We went to Shake Shack West Midtown this past Sunday. The burgers and shakes were delicious. These are still some of the best burgers around anywhere, not just Atlanta. Having gone to several locations inside and outside of Georgia over the years, the brand has done a good job with quality and consistency across locations, in my opinion.
A few things that set this location apart, from my experience:
1. Better presentation. Whoever prepared our burgers on Sunday did a terrific job with the presentation. Shake Shack burgers are already, by design, supposed to be presented nicely. However, the burgers that we got here looked extra nice; a bit more care and detail went into their presentation. I appreciated that. Take a look at my pictures to see what I'm talking about.
2. Temperature. We dined in. Our burgers were freshly cooked and quickly served. They came out very hot, off the flat-top griddle. I actually had to wait and let the burgers cool off a bit, at first, before continuing to bite into them.
3. Greasier. I could just be misremembering or it's what I ordered (the Carolina BBQ Burger with Fried Pickles), but the burgers here were greasier than I remember the burgers at the other locations being. I also had some of my wife's ShackBurger to compare to the other locations.
Anyway, we all generally enjoyed the food and service was good too. This is a solid Shake Shack location. For more details, keep reading.
This Shake Shack replaced Yeah! Burger at Westside Provisions District (WSPD). Yeah! Burger was a fixture on the Westside for 12 years; it opened on June 10, 2010 and closed on June 11, 2022. Shake Shack then opened in this spot about six months later, on December 20, 2022. There are eight Shake Shack locations in metro Atlanta at the time of writing this review, in late June 2025.
We parked in the nearby WSPD garage and paid $4.50 to park. Currently, the self-parking rates are: 0-2 hours $4.50, 2-4 hours $6.50, 4-8 hours $11.50, and up. Unfortunately, Shake Shack does not validate unlike other businesses at WSPD (e.g., lululemon validates).
If you've never been to a Shake Shack before, the restaurant style is American fast-casual. Like other locations, this one has self-serve ordering tablets (4). If you dine in, you take a number and your order is served to your table on a tray. The West Midtown restaurant space is contemporary in design and aesthetically appealing. The storefront, patio, and outdoor step seating look nice and blend in stylistically with the higher-end WSPD look. The dining room inside and the patio outside are sizable. The patio is covered and has fans and string lights.
Here's what three of us had:
Burgers
* ShackBurger (Double $9.99) - cheese, lettuce, tomato, ShackSauce
* SmokeShack (Double $11.49) - cheese, bacon, cherry peppers, ShackSauce
* Carolina BBQ Burger with Fried Pickles (Double $11.99) - pepper jack cheese, applewood-smoked bacon, tangy-sweet Carolina-style BBQ sauce
Sides
* Fries ($4.49) with a side of ShackSauce
* Fried Pickles with Buttermilk Ranch ($4.99)
Shakes
* Oreo Cookie Funnel Cake ($6.49 plus $0.50 for sprinkles)
* Banana Pudding ($6.49 plus $0.50 for sprinkles)
The ShackBurger was terrific as ever. It's perhaps the quintessential cheeseburger to me. The ShackSauce differentiates it. Shake Shack's ShackSauce is like McDonald's Big Mac sauce or In-N-Out's spread. All are mayo-based, creamy, sweet, and tangy. In comparison, I believe ShackSauce is slightly less sweet and slightly more tangy. It's good and also perfect for dipping Shake Shack's crinkle-cut fries in, which is why we got a side of it. Shake Shack's fries are pretty standard.
This was my first time having the Carolina BBQ Burger with Fried Pickles. I thought it was good, but not great. I prefer the traditional ShackBurger. The Carolina BBQ Burger had a lot going on with the bacon, barbecue sauce, and Fried Pickles which, while I don't mind them, I'm not the biggest fan of. The burger was too rich and intense for me. So, I'm not knocking the burger or the person who made it because objectively, I think it was executed well; it's just a personal preference.
This is only the second time the Carolina BBQ Burger has been made available by Shake Shack. It's part of the company's 2025 Summer BBQ Menu. They debuted the burger as part of the Summer BBQ Menu last year (2024). The Fried Pickles side is new as of this year. My wife liked them, but they were just alright for me. The portion size here was underwhelming and disappointing. I don't think they gave us enough.
The Banana Pudding shake was excellent. Both it and the Oreo Cookie Funnel Cake shake are also part of the limited-time summer menu. The shakes were hand-made/hand-spun (I caught a glimpse of the staff making the shakes). The 50-cent rainbow sprinkles are also only available for a limited time: June and July 2025.
The ingredients are better quality than typical fast food (e.g., 100% Angus beef, cage-free eggs). read more