Short’s Burger and Shine

My first time at Short’s. Had the number 12 burger with chili, sour cream and cheese. So delicious! I’ll be coming back for more burgers for sure! Service was friendly and fast.

Cool place… Good Service. Nice wait staff. But food is overpriced and overhyped … Like Zombie burger in the DSM area. Great beer selection though.
Glad I went … Won’t be back. Chow
…

Burgers: good.
Hand cut fries: good.
Fresh baked buns: good.
Beers: good.
You really can’t go wrong at Short’s. The burgers are good, fresh made with fresh local ingredients. They have a solid list of burgers, black bean burgers, and chicken sandwiches. The hand cut fries are delicious. They have a good selection of beers from Iowa beers. I’ve heard they have the best bloody Mary in town, but have yet to validate. If you’re downtown and in the mood for a burger, go to Short’s.

One of my favorite spots in Iowa City to get an excellent burger and great fries, all of them are delicious so you can’t go wrong with any of them. Since moving away from the area I haven’t found a spot serving as good of burgers. Also they have an excellent choice of local Iowa beers.

Burgers and Fries. That’s all you get, but that’s all you need!
This place does custom burgers better than anyone else in town. Most restaurants tend to offer the same basic burger with one or two variations (BBQ Sauce, onion ring, etc). You have a totally different experience every time you order here.
Do yourself a favor:
— Dundee burger with fries.

No-​frills burger restaurant, can’t pass as a legit bar — works for me, as we just needed to eat, not hang out. Menu lists a couple dozen burgers with various toppings — a Greek style, a Tex-​Mex, etc. The Arion (the Greek one) had feta, tomato and tzatziki. I felt needed onions too; then it would’ve really captured the gyro flavors. The place was quiet on an early Monday evening (where isn’t it?) All ages would be comfortable here. Waitress couldn’t help with beer menu because she’s under 21; she didn’t offer to send over someone of age.

The owner thru his glass across the bar and demanded another drink at 3pm. He is disrespectful, arrogant and treats his staff awful. I have never written anything negative. I will not support this behavior or restaurant.

Grass fed beef, cool and casual, like Five Guys but much better. I had the Arion– tzatiki, tomatoes, feta and cucumbers… yes on a burger! It was delicious!

Food was pretty good! Service fell short, but I would definitely recommend and I will go again! For you first timers, know that the menu is VERY limited to burgers, chicken & Bean burgers. Seriously. Many variations among those, however. Give it a go!

I was in Iowa City for the day to visit the law school and decided to grab a bite downtown before leaving. I happened to walk in here and I’m glad I did!
It was around 4:30pm on a Monday so it wasn’t very crowded and I felt self conscious sitting alone at the bar. The bartender/​assistant manager and one of the waitresses struck up a conversation with me and made me feel at ease. I was enjoying talking to them so much I was almost late to my flight.
I ordered a melrose burger with fries and it was great! The fries were crispy on the outside and mushy on the inside. The burger was cooked perfectly and was so juicy.
This place is very laid back and I got the impression it attracts a mid-​20s crowd at night rather than wild college students. If I decide to attend Iowa Law I will definitely be coming back!

Traveling through And decide to stop in IOwa City. Burgers are pretty damn good. Beer selection is all local and the atmosphere is chill. Overall, it was a good experience. I would come back again.

At first, I wasn’t completely impressed; I liked it, but it wasn’t anything special. But since giving it a few more tries, I’ve really come to enjoy their menu. I now come here almost once per week. I’ve definitely noticed that, when attending at lunch time, you’ll receive significantly larger portions of fries and your burger almost seems better. Perhaps this has to do with the lighter crowd at that hour. Almost always able to get a seat, even when they’re busy despite their small size.
Also, there beer menu is great; seems to be changed up from year to year.

Burger is a very well assembled set of flavor layerings. Cool setting. Dark but hip. Friendly staff. 30 drafts. Such a narrow place it’s easy to miss. Only 18 feet wide but comfy.

