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    Vanman’s

    4.1 (103 reviews)
    InexpensiveBurgers
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    Order Vanman’s Takeout or Delivery

    Vanman’s Photos

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    VANMAN’S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Vanman’s

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    Reviews With Photos

    Melanie M.

    I was excited to try this place and was really disappointed. I got an Oklahoma burger with an extra patty & American cheese and a side of fries. They jacked up the prices from the reviews I've read since when they first opened. It cost $4 for an extra patty & $1 for cheese. Fries are $6 and come with ketchup or ranch. I had asked for ranch when I ordered. I ended up only receiving ketchup and it was overly sweet, not good. The burger was too greasy as you can see in the picture. It was also soggy which is probably why I waited 15 minutes for my food. I got it to go and didn't receive any napkins. Luckily I had some in my car because the burger was too greasy & messy. It was $20 for a bad burger and fries. Service was slow and unprofessional. There was a worker sitting at the counter on her phone. I wouldn't come here again.

    Classic Smash Burger
    Eleanor C.

    Good and quick bite in PB after a beach day! Yummy fries and a good ranch, I would like there to be more cheese and smash on the burger. The pickles were good too! Fries were a bit expensive for the size, but the tallow fried was good. Sat outside and it was shaded outside so that was nice. I appreciated the service from the workers, it was efficient and communicated well. This

    The watermelon drink for $4. It's totally delicious and I did not remember to take a photo till I was halfway done
    Angela H.

    Finally went here after wanting to try it out for months and it was worth the wait. My roommate and I both got the classic Smashburger and it was fantastic. You also cannot beat the price of $6. It comes with all the toppings. I got mine without onions he got his without pickles. We also got an order of the Tallow fries which were so good. They put a lot of salt on them but I actually liked it. We also had a 3-year-old with us who loved the fries and asked for more when they were all gone. I ordered the watermelon juice as well and it was absolutely delicious and again $4 you cannot beat that price. I wish I had taken pictures of the food but we just inhaled it so here's a picture of half of my drink left. For parking there is a small lot But there is Street parking As well. The place is rather small but that definitely helps with their prices. You order at the counter and then you wait for your name to be called. There's a few seats inside and outside.

    Stephanie C.

    Working in San Diego. Time for work lunch! Closest place from where I was working. I got the Oklahoma onion and kids tallow fries. Dare I say the fries were better than the burger?? Both delicious in their own ways! The burger sauce!! I'd put that on everything! Quick service. Nice people. Food on the cheaper side. I can do this for lunch any day!

    Cat N.

    This place is highly underrated. Grass fed smash burgers, tallow fries, organic milk shakes and ketchup. If you appreciate cleaner foods without jeopardizing taste or price then this is it. It was so good I even considered going back the next day. I came here with one other person on a weekday and there was a line. The line went fast though. I ended up getting a lettuce wrap Oklahoma burger which included grilled onions. It was oh so good and I highly recommend it. The fries were also really good and went great with their organic house made ketchup. I also got their vanilla milk shake which was probably the best vanilla milk shake I have ever had. It's a must get if you like milk shakes in my opinion. The inside is smaller. There is few bar seating. They also have a small patio outdoor seating area. I cannot wait to come back here.

    Homemade ranch
    Jhenny B.

    Affordable and delicious. Fed my family of 7 under $85. I love the simplicity of their menu. Everything is house made, from the sauces to the drinks. Food is rich and flavorful, quality and quantity. Super happy we finally got to try this place. I also love that they make their own products to purchase, hygiene products, from soaps, deodorant and lip balm, shampoo and more. I think I'll try their line, next time I come in. Service is great. Minimal seating inside and outside. Parking is a bit hard, but is still worth the trouble. Must try!

    Rubber band in the Tallow Fries
    Roger P.

