Why did MrBeast Burger leave fans calling its burgers inedible?

MrBeast Burger’s ghost-kitchen model delivered orders through existing restaurant kitchens, yet the food customers received often looked nothing like the crisp double-patty smash burger shown in MrBeast’s videos. Complaints about raw meat, soggy fries, and missing items spread across TikTok and Reddit in 2025 and 2026, turning a fast-growing delivery brand into a cautionary tale about creator extensions and third-party execution.

Launch and rapid expansion

Jimmy Donaldson, known online as MrBeast, partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts in late 2020 to introduce MrBeast Burger. The brand operated without its own kitchens and instead licensed the menu to existing restaurants across the United States.

At peak scale the concept appeared on delivery apps in roughly two thousand locations. Revenue estimates reached $64 million in 2022, showing how quickly a recognizable creator name could move product in the pandemic-era delivery boom.

MrBeast himself received no royalties, according to later court filings. The arrangement relied on partner kitchens handling food prep and packaging, a setup that left quality control entirely in the hands of third parties.

Quality complaints surface

Customers began posting videos of undercooked patties and cold fries as early as 2021, yet the volume of negative reviews grew sharply after 2023. Mystery-shopper audits found a 5 percent wrong-order rate, more than double the target set by Virtual Dining Concepts.

Trustpilot and Yelp entries described meat that arrived “mostly raw,” fries that tasted microwaved, and orders delivered in plain brown bags without MrBeast branding. The disconnect between the polished YouTube image and the delivered product fueled memes and stitches across social platforms.

One widely shared clip showed a customer cutting into a still-pink patty. The clip resurfaced in early 2026 after Red Robin ended its partnership, pushing the topic back into trending discussions.

MrBeast’s public response

Donaldson acknowledged the problem on X in June 2023, writing that he could not guarantee quality when other restaurants prepared the food. The tweet was later deleted but remains cited in coverage of the dispute.

Internal messages obtained during litigation show Donaldson texting that he “couldn’t care less” about the brand as long as he had no operational control. The statements contrast with the hands-on production values that define his main YouTube channel.

MrBeast’s team later emphasized Feastables chocolate bars as the creator’s preferred consumer product, implicitly distancing the snack line from the burger venture’s reputation.

Lawsuit timeline

In July 2023, MrBeast and Beast Investments sued Virtual Dining Concepts, alleging the partner had misrepresented its ability to maintain standards. The complaint described orders that were late, incomplete, or inedible, and argued the failures damaged the MrBeast brand.

Virtual Dining Concepts countersued, claiming MrBeast interfered with operations and caused nine-figure losses. The case remains active in New York Supreme Court under index 653908/2023, with a judge describing review evidence as “very compelling” during a January 2026 hearing.

Discovery documents released in 2026 include internal texts and performance data that detail how oversight gaps widened as the network scaled beyond the initial test kitchens.

Partner exits and contraction

Red Robin’s departure in late 2025 removed hundreds of locations from the network. By early 2026 only about 245 U.S. sites across 39 states remained active, a steep reduction from the original footprint.

Some international locations opened in Australia, and plans surfaced for Uruguay in 2027, yet the overall trend shows domestic shrinkage rather than growth. Delivery apps still list the brand, but fewer kitchens accept the orders.

The physical MrBeast Burger location inside American Dream Mall in New Jersey continues limited service. A 2025 visit found the burger improved over delivery versions, though reviewers still noted salty seasoning and inconsistent assembly.

Media and social amplification

Business Insider’s 2026 investigation compiled customer photos, internal communications, and revenue figures, framing the episode as a case study in creator-brand risk. The story prompted renewed TikTok stitches and Reddit threads that recirculated raw-patty images.

Earlier coverage in The Verge and Rolling Stone focused on the lawsuit filings and quoted specific complaints such as “shoe-leather texture” and “revolting.” Those pieces established the narrative that the brand’s problems stemmed from execution rather than the menu itself.

Online discourse shifted from jokes about raw meat to broader questions about oversight when influencers license their names. Comment sections on YouTube recaps frequently compare the burger rollout to the smoother launch of Feastables.

Industry context for ghost kitchens

MrBeast Burger’s model mirrored other virtual restaurant brands that scaled through existing kitchens during the pandemic. The approach lowered real-estate costs but transferred quality control to partners with varying standards and priorities.

Analysts note that delivery platforms prioritize speed and volume, which can sideline training or equipment calibration needed for consistent smash burgers. The result is a product that varies widely depending on which franchisee fulfills the order on any given night.

Similar complaints have surfaced around other licensed ghost brands, though none matched MrBeast Burger’s combination of massive name recognition and documented raw-meat incidents.

Remaining customer sentiment

Recent Trustpilot entries from 2025 and 2026 continue to cite cold fries and under-seasoned patties. A minority of reviews describe acceptable meals, often from the New Jersey location, but they remain outnumbered by negative reports.

Some customers report ordering only to test whether the kitchen improved after the lawsuit headlines. Follow-up posts usually conclude that results remain inconsistent across cities and even within the same metro area.

The gap between expectation and delivery experience has led many longtime MrBeast viewers to avoid the brand entirely, treating the burger venture as separate from the creator’s philanthropy stunts and high-production videos.

Brand implications going forward

MrBeast’s core audience still tunes in for elaborate challenges and charitable giveaways, yet the burger episode illustrates how quickly operational shortcuts can erode trust when scaled through third parties. The ongoing litigation may clarify responsibility, but the reputational damage has already prompted the creator to emphasize Feastables over food-service extensions. For viewers scanning delivery apps, the lesson appears simple: the MrBeast burger that arrives may still fall short of the one promoted on screen.