Cry Cheeseburger Samseong Station — Restaurant in Seoul

Tastes just like a regular American cheeseburger. But sometimes that's just what you need if you're a foreigner living in Korea.

The best thing about this place is the prices. For two people, we got a double cheeseburger each, two orders of cheese fries, and a milkshake to share for under 20k ₩ (about 20 USD), and we were absolutely stuffed. A regular cheese burger is only a few thousand won, and a combo (with fries and a drink) was less than a combo at McDonald's.

Everything comes with hidden bonuses, too. The cheese fries had more than just cheese, the burgers come with lots of veggies, and even the soda machines have flavourings next to them if you want Cherry Pepsi!

The location is a bit hard to find (the entrance is below street level), but other than that it's a great place to go if you want a burger that tastes authentically American in Seoul (without going to a chain like McD). Just be sure not to eat the inner wrapper around the burger, which is...

Cry Cheese is the brainchild of a local entrepreneur who got hooked on In-N-out Burgers while in the U.S. as a grad student. He came home, assumed a top-level position in the family biz, as is the usual with those kinds, and immediately set about creating his own homage. The results: Cry Cheese, which is about as close as anyone will get to In-and-out in terms of price and quality in this part of the world. The menu is simple enough and the burgers are on point. The location is a bit obscure, as it's basically the B-1 level of an office building a block away from the COEX. Good thing is there is basement parking for customers for $2 in the back of the building. There's always a lot of customers inside, which attests to how popular the place is, but it's never jam packed and the wait -- around 5~10 minutes after ordering -- is perfectly acceptable. Highly recommended and a lot better and better value than the pricey and overrrated...

Cry Cheese Burger in Seoul, often compared to the famous In-N-Out, has some great features like free-flow soft drinks, which add to the overall experience. However, my visit left me a little underwhelmed.

I decided to try their burger with the optional "animal sauce" and grilled onions for an extra 1,000 won. The first few bites were amazing – the rich sauce and sweet grilled onions created a burst of flavor that set this burger apart. Unfortunately, the enjoyment didn't last. The sauce and onions were concentrated on one side of the burger, leaving the rest feeling like an ordinary cheeseburger you could find anywhere.

While the front of the burger might look Instagram-worthy, the uneven distribution of toppings made the subsequent bites lackluster. If the sauce and onions were spread more evenly throughout, this could easily be a 5-star experience.

For now, I'm giving it 3 stars – it’s good, but there's definite room for...