Yak’s on the 5

Amazing place. My fiancé and I stopped in near closing time. As we waited to be seated we noticed the sticky buns in the glass cases that looked amazing. The owner/​hostess seated us and asked if this was our first time or if we had been there before (it was our first time). She reviewed the menu with us, made suggestions, and gave us background on how everything was prepared (from scratch and locally sourced). While we reviewed the menu she brought us half a sticky bun: amazingly delicious!
Our order:
1. Scott’s Tots — incredible flavor and texture. A must have appetizer!
2. Overload Bacon Burger — exactly what it sounds like. Delectable flavor and toppings to go with a burger.
3. Va Va Voom Buger — mushroom and cheese deliciousness.
The owner/​hostess chatted with us several times as did the owner/​cook. We overheard a couple as they were leaving that this was the best burger they had had in their entire life — agreed! Yaks was an orgasmic burger experiences that will be had to top elsewhere. What a find and incredible work done by Yaks! A must if you are driving through Dunsmuir.

Best burgers hands down ever!!! Green eyed lady, amazing!!! Vacationing from Monterey, Ca. with the family. Diner’s, drive-​ins, and dives needs to come see you guys and eat an amazing burger. Wish you were a closer drive.

Another awesome meal at Yaks! I love their homemade veggie patty. Had an chocolate porter with it. It’s popping today. Even at 2:45 in the afternoon we had to wait for a table. Service was good as well. One of our favorite stops on the 5 headed towards Sac.

Definetely worth the stop. Mainly just for the sticky buns! XD
When entering the restaurant, you are greeted with friendly waiters and waitresses and the atmosphere is nice and casual. The room’s light is very dim and it’s a little hard to see the menu, but I didn’t really mind. The tables and pathways are really close together, mainly because all of the furniture are big. Depending on your table, getting your way around is a little difficult, especially if the place is crowded. We got a table where the couch, table, and bench were all squished together so that they could make room for a larger pathway. When we tried to move it so everybody could get through and sit, the waitress asked us apologetically to not do so. I understand, since it was really crowded and it was so hard to move around. After that scene though, the waitresses were still nice and helpful. Nothing special, but it was nice to know they were good with the customers. We were also given a free sticky bun while waiting for our food, although I read on some reviews that not every table gets one. It’s great if you get one though! Okay, now about the rest of the food!
We ordered: Wild Caught Salmon Patty, Garlic Obsession, Va Va Voom, cranberry salad, and a few sticky buns to give to our friends.
Food was pretty good! Definetely not the best I’ve ever eaten, but I can understand why this was named one of the top 100 restaurants of 2015. The pricetag was definetely high, but you can expect big portions with the main courses. The garlic obsession had a little too much garlic in my opinion, but everything else turned out fine. I ordered the salmon and it tasted fresh and delicious! I was disappointed that the buns on the burgers were too large, and that substituting to fries was a little pricey. Everything was still great though, so if you don’t mind spending a little bit of money, it’s really a great restaurant.
The winner here were those sticky buns! They had a taste similar to cinammon rolls, and one was big enough to share with the whole family.
Overall, I recommend checking out YAKS yourself and see if you like it!

I stopped at the place after gassing up.
I was in for a pleasant surprise. The food was amazing. They make their own sauces and it pays big time.

Well it’s easy on, easy off the 5. That’s worth 1 star at the least.
We ordered:
Manburger, Queen Karma Veggie Burger, Blonde Bombshell and Wings.
Manburger was a rough start, the bacon was rubbery as the fat was not rendered. When you describe a «bourbon glazed bacon» it makes your mouth drool. This burger totally did not. But luckily I had read the trucker’s negative review and knew to pay attention. I explained and the sweet server took the bacon back with a quick smile. In less than 5 minutes I had my meal back with crispy, freshly bourbon glazed bacon burger that matched the menu description to a «T».
Blonde bombshell — our guest ate in silence and then exclaimed, «I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!» And not in an Alka-​Seltzer kind of way. Her burger was pink in the middle and delish!
The wings – well my husband started taking about smuggling a second order home so he could replicate the recipe. Perfectly dry-​rubbed then smoked, these 3 large wings were then sauce to perfection. Yep, the fat was definitely rendered off these!
Unfortunately the Queen Karma veggie burger fell flat for my daughter. As a connoisseur of Veggie burgers, she favors the type with real veggies, some grain and ground nuts. I tasted it and the trucker is right, it has a powdery flavor and I assume it’s from garbanzo flour maybe. But the homemade kettle chips were great!
My tater tots were dropped into the fryer too long. The French fries were perfect. The house salad was creamy, crunchy and fresh.
Yes the tab was expensive. But it’s a great joint for good food on the side of the interstate. Stop by for a Yak, the staff are great, the food is worth it and you won’t walk away hungry!

