Blazing Onion Restaurant opens in Gig Harbor
The Blazing Onion Restaurant is now open in Gig Harbor! My family and I got to take a test drive of the new place to eat in Gig Harbor last night, and it was great! A huge selection of burgers, sandwhiches, soups and salads, plus a great kids’ menu made sure that we were all satisfied. The environment was great, too, with several flat screen TV’s large booths that a booster seat fit easily on, and a super helpful, friendly wait staff.
One of Blazing Onion’s promises is that if you need something, simply put a red card in a stand on your table and someone will be there to help within 30 seconds, usually less. I watched and waited all night, thought I found a moment when everyone was distracted, and raised the card to get a refill on my drink (something I could have done myself) and a refill on the bottomless french fries. 4 seconds. It took the kid 4 seconds to get to my table. Pretty cool.
With prices ranging from $6-$15, there were plenty of options and there was plenty of food. My wife and I easily could have split an order. She had a Cobb salad that she loved, chicken strips and a fruit bowl kept the daughter happy, and I had a cod sandwhich that I found to be better than any other fish in Gig Harbor. Far less greasy and way more flavorful. As of today, The Blazing Onion is Gig Harbor’s newest restaurant and full-service bar (didn’t check out that section). Try it out and let me know what you think!
September 24th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I purchased a some burgers to go. When I got home I was disappointed to find mine was burnt. I called and asked to speak to the manager. He replied that he was sorry and would let “them” know. Not only did he not offer to fix it he seemed annoyed and hung up the phone. Lacking customer service and the over-priced burgers are just O. K.. Disappointing…… Unfortunately Gig harbor still needs a good burger joint.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Big dissapointment-Burgers and food were just basic,average.Service,TERRIBLE.Line and 10 minute rule to order,quite stupid really.Drinks-how could you pour beer wrong,and they didnt make the beer so no worries.NEVER and I mean Never going back.Once again and still the same,Gig Harbor is lacking places to eat.
I failed to mention that my 3 yr.old daughter didnt even recieve her meal until we all(table of 7)had eaten.I asked 4 people for her meal and one perso three times.As we had all eaten and she having shared with everyone,someone finally brought her meal of chicken strips and apples to the table.She didnt even eat it.Really Pathetic!!
September 24th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Wow, totally different experiences than my family had there. We had over the top good service, food for the whole family was served quickly and very good. My 2-year old had the chicken strips and fruit cup and loved it!
Sorry things weren’t the same for you guys.
September 25th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Richard & Mandiboo,
I’m extrememly disappointed to hear about your bad experiences at the restaurant. This was our first week and the sales have been overwelming. In fact, our first week’s sales were higher than both Mill Creek and Snohomish’s grand opening weeks combined. We did it with a brand new kitchen crew, plus fryer, grill, and Beer system problems. We’re not a big corporation opening our 400th store, we’re just a Northwest couple opening our third store.
We are cooking fresh Natural ground chuck on a broiler and we are pressing the burgers into patties all day. Everything about our food is quality and we’re proud of how low we maintain our prices.
Lorri and I are committed to service. We might be overwelmed now, but we’re getting better everyday. The community of Gig Harbor will be proud of this restaurant. I promise that. I hope you give us another chance. I believe Richard (Edwin?)sent us an email yesterday. I hope Mandiboo writes us too. One of the worst dinner experiences as a parent is to have your childs food delivered last. I appreciate your comments. David
September 25th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Kinda surprised to hear about the bad experiences. I had a burger on their trial night and it was superb. Ever since then my friends have all been by and tell me how glad they are to have it in town. I’d give it another shot when they have some time to iron out the kinks that are natural for any new restaurant.
Going back to see if the bar is showing soccer on Saturday.
Matt, great blog for all things Gig Harbor. Glad I stumbled across it! Keep up the great work!
September 25th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Thanks Derek–
If you ever have anything that you want to contribute, let me know. Any insider info is always appreciated!
September 30th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
After two visits to the Blazing Onion I have to say this restaurant was a huge disappointment for my family and unfortunately I’m not the only one. I’m sure your grand opening numbers were out of this world. Gig Harbor has very few places to eat. We were so excited for a great burger place to finally come to the harbor. However, it is just another fast food restaurant with horrible service (the service cards are a joke). I’m sure people can enjoy the bar it’s full service. I really hope the owners look around and take into consideration this community wanted a place where their family could sit down, look at a menu and order a good burger. Your numbers may be good but it’s because this town has zero options.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I was reading these reviews and i have to say I agree and disagree, right now its still so new to judge so hard the food is fantastic, I do have to agree with the madness in the restaurant, it’s really hard to try to sit and relax with your family and kids, its too loud.. I found myself more stressed out with all the noise then the 45 min. wait for food,my kids were actually entertained by all the older kids running around, it seems as if maybe you need a bit more responsibility in there i don’t feel the teenagers really know what they are doing, also i know (being I have lived in the harber for 30 years) that people in the harber would be happier if they had full service in the restaurant with actual waitresses!In the restaurant I would give this place a 4 for service 9 for food (only because of the 45 min. wait.
