The Shack

This place knows what it is and does it right! My, good, online gaming buddy who lives in a different state introduced me to this place when we first met in-​person. I was very skeptical at first because of the look of the place, it essentially looks like its’ name; a old run down surf shack. Then he brought me inside and I got more apprehensive, the place is relatively dark, rather small, and cramped with some tables that haven’t been wiped down in a few hours.
All of that being said, my hesitation and apprehension all died down when I tried their burger and fries. This isn’t gourmet food by any means, it’s what you would find at a Shack, but it has tons of flavor it’s cooked right and it’s down right crave-​able. All top of all that the prices are extremely right! I challenge you to find better food any where else for the same price.
Since coming that first time nearly a year ago I’ve gone back with my fiancée about 6 times and we have loved every time we’ve gone back! In addition to the burger and fries we’ve tried the tuna melt (my new favorite), the chili cheese fries, the chili cheese dog, and multiple drinks and they’ve all been out of this world!
Also, the people who sit at the bar may seem to look mean and grumpy, but I assure you they’re all mostly locals and are all super friendly if you spark up a conversation with them.
I highly recommend this place if you go in with the expectations of knowing it’s a «Shack» that does good, cheap, bar food right. In fact I plan to go back this Monday and would love to meet the owner at some point to think him/​her for one of my favorite places in LA.
A fair warning the only thing that is bad about this place is the parking. The lot is always full and street parking can take 30 minutes– 1 hour to find on a gloomy day, on a beach day, good luck.

I’ve come here on a Friday night and a Saturday afternoon. Drinks and food here are amazing. Friday night karaōke was definitely a fun thing to do. The burgers are the best here. Its relatively small here so keep that in mind if coming with a big group. Service by the staff was quick and friendly. Even for a jammed house food and drinks are made quick. Parking ‘M be a bit problematic. Just don’t park by the beach. This small little area seems so much fun. Try a night out here!

Everything about this place is awesome.
EVERYTHING.
But the most important thing — YOU MUST — MUST order the Funnel Cake fries!
Love the bartenders, always chill. Great place to watch a game and grab a quick bite. Love the open roof patio area — bathrooms small, but not everything can always be perfect.
Def a place to come with your buddies!

Server «bar-​a» 5÷21÷16 awful service from the female bar tender I ordered food and sat with my friends for a birthday gathering she never called out the order was ready instead let it sit in the cold Until I asked her where it was. She’s terrible. Bar blows.

Love this place. You can feed an army for like 20 bucks. Seriously the burgers are huge, every meal is a huge portion, and everything is fresh and tasty. Every meal is less than 10 bucks and should really serve 2.
Craig or «G» is an amazing bartender. Dude has the best attitude, works his ass off, and makes killer stiff drinks. I hope ownership knows how much business this dude brings in.
The orders come up quick and the staff is as friendly as can be. I’ve been coming here for years and they are just the same every time– fantastic.
I’ll keep coming back. Oh, one thing. There is no AC. It gets warm in there. Like warm warm. Like hotter– than-Satan’s-underpants-warm. Other than that, it’s perfect.

First of all I need some ambiance in a great restaurant and this is as good as it gets.
Tin roof, wood paneled and it all looks like it was thrown together, but perfect.
Even the restroom is rustic but sparkling clean.
I order the Shack burger with spicy sausage.
Perfect simple bun, perfect sized burger, perfect sausage, some onion, tomato and pickles.
And then I open the NEW glass bottle of Heinz ketchup on the table, not some plastic refill bottle and top the burger.
At 60 I’ve had a lot of burgers across the country this is perfect 20 on a 1 — 10 scale.
To go on
Pre formed burgers or burgers cooked by a machine get 0 rating although I might have to eat it and perhaps even like it like Flaky Jakes is OK still gets a 0 (the kids like it).
Concrete floors, concrete walls with a picture on the wall and 2 TVs with metal chairs?
That is just a warehouse with food. Also Invariably some of the nicest places have horrible restrooms as if no one wants to do that job. Too low for the boss or anyone else. Bosses get in there once a day/​once a week to clean and set an example.
Enjoy

I love this place. I have been coming here off and on for the last 18 years and it’s still the best place to have the best burger in Los Angeles. I have always loved their Shack Burger but there are so many other tasty things on their menu. Don’t pass this place up if you are in the area. Hell don’t pass this place up if your not in the area! Great food, Great drinks, Great atmosphere.

Best dive bar and dive bar food in Playa! The burgers and onion rings are on point. Bartender is friendly and people are chill.

Its Burger Review Week (3 burger reviews in a row), and Five Star Fri, so forget about the Tripel and go to The Shack!!!
My b’ness associate previously picker the Tripel — what a TS2 (Two Star 2uesday disaster). However, this time he picked a winner located at Culver, at the foot of Vista del Mar in Playa del Rey. The Shack is a dive bar specializing in burgers.
We both ordered the signature Shack Burger ($ 7.99 | burger topped w/​Louisiana sausage, produce, and cheese if you like). It was a Mon so we also received complimentary fries: Score!
The burger was genius! The texture of the sausage contrasted nicely w/​that of the burger. Both were savory & moist, and filled you up nicely. In addition, the fries were hot and crispy: 5 Stars.
Regarding the ambiance, it was tiki bar like, and literally is a run down shack. There are inside seats, as well as high tables outside: 5 Stars. Likewise, the service from the bartender was excellent. He was very friendly, attentive, and the food came out quickly: 5 Stars.
I wish The Shack was close to my office (maybe not because I’d be here all the time drinking beer — LOL). The food is reasonably priced, the ambiance is chill, and the service is excellent. What more can you ask for?!