Great food… great service… the sticky bun sample is holy cow deliciousness! All our burgers were cooked to perfection. Will have to try cilantro instead of lettuce at home.

This is seriously one of the best burgers I’ve had! I tried the Bacon Overload burger, and it was delicious! I also ordered a side salad, which could have been my whole meal. The salad was also very tasty, one of the best! Service was excellent! Such a fun place to go. And very, very kid friendly,
with games for the kids to play with while we waited for food. We will be back on our next trip to Oregon. :-)

So good. The burgers here are on point. The tots as a replacement for the chips were a little spendy and won’t be doing that again. They gave us a free sample of their sticky buns. Oh so good. All in all good food in a comfy atmosphere.

First of all, I just want to state that I only do reviews on Unilocal when I feel that they truly deserve 5 stars. If I don’t like a place I just don’t waste my time writing a review for them. But today Yak’s on the 5 had me making an exception.
Every week I drive by here and I see all their signs stating that they are rated one of the top 100 places to eat in all of America by Unilocal.Since I’m a trucker and my schedule was really tight I had to take it to go. I was really excited to try this «amazing» food.
The lady who took my order was really nice. We ordered:
1. Jalapeño Poppers
2. Blonde Bombshell Burger with Fries
3. Morning After Burger with Chips
4. Willie’s Duck Chili
A couple things to note here… The first thing is that the standard for every burger is chips. If you want plain fries, garlic fries, tots then it costs extra. Second thing to note is that on their website they do not list prices.
After I placed my order she told me my total which was $ 61.53. At first I was shocked since it was just two burgers, an appetizer and a cup of chili. Surely the average cost per item couldn’t be $ 15 each. But then I said to myself this place has an amazing rating so the food and quality will surely be worth it.
Jalapeño Poppers — $ 11.50 — only 3 small pieces and when you take your first bite the only thing you taste is a big gush of oil shooting into your mouth. The cream cheese filling had no flavor and the dipping sauce was far too sweet and tasted like sweet and sour sauce mixed with honey.
Blonde Bombshell Burger — $ 12.50 — The bun dwarfed the poor little meat patty by at least double. The actual burger patty was dry and unseasoned and a bit grisly. The onion strings were greasy and flavorless and the tiny smidgen of «aioli» was just plain mayo and not even a good quality mayo at that. Most of the cheese had been oozed off into a cheese skirt around the burger which was kinda unappetizing.
Plain Fries (with BB Burger) — $ 2.99 — no salt and none provided on the side. soggy and didn’t seem to be fresh. Sub par at best.
Morning After Burger — $ 16.99 — The burger seemed promising after my first bite but then I hit the bacon «crumbles» which was actually bacon strips which were undercooked and had raw fat throughout. I wanted to remove the bacon but because of the way they threw everything together on the burger it made it impossible to separate the bad bacon from everything else which made it difficult to eat around the raw bacon. The beef patty on this one was unseasoned as well and very dry.
Chips — Free with burger– bland and unseasoned. slightly soggy.
Willie’s Duck Chili — $ 12.99 — It came in a 16 oz to go coffee cup and was only slightly over half full. They forgot to give me the garlic bread that is supposed to come with it. The website says it contains 25 magical ingredients and I don’t know which one is the culprit but one or more of those magical ingredients makes this chili taste like it has been dragged through a flower garden. There’s a very strong floral scent and flavor to this chili that just doesn’t taste right. It lingers with you in your sinuses and mouth long after you taste it, almost as if perfume is a main ingredient. This chili at $ 12.99 is a big ripoff. The «duck» in here had the same texture and look as bits of meat product you find in a can of Armour or Hormel.
I took pictures and posted my receipt so that others can go into this fully aware.
The conclusion I’ve come to on why this place has so many good reviews is because it’s right next to Weed, CA so everyone must have been very high or highly intoxicated on the craft beer that they push at this place to the point that their ability to taste their food was impaired also.
If you dig deeper you will find that there are bad reviews on this place but interestingly enough most of them are in the Unrecommended section… hmmm…

