CaliBurger
98 Yanping Lu,
Jing An
near Xinzha Lu
延平路98号
近新闸路
021-52397728
Open Sun-Thur 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-4am
Price Less than Y99 per couple
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- City Weekend says
This budding burger chain focuses on making fresh burgers and fries. Its signature burgers include the CaliDouble, the "Wild Style" (one or two mustard-cooked patties) and "Garden Style" (lettuce instead of bun). It's also got their own wine label (from the Napa Valley) and spiked milkshakes.
- Contributor Description
Bringing the highest quality hamburgers, french fries, and shakes to emerging markets, CaliBurger's products consist of only the freshest and highest quality ingredients. Our juicy all-beef patties are imported from Australia, fresh never frozen. We offer, seasonally, fresh-cut fries that are cut from real potatoes in-store. We only use the freshest and highest quality vegetables, which you can immediately taste the difference. We also pride ourselves on having great service.
We deliver within 2 kilometers of CaliBurger.
Reviews
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@ Claire who writes "it definitely beats McDonalds. All hail CaliBurger!" That is about as meaningless a statement as it gets. Everything beats McDonalds. As for Caliburger fries? I can't think of a worst one. They are a delivery system for oil. In the basket that was served to me, everyone was limp and soft. You pick one up and it falls over. not a single one was crunchy enough to stand straight. Like they say, no accounting for taste. One person's 'all hail Caliburger' is another's gross out. Each to their own, huh?
The 24-hour delivery option is sinfully good. You do have to live nearby, but it definitely beats McDonalds. All hail CaliBurger!
I go there for the bourbon milkshakes and stay there for the wine and lettuce burgers. Also, they now have one of those arcade basketball things but still, bourbon milkshakes...
In N Out > CaliBurger it is not in any way similar to In N Out. P.s. Caliburgers fries are awful, now I wonder is this because of the oil they use?
In case anyone is still interested in the food, the Spiked Shakes are awesome -- just enough bourbon to give me a buzz while not killing the milkshake goodness
To be clear, when I said that they got "paid out", I mean that they settled out of court but got paid.
@phillip. as someone criticizing a reporter for not doing his research, you i got it wrong. actually In-N-Out has many dine-in spots. Some dine-ins are very small (15 capacity) while others are huge. None the less, I don't ever recall an In-N-Out that didn't have a dine-in option after 20 odd years of living and eating there, and yes, i do prefer to dine-in rather than drive-thru.
my gripe with this spot is that they do/did all they can to copy the in-n-out experience and recipe, even so far as hiring an ex-manager(?) of an Innout store (who probably knew a great deal about the recipes), and called it flattery to be imitating Innout.
More details here: http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/articles/blogs-shanghai/shanghai-dining/caliburger-vs-n-out-final-resolution/
Geoff, actually you are wrong. Your statement belies the fact that you don't know much about the subject. Enforcing its intellectual property rights half a world away might seem a challenge, sure, but not when Caliburger's Articles of Incorporation are filed in the State of California, where their corporate headquarters are located, in the City of Diamond Bar. This gives In N Out and any other company the legal right to sue in California for damages including trademark, copyright, and property infringements,etc. In N Out filed its lawsuit in Santa Ana District Court and did successfully sue and won their lawsuit, which is why they forced Caliburger to change some of its decor, menu items and names including the use of In N Out's trademarked Animal Fries. This is all public knowledge and readily accessible. As a professional reporter, which is your profession, one would expect you to do your homework first before reporting the facts.
@phillyv, You got it backwards. I'm pretty sure Caliburger got paid out, and not the other way around. In-N-Out didn't have trademarks here in China so Caliburger got and started using them.
@Spartan. Not exactly. I think it could be said that this company has adopted much of the In N Out menu and adapted much of the In and Out business model but not all of either. My understanding is that In N Out did successfully sue CaliBurger for trademark infringement and CaliBurger has paid a judgement in that case. But in deference to CaliBurger, the overall experience is different. Besides, In N Out is a drive through in Los Angeles. Nobody gets out of their car to eat an In N Out burger. And, then there is In N Out's totally mysterious 'secret sauce'.
