Kathryn K.
Yelp
I had heard a Shake Shack opened up in Carlsbad. And then I saw the crossover promotion Hot Ones and Shake Shack are doing for a Hot Ones Burger, Chicken Sandwich and Cheese Fries and I decided it was time to check the place out. Do NOT FORGET you can get packets of "The Last Dab" hot sauce for extra kick. I forgot and was kicking myself instead.
I will say, I should have taken the receipt and checked it out because I was a little surprised my bill came to just under $40 for a single bacon cheeseburger (the hot ones one), the spicy chicken sandwich, bacon cheese fries (spicy), one strawberry lemonade, and one apple cider doughnut shake/custard thing. My husband and I split this since I wanted to try a bunch of things. Still, this boils down to 2 sandwiches, 1 fry, 1 drink, 1 dessert for $40, including tax and tip. A little pricy for fast casual but not awful I guess?
The manager was talking to people in line as we passed through on our way out. Super personable and friendly.
The food:
Spicy Bacon Cheese Burger - this was great, I'll definitely get the burgers here again and will try some of their regular menu offerings. The Hot Ones crossover is basically just adding a spicy burger sauce (it was good though). A little greasy, but not overly so, just how a good burger should be. Heat level - 5/10. A little heat, but nothing overwhelming.
Spicy Chicken Sandwich - ok, the chicken was cooked well but it was an odd size for the sandwich - the buns aren't huge and it was a thick piece of chicken that only covered half the bun. The breading had some nice spice to it making this a little spicier than the burger, but all in all I preferred the burger. Heat 6/10.
Spicy Bacon Cheese Fries - these are a little over the top. I prefer melted cheese over cheese sauce (which is what this uses). The fries themselves are well-fried crinkle cut, nice fries. There's Aleppo pepper sprinkled on and a spicy dipping sauce (maybe just the spicy burger sauce coming around again). Heat - 5/10, more if you use a ton of sauce, but it gets overwhelming with the cheese and sauce.
Strawberry Lemonade - very nice! Love a house made lemonade. This was on the sweet side. Served with a TON of ice, more ice than lemonade which was a bummer. Not sure if refills are offered, I should have asked but they got busy. If no refills I might just get a fountain drink instead unless I REALLY wanted lemonade. My husband loves strawberry lemonade though so we had to try this.
Apple Cider Doughnut Custard/Shake - they have a lot of different shakes/custards. The very sweet girl helping us at the counter said the apple cider doughnut one was great so we had to try it. They were also kind enough to split this into two cups for us. This was very good but very sweet, definitely dessert in a cup. I'd probably want to try other flavors in the future, but I would also not turn this one down either. Little bits of doughnut were in the shake, so you get hits of cinnamon and pastry.
The interior is really clean and new. They have kiosk ordering kind of awkwardly placed in the middle of where a line forms in the lobby area if you want to order from a person. Apparently there's seating all the way in the back that I missed. I thought it was just outdoor seating.
Seating review: About 10 outdoor tables all in a row down the side of the building. Lots of umbrellas, this was nice. The chairs were armless (appreciated) but were a super tiny/flimsy slatted style. Not very comfortable to sit on, even for a quick lunch. C+ on the chairs. Still prefer these over a narrow armed kind that kill my hips, but they were not my favorite!
Location notes:
The Carlsbad location is in the Beacon shopping plaza which is having quite a renaissance. I have been here several times in the past to various professional offices (financial place, escrow company, Bank) - most of them have moved on but the BofA is still there.
They are really trying to repopulate/update the center and have quite a lot of cool new food places to check out in addition to Shake Shack - right next door is a Jeni's Ice Cream. There's also a Sweet Greens and a couple other placed down the way. The new super fancy butcher is in here too - The Wise Ox. Lots to check out.
Eating outside here was funny because the scent of waffle cones from the ice cream shop next door is pretty overwhelmingly sweet. It's a bit like eating in a candy store!