Shake Shack Central West End — Restaurant in St. Louis

Took my son here for his Birthday lunch, we were going to get a bagel at Einstein Bros. Bakery on our way back from routine lab tests but saw this place and all I had to do was say burger and shake and he was in. It's always fun to try somewhere new, and boy I'm so glad we did. The atmosphere was nice and laid back for an early Friday lunch and while they were relatively busy the staff was friendly and accommodating. Plenty of room for the 20 or so people waiting for their take-out as well as equal number of in-house diners. And Diner is definitely the word for it. You can watch the chef grill your burger and already your mouth is watering. Heck that started as soon as you open the door and smell the great aromas. Very simple short menu as to not be overwhelming so Double Shack Burgers, fries (get the cheese and bacon topping you'll be glad you did.) and shakes to top it off. They have basic shakes made with real ingredients not a bunch of stuff you cant pronounce. But only come in a few flavors Chocolate, Vanilla, a mix of the two, and then 2 specialty shakes that have lots of stuff. I got the Triple Chocolate Chip and it was great. When I got to the bottom I was pleasantly surprised to find bits of pretzel with my chips making it a sweet and salty taste of heaven. AND the burgers are the kind that aren't round and perfectly formed, have the just torn apart, frayed appearance that so few restaurants offer these days. I don't know what it is, but those burgers are always better. And this one did not disappoint juicy and melty and delicious. My son who you know has a local favorite we've been taking him to since he was born, said he couldn't believe it but it was better than that. That's all I needed to bear to know that Birthday #12 Lunch was a success! Thank you Shake Shack, I know its food and what 12 year old boy doesn't love food? But you made his eyes shine and in turn made me look like Awesome...

Good Food, Bad Service and even worse, they Don't Care. Went there for lunch with a group of friends during the week. The line wasn't bad, right about at the door, but nothing crazy. I ordered a double cheeseburger, fries and a shake. For some reason my order took considerably longer than anyone else who ordered at the same time as me, though my order was nothing special. When I approached the counter to inquire about this, I was brushed aside based on the fact that my buzzer hadn't gone off yet. After a few more customers who I recognized as ordering after me received their trays I again inquired and was told by the employee who was traying up the food that she couldn't control what order the food came out in. I tried explaining that something was obviously wrong since I didn't have a special order and I'd been bypassed by people who ordered way after me, she just continued with her job of assembling trays as the food came up and turned her attention to other customers. Finally, after catching the attention of another employee I was able to alert her to the problem and she quickly assembled my order and sent me on my way. No apologies, no comps, nothing. I was then able to join the group I came in with, but by then most had finished or were just finishing up their food. I gave a very similar review to this on the survey link I received on my receipt and included contact information, but never heard anything further from the store or corporate. This was my 1st and last Shake Shack experience. The food was good, but not spectacular enough to overlook the poor service when I'm paying close to $20 for a burger, fries and a shake. You'll find me at Steak n Shake next time, eating lunch for half the price with the average to good service I'd expect from there. Mistakes are going to happen, but if your employees (and Corporate!) don't care to try to fix them or make things right, you're doing...

I stepped up to the register on Monday mid-afternoon. There was no line. The (female) cashier simply looked at me. When it became apparent that I was not going to be greeted or spoken to, I began my order. She processed the order with no comment, rang me out, handed me the buzzer device and told me I would be buzzed when my order was ready.

I waited approx. 6 minutes for my food: two Shackburgers, fries and a Raspberry Ginger Lemonade. I easily found a table, and began to sample the food. I tried the fries first because I prefer them when they're still warm. I found them to be pretty nondescript, in fact, they would have had absolutely no taste had I not dipped them in ketchup. So, what I had read from others about the great fries did not hold true for me.

I then took the top off of the (smallish) burger. I decided to remove that single, pitiful, wilted piece of romaine and toss it. After adding some mustard, I sampled the burger. I found the patty to be heavy and less-than-tender. Though cooked through, it had little flavor. Thank God for the mustard and the onion I had them add. Otherwise, it would have been a disaster.

All the reviews I had read about the "tasty, worth the wait" burger did not ring true to me. And, I'm certainly glad I did not wait in a long line to find all this out! Alas, in the end, I found myself wishing I was sitting down to an In-N-Out Double-Double.

So, to sum up: go to Shake Shack if it is important to you to say you've been to Shake Shack. You can find much better burgers in any number of St. Louis establishments. Five Guys and In-N-Out both rank higher in my estimation. If anyone in Shake Shack management is reading these reviews -- I recommend you take care that your front line associates are representing your business well. Because of the way your cashier failed to properly interact with me, I won't even consider a second visit...