Shake Shack Korean menu review: Is the new Korean BBQ Burger worth it?

Korean BBQ Burger

Here’s how Shake Shack describes the Korean BBQ Burger:

100% Angus beef cheeseburger topped with crispy sweet onions, fresh scallions and a savory, salty Korean BBQ sauce on a toasted potato bun.

For full transparency, in my opinion the original Shake Shack burger is pretty much untouchable. Hot, buttery bun, crisp smash burger… It’s great stuff. Other restaurants may have surpassed it since, but all the bells and whistles in the world can’t improve on initial perfection.

That said? This Korean BBQ Burger was loads better than the chicken sandwich. The crispy, sweet onions were exactly as their name implied (crispy, and sweet), though were clumped together on top so I ended up accidentally pulling them all off after the second bite. The scallions also really helped with freshness, and to give the burger some needed crunch (after I ate the onions).

But the stand-out is the Korean BBQ Sauce, which pays off on the “swicy” and “umami” promise of the new line. It’s definitely got a little kick to it, but gives a nice umami mouthfeel at the end. Add in the usually solid Shake Shack burger, and overall this was a winner.