Burger review: Horn’s Burger Saloon in Fort Worth

If you want a juicy, tasty burger, skip this place.

Photo by Matthew Hudson

Interior of Horn's Burger Saloon in Fort Worth

Think of Horn's Burger Saloon as Jake’s meets billiard hall. One the one hand, the atmosphere is much cooler than Jake's, leaning more towards local burger joint with picnic tables and barrels for tables inside and a small beer garden outside and not such a focus on TVs and sports. There is even a small (and we do mean small) space for music on the weekends. The walls are brick and old barnwood. We did like the interior of this space. (We could do without the odd billiards room.) We loved the menu. We loved the fact that they had very friendly service. But ...

This is a “seat yourself” kind of place. A waitress (again, think Jake’s uniform) will come and get your order and then bring you your food. The menu is terrific. There are lots of choices – 10 burgers in all, with all of your favorites like mushroom, chipotle, bacon, queso, chili, and guacamole. There is even a unique section on the back with State Fair favorites like Frito Pies, Fried Mac 'n' Cheese, and funnel cake fries.

We ordered the basic cheeseburger, naturally. It is a 1/2 lb of fresh beef. It comes served in a basket lined with red and white tissue. It comes with lettuce, pickle, tomoato, and white onion on the side. Mustard is standard. There are five choices of cheese – American, swiss, cheddar, pepper jack, and blue.

Photo by Matthew Hudson

Horn's burger

The burger was hot, but there is an “odd” flavor to the meat. We have not been able to put our finger on it. But you know the odd tinge you get when the turkey in the fridge is a day after the date on the package, but you still eat it? Kinda like that. Please understand, this meat is not spoiled or hazardous to your health. We are not saying that at all. We are just trying to give you something to relate it to. A great burger needs to be able to stand on the merits of its beef and juices. This one cannot. In fact, we have yet to finish the whole thing.

The bun is fresh and toasted, but way too big for the burger. Now, this may only be true for the basic burger. On some of the others when you are loading it up, the extra bun probably comes in handy. AGH opted for the fried pickles as her side and I went with the hand-cut, skin-on fries. The pickles were OK, nothing special, but the fries were awful. You know the drill. The fries are sitting under a heat lamp waiting for someone to order and when they do, they “pop” them back into the hot grease for a minute to “liven” them up again. The result is a hot outside and an overcooked, cold inside.

So, here is the deal. We want to like this place. We always pull for the local guy. And the truth is, we waited until our third attempt here before reviewing in hopes that it would get better. But it simply has not. So, if you live in White Settlement/River Oaks and want a cold beer, then this is your place. But if you want a juicy, tasty burger, then skip this place. Rumor has it the owners tried to steal the chef from Pop’s Burgers -- too bad they didn’t, it would have made a difference.