Pure Burger

Hey. You know, the burgers are good. But nothing special. Better than fast food. Fresh meat. And good fries. But overall not an upgrade over five guys. And smaller and more expensive.
If you want grass fed and are willing to pay a 30% premium. Then this is your spot. Otherwise I say steer clear. Mwahaha! Get it? Steer. Ok.

OMG! Bought the Groupon to check this place out. Close to Petco where we wash our dogs free a trip to the beach. 2TVs to watch sports while you enjoy your ENORMOUS Pure Burger. The best are the Boozy Shakes! I ordered the chocolate peanut butter banana and it came with RUM! Fries were seasoned and delicious. Great place will definitely be back for sure

Hands down THE BEST VEGETARIAN BURGER EVER!!! I crave their vegetarian burger. I got it with a bun the first time and it was good, second time I was feeling healthy so I got it lettuce wrapped and it was so much better!!! And I love my carbs too. Their season fries are delicious as well as their chocolate Oreo shake. They do a quick and delicious job! It’s a shame you can’t have beer or wine on the «patio». But it’s healthier that way haha!

Hmmm, not sure which way to go on this as a dad of two (preteen), but here you go and you decide. I’ve seen the reviews. Yes, they have a fantastic burger. And yes, they are overpriced (but a Groupon takes care of this concern). And yes, the food is fresh. Burger and fries rating: 4 – 5 stars. Impact of 1^st Impression: 2 stars. Here is why:
Full enjoyment of the meal is tainted (Saturday evening after 8:00 p.m.) by lack of concern for (a) dirty tables and wet floor with two dime size pieces of burger on the walkway near the cash-​register, and a number card with pea size dried Ketchup; (b) obnoxious T.V., © male clerk who does’t know how to greet customers with a smile and maintain engagement and (d) refuse packed so high within the receptacles you get to see the preceding patron’s trash. Items «a» and «d» make me wonder if there is little concern for cleanliness in these areas, what’s going on behind the scenes, if anything, with regard to cleanliness?
Does the negative part of the experience matter? Yes, I think it does. When I think of three local competitors, one on Encinitas Blvd. off the 5 Fwy., another on Palomar Airport Rd, near a gas station where you get fantastic gas prices if you are a member and another on Via Campanile in Carlsbad, close to a market, I’m am highly tempted to drive the extra 15 min. to avoid the same unsavory visual experience again.
Posted in another food review site, another patron of this establishment indicates, «Interior of restaurant often dirty.» This observation may be supported by what San Diego County found as part of their Food Facility Inspection, where Minor Violations were noted (12.31.2014; 10.05.2015). These minor violations were corrected upon Reinspection (10.30.2015), however these minor violations could lead to greater concerns if left unattended. Pure Burger corrected the violations. San Diego County indicates they hold an A-​rating.
As you know, many patrons give Pure Burger an exceptional rating on quality of food and taste. However, I’ve been to their competitors and have not found a similar lack of attention to the environment. I’ve been here twice in the evening and each time the experience was the same, great food and unsavory environment.
There are a couple great sources on the Internet that may be worth reviewing: Do You Know the 6 Warming Signs of a Filthy Restaurant? and Dirty dining?
While I would align with other patrons and give the burger and fries a 4 – 5 star rating, what leaves an impression is the first one, lack of concern for the environment in which the food is presented. This experience may have been an anomaly, and it happens, no one is perfect. Knowing this, I’ll visit again in the weeks to come around the same time and see what happens. I would love to update the rating to match the quality of the food.
Update: Owner’s responsiveness to concern: 5 stars
Update on Overall Experience: Pending Revisit on a Saturday Night

Pure burger is pretty good considering it’s promise to serve grass Fed burgers. Here’s a breakdown of what we tried.
Bison Burger/​with Tillamook Pepper Jack Cheese: The burger was filling and tasted fresh. Cheese is a $ 1 extra and nothing special. It’s Tillamook and a good brand but should come standard with the burger rather than a buck extra. Combo ran about $ 15 total.
Junior Cheeseburger kids meal: another decent burger. $ 10 for the burger, fries and a juice pouch. Can’t say I was jumping for joy.
Fries: you can get regular fries (I rather enjoyed these) or seasoned fries (Cajun, is what they told me). The seaoned fries were not to my taste but they did offer to make more if we didn’t like them. My husband liked them, so we kept them.
Shakes: we had a regular Oreo shake and a boozy cookies and cream shake. Both shakes were made with real ice cream. The boozy shake was very good. The Oreo shake was ok.
Décor reminded me of Chipotle. Seriously.
The service was good. They forgot to put cheese on my husband’s burger and made up for it by giving him bacon and avocado free of charge.
In all, would I come back? No, it’s far too pricey for my blood. But it was a nice splurge and they did give great service.

