Burns Road
In Tustin, a young restaurant offers Pakistani-American burgers, street foods, and hookah
Named after an area in Karachi, Pakistan known for restaurants and street food vendors, Burns Road opened in early 2025 as an ode to both Pakistani and global recipes – a place where American-style burgers could sit alongside sandwiches and wraps based on Pakistani-inspired pulled beef, spiced potato patties, chicken tikka or tenders, or even fried eggs. Previously home to HotSpot Grill, which offered a much larger menu of Mexican, American, and Pakistani foods from 2020 to 2024, Burns Road’s 55 freeway-adjacent shop in Tustin is notably within walking distance of Taco Nazo, Peter’s Gourmade Burgers, Ayêr Coffee, Long He Chinese Cuisine, and the Bodega R-Ranch Market, with plenty of indoor seating near large-screened TVs, an outdoor patio for evening hookah use, and a parking lot shared with a jewelry store.
While burgers range from $13 (potato) to $17 (beef), paratha bread rolls with various proteins go for only $10 each, quesadillas made with chicken tikka or stewed beef are $17, and a chopped cheese and 10-ounce ground beef Katakat hoagie tops the menu at $17.50. Alternative snack-style plates combine paratha bread and minced qeema meat ($17), nihari beef and naan ($17), carrot halwa and crispy poori ($13), or omelet and paratha ($14); battered ($4.50), masala ($5), or loaded fries ($16.50); chicken tenders with fries ($15); and chicken wings with dry or wet coatings ($14) are also available. Adding fries and a fountain drink to any of the burger plates costs $4.50, though non-soda beverages including sweet or mango lassis ($5), lemon mint frosties ($4), and hot karak/cardamom chai ($3.50) may strike fans of Pakistani or Indian food as more compelling.
We tried three sandwiches – a signature Mango Burn ($17), the American-style Classic ($14), and a Chicken Burn ($16.50) – as well as battered fries, onion rings ($6), separate mango and sweet lassis, and a lemon mint frosty. While nothing was bad, very little of what we ordered looked like it did in Burns Road’s menu photos: the beef on the Classic and Mango Burn burgers was almost comically tiny, obviously smaller than the buns and fresh veggies next to them, which instantly conveyed a sense of worse-than-fast food value for their much higher prices. On the other hand, all of the sandwiches were packed with flavor thanks to their fresh ingredients, with the Mango Burn and Chicken Burn also delivering spice levels that fans of hot food will appreciate. Much of that heat builds up unexpectedly from ghost pepper cheese; mango chutney, watermelon radishes, and raita sauces bring additional bits of Pakistani inspiration to some sandwiches, as well. The fries, onion rings, and lassis were pretty basic and good enough, while the lemon mint frosty arrived more liquid than ice, and not especially memorable.
As huge fans of Pakistani and Indian food – with open minds towards fusion restaurants – we were hoping for more from Burns Road, but were somewhat underwhelmed with the execution and value here. We’re not currently planning to return, but will update this article with additional impressions if we do.
Stats
Price: $-$$
Service: Counter
Open Since: January 2025
Address
15712 Tustin Village Way
Tustin, CA 92780
714.667.3884
Instagram: @eatburnsroad