead of us. But, they still should’ve done better than that. For instance they kept one table out front empty for over 30 minutes because they said it was reserved. Perhaps it was, but that party (of two) should’ve lost their reservation once they were 10 minutes late, given the long wait by others.
Anyway, my daughter and I enjoyed our burger. Not huge serving, but definitely tasty. But my wife swore she’ll never eat there, and I’m sure that’s true. So, I won’t be there often either – pretty much the same as the Diner. Good food but too slow. Definitely not worth it in my case for the seriously insane repercussions. Easier just to go downstairs for noodles.[/quote]Forkers, like the Diner, got popular quickly. If I were them I’d be thinking about opening up another branch soon.
Don’t let appearances fool you, by the way. Just like the Diner, the clientèle may appear to be mainly Taiwanese, BUT THEY’RE REALLY JUST CHEAPO CANUCK ENGRISH TEACHERS IN DISGUISE! FORKERS IS A SHOCKING SULLYMENT OF TAIWAN’S RESTAURANT INDUSTRY!
Went there today close to 2pm. About 20 customers being served at the time. Place looked about 3/4 full. Sat outside (there are 4 tables on the patio outside) and waited… then I noticed that there was only one (1) server serving the customers. :S
I have to hand it to her though, she was very efficient. It took her less than a minute to get a menu to me. I, on the other hand, took over 10 minutes browsing through the menu. There’s just so much to choose from! I ended up ordering a Canadian burger (using Kobe beef) with Cajun fries, wild green salad, and a diet Pepsi. The salad arrived first (yeah, I know… doesn’t always happen here in Taiwan lol) in about 10 minutes and my burger about 20 minutes afterwards. A bit greasy but very, very tasty. The fries appeared a bit overdone but still within the acceptable range so all in all a 6 out of 10. The Diner gets a 7 just for comparison’s sake but Forkers will definitely see more of me since it is located in my usual stomping grounds.
Suggestions? I didn’t see any Boddington… I’ll reserve further judgment until I’ve had more from their menu.
Andrew seems to be a nice receptive guy. Have a chat with him if you go there. I’m sure he’ll be all ears to any suggestions.
Andrew, wish you all the best on your new venture!
Cheers,
Mark
Saw Forkers being covered on last night’s FTV English news. Though they didn’t mention the place by name, it was obvious it’s Forkers with the title “Burger Heaven”.
Yea, went to Forkers recently with the lure of 40 different burgers. There are alot of different burgers but I wound up with a bacon mushroom cheese burger. Not sure what kind of mushrooms were used but didnt look like the regular white ones most commonly found in the states. They didn’t detract from the burger though. The burger was fine for me nothing to amazing. I did have the kobe beef patty which is pretty good.
Got the chilli cheese fries with my burger which was pretty good and also the hawaiian pasta salad. I thought the salad was going to be like the macaroni salad you get at L&L hawaiian bbq. Salad was decent.
Also ordered a side of the spinache artichoke dip which i usually love pretty much anywhere. The cheese was too solid at the top when we got it so it was hard to dip through the cheese and get some cheese and the stuff under it. The chips we got were pretty stale.
My friend got the salmon wrap appetizer which she said was ok.
Service was… ok but very very slow. Felt like it took forever to get the burgers and the appetizers arrived after the burgers got to our table which was kind of annoying.
Over all seems like a decent place if you are in the area and craving a burger. Might go back to try different burgers for the novelty but beyond that not really digging it.
I agree that the menu in this place is truly mouth-watering. However, when we went there recently during lunch break, we actually had to leave before the burgers came! The salad starter came quickly enough, but after waiting 35 mins for the burgers, we decided there would not be enough time before we had to go back to work. Paid for the salad and coffee and left without having sampled the famous burgers. So the service, at least on that afternoon, was very slow and it’s not somewhere I would recommend unless you have lots of time to wait.
I finally made it to those Forkers. Wednesday about 12:30 for lunch. Not crowded at all. I had the classic cheeseburger just to see how well they do on the basics. Very good. I would prefer that they don’t put dressing on it, but I suppose I can tell them that next time. I had the salad of the day which was beets. I’d tell more about that but I’m not a beet writer. Nice Forkers.
I spoke to Joe on the weekend at hockey. He and Andrew are very grateful to everyone for making Forkers such a success. He did say to apologize to anyone who has had delays with service. They’ve been adding more and more staff from the outset and just when he thinks he’s got it, there are even more people coming to check out the place and have a bite. Anyway, they both say thanks for making the restaurant a success.
I went to Forker again today. This time I brought the whole forking family. I had a triple bypass.
I would like to put them in my pantheon of great cheeseburgers of Taipei, but I’m afraid that, though they get A for effort, they are but second-tier. And that is pretty good.
Be forewarned that to help alleviate the crowding thing and the complaint of empty tables that Mother Theresa mentioned, they are seating reservations only from 6:30 to 8:30. If you don’t have a reservation, don’t bother going between these hours. Sucks, but it keeps them from getting overloaded.
I finally hit burger number 11 this past Friday so I am allowed to do a repeat, but I keep ordering new ones to try them out.
Their soups are usually vegetarian and they have veggie burgers as an option for their sandwiches as well as a couple veggie choices for meals. I am always satisfied with my meal and for them, I have the patience I show for my students because the wait is worth it. Plus I avoid the peak hours when I can if I don’t have a reservation because I know how crowded it is.
I give them a learning curve that places which have been established much longer do not get. There are a few kinks to work out, but for the now, they are doing a nice job working through them.