I am a fan of Pure burger, I grab there groupon deal which is the icing on the cake. They use good quality product and it makes for a superb burger. It’s a little on the pricey side, but I believe a good burger is worth it.

This was the best burger I’ve had in a long time. I’m not sure if it’s because it was grass fed or what! I got a pure burger with pepper jack cheese lettuce tomatoes grilled onions jalapeños and the pure sauce. So delicious. The jalapeños weren’t spicy, I wish I wouldn’t have asked for easy.
The fries were delicious too. I thought they weren’t going to have any flavor… wrong!
And the boozy shake! I got the oreo! Everything was delicious. I will be back without the Groupon.
They are pricey but don’t look at it as fast food.

I might try Pure Burger again, but I wasn’t impressed. I found it to be overpriced for the quality. I ordered the patty with the lettuce wrap. It was tasty but kind of small. It comparison, Carl’s Jr. sells the $ 6 low cal burger which is larger and taste just as good as the Pure Burger one I ordered. I liked their selection of microbrews.

Nice little burger pub in a small but aesthetic strip center designed to look like a small downtown.
Star here is obviously the burger, available in beef, bison, chicken, veggie and vegan versions.
The regular burger is actually a double, order the junior burger if you want less meat.
Burgers can be customized with a wide variety of sauces, buns and toppings, everything is organic and sustainable.
My burger with house sauce, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mushrooms and jalapenos was terrific, juicy, savory and very satisfying. My girls loved theirs as well.
Nice selection of draught beers, they have a very hoppy IPA that was very enjoyable. Lots of different bottled and fountain soft drinks too.
Overall, a great experience and recommended.

Delicious. Absolutely delicious. Do yourself a favor and don’t overdo the toppings/condiments…the quality of the patty is perfect, and shouldn’t be in the shadow of anything. I kept it fairly simple and just added cheddar, bacon, avocado and Pure spread. Would do it exactly the same way again. Magnificent!

We were looking for a place to have a quick bite after checking out the Carlsbad premium outlets. and of course, we Unilocaled to see what’s good in the area. We were in the mood for burgers, and the pictures of burgers with sprouts and avocado sold it for the wife.
Overall, great place! Very clean and spacious — good for family with kids.
The ordering process is a bit confusing, as the overhead menu was not as well organized — and a bit overwhelming you will see… In any case, the cashier behind the counter was very patient and helpful as we were figuring out what to eat. I didn’t see the loaded fries until after we ordered… and our neighbor was eating them. looked really good with jalapenos and cheese!
The food was great! Burgers were well constructed and ingredients were fresh, and the fries were crispy. I liked the Oreo shake, although I am not a big milk shake fan. There were also beers on tap, which deserved its own star. :)
Will for sure come back if I am in the area.

I’m going all the way on this one!
Going in, I had no idea what to expect. What I found was a delicious burger comparable to Five Guys in terms of price and variety– lots of unique topping choices.
I went with the Pure Bison burger with lettuce, tomato, bacon, pineapple, and honey-​sriracha sauce on a whole wheat bun. One bite and my mouth met a stampede of bold, fresh, well balanced flavor. The bison was juicy and flavorful– obliterating my expectation of a dry meat puck that one occasionally encounters when more exotic meats are on the table.
The fries were perfect! Very similar to In N Out fries but more flavor!
Oh– and did I mention– BOOZY MILKSHAKES!!! Tillamook ice cream mixed with various liqueurs and flavors! Need I say more!
And the best part– not only was everything delicious, but it’s all natural and locally sourced!
I’ve not only found my new burger joint, but I think I’ve also experienced my new standard for what «fast-​casual «can truly be!

