The Shack

The best burgers in Texas! The combinations are excellent. And the set up is fun, with indoor and outdoor seating. I definitely recommend.

Horrible customer service
Waiter was not consistent and got our order wrong!
Sorry was the best offer they could provide!
Come on Shack that’s the best you can do.
Not coming back

The burgers are amazing, the shaded patio is eclectic and fun. The playground keeps the kids very busy. This place is so fun that it’s always too busy, so it takes a while to get your food, don’t be in a rush. Please please pave the parking lot, giant mud holes are not fun…

This place is superb. The atmosphere is very Austin-​y, and has outdoor seating. The burgers are so dang good, and the buns are very tasty. We had the giant pretzel appetizer and it was seriously one of the best pretzels I’ve had! I came here twice in one day (lunch with coworkers and dinner that night with my fiancée so she could try it), that’s how good it is! Definitely worth trying.

Awesome play area for the kids. The burgers and apps are amazing. Diverse beer selection. Building is super cool and the are pro gun carry. This is my new favorite place to take the family.

This place is super funky. Family friendly, seating is outside. They had live music Wednesday evening.
We had the southern fries, they were so flavorful, the meat was Juicy and tender, fried pickles are terrific. Be careful the portions are big. Service is great, good prices.

This was awesome food! We ordered The Southern Rock Fries, as the appetizer washed down with a Southern Star Bombshell Blonde & a White Junkie Margarita. Juan ordered the Tex Burger, & I ordered the Frushroom Burger with Avocado slices on it. Both burgers were juicy & well seasoned. What was really Great was our server Clayton, who sat with us & explained some odd sounding items on the menu. He had a wonderfully funny personality, & was very attentive! We will definitely return, but with more people.

All the elements. Great atmosphere (indoor, outdoor, covered), kid friendly with an awesome playground, DELICIOUS and unique food, great beer selection. Yes!!!
What an awesome random find!
We ordered the Fireman and the Cooter Jack– both were GREAT.

Great burgers and chill atmosphere! Never dealt with a wait and all the servers are well mannered. Nice area for the kids to play while you wait on food or just while the adults are chatting after the meal. In the night time it’s lit up really nice with the lights. Bring some OFF due to it being an outside seating place

We were served by Haile she was super sweet!
My husband and I decided to go with the HannaBanana and the Mac n Cheese burger, rusty fries and sodas. We got a 10% discount (hubby is a cop, thought it was going to be 50% based on another review).
I’m not a banana person so I wasn’t too thrilled about the Hanna banana. It’s pretty sweet, has a nice spice to it. If you love bananas and burgers – this would be a win win for you.
Hubby loves bananas and burgers but I think he loves mac n cheese more
Lol. So he preferred the mac n cheese burger. Now he wants me to make him one.
Overall I think this is a pretty cool laid back place to visit and eat. I thought everything was pretty good – it would take a whole lot to give them a 5.
Next time I may try the fireman or the Texas flood – that might be more my speed.

I have been wanting to try this burger shack out for the last 18 weeks! Haha I do fitness competitions so majority of my time is «dieting» but the times I’m not dieting… I go ham! I did my «best burger joints» in Houston research and this one is in the top 3!
My mother and I went on a Sunday, parking wasn’t a problem, even though it was pretty packed. You have a choice to sit outside and enjoy the weather or inside, which has huge garage doors to let a breeze in. They also have a HUGE big screen tv. This would be perfect for football season!
We looked over the menu and ordered at the bar and grabbed «Johnny cash» number. The bartender was very helpful and went over some of the burgers. He even told me the «JJ WATT» burger which took him atleast a min to say all of the ingredients!’ My god! I decided to go for the hannahbanana which has banana chips, peanut butter, bacon and fried banana, onion rings and cheese. Omg!!! I’ve never ever tasted a burger like this in my life!!! It’s sounds weird but it’s perfect, sweet but salty from the pretzel bread! My mom ordered the 5 napkin with the Fried egg, which she liked it but she also ate half of my Hannah banana and couldn’t stop talking about how delicious it was lol
We also tried the brisket cheese fries, which I also give a 5 star! Also, can’t forget about the grapefruit beer this lady was going around giving samples of. I normally hate beer but this one tasted fruity and not so much of the beer. So we washed the best burgers in town down with a grapefruit cold beer! This has to be the top burger joint in Houston… Hands down!!! Best service, best food, best scenery. The shack is where it’s at!

Beer is back, that means The Shack is back to being my favorite burger joint in Houston. Great place, please read my original review.