Went Saturday 5/24 for the first time, 9:00pm, got a table right away.
Between 3 people, ordered BMCB (bacon mushroom cheese), Ranch Burger, Mexican burger, Poutine appetizer, sides of fries, potato salad, and curry fries
Service speed: They will not proactively take your order/refill/come to your table but the waitresses are helpful when you get their attention. Not difficult to do and I didn’t find this to be a problem.
Order accuracy: poor. BMCB person (me) ordered the $80NT Kobe beef upgrade on the menu, but instead got an extra patty. When inquired, she said that I ordered was a double beef ugrade. No big deal, glad my appetite was good that night. Ranch burger came with no Ranch sauce, but ketchup. When inquired, the waitress insisted Ranch Burger was just the name; they didn’t actually come with Ranch sauce. Well, the menu enticingly says “with Creamy Ranch Sauce…” so go figure. Although, she was kind enough to bring a side of Ranch. Don’t think there was a communication gap either, since ordering was strictly a point-at-the-menu affair.
Taste: burger toppings were excellent, although the meat was too well-done for my taste. Beef patty was dry, bordering on gristly, with a deep-grey color on the inside. Picture Diner sized burger patty but not as juicy. The char-broil was a nice touch though. Fries: the best I’ve had in Taipei. The poutine and curry fries were both delicious and flavorful, I’m sure they (must) fresh cut their potatoes every day. What fries should taste like.
I’d go back, but maybe just for the fries, which I’d like to try with chili and cheese. The salads on the next table looked excellent too.
That’s funny, I thought the very opposite about the Diner vs. Forker’s. The Diner’s beef patty was dry and bland while Forker’s is juicy and savory. I have been unimpressed by the Diner while I am a repeat customer at Forker’s. Different strokes, I suspose.
It seems that Forker’s is going through some growing pains as they are getting more popular than their facilities and staff can handle. Service is rather frustrating. I’ve had dishes not come or come only after flagging someone down to remind them that I hadn’t received it yet, but then again, you can’t beat the food or the prices and “good service” is an oxymoron for the most part in Taiwan so I don’t hang my judgments on that when it comes to restaurants. I just wish they brought the wheat buns back.
I’m afraid this is a pass on my list. Although very convenient the food doesn’t deliver.
Potato salad = lumpy mashed potatoes with no flavor. Doesn’t it say Dijon Dill Potato Salad? Only potato is provided.
Chili Cheese Fries = Fries (good by the way and should probably be ordered by themselves) + melted processed cheese + canned chili or packaged mix.
Burger = As previously said - way overcooked and dry.
I only ate half of the sides and three quarters of the burger.
Sorry but the abundance of selections seems to be a gimmick rather than a real deal.
I was there around 4pm and the service was very good. Much better than the food. However, it would be a good place to spend the afternoon drinking outside.
I ate there for the third time on Friday night, and for the third time the waitress looked confused when I asked for mustard. I explained, and for the third time she brought it to me in a little dish. Now, Forkers doesn’t provide any utensils apart from a fork, so I asked her what I was supposed to do with the mustard. She didn’t get it, so I asked her if I was supposed to spread it with my fingers. She asked me if I would like a knife. I said, what do you think? Déjà vu, baby!. Anyway, I noticed that there was a lot of leftover mustard in the dish - Forkers could probably save money just by letting the customers have the bottle. Same goes for ketchup.
I paid an extra 80NT for the Kobe patty, but I wasn’t specially impressed. Actually, I couldn’t recall it tasting any different from the burgers I had had previously, and it wasn’t quite as thick as my wife’s burger (she had ordered the regular patty). I asked the waitress if I had in fact gotten the Kobe patty and she assured me I had. Oh well. I won’t order it again.
I agree with elektronisk’s comment about the potato salad - I couldn’t taste any dill, and it was quite dry.
We both enjoyed our meals, and the service was fast and friendly. We’ll go back.
Oh, one more thing - I wish Forkers had Coke instead of Pepsi in the drinks section. I really hate Pepsi.
I was there recently with a European friend recently and he asked for mayonaise for his fries…we had a good laugh with the girl, since she couldn’t believe it; her “first time for everything” expression was hillarious.
what did she think?..hmmmmm…I’d hazard a guess her first thoughts were that you were just another rude, impatient, smart-assed prick. I would of told you to get forked if you were going to keep up with that attitude…so it’s probably best I’m not in the F&B biz…lol[/quote]
Yeah, I can get pretty snippy around incompetent waitstaff, and I don’t suffer fools gladly - especially the third time around. :aiyo:
Not having tipping is a double edged sword…On the one hand I’m a cheap bastard. On the other, just don’t expect fawning service from grovelling staff.
Ti-ping is NOT a city in Taiwan.
I went for the first time this Monoday afternoon right after it opened at noon. I had the potato salad and a Chili Burger w/fries. The potato salad was okay, but the Chili burger and fries far outweighed my expectations. I could have just had the bowl of chili and been pretty satisfied. The burger was succulent and the fries were excellent.
The manager was nice enough to ask me how everything was after I was finished and was clearly making an effort to get the local staff used to interacting with foriegners (he had the waitress practice introducing herself after she took my order and welcome me to Forkers, when she previously did not do so). After being here ten years, it is not necessarliy something I need, but…
I was there for just over an hour and the place was close to capacity except for the samll bar area. They must be doing something right. I definitely plan on going back.
Anyway, I noticed that there was a lot of leftover mustard in the dish - Forkers could probably save money just by letting the customers have the bottle. Same goes for ketchup.