Our first time here at Pure burger and I love how you can really customize what you want. Again, I love the Vegan options!
We ordered:
Seasoned fries
Pure Bison Burger on white with Tomato and Raw Onion,
Vegan burger on wheat with Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle, Raw Onion, Fresh Jalapeño
Sprouts, and Avocado. Exactly how I would make my burger or sandwich so I was pretty happy.
I enjoyed it a lot, everything was fresh and obviously not nasty greasy. You get what you pay for and for fresh, healthy, REAL food… I will pay the money for it.

Not only are the burgers really good, but the staff was really helpful and personable as well. I love that their meat is of very high quality, grass-​fed, pasture raised, etc.
I usually order a junior cheeseburger on a gluten-​free bun. It doesn’t seem that small for a «junior» in all actuality, and their gluten-​free buns are great because they don’t fall apart like some others do. The fries are the skinny kind (which I love, because you can make them extra salty), and very fresh… dare I say fresher than In & Out? My husband loves coming here because he can get avocado on his burger, as well as just about any other topping you can think of. They also serve beer and boozy shakes, which I have yet to try but it’s definitely on the list for next time!

So sad, I have been wanting to come here for awhile and now that we finally did, I didn’t love it as much as I hoped we would.
My sole reason for wanting to rush here is that they offer two different kinds of veggie burgers, I was starving and set on a double, one of each patty.
They were out of one kind, so single for me, bummer.
Prices are high, we would up paying $ 12 for a kids meal and another $ 12 for my husbands single burger, fries extra and both the same portion though he ordered a larger size.
I had wanted a large salad which only comes pre made with ingredients I was not a fan of and they could not make any fresh ones, so I chose the small size.
The only non creamy dressing was called spicy balsamic which was exactly the balsamic mustard I had on my burger, i asked for balsamic and got a third mustard which really ruined the salad and I had to toss it.
The burgers patties were much smaller than the buns, we had wheat which were really stale and way too much compared to the meat so we tossed those as well.
Pretty expensive meal for the quality you get and how carelessly it was prepared, not worth returning.

Directly across the street from Trader Joes, I’ve been here off and on even back to when they were called Elevation Burger. Overall the food is very tasty. Grass-​fed beef, tons of toppings to choose from, tons of drink options including beer and «boozy» shakes and plenty of seating make this a great neighborhood restaurant. They have what seems like an endless deal on Groupon if you’re looking to save a few bucks.
Minus one star for the fries. I like big meaty fries. Steak fries. They serve the skinny variety with lots of little fry «stubs» mixed in to really get you frustrated or at least that’s what it seems to me every time I visit. Maybe they’re singling me out who knows.
Anyway, keep up the good work guys.

Food: had a groupon for 2 buffalo burgers for $ 14. We also got an order of seasoned fries. The total was $ 7 and change which is pretty expensive for an order of seasoned fries. A buffalo burger normally costs $ 10. I would not visit here without a groupon as it is way too expensive. The burger was really good and juicy. Veggies were all fresh and crisp. Fries were amazing and seasoned perfectly. Everything is organic.
Service: customer service was great and food was served timely. No issues.
Parking: we parked in the back of the store and found that there are a lot of spots there. You can also park in the trader joes parking lot and walk across. Free parking everywhere and probably gets busy on weekends.
Atmosphere: one tv in the place and they have books for children on a book case on the wall. Clean bathrooms and they have info about all of their grass fed meats on the wall. They have tables for 2, 4, and 6. I don’t think I noticed any booths. Order your food at the counter and then wait for your food.
Minus 2 stars for the price. I can buy almost 3 double cheeseburgers at InNOut for the price of one Pure Burger… no thanks. Get a groupon if you come here. $ 20 for a burger, fries and drink.

