Pi Eats: Shake Shack

NAOMI BLAIR BECOMES A #SHACKADEMIC AS PART OF THE NEW STUDENT PROMOTION AT A POPULAR BURGER CHAIN IN COVENT GARDEN

 Must try: Shack Stack burger

Wallet damage: £

Good for: A quick bite with friends

Overall: Quality fast food and amazing milkshakes

It’s been just over a year since Shake Shack opened their doors in Covent Garden’s piazza. You can smell the American chain miles away and there is almost always a queue outside.

But for students, life is going to get a whole lot better during October, as Shake Shack UK has launched a promotion called ‘Shackademics’, offering hungry students a free single scoop of their legendary frozen custard when you buy a burger or hot dog with a valid student card. It’s a great way to try out some of the best ice cream around, which is normally £3 a scoop.

But ice cream isn’t all Shake Shack does. Their burgers and cheesy fries are the centrepiece causing this craze. The ‘Smokeshack’ burger (£7 for a single/£10 for a double) is Shake Shack’s version of a bacon cheeseburger with a twist of chopped cherry peppers for a slightly spicy kick. Vegetarians aren’t neglected either with arguably the best veggie burger in town: the ‘Shroom burger’ (£5.25), a crispy fried Portobello mushroom stuffed with oozing cheese. Even as an avid mushroom hater, I loved this burger (then again, most things are okay with me so long as they’re deep-fried and smothered in cheese).

You can have the best of both worlds with the ‘Shack Stack’ burger (£8), which combines a ‘Shroom burger’ and a cheeseburger in one gloriously large bun. The cheese fries (£3.75) are also great, with a compulsively delicious cheese sauce drizzled all over the crinkle-cut fries. What’s more is all the meat for the burgers is 100% freshly ground Aberdeen Angus, and the sausages in their hot dogs are authentic Cumberlands.

I’d also recommend the lemonade (from £2.75) which is nice and sharp, as well as the amazing £5 milkshakes which, although expensive, are totally worth it. I’m also told that their ‘Shackmeister Ale’ is very good. Shake Shack’s special ice cream sundaes go by the name of ‘Concretes’ (£4.50 for a single), and come with a variety of delicious mix-ins, including local ingredients from the famous St John bakery and Paul A. Young’s chocolaterie. The ‘Sticky Toffee’ concrete is a personal favourite and it is made with chocolate toffee, salted caramel sauce and chocolate chunks from Paul A. Young.

Shake Shack will help cure any cheesy, oily, hangover cravings. Join the #Shackademic this October and you definitely won’t be disappointed!

Search for the hashtag #Shackademics on Twitter to find out more.