10 minutes away from campus in a neighborly area on the outskirts of Hayward is a restaurant that has been attracting customers for several decades.

Val’s Burgers, located on B Street, is a family friendly-oriented restaurant that has a wide variety of lunch and dinner selections.

Having first opened its doors to customers in 1958 in a Portuguese immigrant-dominated area, it quickly became one of the best places in Hayward to go for a satisfying meal.

Stepping into the small restaurant is like being whipped back in time to the 1950s classic diner era.

On one side of the room is a counter that customers can sit at and watch the cooks at work in the open kitchen.

A soda fountain is present along with an old menu from the time the restaurant opened that hangs over one of the windows–this menu showcases many of the same items from the original menu that are still served today.

Very much like other 1950-style restaurants, it can tend to get very crowded at times.

Because of the restaurant’s small size, at times it is hard to be seated right away and it is a bit difficult to move around with waiters and waitresses scurrying all over the place.

Not to mention the fact that it can also tend to get a little loud at times. In other words, Val’s is not exactly a zen environment.

Despite the hectic environment, it’s also a very friendly place, especially when it comes to interactions with the waiters and waitresses.

In addition, the food that they serve definitely lives up to its high ratings.

Its famous burgers come in three sizes: the Papa Burger (1 lb), the Mama Burger (1/2 lb) and the Baby Burger (1/4 lb).

Customers can put whatever condiments they want on its already well-cooked, tender meat. Regardless of what size one chooses, satisfaction is inevitable.

What may be just as interesting about Val’s Burgers is that some of the sandwiches are influenced by the local Portuguese affiliation, such as its linguica sausage sandwich.

Burgers aren’t the only food that’s served at Val’s. They also serve other dishes such as fish n’ chips, steaks and even homemade stew and chili.

Plus, because of the fact that the servings tend to be rather big, there’s always an excuse to bring some of it home to eat later.

Val’s is also very well-known for its milkshakes. Shakes come in a wide variety of flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cherry and even coffee.

Customers can choose pretty much whatever flavor they want and be given a high quality, creamy-textured milkshake, made with real ice cream.

With not a lot of options for meals served on campus during the summer, Val’s Burgers is a great place to get food when taking a break from studies. Even during the regular school year, this Bay Area-praised restaurant is worth giving a try.