Is it true CaliBurger is pretending to be from California. And that they tried to trademark a bunch of In N Out things in China?
Visited here on a work trip and stopped by on a tip from a co-worker... burgers were pretty good and def has clean bathrooms for china! Hoping they can add sake infused drinks and maybe a turkey burger ;)
Haha, I only heard about CaliBurger from an (inside?) review on the Munchies page. Anyhow, CaliBurger's food and service is way better, but I have to dock one star for the limited menu -- awesome burgers and fries, but really no other food offerings at this time. That said, I will definitely go back to try a "Spiked Shake" (went a bit early in the day for bourbon).
These burgers are so good! Especially at 3am. I wish I lived closer!
We have been following feedback and have made many improvements since we first opened. The restaurant interior was redone since we first opened to create a more inviting and comfortable atmosphere. We also added combo meals at reduced prices. We pride ourselves on our ingredients. Yes, our beef is imported from Australia, fresh never frozen. We recently upgraded our fries: they are now fresh cut from real potatoes in-store. And we only use the freshest and highest quality produce. We are now open 24 hours, and deliver 24 hours if you are within 2km of the store. We appreciate all the feedback. Thank you to everyone who's tried CaliBurger and those who continue to enjoy our burgers and milkshakes.
I like the salad burgers without the bun, very health :-)
What gets me is that this is the third time that I know of that someone associated with CaliBurger has written glowing reviews and not disclosed their affiliation with the place. This is particularly irritating, as I actually like CaliBurger...
Wow, some people really have too much free time. Post your negative review and move on. Upon further review, I was mistaken, they actually import their beef from Australia, and all the produce is local. In the end, my opinion is the same: I love the burgers. And I liked the girls. I also like hooters girls. I like girls period. Disclaimer: I am not an employee, but I do know the people involved.
I just checked the CaliBurger site regarding the origin of its foodstuffs: CaliBurger’s Chef Jonathan Wong had this to say: What has really been the issue is quality control when dealing with the vendors. What we’ve done to solve this problem is go to the distribution markets, contact the farmers that the vendors are getting their produce from and source the highest quality ingredients. It took all summer to actually go to these facilities and see how they’re storing this produce, like if the produce is just sitting out in the warehouse or if they actually have a cold facility for the lettuce.
CaliBurger: We’re using a high-quality cut of Australian beef, but if you can get a rib-eye burger, have a rib-eye burger.
Narfs: I was correct in thinking that the produce comes from China. The beef however comes from Australia not the US. The buns I would guess are baked here. As for the processed cheese? The Chinese can duplicate and replicate anything, right? Especially easy is the ubiquitous 'Kraft single'.
Well, technically most of the fast food joints use American imported beef...... from Cargill frozen foods .... hahaha... duh. KFC does imports the chicken fillets straight from Brazil though..
Narfs, aside from the costs, the carbon footprint left from flying those ingredients in would be extraordinarily irresponsible, wouldn't it? It's a kind of malfeasance in corporate responsibility in the age of global warming to use a California grown head of iceberg lettuce, let alone then to pass that unnecessary expense on to the consumer.
@Phil
While I am willing to suspend 23% of my disbelief and say "Yes, it's possible they import" I am not willing to believe a walk-in customer ABSOLUTELY MUST crow about them importing stuff from America on a website.
And then write an event listing for the joint as well.
Narfs, could someone believe that CaliBurger forgoes using any locally grown produce and actually imports the tomatoes and lettuce and onions? Or that it hasn't arranged for a baker to produce its buns here and instead opts to fly them in daily from Los Angeles? Ok, that secret sauce, well that's a horse of a different color. Must keep up the pretense. [HTML_REMOVED]
Who else was here over the weekend for the buy one get one free deal? The girls they hired to work the room looked like prostitutes--miniskirts, tons of make-up, sheer black hosiery, and 6inch-minimum heels. Hello, this is a fast food restaurant! What the eff were they thinking?
