Shake Shack Menu Items The Staff Won't Even Eat

Ah, Shake Shack — the fast-casual restaurant chain that offers food that's as fun to eat as the company's name is to say. Founded in 2001, the franchise began as a single hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in New York City, as a pop-up for fundraising purposes. However, instead of stopping upon the end of its short-term goal, Shake Shack stuck around and expanded, growing year by year until it developed into a restaurant powerhouse with well over 400 locations around the world.

There is no shortage of positive buzz for the chain's beloved smash burgers, frozen custard, shakes, lemonades, cheese fries, hot dogs, fried chicken, and yet more items on its extensive menu. However, according to online comments from those working behind the scenes, a few of these items may not taste as good as they look. Weird aftertastes and overly expensive items are one thing, but some Shake Shack employees had admitted to staff mistakes that might be hazardous to those with allergies or other dietary restrictions. Here's a list of menu items that many staff members won't even order.

Shake Shack's frozen custard milkshakes are one of its biggest claims to fame, but for a long time, those who avoid dairy were fresh out of luck when hoping to try one. That is, until the Non-Dairy Chocolate Shake came around. While vegans or the lactose intolerant may not be able to try a Cookies and Cream, Strawberry, or Vanilla & Chocolate version, this new shake seemed like a great solution... or is it?

Shake Shack's plant-based custard beverage is made with the milk alternative NotMilk. At least, it's supposed to be. One vegan consumer took to Reddit to question why the dairy-free beverage was still giving them stomach discomfort, and in reply, a self-declared employee let slip that the drink might not be prepared with the most care. "They are vegan but [...] it's entirely possible that they accidentally used normal milk instead of the vegan milk," they wrote of the new shakes. "I work at a Shake Shack and have done it multiple times (usually I catch it)". Yikes. 

While the Non-Dairy Chocolate Shake is safe for dairy-avoidant folks if prepared correctly, this potential hiccup could make it dangerous for those with allergies. You might just want to make your own dairy-free shake at home, where you can have absolute control over what goes into it.

Is there a beverage with a more attractive name than Sunset Lemonade? We aren't sure. This luxurious-sounding Shake Shack drink is made with strawberry juice, lemon juice, the chain's in-house lemonade, and orange zest. These ingredients combine to create a refreshing chilled beverage designed to transport the drinker to a seaside paradise — when made correctly, that is.

There's no doubt that this invigorating seasonal beverage is delicious when made right. However, one alleged employee recently admitted via Reddit that staff members might make mistakes with it. In a post titled "Best lemonade flavor/drink recs?", in which a consumer complained about their Sunset Lemonade tasting bland, this employee explained that the lemonade base is easy for workers to forget about entirely. This mistake, they surmised, is likely because the drink has a much longer list of ingredients than the chain's other offerings, making it easy to muddle. If you decide to go for one of Shake Shack's specialty lemonades, let's hope you get the full list of ingredients included in your cup.

Shake Shack has experimented with Korean barbecue flavors over the years, but mainly in stores in Korea. However, in 2021, some of these special menu items made their way to U.S. locations, and in 2024, the chain introduced the Korean BBQ Burger to the States, to go with their Korean Style Fried Chicken Sandwich and two different types of Spicy Korean BBQ Fries. The burger with crispy onions, scallions, and barbecue sauce certainly sounds tempting, but beware – as of April 2024, claims of food poisoning surrounding the new item have popped up across the net.

Multiple Redditors have taken to the forum to share their unfortunate experiences. "Food poisoning from Korean BBQ Burger at San Diego," reads the title of one of these online confessionals, and a responding employee notes their lack of surprise over the incident in the comment section. In another thread, a user claimed their significant other had fallen ill after having eaten the burger, and a responding commenter echoed, "I also got food poisoning from the Korean BBQ Burger." While these incidents involving the new sandwich may be few and far between, you might want to think twice before ordering.

Veggie-based alternatives to meaty dishes such as burgers seem to be all the rage in the restaurant industry. Shake Shack currently offers two different plant-based burgers on its menu: the 'Shroom, which uses a gigantic fried portobello mushroom as a patty, and the Veggie Shack, which uses a patty made of sweet potatoes, quinoa, farro, carrots, and mushrooms.

At first glance, you'd likely expect either of these options to be safe for vegan eaters, as in completely free of any animal byproducts. Think again: The 'Shroom Burger contains an avalanche of melted cheese in the center that's only revealed after a consumer bites into it, and the Veggie Shack comes with cheese already added into the patty. Even asking for no cheese doesn't fix the problem, either. The buns used to sandwich both patties contain dairy, as well. 

Online discussions show that both of these dishes have caused some major confusion for vegan eaters, so if this dietary guideline applies to you, you may want to do some pre-planning on how — or if — you can make one of these options work for you before your next order.

Shake Shack's famous smashed burgers generally come highly recommended by consumers and employees. It's not uncommon to stumble across online reviews declaring the franchise as the king of the burger chains, but nothing can be perfect 100% of the time — and in this case, the human error might be your own. A big mistake that's guaranteed to downgrade your Shake Shack burger is getting your burger to-go. We're serious: Dining in-house instead of ordering to-go or opting for delivery can be the difference between a perfect burger and a soggy sandwich with buns that are dripping in grease.

The evidence that Shake Shack's products do not maintain their excellence after a drive back home can be seen on various online platforms. One of the first questions asked by presumed employees on Reddit when consumers report soggy buns is "Did you get it delivered?". Perhaps this is one of the aspects that really makes Shake Shack "fast-casual" instead of just fast food, as the latter is pretty much meant to be taken home with you. You might just answer differently the next time a Shake Shack cashier asks if your meal is for here or to go.

To create a list of some of the menu items that are looked down upon by the staff of Shake Shack, both employee admissions posted to discussion forums on Reddit as well as supporting customer complaints and feedback were scrupulously examined. That being said, food and taste is subjective, and individual experiences in regard to these products may vary.