White Castle — Restaurant in Paradise

I ate here twice in two days.

I just learned that White Castle opened two restaurants in Shanghai, my hometown, in 2017 and 2019. I found this out about 10 minutes ago through CNBC's Why Isn't White Castle a Fast-Food Giant?

I also learned on Weibo, China's counterpart to X, that both Shanghai White Castle restaurants closed in 2021. What a pity!

I first discovered White Castle through Jim Gaffigan's book Food: A Love Story, which I translated into Chinese and published in 2017. From that book, I learned about the mini hamburger in New York.

Later, I went to New York and lived in New Windsor, NJ, for six weeks. I tried Katz's, but I didn't get the chance to try White Castle. When I returned to LA, I realized there was no White Castle in all of California. It seemed like more of a Midwestern specialty.

On a trip to Las Vegas, I was walking down the Strip from north to south, hunting for good food--too many options. When I passed the Venetian, I noticed a White Castle attached to the Royale Casino. Whoa, it was a White Castle!

When I walked in, the restaurant was dark, much darker than a normal fast-food chain. I almost regretted stepping inside, thinking the food couldn't be good.

Fortunately, I was wrong--I had a very good meal. Thank you, White Castle.

I went back twice in two days.

The Food I Had

DOUBLE CHEESE SLIDER – 5/5 The first thing I tried was the Double Cheese Slider, and it went far beyond my expectations. The bun was warm and soft--warm but not hot--just the right temperature to bite into. The patty was very meaty, though so tiny. Should I call it a patty? A beef sheet? A beef cake? Despite its size, it was satisfying. The pickle added great flavor to the burger. Remember to ask for extra free pickles when you order, and definitely choose jalapeño cheese.

THE ORIGINAL SLIDER® – 5/5 It's strange--the Original Slider® only has one beef patty with some onion and pickles. Normally, more is better, but here, less is also good. It's very tasty.

FRENCH FRIES – 4/5 Classic crinkle-cut fries: crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. This is exactly how their website describes them, and it's true. Crunchy yet soft--very good.

PANKO BREADED FISH SLIDER – 3/5 More than 30 years ago, I had a McDonald's Filet-O-Fish® in Shanghai. It was the first time I ate fish without bones, and I never imagined fish could be eaten that way. Even though I rarely had McDonald's afterward in China, that first experience left a strong impression. That's why I ordered the Panko Breaded Fish Slider. Unfortunately, it didn't stand out. Maybe it's because the Double Cheese Slider was just too good by comparison.

GOOEY BUTTERCAKE-ON-A-STICK – 4/5 So tiny, so cute, almost like a toy. The cake was dense and sweet, far beyond my stereotype of cake. I always thought cakes were light and fluffy, but this one was heavy and...

I have been wanting to try this place for a while and was in Vegas, so I decided to give it a shot. This location is on Fremont, so unless you're there for the experience and have to park, then scope it out, but it is difficult to find parking just to get down for the food only. We went around 1 a.m., and the place was jamming with people. Ended up, taking about 45 min from time I walked in to time I walked out. I was disgusted by what I had seen while waiting. A homeless man with a hospital band on his wrist walked in and grabbed a soda cup off a random table that someone had left. He went up to the counter and asked for a refill. The guy behind the counter asked him for a receipt, but he obviously couldn't produce it, so he grabbed the cup and proceeded to look around the restaurant until he found a receipt. He went back up to the counter as he wiped his nose with his hand and placed the cup back in top. The same employee looked at him, grabbed the cup, and told him he was not getting a refill because he knew he did not buy the drink and proceeded to throw the cup behind the counter trash. That's all fine and dandy, but the employee then proceeded to start making burgers again, grabbing the cheese and placing it in the burgers. I called him to the counter and brought his attention to how he just touched that cup that he knew a homeless man just randomly requested a refill in and threw it in the trash without changing his gloves and proceeded to touch all the food after. Needless to say, he got upset and said he did change them..to which I responded Nope..I been watching you the whole time because of what I saw. He walked away from me and continued to make the food. Then I saw him slip to the back and grab new gloves, and he walked back out, putting them on. I was glad he listened and finally changed them but felt bad for the peoples food he touched before I called him on it. There are so many people in/out that one person should be designated to refills and other things that don't require one to handle a cup and then go back to making food without changing gloves. Employee need to be trained better in being sanitary. I will not be going back and I don't recommend. If you read my review, please hit the like...

Honestly, the grossest place I've ever been to... ever. We were excited to try White Castle for the first time, but was totally let down from the moment we walked in.

Location: we walked 30 minutes from our hotel. Located right by the venetian resort, along with many many other food places. It is attached to a casino.

Atmophere: very dirty. There were people sleeping at tables (didnt take a photo out of respect of those ppl), trash on tables, mayo smeared on tables, trash overflowing cans, the drink station was messy with spilled sticky soda. Behind the register you can see food being made and the counters were messy with food pieces, especially onions. The whole place smelled like cigarettes from the attached casino. In our time there (about 1 hour) nobody ever wiped the tables or cleaned anything. Guests were literally standing around trying to decide which table seemed less disgusting.

Service: all of the workers seemed like they have died on the inside. No smiles. All frowns and slow motion moving. No welcomings. They're just going through the motions to get through the day. I'm sure they deal with alot of situations/ppl but during this time, there were no disgruntled customers even though several people were waiting very extensive amounts of time for their sliders due to slow service.

Food: not good quality. Seriously, just go buy the frozen ones from Walmart- tastes the same. The fries tasted terrible- stale and old grease taste. We ordered plain sliders with just cheese added but they added pickles too, so we spent time taking pickles off of 10 sliders. We trashed the fries. The drink fountain hardly worked. Most sodas ran clear. No tea in the machine.

Price: not worth it. For their 10 sliders, 2 reg fries and 2 drinks it was $30. And it didn't even taste good. Spend that $30 on a quality meal from a place that cares.

Overall, don't go. It's not worth it. Very disappointed and let down. Go somewhere clean,...