As someone who’s always on the lookout for that next delicious burger, I have to admit that I’d never heard of this place until I Googled «Houston’s best burger» and saw an old article (2014 Thrillist) featuring the 10 best burgers in Houston and saw a picture of the Cooter Jack. I immediately bookmarked this restaurant. However, since this place is located roughly 33 miles away from where I live, I never actually ventured out here until I decided that it’s time that the Cooter Jack needs to be introduced to my mouth.
I hopped in my car and I took that 30+ minutes drive on a nice Sunday afternoon just to have a taste of the Jack. I pulled into the gravel parking lot, parked, and walked toward the entrance as dust from the gravel was hitting my face. The shack is not really a shack because I had imagined that the place would be like Bubba’s burger shack but instead, it was a much bigger place with an even bigger outdoor dining area and play area for the kids way out back.
Now, let’s start with the bad.
Everybody was just staring at me when I walked in. I was looking for the cashier to place an order (I had thought that this was your typical order at the counter, get a number, and get your burger delivered to your table type of restaurant). Nobody said hello or offered to help until I asked someone about where I needed to go to place an order. However, this was the only bad experience that I had over here.
The person I asked told me to sit wherever I liked and she would go grab the menu for me. Well, I came with a mission so I already knew what I wanted. I wanted the Cooter Jack (although some of the other stuff on the menu sounded equally delicious) with bacon on pretzel bun (you also have the jalapeño bun or no bun options). I also ordered some fried pickle chips, because hey, I love fried pickle chips.
The order didn’t take too long to come out and sitting in front of me was the Cooter Jack. «Hello, Jack» I said to the burger staring at me in the eye. «We finally meet. I’ve been waiting for this day to come and now that the day is here, I. WILL. DEVOUR. YOU.» (But first, let me take a picture for Unilocal). I started working the Jack. I cut it in half to expose the insides and my hunger took over me. I took that first bite… and oh my, it was as delicious as I’d hoped it to be. You ever take a bite of something and then you have to pause a moment to think «holy crap, this is so good!!» Yeah, it was like that for me. I haven’t had that reaction in a good while, but that was me with the Jack.
The burger was tender and juicy with the right amount of chipotle mayo. The add-​on bacon definitely added to the flavor; and the cheese and the string onions completed the Cooter Jack to be one of the better burgers out there. It was that good.
As for the fried pickles, they were just okay. I love my fried pickles with regular ranch. But here, they give you chipotle ranch, which was delicious, but I like my ranch old school. I did enjoy my pickle chips and they give you a bunch. One container of chipotle ranch will not be enough for all the chips (at least not for me) so you’ll have to get an extra container.
After being ignored when I walked in, my waitress ended up being pretty cool and she checked on me constantly. Not too much, not too little, but enough to make me feel like she was taking care of me.
Another bad thing about this place (at least for me)? DISTANCE.
DISTANCE IS A BITCH!
If this place were 3.3 miles away instead of 33 miles away from me. You better believe that I’d be frequenting this place a lot more!

Oh man, this was a fun place: the burgers were really good (nicely sloppy and delicately gooey…), and there was a playground for the kidlets (or, if you’re like us, you just say «heck with it,» and slide down the slide anyway…
It’s a bit of a drive from anywhere, but well worth it!

We checked out the shack 2, finally and I have to say disappointment is the verdict. If your standard of great is quantity, go ahead, you certainly can’t leave not full.
Touted as one of the 20 best burgers in the area I give the inclusion of the Shack on this list a fail.
The meat is nondescript other than enough MSG to choke a horse. The food actually has to taste like something for MSG to work, other than as a heartburn spice. The burger was greasy and non cohesive (translation it falls apart while you try to eat it). But hey you really need to use both hands! Toppings are varied and can disguise some things, just not the grease.
The fries are plentiful, sodden and limp and I’d really look at what you eat because apparently anything goes into the fryer if it is part of the potato.
If you want an authentic greasy spoon Texas Roadhouse meal, which apparently caters to innumerable families of ill mannered children, on a budget, without discriminating or educated taste buds — this is your heaven. Be careful what you step in.
The place needs a good scrubbing with bleach, top to bottom, even the furniture is sticky.
No wonder Texas is suffering from an obesity epidemic, now I need to go get my cholesterol checked and buy some Zantac or Antacid.

Food: The Bad Decision burger (A real Man’s burger!). It had two grilled cheese sandwiches as buns, with thick hickory smoke bacon and a 2– inch burger patty! The grilled cheese had cheddar in it & it insulated my burger meat from the chill breeze outside. The meat and bacon was still hot. The burger was seasoned well that I didn’t need to use any ketchup. I had another customer ask me what I was eating and that it looked great! I also had their sweet potato fries which were tasty and hot!
Service: I came here with a friend on a Saturday and it was really busy that afternoon. They told us we had to wait an hour, but it was worth the wait! Our waiter was very friendly and hospitable!
All in all, I would definitely come here again with a group of friends, or order something to go. The atmosphere is nice and they have heaters and open fires to keep you warm while you eat outside. If you’re tired of Whataburger, Smash Burger, and Five Guys, and want to try some delicious, gourmet burgers, this is the place to go!