Waited over 20 minutes for my order. And about my order, even though the in-store poster clearly said "Buy one, get one of equal value for free," when I ordered the CaliDouble the cashier tried to tell me that the free one could only be the LC, the bunless burger. But I didn't give in to that BS, and she relented and allowed me to get two CaliDoubles for the price of one. I'm sure she was told the management to treat the customers like idiots so they would profit as much as possible during the promotion.
Fries were meh, Burger was good because the sauce does wonders, but the beef patties are SMALL. Totally wouldn't be worth it at full price.
I don't like the look of the joint and I dislike the color scheme. It's so bland and the flooring doesn't work. The eight large flat screens are obnoxious and seem very much like an afterthought. Overall, it fails to evoke something intrinsic about California.... that thing that draws people from all over the world to the place. Annnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyway, the burger is quite acceptable within a fast food context. I liked it well enough. It tasted good. The promotional price offered 2-4-1 for 28rmb was right too. At 14rmb, that is what this hamburger is worth. Caliburger's standard price of 28 rmb/$4.50 for this kind of simple hamburger is just ridiculously over priced. I might return again for a similar future promotion.
All things considered, this place has got the burger joint atmosphere down. The thin Caligirl model chicks were swarming around while Beyonce and Greenday videos played on the flat screens. Made you feel like you were on an episode of Happy Days. However, I give the hygiene rating a low 3 simply because the prep team, who were outfitting the burgers, were not wearing gloves. Hands were everywhere....scratching hair, touching cell phones, wiping up counters, etc. And then those same hands were diving into the lettuce and tomatoes. As squeamish and nice-nasty as Chinese people can be about their hands, I'm not understanding how not wearing gloves is acceptable.
On a positive note, the vanilla shake was delish....ALTHOUGH, it had a distinct taste of alcohol in it. lol Perhaps an employee spilled a little liquor into the machine. Or maybe the vanilla flavoring is just that potent. All in all, the shakes were good which are hard to find in China. Burgers, ehhh.
Inspired by In-N-Out, Caliburger is not a gourmet burger place. Still, we are in China, and to get ingredients that are at least somewhat up to par is more difficult a feat here than in California. So the price differential? Understandable, especially given that other burger joints ("premium burgers") around town charge about 50% more than Caliburger. And honestly, Caliburger's shake is better than In-N-Out, and that's coming from a Chinese dairy hater.
Well, underwhelmed may not be a word but neither is "satisfaction" at this anticlimactic burger joint. What was I expecting? Juicy burgs: the kind that need make the bottom half of the bun soak up the natural juices and grease; thick patties: the kind that you can measure against your thumb; and a mish-mash toppings: the that just make the diner scream out "aahhh this is MY burger, futher mucker!"
What did I get? A pretty decent cheeseburger, you know, with a toasted bun, and freshly fried onions. Crispy fries that I have got no lime complaining about. They were nice enough. A can of coke and a beaming smile from the cashier, ( when I asked him for hot peppers and hot sauce I was curtly denied, but he took great pride in sharing with his co-worker the worldly observation that some foreigners can eat spicy food. ), and a big SO WHAT?
So what? There was nothing special going on here. Nada. I tried to get into it , but WTF? It was as plain a burger as I could have imagined. To quote the former food columnist from Shanghai Daily, one Arbury Buckingham, "Overpriced fast-food for middle class foreigners who dont know any better." Ouch! And THAT was said about Munchies, which blows this joint away. Even the burgers at Mr. Pancake House left a grease stain in my membrane, but this was entirely forgettable. Edible, enjoyable, but forgettable. [And if your in the neighborhood (Jing an) the best-burger pecking order goes like this: Gourmet Burger Cafe, The Rabbit Hole's (excellent) burger, Munchies, Mr. Pancake House, and Malones on burger mondays.] Caliburger ? I wanna like the place, I really do, but this isn't Shanghai circa 1999 anymore. We can get good Burgers here already. Cali B needs to step it up.
Haha, Clairebared is going to have to moderate again because Rene is making stereotypical remarks about Italians.
Anyway, I will say on a second time at Caliburger I was disappointed with the fries, they were a soggy mess. I talked with the Manager who told me they were working on the process.
