Lou’s Drive In No 2

I have been going to Lou’s for over 30 years. I drove across town for a fix. Burger was delish, as always. The bummer about this visit was at 6 PM the dining room was closed. It’s 56 degrees outside and had to eat in the cold. Thanks. The girl with the ring through her nose mumbled something about no heat. Duh! You think it’s warmer outside? I am definitely going to think twice going that far again.

I have been going to lous since I was old enough to eat a cheese burger! I can’t express just how good this place is! The burgers are like no other! If your up for a little drive or in the neighborhood this is a MUST try!

Been 2yrs since I moved from Cali. and this is one of the places I miss the most. I grew up Highlands in the 80’s and 90’s and this was the spot for burgers shakes (gotta try the root beer flavored one) and dipped cones. I’ll be back this spring and my first stop from Sac International will be Lou’s. This is an old school spot so if your looking for Californized food this is not the place for you.

You want to like this place since its old school but the minute I got there you could tell it just wasn’t at its best.
No heat in the seating area when it’s 50 outside is never a good sign. Food was okay but not close to great. Order was wrong even though I was the only person there.
Would be nice to see this place get some TLC and perhaps last another 50+ years.

Been coming here for years!!! They were better years ago. Burgers can tend to be very very sloppy, but some people like that.
Shakes are great and tons of variety, peanut butter malt is my favorite. Its a hole in the wall, so expect what you get, or go to Habit! its just a different style burger.
What’s funny is no matter how many people are there 2 or 8, The order taker will always say «OK, 20 min»…

We decided to have Lou’s after not eating there for many years. We ordered Lou’s Burger with no onion, added sautéed mushrooms, fries and cherry coke. OMG! The burger was so tasty and juicy. Fries were very good. The coke had a cherry syrup added to it, so good. I will going back again. We phoned in our order as we do not live too far away.

It’s an old school burger joint. What can I say? It is exactly what I was hoping for. You know when you see a place like this you expect a flavorful, juicy, greasy burger, fries and thick shake. I got exactly that and loved it. Quick service and good food. A double cheese burger, small fries and large shake came to $ 12 though and that seems a bit too high. I would go back but not often at that price. Be prepared, they get very busy at lunch.

This place needs a good scrubbing !!! The floors, walls and tables were disgusting. The grease and grime on the floor looked like in had been pushed around with dirty water without soap since the 60’s. I have been to cleaner diners in Mexico. The burgers were dried out. My first bite of my sandwich was just bun. My wife’s first bite of her cheese burger (forgotten cheese) was bun. The first bite was better than the next one into a cremated piece of meat. Screwed up our order. The fries gave me an oil change. The «DEBIT» charge of $ 1.25 was really an ATM FEE that my bank charged me an additional $ 2.50. This was one of the worst dining experiences of my adult life. The worst part was destroying my memory of a real Burger Joint of the 60’s! What a waste of $ 25.00. I would of been better off just burning my money and having my memory of a Burger Joint left in tact.

I have been going to Lou’s since I was a kid, roughly 30 years at this point. While not as good as it used to be, this is still a solid place to get a good burger and fries. Oddly I don’t recall ever trying anything else on the menu lol.

I loved Lou’s burgers and shakes when I was a kid and still do. That’s nearly 60 years of loving old school drive-​in food at Lou’s. It’s not fancy it’s just the taste of my youth, unchanged. There are probably better burgers but none are better to me.

Let’s try a funny review in quotes, shall we?
«Why do you always take me to these skanky run down places?» — Wifey
«I do it because I know you’re a foodie, plus this is a local favorite. Don’t mind the smelly homeless people sitting on the table next to you.» — Me
«WTF, cash only?» — Me
«Sorry the door is broken to the dining room.» — Cashier
«**** it’s ******* cold, this burger better be worth it!» — Wifey
«I’m telling you, the best food comes from the worst neighborhoods, plus this place has been here forever, and I’ve driven by it a lot since I was little.» — Me
«Wow…» — Me and Her after taking first bite
«I can’t read the menu…» — Me
«Whoa, peanut butter and banana shake?!?» — Wifey
«I thought you were cold?» — Me
Yup, we’re fans. We don’t mind the elements, the cash only, the broken dining room, and the smelly homeless people one bit. Keep it up!

First time going there big juicy burger great flavor lady at the counter was awesome shake was delicious will definitely be returning for burgers again

I’ve been passing by this place before and never thought their burgers and milkshakes are sooo good…
Finally, tried their Burger and caramel with peanut butter milkshake. And it is soooo goood. Like the taste of their burger, it just so good and tasty. I’m not really into peanut butter flavor but when i tried their caramel with peanut butter milkshake, it’s hello good.

