Restaurant in Riverside, United States
Farm-Themed Fast-Casual

Farmer Boys on University Ave is a fast-casual burger chain that works well for a quick, low-cost meal near UC Riverside — no booking needed, no dress code, no fuss. It is not the right call for a special occasion or group dining: for those, Duane's Prime Steaks & Seafood or Le Chat Noir are the better choices in Riverside.
Farmer Boys at 3400 University Ave is a quick-service burger chain with a loyal following in the Inland Empire. If you are pricing a casual meal in Riverside, this is a low-commitment, easy-to-book stop that works leading for solo diners, students from the nearby UC Riverside campus, or anyone who needs a fast, filling meal without planning overhead. It is not a special-occasion venue, and if that is what you are after, Riverside has better options covered below.
Farmer Boys positions itself around freshly prepared burgers, breakfast items, and farm-to-table-adjacent messaging for a fast-casual price point. The atmosphere is counter-service casual: expect a busy dining room with the ambient energy of a well-trafficked fast-casual chain, louder during lunch and dinner rushes and quieter mid-afternoon. There is no reservation system, no dress code, and no meaningful wait if you time your visit outside peak hours. Walk in, order at the counter, and find a seat.
For a group meal or any kind of private dining arrangement, Farmer Boys is not the right call. The format is open-plan counter service, and there is no private room or dedicated group-booking infrastructure. If you are planning a business lunch, a celebration dinner, or a date night in Riverside, the venues in the comparison section below will serve you significantly better on all of those dimensions. Farmer Boys is functional for what it is; it just is not built for the kind of experience that requires a table to yourself and attentive service.
No booking needed or available. Walk-ins only. Arrive during off-peak hours (mid-morning or mid-afternoon) if you want a quieter room and faster service. The University Ave location draws from a dense student and commuter population, so lunch hours on weekdays can get busy. Booking difficulty: easy by definition.
For planning your broader Riverside visit, see our full Riverside restaurants guide, our full Riverside hotels guide, our full Riverside bars guide, our full Riverside wineries guide, and our full Riverside experiences guide.
Against Riverside's sit-down options, Farmer Boys occupies a different tier entirely. Duane's Prime Steaks & Seafood is the right call if you are spending on a proper dinner: full table service, a serious steak program, and an atmosphere that can carry a celebration or a business meal. It costs considerably more, but the experience gap is proportionate. For a date or a group occasion, Duane's is the clear choice over Farmer Boys.
Le Chat Noir French Restaurant fills the mid-range sit-down gap with French bistro cooking and a more intimate room, making it a better option for anyone who wants something beyond fast-casual without committing to a full steakhouse spend. Monark Asian Bistro is worth considering for groups who want shared plates and a livelier atmosphere in the same accessible price band. For tacos and casual Mexican food in a fast, low-cost format that competes more directly with Farmer Boys, Angels Tijuana Tacos is a sharper option on flavour per dollar. The Chew Chew rounds out the casual end of the Riverside dining scene with a different menu profile worth checking if Farmer Boys is not the format you want.
If you are making a destination dining decision, Riverside and the broader Southern California region connect to some of the country's most serious restaurants. Le Bernardin in New York City, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, The French Laundry in Napa, and Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg represent the kind of investment-grade dining that warrants advance planning. Farmer Boys does not compete in that category, nor does it try to.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farmer Boys | — | ||
| Angels Tijuana Tacos | — | ||
| Duane's Prime Steaks & Seafood | — | ||
| Le Chat Noir French Restaurant | — | ||
| Monark Asian Bistro | — | ||
| The Chew Chew | — |
Comparing your options in Riverside for this tier.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.