    New smashburger restaurant located in Pacific Beach! I had really high hopes after seeing TikToks and hearing how they use quality, local ingredients. But I ended up leaving disappointed due to the long waits and "just ok" food. When we arrived Sunday for dinner, there was already a line out the door. The plaza has some parking reserved for Vanman's but we just found residential street parking. Wait times were about an hour so we placed our order online and knocked out some errands in the area. Unfortunately, the online ordering system isn't completely functional and doesn't notify you when your order is ready. We had to guess when to return and our food was probably sitting out for awhile since the fries weren't crispy anymore. Once we picked it up, we immediately sat down and ate inside the restaurant. Classic Smash: Maybe because of the rush, the burgers weren't cooked as pictured in social media. The patties didn't have that signature crisp around the edges and the potato bun was way too thick. I agree with someone else's review when they said that the bun just completely takes over. Tallow Fries: I'd imagine that these fries would be super crispy when it's fresh. It's salted just fine but ours were already soggy. I also found a rubber band mixed in with the fries. The homemade ketchup was really good though! It tasted like there was honey mixed in so expect a slight sweetness. Vanilla Milkshake: Not sure what their texture is supposed to be but the milkshake was very liquidy. I wonder if that's normal or if it's because it was sitting out for awhile. But I thought the vanilla flavor was really good and I would like to try their other flavors (chocolate, strawberry). Overall, not a bad meal. The food is very cheap compared to other smashburgers but I thought the burgers were just average and when paired with the long wait, it just wasn't worth it. It seems like they're still figuring out some things but hopefully, the food will improve or at least stay consistent (maybe I got a bad batch).

    Joycee K.

    Had to tried out this place it was too good to be true, clean quality food and affordable? I really like that everything they offer is real clean ingredients Went during dinner time and it was pretty packed even till closing. My boyfriend and I order both the classic burger and an order of tallow fries. We waited about 15/20mins. Burger was huge but it was mostly fillers. The patty is smashed so it's very thin. I prefer my patty thicker than smashed. Their burger sauce is very light and refreshing. I expect it to be a thick heavy sauce. Their ketchup I believe is house made and it has a different taste. The burger is great the only thing I didn't like was the bun ratio to the fillings. The bun was so thick and too much breading. Not the biggest fan of the fries it was just so greasy and salty, my fingers drenched in oil everytime I pick up the fries. I really do love clean quality foods and this place offers it and is affordable but I would want to tweak my order so I can love it even more. Next time I would request no salt on my fries, and for the burger definitely want the cheese to be cold cause I couldn't taste the cheese it look like it desinergated. I do want to come back to try their milkshake!

    Joy Z.

    I really like that this place uses quality, organic, and local ingredients. We came in before the busy lunch hour in a Monday around 11:15am. We placed our order and it took a long time, like over 30 minutes. The burger was good but the bun kinda overwhelmed and took away from the delicious meat flavor. I didn't even remember tasting the cheese when I thought about it later. The fries didn't travel well and definitely didn't look crispy like other people's photos. They were very salty. The vanilla shake was yummy. It tasted like it was made of good quality ice cream which it was. The girls behind the counter were young and clueless. Nice but lacked customer service skills. I asked which burgers were which (ordered 1 without cheese, 1 without pickles and 4 Ok and 4 Classic) and she said I had to open them up to know. They were sealed with stickers and I was bring them to people. I didn't want to open them and give people burgers with ripped stickers. The apple fries were the best thing we ordered. I appreciate that they use organic apples. I'll try the cold brew next time. The prices are really reasonable. There's seating. Parking can be tough. There were lots of cool products made a quality ingredients like tallow, bees wax, honey, like soaps, lip products, deodorants, etc that would make great gifts.

    Van Man logo is this VW vintage van
    Henri V.

