Derek W.
Yelp
I went to this Shake Shack twice: once during the Shack Challenge, and the other to redeem my free burger/sandwich reward from said challenge.
My review of The Market Place location in Irvine mentioned that a $1 Shack Hack of a fountain drink would count as a valid order for the Shack Challenge, and that's actually what I did on my first visit here. I wanted to rest for a little while, but it was early evening when I went, and I definitely didn't want to go to a coffee shop at that time of day. I placed my order in the app for the $1 fountain drink and picked it up just a couple minutes later.
When I first arrived, there was a girl who immediately greeted me and offered to assist. I told her my name for pickup, and she immediately went and retrieved my Large Coke Zero. Yes, you read that right. The $1 Shack Hack includes the Large size, so why not?!
There were plenty of empty tables inside, so I sat at one and sipped on my drink while scrolling through my phone. Suddenly, it felt like a coffee shop, but with a soft drink replacing the coffee lol. The ambience was great, the noise level was reasonable, and the Coke Zero I was sipping on really hit the spot after a busy weekend being out and about.
On my second visit, I went to redeem my reward of a free burger/sandwich. They had recently rolled out the French Onion Soup Burger on their menu, and I wanted to give that one a try. This particular burger can be ordered with one, two, or three patties, and knowing that the free reward would encompass all three, I chose the trifecta.
After placing my order on my phone, the app gave me an estimated wait time of 7 minutes, which was quite fast I thought! I would have expected at least 10 to be honest!
I came in well before my scheduled pickup time, and there were no employees at the front to assist customers, contrary to my first visit. With the exception of the table closest to the triple filtered water station, all the tables by a window or wall were occupied. I sat at that table for ease of access to the water as well as napkins.
From that table, I could see the employees working in the kitchen, but none of them noticed me waiting there. I didn't bother to flag down an employee from the back until a couple customers came in a minute before my scheduled pickup time to pick up their order. I then went up and told an employee my name for pickup, knowing I might have to wait a minute or two more. She went to the back to check on my order, and while she was bagging up my order, another employee asked for my name for pickup. She really waited until after I told her co-worker my name before asking that question??
Anyways, even though service was off at that time, the first employee I spoke to came up to the counter and beckoned to me to pick up my takeout bag. I could tell they were working hard in the kitchen, but maybe a little too hard that they forgot to cover the register at the front.
My takeout bag contained the Triple French Onion Soup Burger alongside three packets of ketchup and a sizable stack of napkins, all within a cardboard tray that was about the same length as the bag. It got a little tricky to take the tray vertically straight out of the bag, but once I did, I was able to feast on the behemoth of this burger!
Well, at least the patties were a behemoth, but the same can't be said for the French Onion flavor as it wasn't as prevalent as I hoped, especially for the price point. Most of the flavor ended up on the wrapper, but the gruyere cheese really stole the show here! I absolutely loved how ooey gooey cheesy it was, and I wish the same could have been said for the onions as well. The burger also includes parmesan aioli, but I didn't distinctly remember tasting it. It was likely meshed with the gruyere cheese, some of which got stuck on the wrapper.
They have a few kiosks by the front door to take your order, which might explain why there wasn't any employee stationed at the front counter on my last visit. However, I did see an employee assist a customer ordering at a kiosk.
While I did enjoy the burger, I think you wouldn't be missing out on much if, say, you got some other triple burger for a few dollars less. Granted, I could have added some ketchup, but I shudder to ponder what the francophones would say about that. If I were to rate this Shack Shack on this last visit alone, I would have been vacillating between 3 and 4 stars. However, since I had a pleasant first visit here, I'll round up to 4.
Also, if you're trying to get in on the Shack Challenge fun, sorry, but it has ended already. However, if you have the reward, but haven't redeemed it yet, here's another Shack Hack, this time from yours truly: The fine print mentions that the free burger/sandwich can be up to $16.99 in value. However, the Triple French Onion Soup Burger is actually more than that, yet I still didn't get charged upon redemption of the reward! You do get charged for add-ons, however, like bacon and avocado.