Two different sandwiches share the name shrimp burger. The American Southern version is fried shrimp, or a bread crumb patty, served on a bun along the Carolina coast. The Korean fast food version, which is the one we make in Fullerton, is a formed patty of whole shrimp, breaded, fried and dressed with tartar sauce.
If you have searched for a shrimp burger in English, you have almost certainly been shown the first one. Recipes, coastal drive-ins, frozen patties at the grocery store. The second one barely exists in English at all, which is why people walk up to our counter, see Shrimp Burger on the board, and ask what is actually in it. Here is the honest answer to both halves of the question.
Two foods, one name
This is not a case of one dish with regional variations. These are two separate traditions that arrived at the same English words from opposite directions, and knowing which one you are looking at changes what you expect on the plate.
| Southern shrimp burger | Korean fast food shrimp burger | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it comes from | Coastal North and South Carolina, drive-ins since the 1950s | Korean quick service restaurant menus, including ours |
| The patty | Whole fried shrimp piled on a bun in North Carolina. A bread crumb bound patty of shrimp, onion and pepper in South Carolina | A single formed patty made from whole shrimp, breaded and fried |
| What dresses it | Tartar sauce, slaw and ketchup, with Old Bay and remoulade common in recipe media | Tartar sauce and Thousand Island, lettuce, onion or dill pickles |
| Where you eat it | A seafood shack or a beach town drive-in | A burger counter, a drive-thru or a food court |
What a Southern shrimp burger is
The Southern shrimp burger is a real regional icon and it deserves the respect. It belongs to the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, where drive-ins have been serving it since the 1950s. El’s Drive-In in Morehead City has been at it since 1959, and Southern Living still sends readers there.
What matters for our purposes is that there are two builds, not one. The North Carolina Folklife Institute describes the North Carolina version as fried shrimp on a bun with some combination of slaw, tartar sauce and ketchup. It is barely a burger at all, in the sense that nothing is formed into a patty. The South Carolina version does form a patty, binding shrimp with onions and peppers in bread crumbs.
Then there is the recipe internet, which has taken the idea somewhere else again, toward Old Bay mayo, Creole spice and jalapeno slaw. That is the version most Americans have actually met, because it is the version that fills a search results page.
What a Korean shrimp burger is
Ours is a formed patty, and the shrimp in it is whole rather than paste. That is the single most important sentence in this post, because it is the thing guests are checking for when they lift the top bun and look.
The patty is coated and fried, so the outside is crisp and the inside stays springy. Tartar sauce and Thousand Island go on together, which sounds like a lot until you eat it. The tartar handles the seafood and the Thousand Island adds the sweetness and acidity a fried patty needs. Lettuce and onion go on the single. On the double we swap in dill pickles, which cuts harder against two patties.
The bun is a toasted sesame bun, not brioche. No slaw, no ketchup, no Old Bay. If you have eaten a shrimp burger in Korea, this is the same sandwich you remember. If you have only eaten the Carolina version, this will read as something new rather than as a bad copy of it.
One thing we say out loud on every order: it contains shrimp, which means shellfish. Please tell us at the register if anyone at your table has an allergy.
Where our shrimp comes from
Most of what we cook in Fullerton is sourced here in the United States. The shrimp is the exception. It comes directly from LOTTERIA’s own operations in Vietnam, which is how the patty stays consistent with what the brand serves elsewhere rather than drifting toward whatever a US supplier had that month.
That detail matters more than it sounds. A shrimp patty is not a forgiving product. Size grade, water content and how the shrimp is handled before it is formed all show up in the bite. Keeping that part of the chain inside the company is the reason the patty we fry in Orange County eats like the one people remember.
Single or double, and which to order
| Item | Price | Calories | Combo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shrimp Burger | $6.99 | 590 | $12.77 |
| Double Shrimp Burger | $8.49 | 830 | $14.27 |
2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, but calorie needs vary. Additional nutrition information available upon request. These are our in-store prices as of September 2026 and they can change.
