Fuddruckers Restaurant – Yanbu KSA

First and foremost, the reason why Derick and I visited Fudds yesterday was because we were celebrating our 133rd monthsary. Yay! It has been our long tradition that every 25th of the month we will go out and dine somewhere to celebrate our special day. With less option of restaurants in our place, Fudds became one of our to go places.

So what is Fudds? Actually it is short for Fuddruckers, an American casual restaurant chain that specializes hamburgers. As their slogan goes “Worlds Greatest Hamburgers”… sounds extraordinary right? I’m sure burger aficionados would love this place.

Singles area

The restaurant is divided into two areas, Families and Singles. Frankly, I really don’t like the layout of their family area. It is dark and cramped. Tables are separated by cubicles and dividers with red curtains and yellow lights that made the place uncomfortably dark for me.  The Singles area is way better than the Family wherein it has proper lighting and has open flow with convenient access to the salad bar.

Salad and Sauce Bar

The open salad bar is my favorite corner in the restaurant not only because it is complimentary but it features fresh fruits and vegetables with variety of salad concoction like salsa, coleslaw and potato… or you can create your own salad according to your preference.

Sauces and Dips Station

Dessert Corner – selection of freshly baked goodies

Grilled Chicken Salad

Even if there are variety of complimentary salads at the bar, you would always have that curiosity of how others would taste like in their menu. That’s why we ordered the grilled chicken salad. And we were not disappointed. The perfectly grilled chicken was sitting on top of the caramelized onions and fresh iceberg lettuce along side with salsa, cream cheese and guacamole inside a taco basket. Perfect appetizer to munch while waiting for the main to arrive.

Mushroom and Cheese Burger

I’m not really a big fan of hamburgers, however, their burgers are definitely worth a try. Honestly I really don’t know how it’s supposed to be prepared and cooked but as long as it taste good for me, it doesn’t matter. And I think Fudds delivered well in their claim as the “worlds greatest hamburgers”. By the way, their burgers are humongous. Make sure to come hungry or you won’t be able to finish the whole thing.

Grilled Salmon

I remember I had a love and hate relationship with their grilled salmon when they first introduced it in their menu. Just so you know, salmon and duck are two of my favorite dishes. Whenever we’re out and about I would always look for salmon or duck in the menu. If there’s no duck available then I’ll go with salmon. When I saw the grilled salmon in their menu I ordered it right away. My order came and I immediately noticed how well-done the salmon fillet was the moment it landed on the table. It was smoking hot and smelled good however it was very dry, under seasoned and there were few pin bones in it. I was very disappointed! Definitely over done salmon isn’t good to eat.

After a few visits I ordered grilled salmon again, hoping that this time they can deliver a perfectly grilled salmon on the table. Unfortunately, it failed my expectation. It was exactly the same from the previous salmon I had. Dry and bland! Unhappy as I am, I left some comments on their suggestion form about how tasteless their grilled salmon was and how they can improved it.

Hopeful that they will improve the dish and cook it properly, I came back again taking chances that it will be a perfectly grilled salmon for the third time. Afraid to have the same issues, I gave the waiter instructions on how my grilled salmon should be done. The waiter insisted that there are  no options (e.g. well done, medium, medium well, etc.) for fish dishes. Such options can only be requested for steaks. Of course I asserted myself and told him that I will not eat it if it’s overdone. The waiter agreed and relayed my request to the kitchen staff.

Then the most awaited moment came, my grilled salmon landed on the table and finally it was perfect. Moist and tasty! I’m glad I didn’t give my hopes up right away. Since then,  their grilled salmon is my default order every time we dine in Fuddruckers.

Sirloin Steak

Although Fuddruckers’ specialty are hamburgers, I love their steaks more. I’ve tried all their steaks and I don’t have any negative comments so far. Although there were times that the food presentation looked clumsy but still in the end it’s the taste that matters.

Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Of course a hearty meal would not be complete without a delicious dessert. They have a good selection of dessert and one of my favorites is the apple pie. The hot apple pie compliments perfectly well with the melted vanilla ice cream. So yummy!

We have grown to love Fuddruckers since it opened its doors in Yanbu three years ago. I don’t like mashed potato, however, theirs is the only one that I can finish.

I would definitely give Fudds a thumbs up for good service and quality of food that we have enjoyed time and again. The price is bit expensive but reasonable considering that they have an open salad bar as complementary. There are still room for improvements and I’ll be thrilled to see what else they can offer to their loyal customers like us. Until our next visit.