Allen V.
Yelp
Price: $$$
Food: 6.5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Dishes tried:
Korean bbq double cheese burger (add garlic aioli)
Spicy korean bbq fries
Soda
Side of ranch
Shake Shack, while a staple burger franchise and slight rarity in the golden state of California, still continues to disappoint me every time I have it. Granted, I've never had Shake Shack in the East Coast so that experience might be different.
All my dishes with a soda came out to well over $20 and on an empty stomach, was still left not full, but content. I would expect at least to spend that much for a burger and "meal" (they don't do meals at Shake Shack) to be stuffed or at least have left overs.
The korean bbq burger wasn't too bad. The flavor was there, but was too mild for my liking. However, adding the garlic aioli to the burger was a definite boost and increased my enjoyment of what would have been a subpar and expensive small burger.
The spicy korean bbq fries were nowhere near spicy nor had any korean bbq flavor at all. The korean dipping sauce that came with it was also lacking in any flavors I would think of (soy sauce, gochujang, gochugaru, kimchi, bulgogi, sesame, etc.). Instead, the fries had a mild seasoning like a non-salted Lawry's seasoning salt and the korean bbq dipping sauce tasted more like a vinaigrette. Thankfully, I had some ranch one of my friends gave me and it saved the day. Their ranch is amazing! I would put it a notch below or at the same level as Wing Stop ranch but for different reasons.
I will say the highlight of this establishment is the customer service. While most ordering happens at one of four of the ordering terminals, I decided to order up front in person because I couldn't add the garlic aioli I wanted to on my burger from the terminal. The worker that helped me was very quick, polite, patient, and not to mention, positive about helping. This atmosphere of customer service definitely comes from the great attitudes of the employees and permeates the establishment. While being seated outside, one of the workers came along often to help clear our finished foods and even brought us an extra ranch upon asking, which isn't something I would expect from a fast service restaurant. My friend's gave her a great review afterwards.
Overall, I would say the quality and portion of the food for the price here is extremely not worth it unless you're in here for the novelty and want to try a popular chain that's not to common on the west coast. If there is something you should get while here, at least get that garlic aioli on your burger and some fries with a side of ranch! And treat the workers here as great as they treat you!