Not as good as it used to be.
I used to go there many years ago when the burgers were fresh and very tasty. I went there last week and was very disappointed. Next time if I feel like a Tom’s cheap dry/​frozen burger I might as well just go to Tom’s.
The Shacks food is fairly disgusting and will never go back again.
And also I would like to add… When I was ordering my food the lady that was taking my order was sneezing into her hand and I never even saw her wash up once when she was preparing my food.
This place is disgusting.
Save your money!!!

It is called the Shack for a reason. Hahaha. The place looks and feels exactly that. I ordered their jalapeño burger with fries and my friend got the hot wings. The prices were very reasonably. They had NFL games running on the TVs. So after biking about 15 miles, a seat, burger, and the game was a nice comfort.

Stopped in to watch some NFL games this weekend. A decent place with a good amount of flat screens. No table service, strictly order from the bar or from the counter for food. Atmosphere is laid back, servers were all cool and friendly. A great local dive bar.

If you’re looking for some awesome post beach comfort food, the shack is where it’s at. I ordered a jalapeño burger and fries and it was exactly what I wanted. Nothing over the top and fancy, but everything a quick burger and fries are supposed to be.
The atmosphere is very beachy and laid back. Good music and friendly staff. The shack is definitely one of my favorite Playa restaurants.

This is more of a 3.5 star review.
Stopped in for lunch and ordered at the counter. They have a good selection of food and I ordered the Kelsey burger. Ordered a pitcher of beer for the bar and found ourselves a good spot in the outdoor area. Pretty chill, dive bar atmosphere here with no frills.
My name was called about 15 mins later to grab my burger. The burger was pretty decent. Good amount of bacon and BBQ sauce on there. Had a bite of someones chicken wings and they were pretty decent as well.
Food was overall not bad. Good standard dive bar grub. I do have to hand it to the guy who was working the cashier that day. The girl grilling up food got quite snarky to one of us and the cashier came over to apologize for it. Thanks man!
If I’m in playa looking for a beer and a burger. This place seems to be the place to go.

It looked nice from the outside but once you were inside it was a bit dirty and cramped. We went to get food/​Drinks after a long beach day.
The food was not the best, i got a tuna melt but it was ice cold?! Wtf. i also ordered a bloody Mary, it was the worst bloody Mary i have ever had.
Also the Blonde older lady was low key rude. No smiles at all. Like girl i just paid 30 $ plus tip for food, where is that smile?!
I don’t think i ever would want to go back. :(

This is a cool, small divey bar/​burger spot in otherwise small and quiet Playa Del Rey.
The Shack definitely has a well weathered patina, as it has been serving up the goods for many moons. It has a cheap bar and great burger/​hot dog menu.
ALSO live music/​DJ on the weekend.
I had a double turkey burger which was very good.

This has been a staple for me every time I’m in this part of LA.
Great burger, great vibe, cold beer, and proximity to the beach.
Parking can be tricky, but don’t give up!

Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name! My first time here was a few days ago but my friend frequents this place and everyone knew his name. It’s a dive bar in a very cool area near the beach. It is definitely one of those joints where the patrons are all regulars and they are more than likely locals. It isn’t the type of place you would go out of your way to go to. My friend works at LAX so it convenient for him after work.
The drinks were good and the food was decent. If you’re at Dockweiler beach and want a place to chill afterwards, this isn’t a bad spot to do it in. I would go back with friends if I was invited

Two things make a dive bar a dive bar: alcohol and atmosphere. Now, the Shack is listed on Unilocal as a burger place serving American food. But it’s not. It’s really a dive bar that also happens to serve food imho. The Shack is about beer and fun. And it succeeds at both.
It’s become a tradition for a group of us to go on a pub crawl the Friday night of President’s weekend. This time, the person who organized the crawl led us to Playa Del Rey where there’s a strip of Culver Blvd. loaded with bars that are truly crawlable, no driving needed in other words. We hit three of them last night and the Shack was the last… and the best. And, no, it was not the beer goggles effect because I only had one beer the whole night for various reasons. But thanks for asking.
Alcohol: ⁵⁄₅. Stella on tap is Stella on tap. Hard to go wrong there.
Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅. Last night the Karaōke crowd was on fire. The fab DJ kept the songs rolling and served as bouncer too at one point. The vibes here are very, very positive; the not-​so-​awesome singers were cheered on just as much as the awesome singers. The Shack is decorated with beach stuff, kinda like a high school surfer kid’s bedroom, only with a bar. In other words, high school surfer dude’s fantasy bedroom. (Except, no bong.) Oh, and there’s dancing ftw.
Service: ⁴⁄₅. Compared to the first bar we stopped at, the service here was stellar. The barkeep actually asked me what I wanted and served it up promptly.

I stopped in here after a long bike ride last weekend. I hit it up because I was just looking for a nice relaxing beach atmosphere. I wasn’t disappointed.
I like this place because it isn’t trying to fool anybody. It’s a shack. A shack where you go to eat sloppy burgers and drink beer. Where you can be covered in sand or sweat and not even get a second glance from anyone. It’s refreshing.
The food is very reasonably priced, and the menu is straightforward. It’s all served on plastic diner trays lined with tissue paper, and the burgers look like they were assembled with your basic store-​bought ingredients. Which is not something I’m complaining about. It reminds me (a very small town kid) of home.
I guess what I’m saying is this. In an age where everyplace is trying to look cool and trendy, with over complicated and expensive menu items. This place just is what it is, plain and simple. Which allows me to relax. I dig that.