Bad Daddy's Burger Bar

Located at 4522 West Wendover Avenue in Greensboro with other locations in Winston-Salem, Raleigh, and Charlotte, Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar serves gourmet burgers for lunch and dinner seven days a week. There is a full bar, and outdoor seating and online ordering are available.

Greensboro was already rife with burger places when Bad Daddy’s entered the fray last year, but the burgeoning Wendover Commons location made it a low-risk investment. Given how consistently busy this place is, the investment appears to have paid off. Whether or not that brisk business is justified is another matter.

Though many will come for the burgers, Bad Daddy’s did not neglect the “bar” side of the name, and a centrally placed bar commands attention. There is a decent amount of table seating as well though Bad Daddy’s is not particularly spacious. As one might imagine, it can get loud in here.

Bad Daddy’s menu is a shrine to high-calorie decadence. Apps include not only fried pickles but fried deviled eggs (!!), there are several varieties of fries and tots on hand, and shakes range from basic to the aptly-named chunky Elvis (peanut butter, chocolate, banana, and nuts). Chicken sandwiches and salads can be found here too though burgers are the main attraction. You can build your own – and each table comes with a handy ordering for precisely that purpose – yet the default options are pretty damn enticing. Styles range from All-American to Southern to Philly to Steakhouse and several more in between.

For our first visit, my wife and I went with a Jalapeno Popper burger with sweet potato fries and a Pastrami Reuben burger with tots, respectively. The Reuben burger (served on rye) was delicious, delivering all the expected flavors of the sandwich atop quality beef. The Jalapeno Popper burger, decked out with jalapeno bacon and jalapeno cream cheese, was tasty as well albeit overcooked. A requested medium well came out a definite well-done. Both potato sides were winners and paired nicely with their respective dipping sauces.

Service left no room for complaint – Hali was attentive despite the restaurant’s volume – but pricing is another matter. Our burgers ran $12.45 and $11.25 respectively (sides included), which does not seem unreasonable given the toppings involved. However, whereas Bad Daddy’s uses a seven-ounce patty for most offerings, many equally decked-out eight-ounce offerings at Hops and Porter House can be had for less.

In a vacuum, Bad Daddy’s would rate higher, and it is a fine option for those traveling the Wendover corridor (provided that you can snag a table). However, for those with access to Hops, Porter House, or Big Burger Spot, it isn’t worth going out of the way for. Think of Bad Daddy’s as the burger equivalent of fellow regional chain Mac’s Speed Shop: a boisterous, slightly pricy purveyor of good-tasting/bad for you food that shouldn’t be avoided but won’t displace area favorites.