Loved it! What caught my attention were those highway billboards (highway 5 northbound in the Northern Central Valley) calling attention to a premium burger spot up in the mountains past Lake Shasta in the small community of Dunsmuir. I had never heard of the place. My brother and I would be in that area around lunchtime and also would need a fill up of gas. Everything worked out as the restaurant backs up to a Chevron gas station.
The food:
Delicious and juicy burgers come as advertised. The waitress gave my brother and I complimentary cinnamon buns and jalapeño poppers which were just awesome! The jalapeño bacon burger was recommended by our server and let me tell you, it is awesome. A huge mouth filling burger and perfectly crisp bacon with just the right kick of spice. The cheese is melted into a skirt… Something most places don’t do anymore. Yum!!!
One of the reasons for the 4 stars were the strength of the garlic on the garlic fries — I usually love garlic, but I thought it was just a touch much.
The ingredients are apparently all homemade, the bread and sauces (ranch and ketchup included) are original recipes, the beef comes from grass cows, and I believe all veggies are non-​GMO. Everything is sourced locally or in Northern California. This was a definite plus!
They also have a good selection of local and North Coast region craft beers.
The service:
The service was great. There was one waitress specifically designated to fill drinks such that water was never empty and quickly filled. Our food waitress was very kind, funny and proud of the restaurant.
The restaurant is smallish so there may be a little wait but the waitresses did a good job of greeting customers at the door and communicating how long a table would take.
The value:
For my brother and I getting 2 jalapeño bacon burgers with fries and 1 beer and 1 ice tea with tip, the bill came to $ 50ish (another reason for 4 stars). This was a little more than what I would usually spend comfortably at a burger spot on a long road trip. Prices are similar to an Umami Burger (teens to approaching $ 20 per burger) but I thought the ingredients used and overall burger were superior to an Umami Burger. However, this was definitely on the more pricy side given the fare and for a long road trip.
The ambiance:
The spot is in an unassuming building backing up to a Chevron gas station. There is an electric car charger in the lot behind the restaurant. I will say there was an ample amount of very interesting and well done artwork (I posted a picture of the mural we sat next to). The wall murals were gorgeous and something I didn’t do which I recommend is to ask about it.
Overall:
If I am ever on a long trip and the timing is right, I would be willing to come back and try more of the menu if the budget for the group allows. I love how this little mom and pop hole-​ish in the wall place has been able to survive off the freeway with no visible signs in Dunsmuir in a very small and fairly remote town, especially when so many small mom and pop shops have not been able to. Places like this, with unique character and great food, are definitely part of Americana and capture the spirit and idea of the «American road trip» while still paying homage to things like well sourced ingredients and quality.

Can you say food coma? After the best burger I’ve ever had, and I have had many, along with a couple wonderful micro brews, I was hardly able to speak my name. Wow, the bacon overload burger, loaded with bacon and asiago cheese was insanely good. We also started with the garlic parm fries, which were cooked perfectly, and the bacon appetizer that made me make strange noises. My son had the Va Va Voom burger, loved it, and he’s not much of a burger eater. My lady had the biggest, freshest salad I’ve ever seen.
An amazing place to stop, and I will be stopping there every time I’m in the area. If you like burgers, you must make this a destination!

Big ass burgers! If you love beer this this is your place! 20 drafts to choose from ipa dark and light!

Very pricey, but good food, great service, and a really neat atmosphere! I’m so impressed with all the details. Their homemade ketchup is crave worthy, the garlic aioli is amazing, the sauce for the sticky buns is a great indicator that whoever runs the kitchen knows what they’re doing! I would love to learn some stuff from the chefs! I will definitely make the 2 hour drive to go back again! They are a great example of how a food establishment should be run.