me and husband came in about a week ago and had a great time our waitress was wonderful and the food was fabulous i believe we only waited about 20 minutes this time and that was an average for any restaurant, glad we left the kids home so we could check out the bar. A couple nights ago we decided to bring a couple friends in and we had a great time we were lucky enough to get the same gal as we did first time for our waitress, she was wonderful and the food was fantistic… I can’t wait to bring more friends in and you can count on me to spread the word THE BLAZING ONION IS THE BEST RESTAURANT IN TOWN!be sure to give that jenn in the bar a raise she’s got to be the best waitress I have ever had and my friends said the same too very friendly,outgoing!See you all next time, good luck and congradulations on your new restaurant!
oh ya, in the bar I have to give the service of course a 10 and the food a 10!!!!
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Very poor service and the food was average at best. Placed our name on the waiting list, was told ~ 30 minutes. Went into bar area, waited 15 minutes at a table before the waitress came to take our order, waitress forgot that she had taken our order and came to take it again. My beer was poured and sat on the bar for 10 minutes, only to be taken by another waitress to someone else. The tap ran dry, had to wait another 15 minutes, beer was flat. Appetizer took 15 minutes however, no utensils or napkins brought by waitress, had to get them myself. After 30 minutes in bar, we proceeded to the entry area only to have to wait another 15-2o minutes even thought there were 6 tables empty. When food arrived, orders were not complete. Had to wait for the correct stuff to arrive.
Asked for comment card, were told they did not have them yet.
Needless to say, we will likely never return.
October 5th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Husband and I ate in the lounge today at lunch time. We ordered unsweetened tea, and each got blue burgers the husband had his with bacon. For sides, I had sweet potatoes and he had the FF/OR combo. Well our tea came sweetened, I think the tea was hooked up incorrectly to the wrong sprayer. Might I suggest fresh brewed tea, especially in the summer. They staff tried to fix the problem but tea still sweet. I would say the hamburgers were good-but not great. We might come back when we go to see a movie, but won’t make a special trip to dine here. I do think the environment is nice but I would love that they actually offer full service dining. I might expect to wait in line for lunch but when dining out for dinner and paying these prices, I want someone to come to my table take my order and bring it to me.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:57 am
We’ve dined at The Blazing Onion twice and are going back this evening for a third time. We’re not big fans of the reader-board style menu. Perhaps we’re too old (44 years) and set in our ways, lol. We don’t care for it at Fondi, either and would much rather see a sit-down menu where one can really study the extensive menu. However, the food is great. Portions are hearty–you could easily share a meal and the staff was excellent. They were obviously very busy and worked their butt’s off to try to accommodate everyone.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
As a family we are desperate for quick good food in Gig Harbor. There are so few restaurants, that we awaited the Blazing Onion with baited breath. Huge…Huge disappointment. We managed to find a Sunday afternoon with no crowd after repeated attempts on other days and heard there were some opening bumps so we went over Thanksgiving weekend to make sure those were sorted out. We had no problem with the service.. but much much worse, the food was horrible. Both of our burgers were burned and flavorless. Mine was also covered with the greasiest onions I have ever tasted. I’m all for sloppy greasy yummy burgers…that’s what we went in for… but wow.. these were honestly terrible. I can’t imagine how upset we would have been if we would have waited in one of those 45 minute lines… We really wanted you to be good Blazing Onion. Drag.
December 27th, 2009 at 1:20 am
My daughter and I made two visits to the blazing onion in Gig Harbor and were quite pleased with the service and attention. The burgers were very good, didnt like the fries both times they seemed undercooked. Good selection on menu and prices a tad high but well worth the service. I shall be back.
January 1st, 2010 at 10:19 pm
I was disappointed with the Blazing Onion as well. The service was absolutely terrible, and when I tried to address it with someone, they were very indifferent. I asked for the manager, and was told he would be right out. Thirty minutes later I was told by another staff person that the manager was off for the night. Nice. I really would like to see them succeed, but I suspect it is only a matter of time before they lose business.
January 26th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Blazing Onion has become one of our favorite restaurants in Gig Harbor. Granted, the walk up and order approach takes a little getting used to but the food is always top notch. Usually, we just bypass the counter and head straight to the bar where we are waited on in the more traditional manner. Either way, you can’t beat their burgers!
February 6th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Nutritional values for your menu items is a must. Calories, Fat and Fiber. If you publish these, all Weight Watcher fan’s will come and enjoy your wonderful food..!
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Used to like the restaurant, until they fired their only good bartenders and managers. [edit]
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:15 pm
that’s not true, ask for Patrick when you go!! he was our bartender at The Ram and he makes his drinks from scratch!!