Jun 25, 2020 8 min read Beef

Celebrity Burger: Burgers That Live Up To Their Name in Gangnam

Originally reviewed on June 24, 2020

Name

한글 🇰🇷	ENGLISH 🇺🇸
셀러브리티버거	Celebrity Burger (Gangnam)

Price

Korean Won 🇰🇷	United States Dollar 🇺🇸
₩13,000	~$11

Price is a rough average per head, excluding drinks but including fries.

Operating Hours

Day	Open	Close
Monday	Closed	Closed
Tuesday-Sunday	11:30	21:30

Last orders are at 20:30, if you come a minute late the order will not be taken. Delivery also shuts down at the same time, so come earlier.

Location

This is on a side street by itself with massive neon signs; you can't miss it, since it's at the beginning of a residential area that is more or less muted in surroundings.

Seoul Seek Recommendations

👑 Signature
✅ Counting Calories
🌶️ Spicy

한글 🇰🇷	English 🇺🇸	Price 💵
아보카도 버거	Avocado Burger 👑	₩9,200
더블치즈버거	Double Cheeseburger	₩9,800
스내플 키워스트로베리	Snapple (Strawberry Kiwi)	₩3,800
캘리포니아레몬이드	California Lemonade	₩2,500
치즈 후라이즈	Cheese Fries	₩5,200

You'll see burrito fries in our review, but we recommend the OG cheese fries, having been here numerous times. We'll get into that later.

Furthermore, the usual signature menu is the double cheeseburger, but due to a recent campaign, it has switched to the avocado burger.

Overview

You will find many attempts at a good burger in Seoul. Look at any food or travel guide, each one will have a different list. However, this one varies a bit, as most of the employees are American-born Koreans, who know what a real American burger tastes like.

They offer take out here, but most people dine in. In general, not many people order burgers, just given their nature and how heat dissipates quickly if not wrapped airtight or in some type of aluminium foil.

You'll find that the idea of compensation and/or regulation occurs within Korean cuisine very often.

Examples of this:

pickles in place of more sodium within Italian cuisine (foreign cuisine)
kimchi to slice through oily texture of certain meats (domestically)
ginger to reset palate during omakase-style meals (familiar to most)

This place does not compensate. This is owned by the same CEO as Downtowner which is a wildly popular mini-chain of burger spots.

Arrival

You'll want to come out of Exit 2 of Hanti Station; 1 stop from Seoulleung Station on the 2 Line

Cool shot of a tower; ironically this was a left turn

This is the outside; the guy on the scooter was foreign and looked identical to Mac Miller (RIP)

The neon sign here is strangely much brighter than a normal one

A burger emoji neon sign can be seen on the right-hand side of the storefront

The interior is very clean and bright, despite it being terribly rainy outside

A little classic diner-style wraparound is situated on the right side, near the self-serve

They display their drinks throughout the establishment, perhaps just for show

As with Downtowner, they offer stickers here (free), just don't be too greedy

The self-serve bar offers water, Tabasco, ketchup, pickled onions, and paper cups

These were really cool; not sure what the occasion was

A head-on view of the kitchen; the smell is unreal, with drinks offered on the right

The Sides & Drinks

Got a big cup of ketchup and some pickled onions (same as you'd find at a BBQ joint stateside)

We ended up getting some lemonade and a Snapple (which is rare to see here)

This was a lot cleaner and more clear than I anticipated for a kiwi strawberry juice (which is good)

Has almost the same color and consistency as pink lemonade with a taste like peach mixed with guava

The Fries

There are the *burrito fries* which we ordered

It contains jalapenos (chopped), spicy mayo, salsa, chives, guacamole, and corn with sour cream

Despite my complaints and the appearance of this, they really weren't *that* bad

One thing I'll say straight up is I hate corn. I can't stand the texture, I don't like how it's soggy canned corn, and to be honest, I would have expected a little more from Celebrity Burger, because I know what they're capable of. This appears to be some sort of new gimmick menu they're trying out, so in this specific instance, I'm going to give them a pass.

However, with that being said, something like this is a tourist-favorite, and the exact reason why we tried it out, to see how it'd be served. The result? The fries become soggy almost instantly because of all the sauce just thrown on top, and you end up wasting an entire basket of perfectly-crispy fries for nothing.

The guacamole was great, the jalapenos were a good match, but the salsa was watery and I could tell it came from a can. I didn't expect some artisanal salsa from a Korean burger spot, though.

Just order normal fries, cheese fries if you like cheese, and stay away from the sauce gimmicks. That's my advice. Let's move onto the main event, now.

The Burgers

The patties are handmade daily and are heavily seasoned with coarse pepper as well as sea salt

More akin to a smash burger, they're incredibly moist and very textured

Here's a top-down shot; sorry for the bad lighting here, was hard since the light was directly above

The avocado was very fresh and firm, not soggy or old

The bacon could be more crispy, but this is just a nationwide trend; people like it more floppy

Shot of the cheese on the patty; the patty was charred perfectly

Each burger comes with a cool sleeve, so you can eat it easily

These burgers are elite. They are salty, but not too salty. They are also very well-structured; many places will cut the tomatoes too thick or put way too much lettuce on it, while Celebrity Burger finds a perfect balance. A single high quality piece of lettuce, which is not wilted and also farm-to-table fresh, sits on top of two very well-placed tomatoes. Beneath that are deli onions which sit on top of the cheese.

Surprisingly, there is a perfect amount of cheese on here. They use domestic cheese made in Seoul, and it's a really good match; it is a Korean take on American classic cheese, which in some bites tasted more akin to an aged cheddar.

The buns are brioche, made daily and in-house, which they toast with just a dollop of mayonaisse on the flat-top grill. This makes the buns incredibly moist, and a perfect accent to the smashed patties.

I always keep two plastic gloves in my pocket so if we hit up a burger or chicken spot, I'm prepared

A solid first bite reveals the patties are perfectly cooked with a tinge of pink

Summary

This place hits the spot, and is my go-to when someone wants a good burger. Their quality is very consistent and they've never served a bad meal, as far as quality goes.

I'd stay away from the gimmick items that are meant to attract tourists, and just stick to what you know the flavor of, unless you have the luxury of trying out everything on the menu.

If you like smash burgers, then this will taste very familiar. You can also custom order, but be weary that you'll pay a premium since the cooks have to go out of their way to customize burgers, which they do not offer on the menu.

Come here solo or with a group, either or.