Small Batch

Located at 2758 Eastchester Drive in High Point, Small Batch offers burgers, milkshakes, and drinks. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Burgers are discounted on Thursdays, a brunch is available on weekends, and there are occasional live music and trivia nights.

High Point does not have the same glut of burger bars as does neighboring Greensboro, and thus Small Batch (recently renamed/rebranded from Burger Batch, presumably to promote the Winston-Salem brewery’s ownership) helps to occupy that niche. It does so adequately albeit with definite room for improvement.

Perhaps fittingly, Small Batch is not a very large space. Our group of four thankfully did not have any trouble finding a table, and the casual environment was comfortable. Other reviewers have noted that it gets to be quite loud in here, and that very well may be the case when the restaurant is at capacity.

Burgers are the featured attraction here, and they can be custom built or chosen from among nine pre-fab offerings. Sandwiches, salads, apps, and a few entrees round out the rest of the menu. In addition to the requisite nachos and wings, apps include a bevy of fried vegetables (zucchini chips, Korean BBQ cauliflower) while the entrée selection works in a glazed grilled salmon and chicken and waffles. It’s a compact menu but hardly an unappealing one, especially when the decadent shake selection is factored in.

Our group settled on two burgers (the Perfect Batch with mushrooms, bacon, pepperjack, cheddar, and BBQ ranch and the Smoke Batch with cheddar, BBQ sauce, bacon, pork belly, and grilled jalapenos) each with fries, a Free Bird salad (chicken, greens, tomato, avocado, eggs, and scallions), and a grilled salmon, followed by Black & White (Oreo with chocolate chip cookie, vanilla icing, and chocolate sauce) and S’Mores (chocolate, graham cracker, marshmallow, cocoa puffs, and chocolate chips) shakes. The fries – crispy and very well-seasoned – were a hit, and the salmon received favorable remarks as well. While the burgers were enjoyable, the toppings eclipsed the meat, and my wife reported a lack of char flavor. Both shakes were deliciously sweet and, as expected, not easy to consume neatly.

While the food offered was solid, Small Batch is a poor value. The burgers are $12.49, fries included. Other sides are an upcharge. By way of comparison, Porter House charges less ($9.95-$11.95) for more (more toppings, more side options, possibly bigger patties). And for as delicious as the shakes were, $9 each borders on absurd.

Service was attentive throughout the meal, but when it came time to settle up, our server tried to upcharge my friend for the chicken that the menu clearly indicated was a part of his chicken salad. Fortunately, management swiftly and apologetically remedied this, and there were no other issues.

Small Batch is good enough to avoid ruling out entirely, but it is also too costly and too limited to make it High Point’s best burger option.