Beef ‘N Bun Whistle Stop

Been going here since I was kid and it’s always been the same– good food and delicious shakes. I always get the Colossal Special with cheese or a fried chicken sandwich special with cheese and a chocolate malt. The onion rings are phenomenal and the fries are good too. Its also one of the few places that still serves Pibb instead of Dr Pepper and that’s a plus for me. Beef n Bun is solid place, family owned too and I love the retro vibe. An East County classic. ⁵⁄₅

Honestly, some of the best onion rings out there. The fried zucchini is a standout as well. They’re county fair type huge, and great for sharing. The burgers are often sloppily put together, but they taste damn good. The fried chicken sandwich is deceptively good despite looking so simple.
I’d give this place 5 stars, but I’ve gotta knock them down a notch because the presentation isn’t there. The burgers taste great, but they look like someone dared the cook to assemble them horseshoe style from 15 paces away. Their fries are the zig zag kind, which I’m not into, but the fact that you can order a corn dog instead makes up for it.

I use to love this place. Stopped to get a cheeseburger and it was nothing like I remembered. The patty was cold, dry and old looking, the cheese did not melt at all. Worst burger I can remember eating. Please don’t give people your leftover burgers from the lunch rush, we notice and won’t be back ! I will say, the shakes are still great !

Worst service. They close at 10 o’clock and we were waiting far before 10. The guy at the window said «We have been closed for 5 minutes» right when it was 10:01. The guy also had the WORST attitude. If i could, i would give it 0 stars.

Cool place for a quick and inexpensive breakfast… deluxe sandwich is good and the bisquits and gravy are really good. The potato cakes are also pretty good. That is all I’ve tried so far. Service is prompt and friendly.

The key to beef n bun is ordering the RIGHT thing and ordering it properly. This requires some pretty explicit instructions, but it honestly makes a difference. For a 5-​star beef n bun meal:
Onion rings w/​light batter & extra fried
Friend chicken sandwich w/​bacon & cheese
Milk shake
This is the literal definition of your classic 5-​star greasy American meal.
Note: other stuff is good too, but this is the only meal I consider 5 star. Service is usually pretty solid as well, 4 star probably.

Went tonight and the BBQ chicken sandwich was horrible. The cheese wasn’t melted and the chicken was so thin I had to check that it was there. My husband’s burger looked like what you got served in the high school cafeteria. His fries were cold and my onion rings weren’t cooked through and lacked any taste other than oil. Not worth our time or $ 16. Could have had the same quality of food by going to McDonald’s.

Need to say the food was so tasty! But the service was excellent!!! My girl is allergic to the seeds on the bun. We didn’t realize the bun had seeds till the food came. We offered to buy a different bun. They gave us the bun and said thanks for offering but they would pick it up. Not often do you get that kind of service! Thank you Beef & Bun!!!

It’s a old school burger and fry shop. Damn good hand built, not production garbage. And for the money you can’t beat it.

Been going here for years and this is the way American fast food should be. Everything is fresh cooked to order and the shakes are probably the best in San Diego County. My favorite is the peanut butter banana. Often just get a large shake and a order of fried zucchini. Or the colossal combo if I’m feeling like leaving more than full.

I go to this place too much. I really can’t help it because I can’t resist their shakes! Their burgers are good (a little too much onion but I just ask for it without) and their chicken club is probably my favorite (if you don’t like mayo, do not order!), but their shakes? YUM. Peanut butter chocolate, peanut butter banana, vanilla banana, mocha… Goodness, I’m salivating. I’ve tried some of their other items. I’m a fan of their fish sandwich and their portion of fried zucchini is colossal. I can’t recommend their onion rings unless your favorite part of those is the onion and not the batter (not me). Sometimes their fries could use a good salting but that’s an easy fix and they’re always fresh. Overall, prices are decent, service is fast and friendly. I can’t give you any reasons to not check this place out.

So full. Great onion rings. Delicious shakes. Thank you been n bun. Be you.

Disappointed. Ordered Monster Burger and large fry. Hamburger tasted old and fry were over Cooked and old. Service was good. They put out the food quick. At the cost of quality.

I live near this place and have been twice now. Their peanut butter chocolate shake is amazing! How does it taste so peanut buttery?
The fries were cooked perfectly on my first visit but were over cooked and hard on my second visit.
I think the burgers are just ok. I prefer them without pickles.
The drive through is great! The cashier will give your dog a little dog treat if she or he sees your dog in the car. My dogs think this is the best drive-​through ever.
The downside is that there is always a wait. Sometimes the drive through starts near the parking lot entrance.

I first would like to comment on the eggnog shake during the holiday season… It is AMAZING. That’s about it.
The burgers and fries here taste like the typical Cali burger joint… Nothing that stands out.
I tried the fish n’ chips as well. Nothing special there either, and I’ve had a lot of fish n chips from many places.
The place is inexpensive and the food is good but not special in any way. I prefer Wendy’s burgers over these guys. But definitely try their shakes. Thumbs up there.