I hadn’t eaten all day except for a measly sandwich so my perception might be a bit skewed.
After being disappointed all day in SD (every place I went to eat had closed early) and a long hellish drive, my friends and I ended up here. They said their burgers are really good, grass fed beef and such. I don’t eat beef so this is meaningless to me.
Luckily went in an hour before they close (and there was a Pieology next door if all else failed lol), and there was no line. It’s a build your own burger place without being crazy overwhelming, I really appreciate that bc I feel like lately I’ve been overwhelmed with too many choices. The menu is simple: pick your patty, bun, veggies, and sauce.
I got the chicken on wheat, most veggies, and their pure sauce on the side (it’s essentially like thousand island). The chicken was a grilled chicken breast, moist and seasoned really well! I think I would’ve really enjoyed it as a lettuce wrap bc the chicken was just so good. The bun was a little soggy on one end and did not interest me very much. The pure sauce was awesome, and I love it with my burger and also with their seasoned fries. The fries were too skinny for my taste, and a bit lackluster. I loved the seasoning but I think it just needed more potato! That might just be a fry preference thing.
Price is a little bit on the expensive side, but I guess it’s worth it if you were in my state of mind. The food was great, and it was open!

Free coupons? Sure why not!
A pure burger and fries with a marshmellow and salted caramel shake was the nights menu. When we got in there those cooks were hustling because some couple ordered 12 pure burgers, with fries and shakes… I over heard the total to be over $ 200! Almost make me choke on a fry.
I got a few add on’s, avocado, sprouts and on wheat bread. The selling point to this burger is not the taste itself, but that everything is organically made. Now for those who are very organic, health conscious, this is the burger place for you. The meat is lean, juicy and tender however I love my fat and oils and well… it was lacking that flavor. everything else on it was grand, the cheese was nicely melted, the add ons and such were fresh an the bun was nicely toasty.
The fries are so-​so. Not bad, not great. I got the seasoned fried and it did have a kick to them… not a hot kick but more of a chipotle heat to them. I like my fries a bit crispier so I may have had to indicate that.
I did like the shake. it was nice and thick and the salted caramel flavor came through. The marshmallows are literally small marshmallows put on top of the shake. It made it quite it chewy. I was thinking it would be more of a flavor than just a topping. I was aware they did booze up the shake… hmmm…

This was my first time here as Pure Burger. I used to come here a lot when it was Elevation Burger.
I came here tonight for Unilocal’s Late Night event —
and was happy to see that despite the name change, it’s still the same great food and employees.
There are some noticeable differences:
— Prices a bit higher (but I think the patties are larger)
— Bison burgers are an option
— You can order your burger wrapped in lettuce
— Gluten free buns are available
— Boozy milkshakes (yes, please)
David, one of the owners, is a young guy who excels in customer service and doing whatever it takes to ensure that his customers are happy. And the same philosophy is carried over in the entire staff.
I was impressed by how hard working, caring, and considerate everyone was. Although Pure Burger is a fast food place, the attitude is differently not fast food. David and his crew want to keep your business and loyalty.
Adult beverages:
Mother Earth Boo Koo Ipa
— Karl Strauss Wind and Sea Wheat
— Stone Smoked Porter
— Eel River Organic Blonde
— Eel River Organice IPA
— Chardonnay
— Cabernet Sauvignon
Happy Hour is from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to close:
— $ 3 for 16oz craft beers
— $ 4 for 16 oz organic beers
— $ 3.50 select wines
Sodas: Self-​serve soda fountain with everything from tea to rootbeer, vanilla cream, and orange.
Seating: There are tables outside in front so you can enjoy the weather. Keep in mind they face the street and Trader Joe’s so not the best view but hey, you’re outside and we’re in Carlsbad. Plenty of tables inside including high bar tables, a large picnic table, and many smaller tables that seat up to four.
But plan on coming in with an appetite or you’ll be disappointed and not able to finish your food. Portions are filling.
What I liked best about Pure Burger is the meat. Grass fed free range beef from local farmers, it doesn’t get any better than that.
Some burgers are heavy, and dense. And while Pure Burgers have some heft to them, it’s in weight of the quality and not in byproducts or fillers.
You won’t go home in a food coma after eating a Pure Burger. But you will go home stuffed to the gills, but in a good way.
Do yourself a favor, skip the drive-​thru and drive to Pure Burger. You’ll pay more, but it’ll be worth it.
Tip: Parking in front of Pure Burger is limited. You’ll find more spots in the lot behind the restaurant. Take the first left turn into the shopping center on Gateway from El Fuerte and use the back entrance.