The Fast Food Burger Chain With The Worst BBQ Sauce, Hands Down

Choosing the right sauce for your burger and fries is very important. The delicate balance of spice, tang, sweetness, and umami can make or break your burger-enjoying experience. Because of this, we've searched far and wide for the best condiments offered at burger joints across the country. Of course, ketchup, mustard, and fancy garlic aiolis are typical crowd-pleasers, but a tricky sauce to get just right? Barbecue. Of all the restaurant barbecue sauces we've tried, one place sticks out as having the worst available to burger fanatics.

That place was Smash Burger — a popular chain mostly located in Colorado, Arizona, New Jersey, New York, and California. When we ranked barbecue sauce from eight fast-food chains, Smash Burger's undoubtedly took last place. Our reviewer said it was too simple and lacked layers of flavor, paling in comparison to the sauce complexity from other chains. Upon first tasting it, our reviewer found it had a brown-sugar-heavy base, with the traditional barbecue tang not hitting until the very end of the bite. It was also quite thick in texture compared to other sauces in the lineup.

Despite having incredibly juicy, mouthwatering burgers, Smash Burger's sauce falls flat. And unlike other chains, with its logo and name strewn across the sauce covers, Smash Burger's version came in an unmarked, clear container. This, of course, doesn't affect taste, but does set it apart from other burger joints. The small chain just can't compete with American burger chains like McDonald's and Burger King.

We couldn't find specific reviews about Smash Burger's barbecue sauce online, but we did see lots of comments about the chain's barbecue-flavored burger, the BBQ Bacon Smash. Most of them were actually positive, but that could be because the burger already attracts barbecue sauce lovers and not skeptics. "I always order that one with extra sauce. Not optional IMO," one Redditor posted on r/food. Another commenter said, "Guilty pleasure for sure." Some customers even add mushrooms or jalapeños to the burger to add some veggies.

If you agree with our reviewer that Smash Burger's barbecue sauce leaves much to be desired, choose other sauces instead. We prefer the chain's chipotle mayo, a creamy, spicy topping that takes your burger to the next level, or the signature smash sauce — a tangy and sweet combination of mayo, mustard, ketchup, relish, and spices. Or you can order an 8-ounce container of cheddar cheese sauce to dip your burger, fries, or onion rings in. If you don't have a Smash Burger location near you? Our Easy Smash Burger Recipe is a pretty close dupe.