Their milkshakes/​malts are BOMB!
And of course their food.
Deducting a star because when I ordered a [plain] ham & cheese they still put everything in :-(

A great old fashioned burger joint. Simple and delicious burgers and fries and the chocolate peanut butter shake is phenomenal!

I love me a nice peanut butter & banana milkshake and this is a good place to grab one. When they make it you can see them using an actual banana and peanut butter which is what i like to see. The other thing I found great from this place was the fried zucchini. It’s a great value for the amount you get and they’re huge. Most of the items on the menu are fairly priced. The burgers and sandwiches I’ve tried have been good and better then most fast food places, but not quite on five guys or in and out level. The customer service here has always appeared extremely friendly and hard working.
Things I don’t like about this place is the drive thru and parking lot are a nightmare for your car, and they don’t take discover :)

I was in the area and was pretty hungry so I decided to see what all the good reviews were about. From the outside it doesn’t look like much but it’s clean, the food is good, prices are great and they have a drive thru. I walked in on a Monday afternoon and it was dead I saw two employees and what looked like the manager sitting at the table near the fish tank.
I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with a strawberry shake I and may have to say it was the best shake I ever had. It was just wonderful and I wasn’t thinking it would be so good. The shake had a good amount of whip cream even though it wasn’t homemade it was good. The burger was pretty good and the fries came out super hot so that’s a plus.
I would definitely come here again even just for the shakes because they’re so good. The service is cool, the men’s restroom was decent and the food is good and affordable.

This is truly an amazing, old fashioned, burger shop. If you are craving a quality burger that tastes just like you used to have when you were a child on holidays, this is the place. The reason for the 4-​stars is due to their very old décor and lack of remodeling since I’ve been coming here for over 10 years.
The milkshakes are on another LEVEL! Thick, cold, tasty, and a lot of flavors to choose from. This place reminds me of old diner burgers and fries from movies back in the day. Enjoyable.

Dude. Minus one star for the giant pot hole in a drive thru known to man. (Annoyed face)
Their burgers are somewhat similar to in-​n-​outs and are equally as delicious but with a different taste to them.
If you haven’t tried their chocolate banana shakes, omg definitely do yourself the favor and order one! So dang good. I haven’t been back for a while, but I’d so be back soon!

It seems that when we’re kids, we care less about the quality of the food or service provided by neighborhood hangouts than we do about their willingness to let us. well… hang out. I revisited Beef ‘n Bun Whistle Stop recently, and was surprised at the number of teenaged kids dining in and picking up carry out orders that were eaten in the parking lot. I didn’t grow up in El Cajon, but had I done so, I’m pretty sure I’d have been a BnB regular, too.
I ordered a Half Pounder burger, no lettuce, fries and an extra-​chocolate shake with banana. The meal was huge, but pricey, costing $ 9.95.
BnB burgers remind me of those I used to get at the lunch counters of DC-​area People’s Drug Stores: that is, irregularly shaped, barely seasoned and a bit greasier than burgers from a fast food chain. They also resemble burgers someone might make in a frying pan at home, if people still did that.
The buns BnB uses are fresh and doughy — a good thing — but they’re formed in such a way that they break into one-​inch sections (think monkey bread), once the juices and grease reach the bun. This may be intentional. I note that BnB double-​wraps their burgers, like Carl’s Jr. does, perhaps to provide diners some protection against leakage.
Toppings are basic: tomato slices, lettuce leaves, raw white onion rings, dill slices, ketchup and mayonnaise. Everything is fresh and applied in ample, not overdone, portions.
As other reviewers have mentioned, Beef ‘n Bun sells crinkle-​cut frozen fries, which aren’t bad if you get them the day the fryer grease is fresh, and the fry cook’s not too busy to let the fries cook all the way through.
Now, about that shake: my server moved a half-​gallon container of «Soft Serve Vanilla Flavored Reduced Fat Ice Cream Mix» out of his way in order to pull a milkshake cup’s worth of chocolate soft serve for my drink. Then he added chocolate syrup and milk, chopped in most of a ripe banana, set that sucker on a mixer for a bit, and after wiping up some overage and bagging up my order, handed me lunch.
The shake was not as thick as one from a typical fast food place, which I appreciated, and the flavors were great… authentic and substantial. The banana (a last-​second inspiration on my part) made the drink a bit slimy on the tongue, and the mixer hadn’t completely pulverized it, so I got bonus chunks of banana popping out through the straw every now and then. Overall, a great tasting drink, but not one I’d recommend to those who might be put off by these features.
Beef ‘n Bun won’t kill you, and the flavors might take you back to happier times, but with so many better options available around town, I wouldn’t consider BnB a destination restaurant. Unless you’re 16, and just hanging out.