In-N-Out Burger — Restaurant in Culver City

From an outsider's point of view (a Floridian one at that), it may be difficult to recognize the craze behind In-N-Out. You walk up to the store and just gawk at not only the length of the drive-thru line, but also as the eat-in line as well. As a result of so many people present, there isn't really anywhere to sit if you prefer indoor seating, but that really isn't the restaurant's fault. Well, it sort of is but I'm sure when they first built the place, they didn't anticipate the sheer volume of bodies that would be moving through the doors (and pavement).

Anyways, on to the food. First off, the prices are very fair if you're used to the normal McDonald's or any other fast food fare. But the best thing about the place is how dang simple the menu is. You literally just choose a size of burger (i.e. double) with or without cheese, add fries if you want them, and a drink. And that's it! No fuss, no chain-specific names, nada.

It takes a bit to come out, but when you're order 83 and they're calling for 72, you just kind of have to bear with it since there are so many people there dealing with it just the same.

The burgers themselves aren't really "to die for", I mean it's literally just another fast food restaurant with the only specialization being the sauce they smother in the sandwich. Don't get me wrong, they're filling and tasty. The meat is cooked well, the toppings are simple (if you asked for any), and the bread is soft. The overall simplicity of the sandwich lends to its popularity (well, other than it not being available anywhere else but the west coast).

The fries are reminiscent of Pik-Nik shoestring potatoes in both texture and flavor. For those who don't know what that is, they're basically potato sticks that you'd find in a grocery store, usually packaged in a can. But that's just for comparison. The fries are alright, but from my experience, could use a little bit more salt and it would also help if they were a tad crisper. The burgers are the stars here.

Anyways, if you've made it this far into the review, then you should already get the gist. Yes, it's a must-try if you haven't had it before. But no, it's nothing fancy, so your expectations shouldn't be that of a gourmet burger. If you're on the west coast and looking for a fast food alternative that is uniquely west coast, then this is the...

The review ratings for this location are way too high. Burgers are a mess and they don’t provide a safe space to eat.

Last night (Dec. 14, 2024) a group of privileged white male teenagers terrorized the store, randomly screaming and even throwing food across booths (a projectile French fry hit a poor lady in the head). The kids were sitting in a booth right next to a quiet family with a baby and grandmother. The one pathetic security guy did NOTHING. He conveniently disappeared when stuff started to go down. The workers at the registers only announced over their microphone “…and no throwing food…” in-between calling order numbers. The kids were there long enough to go back up and order more food and get in-n-out hats.

Nothing was done about the kids. They didn’t even try to kick them out and instead sold them more product?? Incomprehensible.

For the food- the burgers here are somehow soggier than other locations. (Wet lettuce or runny special sauce?). I also ordered whole grilled onions on my burger but they were just whole, not grilled. Ordered my fries Light Well and they were definitely fully Well. Confirmed they got my order right, both were correctly listed on the receipt. Dunno if the burger buns were all stale but the bread was also breaking apart easily- the top brown part cracked while I ate it. Maybe their supply.

If you can’t provide a safe space for good customers you...

I was there during a lunch before go to a Costco nearby and honestly it wasn’t too crowded as many people say. I eat inside so I am not sure about drive through but inside the restaurant I waited around 5 minutes in the line. Many people say that it is super crowded so probably I just got lucky. I also was able to find a table.

As far as food, it was great. I got classic double-double meal and it was better then I expected. In my experience in “crowded places” food tastes not good but this restaurant is exceptionally good. Burger was juicy and tender. All ingredients tasted fresh. Fries was good even though I am not a big fan of In-N-Out fries. Prices here are pretty good compared to some other fast food chains.

The restaurant itself is clean. There is a small restroom and I expected it to be busy and dirty but it was clean and free. There were no problems with drink machine. The staff is friendly and they clean tables pretty frequently.

Overall, I would probably not recommend this place if you just want to eat some “In and out” but if you go to Costco nearby and want to have some food - it is definitely...