Regardless, the bourbon infused milkshakes are still and will forever be...Genius!
Hi Geofferson Dont worry about Rene-Shanghai He is this sites "hater" Check back on the majority of his posts and its all hate hate hate hate hate. Tend to ignore him as do other users when we come across his posts.
The service is very good. They've got the place filled with manic American style worker bees asking how your day is, pointing at ketchup and napkins and keeping the place spotlessly clean. How they managed to achieve that I'd like know. I can just picture them going home at the end of the day saying 'what am I doing with my life?', but during the daylight hours they're on point, competing breathlessly with their colleagues to out-happy in front of the boss. 5 points for Caliburger.
The manager of the place looks like he stepped straight off the screen of my C64 from California Games: "Hang-ten dude! It's time for another bodacious staff meeting!". High-fives all around. Very authentic.
The food: I'm a casual fan of hamburgers and I appreciate a non-pretentious burger. That's about the only way I can think to describe Caliburger's standard fare. It's pretty non-pretentious. That in itself is not a problem, but the price needs to reflect that. I take it for granted that they'll address the menu issue by introducing a combo deal that's reasonable. There is only one way to serve a cheeseburger and that's with fries and a drink (eg. Coke). Good luck rewriting the rule-book on that one. At their current prices that will run you rmb63 (cheeseburger rmb33+fries rmb18+Coke rmb12). People will try it out once for that price, but expect very little repeat business. Especially when Munchies is just around the corner delivering better burgers at a much better price (same deal on Wuding Lu is rmb43).
I don't know if maybe they made a mistake on my burger, but there was a full half centimeter thick cross section of onion on it. I like onion on a burger, but I think it's fair to say nobody on Earth wants to eat 20 grams of raw onion on one burger. In fairness, they do ask specifically if you want onion. All afternoon I had to stand at arm's length from my colleagues, even after brushing my teeth. Gross.
The Wildfries: super gross. I don't think this is a matter of my personal preference. I can't imagine who would want to eat those.
The spiked milkshake. Words cannot describe how awesome this is. I only drank half of one and I was pretty tipsy. I'm no lightweight either. Will definitely be back for these, if nothing else.
Try it out. You know you will, but I'm sure you won't be back there often.
@rene Lots of Italian restaurants (and good ones too) don't have pizza. Calm yourself
Any reimbursement offered for those of us that we were ripped-off during the past weekend??
What kind of business man opens a burger joint without offering combos / set-meals.... It's like running into a Italian joint without Pizza....
Does In n' Out haves combo deals??? Probably when they were copy-pasting the menu they missed that page...
Just got word from the owners--they've set up combo deals now, RMB35 for a basic burger/fries/soda up to RMB55 for the Calidouble/fries/soda. Pretty much what you pay at Carl's Jr now; I uploaded a quick snap of the combo menu if you scroll through the pics up top.
Carl's Jr. destroys this place. Way overpriced, and they make the unforgivable error of separating the burger from the fries. I predict failure in a few months.
The burgers a the closest approximation to In N'out that I've seen outside of California.
Very good meal, but as others have said... it is far too expensive. I think if they had done pricing right to begin with, people would not feel so slighted and the general populace reaction would have been better.
I've called it a "budding burger chain" because they have other locations planned. Officially, they have no relationship with In-N-Out, but I think you can read between the lines on that one.
Another complaint, this time about the ketchup, even though I appreciate the fact that they offer self service, it tastes just like cheap tomato paste. Even the McCormick sachet given at Windows with the 10 kuai burger tastes better. Well.. they claim to use the highest quality ingredients, and for the 73 CNY I spent I would at least had expected the Heinz sachhet offered at Carls JR. (not even to mention the salsa bar).
Others, why is the listing stating that this is a burger chain? From what I've heard this joint is nothing but a cheap knock-off , correct me if wrong? Is it owned by in n out? or are they just taking advantage of it ?