This was the first restaurant that was recommended to me when I moved here. It used to be one of my favorite places to eat in Iowa City and we would come here all the time. The service is always awesome, but my feelings towards the food are pretty meh.
My favorite burgers here are the Lytton and the Essex. They have a good variety of burgers and their black bean burgers are tasty as well. With that being said, all this place serves food-​wise is burgers. Of course when you’re only serving one type of item you would expect it to be done well. The past few time I’ve eaten at Short’s this hasn’t been the case. I really like the fact that they use local beef and have fresh cut fries, but the fries are always soggy and dripping in grease and the burgers can be a little difficult to eat. I usually end up using a knife and fork otherwise it’s a huge mess. The burgers I’ve had are also always cooked well-​done even though the menu advertises them as ‘medium’ and I don’t think a server has ever asked otherwise how I’d like it cooked.
With that being said, I still think this is a place you need to try at least once while you’re in Iowa City.

So far this is the only restaurant that I would pay more than 10 dollars for a burger. Their menu provides a variety of combination of sauces/​cheese with the burger. And I have tried so many of them, it’s just too hard to say which one is my favorite since they are all so good. The meat was always juicy. The fries are crispy and flavorful. Love it!

This place had some of the best burgers ever. I ended up taking half of my burger home and eating cold the next morning for breakfast and it was still amazing.
The seating is sparse so be sure to go early and get good seats.

Solid solid place. Had the Dundee burger topped with good ol’ American cheese, garlic aioli, lettuce and fried egg along with a heaping helping of fresh cut fries. To top it off I had a $ 4 pint of a local IPA. An outstanding meal to compliment the beer.
Great service, tasty burger and good vibe in this ol’ place. I’ll be back.
For the non meateaters, the menu features a wide array of chicken sandwiches. Each sounded good to me and were priced right.

The Larchwood. Hands down one of my favorite burgers in the world!
Short’s is absolute awesomeness. Always packed full of people, you need to do your share of waiting before you can taste the sweet sweet beef/​chicken/​black bean deliciousness that is the Short’s and Shine burger. They have pretty extensive menu. So you have lots and lots of choice in topping combinations. And the waitresses are absolute darlings!
ALSO, on Mondays, you get a pretty awesome deal: all burgers $ 6.99. Whaaat!?!
All in all, I adore this place!!!

Make sure to pay attention while walking down Clinton street in downtown Iowa City because although it doesn’t stick out, you do not want to miss a chance to stop at Short’s Burger and Shine. If you’re from Iowa or love Iowa, these guys have got you covered. With a selection of thirty beers all from the Hawkeye state and beef that’s purchased from a farmer not even thirty miles outside of Iowa City, the loyalty of this spot is unarguable. A dressy, yet casual atmosphere welcomes all with fantastic and personal service — This would have been the type of place to run into Frank Sinatra in the early ’30’s. In addition to their boisterous draft selection, they also have a collection of various whiskey and bourbon that cannot go unnoticed. I highly recommend checking this spot out if you’re ever in the mood to treat yourself or impress someone.

My husband makes fun of me when ever we go to a new burger place. I order my burger plain and dry with everything else on the side. But, I explain the same thing to him every time. I try the burger plain first, then I add accouterments. A burger is supposed to be about the beef, not the fluffy fillers and I want to know what the beef tastes like. If you can’t eat the beef alone, why even bother. Crap is always going to be crap… just covered in pretty lipstick.
I give you my famed Burger Theory, so you will know how I am judging Shorts, and why I love this place so much. A Shorts burger is the real deal. The favor and texture, everything about it is incredible. And, this folks, is plain and dry. These burgers have legs!
So, go ahead an order them however you want — trust me, they are worth it. I, personally, like the basil pesto and mozzarella. They add some nice bacon on it. The Hubby likes his with a fried egg on top. (I didn’t ask if they locally source the eggs, but this place seems to care, so they probably do.)
The burgers come with thick tasty fries. Crisp outside and fluffly inside.
And, of course, a full bar. So, go sidle up ad watch a game with your burger and your beer.