I’m trying to stay out of a food coma as I sit here and type my review. It was everything that my boyfriend had made this place out to be and more. All expectations were met. Ambience was funky and casual. I didn’t see the main part of the restaurant, but I heard that it’s there.
I had been pre thinking the order looking at their menu online. The cilantro burger sounded amazing, but so did the beer battered fried jalapeño chips that come on a few others. After not being able to decide I asked the waitress if I could put the chips on the burger. Solution made.
We ordered the garlic parm fries as an appetizer since we were starving since like Eugene Oregon. Fries came, well fries, with enough garlic that you had bites that seemed like they were lighting your mouth on for for a moment.
The burger was delicious. Tender bun, great meat and stacked high with the good stuff. I ended up not caring for the jalapeño chips as much as the onions (not fried enough)
The waitress also brought us a sample of the sticky bun which was also amazing and If I had room and was not so bad with sweets this weekend, I would have taken one to go.
The staff was great, our waitress was ontop of it with the perfect amount of check ins, and always a smile. I will definately be going back

Its no wonder that this place made the Unilocal Top 100 Restaurants! This place is amazing for sure. The Garlic Fries are about the best I have ever had. The Salads are super fresh, with local ingredients, and homemade salad dressings. But the thing to order here is one of their 3 pages of specialty burgers. I ordered the Bruschetta Burger that had fresh Basil, Garlic, Tomato, Micro Greens, Red Onion, Mozzarella, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Grass Fed Prather Ranch Beef, on a homemade roll. The wife had a Bacon Jalapeño Burger, with melted baked cheese on it. The flavors pop in our mouth on that one. I can’t wait to go back to try another burger. Let me just say, we went there for a lunch and after lunch, it was definitely the only meal we ate for the day. The burgers are massive! I love the fact that everything they have is homemade, nothing out of a box. On top of all that, they bring out a sample of their homemade «Sticky Bun» warmed up with a tasty Caramel Sauce. If Beer is your thing, the menu has over 100 Micro Brews, with a ton on draft. The Service is very good, and the food arrived within about 10 minutes of ordering it, which is lightening fast from my experience. Overall, this place is an absolute must stop if you are traveling on I-​5 between California and Oregon, or Pacific Northwest. This place is literally right off Interstate 5 and easily accessible from both the northbound or southbound direction. There is a gas station right next door if you need fuel and want to kill two birds with one stone.
Tip: If you want to burn off a few calories, the Hedge Creek Waterfalls trail head is less than 5 minutes from the front door of Yaks, on the same frontage road (Dunsmuir Ave) The waterfall is gorgeous and not too bad of a hike to burn off that massive burger before you get back in the car to head back down I-​5.

This place is definitely worth a stop and for us was the perfect mid point on our travels from Folsom, CA to Roseburg, OR. The burgers were always delicious and monstrous. The sticky buns always melt in your mouth. The beer selection is awesome!
The service however was always ok but nothing special. The last time we went my dad ordered regular fries with his meal and they brought him the chips (which none of us really liked) and then after asking politely to get him the side he originally ordered of regular fries he was brought out a plate of garlic fries. He ate them and they were good but I was a little unimpressed at the service/​lack of listening. There were only a couple of other tables there so it wasn’t super busy or anything.

Great restaurant everything is homemade. Grass fed beef unbelievable beer selection, sticky buns are awesome. 5 stars all day long
Just stopped at Yaks again this place is bomb, had the jalapeño bacon burger with fries & and draft beer. Awesome

We passed by this place several times last summer with no desire to try it. We came back to ski this winter and when most other places were closed, since it was Wednesday, we decided to give it a shot… absolutely incredible food!
Everything Yaks serves that can be homemade (sauces, dressings, breads) is made from scratch in house. The flavors concocted are unique to Yaks. From the asiago sauce to the fermented garlic the flavors hit more notes on the pallet than I even knew existed.
There isn’t a burger that isn’t good. I’ve tried three and I believe my favorite is the cilantro bomb burger. With a Cajon rub, house-​made sauce and a massive pile of cilantro this burger is fresh, delicious, and one of a kind. I like cilantro, but not enough to just eat a pile of it… but somehow it works wonderfully here.
The fermented garlic house fries are fantastic. The side of lavender ketchup and asiago aioli are spot on.
We went back two additional times and won’t visit Mt. Shasta without stopping by… also…try their cinnamon rolls

The garlic burger was amazing! It was also way too big to take bites out of and eat clean. I ended up having to resort to using a knife and fork because it got too messy. We were really lucky to come in at a time when the restaurant was empty because service was quick.
The decorations were really cool and were different depending on the area you sat in. My only complaint was that it was a bit dirty/​dusty in the restaurant and in the bathrooms. Also, the mirror in the woman’s bathroom was so high towards the ceiling that I couldn’t reach it.