    Vanman's on Garnet Ave in Pacific Beach opened over a month ago and is part of the smash burger craze. They occupy the space which was formerly a donut shop in the same complex as Desserts by Clement and parking can be a challenge but free street parking nearby is your best bet. Currently, no outdoor seating, although they have the space and patio for it. Only indoor seating on stools and counters along the windows facing out. I was not familiar with Vanman as a brand of anything: food or stuff. The shop displays lots of merchandise mostly hygiene products: soaps, deodorant, lip balm...all products of which Vanman started the business in prior to the burger biz. On to the burgers, the menu is limited to offering two burgers both grass fed patty. I ordered the Oklahoma style onion smash, tallow fries and an extra patty for my pup. The girl at the counter was helpful and answered my questions, since I knew nothing about Vanman's. Vanman's logo is a vintage VW van as seen throughout the walls as decor. I imagine Vanman as some beachy, earthy, hippie-ish dude who lives in his van and trying to make a living selling hygiene products made from beef tallow and has graduated now to selling grass feed burgers. My order was ready, no table service, you go to the counter and pickup the tray and take a seat. I took pics and noticed the burger patties to be smashed flat and rather oily, but hey there's no seed oils so... I had to try the tallow fries which looked golden, but it looked better than it tasted because the fries needed sea salt...I didn't ask for any salt because I didn't want to eat beyond 3 fries. I waited for the burger patties to cool down, then sponged blotted off as much of the oily excess before hand feeding my pup...and she loved it, she ate an entire patty because it was flatter than a pancake lol My burger looked appealing with the potato buns, which I usually don't eat as I prefer lettuce wrapped but after a couple of bites of the burger, I was a tad disappointed in the fact it lacked flavor. I was hoping the Oklahoma onions would give it a wowness but not much onion taste. The grass feed smashed flat burger patty desperately needed seasoning with the basics: sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper please!! It's better to have under seasoned than over seasoned, over salted but these had zero :( The lack of seasoning, bland tasting burger patties were perfect for my pup who gladly finished my burger patty sans onions of course. Despite the small portions of the tallow fries and the burger I had, I can honestly say, I didn't experience a negative allergic reaction because of the higher quality of the ingredients including the fluffy potato buns. For healthier versions of burger and fries, Vanman's is Worth a try.

    Business sign on an external wall
    Emmett T.

    This PB suite used to be the home of a couple of donut shops before VanMan's Kitchen recently took over as the new tenant. There were about four dedicated parking spaces in front of the building. The business is known for natural health and wellness products, some of which were on display next to the service counter (e.g. soap bars). On-site dining was limited to a row of stools along a countertop facing the south windows. The menu was made up of grass-fed burgers, tallow fries, coffee, cold drinks, desserts, and milkshakes. The burgers were cooked with 100% grass-fed beef finished with beef tallow and butter. The fries used organic potatoes fried in 100% grass-fed/finished beef suet tallow and were served with a side of housemade organic ketchup. Two burger types were available, Classic Smash and Oklahoma Onion. I chose the latter which had American cheese, grilled organic sweet onions, house pickles and burger sauce as condiments. A potato bun was the vehicle for all of the ingredients. For $6, it was a decent sized burger. I wish the onions stood out more as that's what Oklahoma-style is all about. I also ordered a small cup of Organic Lemonade that used freshly squeezed organic lemon juice and organic cane sugar. The drink was neither too tart nor too sweet. I encountered some difficulty in visiting this place because during the initial days of operation, they closed early because items were sold out? Maybe there was a misjudgment on the supply and demand because I had never heard of a burger spot running out of provisions. Anyway, my rating for VanMan's Kitchen was between a three and four star level.

    Oklahoma and tallow fries
    Kristie L.

    The service was friendly. Not super fast but I think it was busy because it is newer. Parking is pretty hard and I almost gave up to get a fast food burger, but glad I found street parking just as I was about to pull away. Super cute inside with a lot of VanMan merch (soap, gum, shirts). Not any tables that I noticed, but all high top chairs along the wall/bench type seating. The tallow fries I ate as soon as I was in the car with my food. So so good. Would come back just for these. The milk shake was good too but on the pricier side. The burger I might skip unless I wanted to add a patty and cheese. The burger to bun ratio wasn't it for me. Though every individual aspect of the burger was delicious, the bun was just too overpowering.

    Soo H.

    Vanman shares a small parking lot with a water place and Clement's.  There was a spot at opening time but none when I left.  Inside was interesting.  In addition to the ordering counter and seating there were lots of health and beauty products. Lemonade had a delicious sweet and sour flavor.  They make it fresh daily and it's much better than that stuff from the soda machine. Fries fried in tallow were crispy and had a delicious fried flavor. Burger with extra pattie was a good size lunch.  I ordered it with just lettuce and tomato.  Lettuce and tomato were fresh and crisp.  Beef was thin and crispy.  Very mild beef flavor.  I would have liked some salt and pepper or bacon to give it more flavor. Ice was crystal clear and refreshing. Very good water filtration here. Staff was nice and efficient.

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    Ask the Community - Vanman’s

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