One of the better burger places on Houston (kind of. outskirts of Cypress!). 2^nd Tim here today. It is 3pm and there is a wait of 20 minutes which is not bad at all.
I had the turkey burger last time and it was delicious! They also had a special of $ 1 Ziegen on draft last time which was awesome as well!
Definitely taking visiting friends and family here!

I’m really struggling here. This is the first time I’ve ever started a review BEFORE deciding how many stars I’m going to give (we will see what I end up choosing). My sister lives here in TX and she has been talking about this place so we finally went when I came to visit. I am the kind of girl who LOVES a good bacon cheeseburger with extra grease so I was very excited!
My experience started off great– fried pickles and fries covered with cheese and bacon? What’s not to love? They were both awesome! Generous portions too. But when it came to my burger I just wasn’t impressed. It wasn’t bad at all but I’ve definitely had better. My sister and brother-​in-​law loved theirs and still say it’s their favorite burgers! I can definitely see why people love them but unfortunately for me it wasn’t my kind of burger.
But to add to that service wasn’t very good either. My sister did not receive the bacon she asked for on her burger and our waiter hardly ever came to our table. It also took a very long time to get some of our stuff. Apparently they just expanded so maybe they are just getting back into their groove, I don’t know. I feel so bad leaving a somewhat negative review since my sister loves it here so much! But I just didn’t love it myself. I think I will settle on 4 stars. And that is only because everything I had besides the burger was delicious and I think that other people will definitely love them.
P. S. Make sure you order the fried apple pie with bacon for dessert– so worth the extra calories!

In the Cypress area visiting friends on Saturday. Decided to check out The Stack.
Place is quite unique… to sum it up… rustic setting, eclectic group of diners, lots of kids playing and running around, mostly outdoor seating, expansive burger list and wide choice local, regional and domestic beers.
Got the 5 napkin burger… beef, bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato and mayo. Not bad. Big burger. Buns have a different taste sweet flavor w/​hint of Jalapeño. Bacon is very good. Onion string healthy portion and not too greasy.
First time visit for me, I am rating 3 stars, but deservingly worth 4. Not enough «wow» factor to rate 4 at least on this visit. Will try it again when back in the area. Let’s see.

The Shack’s entrance can be missed quite easily. Just look for the American flags on the gate. They have their own parking but in a dirt lot, so parking can be a nightmare depending on the time.
Seating is outside/​outdoor only. Some spots have roofs over your head. Otherwise, the whole lot in the back is huge. It’s a great spot during spring and summer… Reminds me of Austin.
Burgers. You can choose jalapeño cheddar buns, pretzel buns, or no buns.
Hanna Banana (²⁄₅): Beef, pepper jack cheese, bacon, caramelized banana, onion strings, and banana chips. Comes with spicy Thai peanut sauce. My liking of this burger steadily declined after my first few bites. I was disappointed with the peanut sauce. It is not «Thai Peanut Sauce», which I imagined to be similar to the peanut sauce that comes with Vietnamese spring rolls. But nope, it was straight up peanut butter. I ended up taking out several banana chips and bananas. Banana chips tasted old by themselves, and I love banana chips. I couldn’t eat more than half because the burger is huge. My friend, who ate the other half, was saying how great the burger was. He obviously liked it more than I did. If you like bananas in your burgers, then give this a shot.
Billy Bob Nguyen (²⁄₅): Spicy Asian fusion brisket, onion, and Cheetos. Cheetos were stale… Old. I was disappointed. I ended up taking all the Cheetos out. The brisket was somewhat dry, and I didn’t taste any spicy Asian fusion. I was hoping actually. The only good thing was that it was a huge chunk of brisket. If you’re ordering this, ask for a side of some kind of sauce just in case.
Cooter Jack (⁴⁄₅): Beef, Jack cheese, smokey BBQ sauce, chipotle mayo, and onion strings. I highly recommend this! Great kick of flavor in every bite. You won’t be disappointed with this one. The jalapeño cheddar bun goes excellent!
Last Kiss (³⁄₅): Shareable between 3 people. Fries with garlic bits and bacon.
Signature O-​Strings (³⁄₅): Shareable between 2 – 3 people.
Overall, Shack is a great place for family and friends of all ages. Servers are friendly, but service is average. Servers are usually hanging about and don’t notice when you are needing a re fill sometimes.
PS. Before you enter The Shack, there is a side booth for crawfish. I believe it is independent from The Shack.