Shake Shack Korea in Gangnam

When Shake Shack announced it will open its first branch in Korea, the foodie groups on Facebook were excited. Shake Shack Korea first branch is located in Gangnam and they opened on July 22nd. There was a long line as early as 8 o’clock in the morning ~ a friend posted two photos on her way to work. The line has not ended yet ~
I have never tried Shake Shack burgers until I visited their Gangnam branch. I usually stay in California when I visit the US and we often eat at In-n-Out, Five Guys and The Habit. The latter is my favorite. My son’s first hamburger is In-n-Out and I remember we went to their Studio City branch. He doesn’t like McDonald’s but he would eat In-n-Out and The Habit whenever we visit LA.
I went to Shake Shack Korea last Wednesday, August 10th. I was in line at 12:03 and there was a long line. The nurse (yes they have a male nurse) advised the people on the line to call him if they ever felt dizzy. There were two gigantic electric fans and one crew was handing out fans, ice packs and umbrellas.

It took a full hour before I could get inside. There is also a line to the counters and I had to wait another 15 minutes for my turn. I had memorized my order while waiting in line outside. I recited it by heart to the crew who took my order ~ a shroom burger, smoke shack, PB shake, rootbeer and cheesie fries. I paid 33,500 won and I was told to wait for about 10 minutes for my order. I only had to wait eight minutes 🙂 Finding a seat was not a problem that time ~ there were about four in sight.

So I got my order and glad that there was no mistake ~

Shroom burger is a breaded portobello mushroom with cheese, tomatoes and a green lettuce. Apparently it is vegetarian.
Smoke Shack is a delightful blend of bacon, hearty beef patty, cheese and cherry pepper relish. No tomatoes nor lettuce.
Cheesy fries is crinkle cut fries and you could choose to have the cheese as dipping sauce or have it poured all over the fries.
In the news, they said that the way to eat the fries is to dip it in the shake. It was good and my companion, Gennie, agreed.
I like the Smoke Shack burger’s cherry pepper relish. The bacon tasted too salty for my taste but I like the texture of the burger buns ~ firm and not spongy.
The PB shake is delish! It wasn’t mine but Gennie shared it with me. I ordered a black and white shake and a single burger to go.
I will go back so my husband can try it but never would I fall in line that long again ~ so I will just wait for the hype to subside.

So here is the line at around 3pm ~

The restaurant is closest to SINNONHYEON station on line 9. Get out from exit 5 and walk just a few meters until you see THE line.