Red Robin Gourmet Burgers in Poughkeepsie, NY - Restaurant Review

Greetings foodies :)  Today we review Red Robin Gourmet Burgers in Poughkeepsie, NY.  Usually known as just "Red Robin", this is a chain of restaurants that offers a variety of burgers, sandwiches and similar fair.  They also have a reasonably stocked bar in their restaurants too.

Red Robin started many years ago as a tavern, and although the restaurants still feature a bar area, the main focus is their gourmet burgers.  They get pretty creative with how they make up the burgers and I have to tell you, they do a pretty damn good job of keeping the things interesting.  Let's take a look :)

Red Robin, like so much else, is located right off of Route 9 in Poughkeepsie, NY.  It's something of a juggle to get into the parking lot, as you have to drive around a few buildings and take a rather circuitous path to get there.  You also happen to pass a Five Guys pulling in - but no, it's not the one in the link, that one is down the road :)  Once you actually make it to the Red Robin parking lot, there is ample parking for all concerned, so that's always nice.

The entrance to Red Robin.  Time to go inside and chow down!

As we approached the entrance, one of the staff members held the door open for us.  It didn't hurt that they weren't mobbed, but still, it feels nice to be invited into a place and to be treated so nicely.  As a rule, they are friendly and polite as anything at Red Robin.  They must really stress making the customer happy to the waitstaff, because even if there is the rare issue with service, the interactions with staff are never anything but cordial.



As you walk in, Red Robin also has balloons just hanging out in the vestibule area, waiting for you to take one :)  This would be a little more exciting if I were a few decades younger, but it's still kind of fun - and hey, what sour puss doesn't like the opportunity for a free balloon?  The lady is always sure to nab one, she's the fun-loving sort :)

The balloons demand, "Take one of us home, please!"

We were quickly seated, and the waitress took our drink orders.  We were celebrating the lady's birthday so she ordered a Raspberry Daiquiri - Her father and I ordered sodas.  I ordered a cherry coke, and they took  a regular coke and added cherry syrup - along with 2 maraschino cherries.  Yum.  I actually would have preferred the regular cherry coke but hey, the presentation was nice and it's soda.  Any way you slice it, it's still delicious.

The lady enjoyed her Raspberry Daiquiri.  I had a sip, and it seemed pretty straightforward.  According to her, it

"tasted like raspberry, more like candy than like fruit... nice slushy texture... not strong, but you could still tell it was alcoholic."

This raspberry daiquiri was tasty and perfectly slushy - and was gone pretty quick :)

It was gone pretty quickly.  I think she wanted to keep the glass.. and I can't blame her, it's pretty neat.

We all ordered sandwiches - the men in the group ordering burgers, and the lady ordering a chicken sandwich.  First things first, let me tell you about what the lady ordered.  She received the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich ($9.79).  This is a tender juicy chicken breast with Teriyaki sauce, grilled pineapple, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo.  She wasn't in the mood for cheese, so she asked them if they would substitute in guacamole instead (she's a smart girl like that).  They were more than happy to oblige.  As a rule, they're very accommodating at Red Robin - I've been just a few times, but as the lady tells it:

"We used to go all the time for girls’ nights, and over the years we've subbed in different buns, sauces, toppings (to the point of creating an entirely different sandwich than was listed) and they’ve neither given us a hard time nor gotten it wrong."

The Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich is really tasty!  With guacamole it was even better :)

The other gentleman in our group got the bacon cheeseburger ($9.79).  They claim this to be the best bacon cheeseburger in the known universe.  I didn't have any of this one myself so I'm unable to confirm or deny that claim, but I can definitely say that the person eating it seemed to enjoy himself very much.  Comes with Applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, and cheese of your choice.

The Bacon Cheeseburger from Red Robin is supposed to be the best in the universe.  A pretty bold claim!

Lastly, was the burger that ordered for myself - the Burnin' Love Burger ($9.79).  This burger has crisphy fried jalapeno coins, tangy salsa and pepper jack cheese on top of a cayenne seasoned burger, with lettuce and tomato.  The bun is a jalapeno-cornmeal kaiser roll with chipotle mayo.  The flavor of this burger is just delicious.. there's a lot of spicy flavor, and yes, some actual heat - though to be honest, as somebody who likes spicy food, it wasn't that spicy.  Still though, the breaded jalapeno coins, salsa, patty itself, mayo and bun DO provide a nice kick and make for a really nice flavor profile.  I wind up getting this every time I come to Red Robin and I'm really never disappointed.  It's pretty damn tasty!

This hunk-a hunk-a burning love has a great spicy tasty and a reasonable amount of heat for a chain restaurant :)

All of our sandwiches came with Red Robins' bottomless basket of fries, which aren't bad.. they're crisp and nicely cut steak fries, not greasy.. but nothing really special.  They're something to snack on, and it's nice to have fries with a burger - that is the American way of course.  Worth noting too is that all of their soft beverages are "bottomless" as well, so one can have all the soda, iced tea, lemonade, etc that they would like if they are so inclined.


Red Robin also sends out lots of promotional things, for new menu items, contests, free birthday sandwiches.. in fact, it was the lady's birthday when we went the other day, and upon realizing this, they brought this out:

Oh boy!  Birthday Sundae!

A complimentary birthday Sundae!  They also gathered up a few of the waitresses and sung the lady a fun happy birthday song, with a lot of enthusiasm!  She took a picture of them... but I'm not publishing that, as I feel it's rude to put people's faces on the web without their explicit permission.  You'll just have the be content looking at the food I suppose :)

We also snapped a picture of the (vaguely terrifying) red robin of Red Robin, as you can see below.

Is he giving you a thumbs up or is he bemused?  I'm really not sure..

Interesting to be sure.  Red Robin is a really good chain restaurant, a big step above your typical franchise fare - if you haven't been here, I strongly recommend you stop on in at your nearest convenience.  The place is clean, the food is tasty and keeps it interesting, and the waitstaff is very pleasant.  The dining experience here is always pretty nice.

Red Robin is located at: 

2511 South Road Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
(845) 463-3610

I hope you've enjoyed reading this even a fraction as much as I enjoyed eating at Red Robin.  Enjoy!