Order the single if you want the sandwich in balance. One patty against lettuce, onion and two sauces is the build the item was designed around, and at 590 calories it is one of the lighter things on our board.
Order the double if you came for the shrimp. Two patties change the ratio completely, the dill pickles show up to fight back, and it eats like a full meal on its own. It is also the version our guests are most likely to describe as unlike anything else they can buy nearby.
And if you are here on a weekday between 11:30am and 2pm, the Lunch Special puts the Shrimp Combo at $9.99 and the Double Shrimp Combo at $11.49, both with French Fries and a Soft Drink. That is the cheapest way to eat this sandwich properly.
How to order it in Fullerton
We are at 150 W Orangethorpe Ave, Fullerton, CA 92832, open 10am to 10pm every day, with a drive-thru. You can order at the counter, at a kiosk, at the window, or for pickup through our order page. The rest of the board is on the menu.
If you want the fuller story of how this item became the one the brand is known for, we wrote that separately in Shrimp Burger: The Signature That Built LOTTERIA. This post is about the name. That one is about the sandwich.
What guests say about the patty
We have taken 311 Google reviews over the last 12 months, and the shrimp patty is the single most discussed thing on our menu. The specific detail people keep raising is the one this whole post is about: whether the shrimp is real and whole.
“The burger itself was delicious, and I loved how you could see real shrimp (not some fake mushy paste) in the patties.”
Leo G., Google, Mar 2026
“My personal favorite is the shrimp burger. Other restaurants don’t have this. The patties are thick and good quality. I see chunks of shrimp in the patties.”
Stephanie L., Google, May 2026
“The shrimp patty was perfectly crispy on the outside, and it was packed with so much shrimp that every bite felt juicy and bouncy.”
Aerin P., Google, Apr 2026
Questions
Is a Korean shrimp burger made with whole shrimp or ground shrimp?
Ours is made with whole shrimp formed into a patty, not a smooth ground paste. You can see the individual pieces in a cross section, which is the detail our guests mention most often in reviews. The patty is then breaded and fried, so it is crisp outside and springy inside.
What sauce goes on a LOTTERIA shrimp burger?
Tartar sauce and Thousand Island, together. The tartar sauce handles the seafood and the Thousand Island brings sweetness and acidity. The single Shrimp Burger adds lettuce and onion on a toasted sesame bun. The Double Shrimp Burger keeps both sauces and swaps in dill pickles alongside iceberg lettuce.
Is the shrimp burger fried?
Yes. The shrimp patty is breaded and fried to order, which is where the crisp exterior comes from. That is one of the differences from the North Carolina style shrimp burger, where whole fried shrimp are piled straight onto a bun rather than formed into a single patty first.
What is the difference between the Shrimp Burger and the Double Shrimp Burger?
The single is $6.99 with one shrimp patty, lettuce and onion. The double is $8.49 with two patties and dill pickles in place of the onion. Both carry tartar sauce and Thousand Island on a sesame bun. The single is 590 calories and the double is 830 calories.
Does the shrimp burger contain shellfish allergens?
Yes. Both the Shrimp Burger and the Double Shrimp Burger contain shrimp, which is a shellfish allergen. Please tell our team at the register or the drive-thru window if anyone in your party has a shellfish allergy, and we can point you to the beef, chicken and rice burger options instead.
Where can I get a Korean style shrimp burger in the United States?
This style of shrimp burger is common on Korean fast food menus and rare in the United States. Our Fullerton restaurant at 150 W Orangethorpe Ave is the only LOTTERIA in the country, open 10am to 10pm daily with a drive-thru, and the Shrimp Burger is on the board all day.
Sources
- North Carolina Folklife Institute, El’s Drive-In Shrimp Burger, a Crystal Coast Favorite, 2016
- Our State, NC 101, The Crystal Coast Shrimpburger, accessed September 12, 2026
- Southern Living, North Carolinians Have Been Lining Up For These Old-School Shrimp Burgers Since The ’50s, accessed September 12, 2026
- Korea Daily, Lotteria Opens First U.S. Store in Fullerton, Bringing K-Burgers to America, August 14, 2025