@drkev The burgers are made fresh, so I assume they can accommodate requests like that. But they're telling me they're not going to do super stack burgers like In-N-Out does--at least not yet
Haven't had the fries but the burger is great--way better than Carl's Jr's. Loved the buns; they're toasted on the grill and give it that extra crunch. You guys are right that it's expensive though--burger/fries/drink runs you at least RMB63 (US$10).
Very disappointed. Tasteless burger with average quality beef patties and fries. For this price (66RMB for a cali double and fries) you’d better go to Carl’s junior or even Burger King. The staff was friendly and helpful but I had to wait for 10 minutes although the place was almost empty. In my opinion, it is also too bright to create a relaxing atmosphere.
Rene is right that the base quality of the fries needs improvement.
Nah, went yesterday to check it out after reading all the good reviews and found out a couple of issues that left me quite unsatisfied: 1-Our order took more than 20 minutes 2-They don't have any combos ; fries are CNY 18 Kuai, what is quite expensive considering that they look & taste just like the frozen ones available at Metro 3-The cheese hamburger was quite small, for 63 KUAI [CNY33 (burger) + CNY 18 (Fries) + CNY 12 (Drink) ] I was expecting at least to don't leave the place hungry 4- The place looks & feels like an empty warehouse, they don't even have salt & pepper on the tables..
Compared to Carl's Jr. this joint haves a long way to go; a very standard offer at high prices and at a very random location...
A lot of people seem to like this place so they do, but let me ask ye: how do they make a special request happen? Ye see, I'm morally opposed to eating green vegetables there, so will they take out the lettuce and the pickle for a chap like me first time, or am I taking a risk so when I'm taking a bite in the hope that they're listenin' to what I was sayin'?
Owners please note - we are watching the quality --- carefully --- and do NOT ever reduce quality or portion just because new local crowds won't notice it. This is what causes failure... please keep pride in your work.
Very nice diner style burgers - fills a good niche here. It may sound simple but the burgers are put together properly. I've had so many burgers and sandwiches here that taste as if the cook had never bothered to actually eat such an item. Once at Subway, the lady making my sandwich remarked that "she was generous, so she gave everyone extra sauce" even absent special requests. That turkey sandwich had so much mustard that it was inedible... Anyway, not the case here. One small suggestion - in my opinion the wild style fries lack a bit of heat. Perhaps a bottle of hot sauce or some jalapeños could be made available. I'll be back regardless.
CaliBurger has made me the worst vegetarian in Shanghai. I went in there on opening night and couldn't resist ordering a cheeseburger. It was delicious. These guys have got it right; everything is made on the spot, ingredients are fresh and all the staff were incredibly friendly. It's still early days and they are still ironing out a few wrinkles (the drink station needs to be set up, they still don't accept cards, etc.), but I think this place will be booming pretty soon.
I had such a fun time there last night for the opening day. I'm from California so when I heard that there was and In N' Out clone coming to Shanghai I was very excited. We showed up around 1pm only meaning to have a Double Double Animal style and some Animal style fries and ended up staying till around 8pm. The reason, Bourbon Milkshakes and wine. 132 RMB for a bottle or 45 for one glass. 20 Bottles of WIne, 1 Lettuce Burger and 2 Regular burgers later I stuffed and happy. The burgers were so close to the original In N Out recipe that for a second it felt like I was back home. The staff was very friendly and polite. I think they were surprised by how long we stayed but it was worth it. The manager John took great care of us and it was a great experience. Unfortunately, I now know why I am fat...
Mmmm. Sounds gooood. Tonight I'm gonna roll up some of Xinjiang black, get shtizoned off my face and mosey on down for some tender burger lovin. Let you know how it goes. Stay tuned.
Popped in on opening night for a late night burger and was pleasantly surprised. Presentation and taste stay true to the original (real?) In N' Out burger formula--albeit for twice the price. They make everything fresh right in front of you and they have tons of staff helping out... All in all, I was pretty happy with the whole experience and will be back when I need a double double animal style (whoops, I mean a Cali Double Wild Style).
I love Caliburger! They have a pretty limited menu, but the things they do offer are good. Burgers, wild style fries, and spiked milkshakes, OH MY! Only downside: they're located right next to my gym! Bu hao!