Family favorite! Everything on the menu is good. Try a caramel shake!

If you’re in the area i’d recommend stopping by and try their burger and shake.
Let me start off by saying that this location isn’t the best. The staff seem nonchalant and the atmosphere is run down. You will experience a good dose of ghetto here, so if you don’t mind that, the food is not half bad. Last time I was here, a lady threated to beat one of the employees up because she wouldn’t give her a free milkshake. Just to show, these are the kind of things that may be expected while here.
Caution: their food does tend to get a really greasy. It’s a hit or miss. sometimes you get a really neat burger and fries, and sometimes it will be drenched in oil.
The burgers are a fairly hefty. They use a special sauce with lettuce and onions (I usually get my onions grilled). The fries are thick and starchy, and are generally, fairly fresh. I’ve had their fried zucchini which was dapper, and not overly cooked. Their milkshakes are here are phenominal. If you’re a milkshake fan, try out some of their specials, you will not be disappointed.
I’m more inclined to rate this higher because this is a big spot for Highlands Highschool reunions (a local school), where some classes meet monthly going as far back as the 50s and 60s. They have a ton of information about the alumni and the status of their fellow classmates. Some days you can find this day packed with people with their oldschool cars, hanging out and catching up with their graduate class. However, I also feel that the attitude of the staff comes off as being careless, and the upkeep of the setting is poor, so I am also inclined to rate this lower. I feel that the business tends to take it’s loyal customer for granted and simply do not put love into their work.
They charge half price for a refill, so consider ordering a large preemptively. They do not provide water cups, but they sell water bottles for $ 1.00. This place also charges a $ 1.50 fee for ATM so bring cash!

This is a Sacramento institution pretty darn tasty burgers too I must say check it out

Im a burger fanatic — I adore burgers! And I definitely know what a good one is.
Ive lived next to this one for over 10 years but never really tried it for some reason. Was craving a burger today so I made my way over there.
The menu was simple — but ordering is a pain. I wanted a basic cheeseburger. The Jumbo Cheese (one patty) comes with lettuce, onion, and their special sauce. Tomatoes are 50cents extra! I wanted a water cup but NO they do not offer that. You must buy a bottled water bottle. And then to top it off an extra $ 1.25 for debit card. That whole process was outrageous.
Now down to the actual food. The bread is huge and promising, but way too huge for the small ¼ lb patty. Basically jumbo bread not burger. All in all, it was mediocre. Fries were also average. I wanted a ranch along with my meal, but ofc that was 50cents extra. Theyll charge you for every cent man…
The service was not bad. All of these crazy rules and prices were getting to me and the server seemed apologetic, but its not like they can change the rules.
Lou’s I know you’ve been established for many years, but you need to keep up and attempt to please the customers!
I will not be back for a burger.

I don’t really understand why so many folks love this place. The milkshakes are passable. Some are quirky (Mt. Dew shake!) and that’s kind of cool…
That’s it. I don’t really have anything horrific to report. They just aren’t good. No specifics, just overall. It’s obvious a lot of people like this joint. It just wasn’t my families cup of tea.
For the 30 bucks we spent on a couple of burgers, three sides and two shakes, I would have rather gone to In-​n-​Out and spent less.

Tonight my son wanted to go to Lou’s for his birthday dinner and a shake .
The help was rude, his vanilla milk shake tasted like sour cream. I told them it tasted awful the lady said look we have been making these all day no complaints. I told her she was welcome to take a sip if she would like. She said we will make another but if you don’t like it you are not getting your money back .
We could not eat inside due to temporary closure for cleaning .
I took my food home and it tasted not that great. The old Lou’s had a delicious burger before that kept me coming back for 39 years .
I think we will think twice before going there again.

Sacramento’s BEST BANANA MILK SHAKE!!!
Portions: Large
Taste: Classic, finger licking good.
Lou’s is one of the last pieces of American food history in Sacramento. From top to bottom you get the 1960’s feel of the location. Every sqft of the outside and especially the inside dine-​in area is steeped in Lou’s 57 years of history.
I walked up to the order window, and asked «what’s the most popular item on the menu.» They recommended the double cheese w/​onions. SOLD! I threw in a water and banana milk shake for good measure. Now my heart probably wasn’t happy about my choices that day, but it was a great way to relax and eat a great tasting high calorie finger licking good burger and shake. No regrets, great service, happy reviewer.