| Location |
| 978 Olive Drive (at Richards Blvd., across from In-N-Out) |
| Hours |
| Daily 10:00AM-12:00midnight |
| Phone |
| (530)756-2142 |
| Fax |
| (530)756-2178 |
| Payment Method |
| Cash, Credit/Debit (99¢ charge for under $10) |
| Menu |
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The original Murder Burger! 1997/01/02 
The GPS that Hertz provides still lists them as Murder Burger
Redrum Burger, formerly named and occasionally still called Murder Burger, serves up a wide selection of food, and is a Davis tradition. Prices generally aren't cheap for a burger joint/diner, but you get what you pay for in quantity, atmosphere and uniqueness. They have all sorts of traditional burgers, along with ostrich burgers, huge (1 lb) burgers, fried calamari, milkshakes and much more. They can make any shake you can imagine, and put cheese on everything.
One truly amazing item they sell is the ZOOM, yes ZOOM! It stands for Zucchini Onion Rings and Mushrooms. All heavily breaded and deep fried. Can you feel your heart tensing at the thought of that onslaught of healthy stuff? If you do get a ZOOM, don't plan on finishing anything you order, this thing is HUGE.
The enormous one pound burger is served only as a combo, with fries and a drink. It's about $11.50.
Many people still refer to it as "Murder Burger." Under the old name, Murder Burger was a Northern California legend established in 1986 at the Davis location. As for the name change from Murder Burger, Redrum is murder spelled backward. Redrum Burger is the name owner Jim Edlund selected from over 7,000 names submitted in a contest launched after he was unable to come to an agreement with the original owner over the dollar value of the name. In addition to the financial end of things, customers and community members in Rocklin, site of the one-year old second location, objected to the original name and slogan as they chowed down on these giant meat patties. In May 2001, the establishment officially changed its name. The winning name was submitted by four clever individuals, so a drawing declared Shaun Curtis of Cupertino winner of $1,000 and a meal a day for life. Other names making it to the semifinals included Patty Shack, Mr. Goodburger, Grill & Chill, Moo-der Burger and Bird-o-Burger. People from six states, Canada, and Mexico submitted names.
The Rocklin location is long gone, so one would suppose that the community's objections no longer mean much.
The establishment may soon be changing its name back to the original "Murder Burger," having reached some sort of trademark agreement (details unclear, Jan. 2006). ![[WWW]](http://wikispot.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small}
This website might offer some clues...
The employees are somewhat punkish. So much so that it's often said that "there seems to be a requirement to have at least two tattoos to work there." The employees are notorious for being somewhat 'alternative,' so much so that the back of the recent Redrum shirts read "Burgers with Attitude" — a possible play on the crust-punk atmosphere of the restaurant.
In the early 1990's, the Murder Burger billboard was vandalized and the plywood hamburger removed. The burger was recovered, however, and it was safely displayed in the editorial office of Davis High School's newspaper, The HUB.
Read a 2008 burger review in Davis Life Magazine
Older Reviews
Comments:
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2007-03-14 01:06:04 I feel as though my project of fixing Murder Burger and everyone in it has almost been achieved. I will never wear another Redrum shirt again. At last I may rest. Be prepared for the days to come. —NathanDodd
2007-04-15 15:02:09 Food is good, but definitley not cheap. —DonaldJaye
2007-04-27 21:15:53 I used to eat there all the time-early 80s- the food was awsome. They even gave me and some of the locals an account that we would pay off every week, we could just call in our order and it would be ready when we arrived, the service was excellent, best burger in town-even better than Nations Giant. However I went in a year or so ago,found the wait way to long, tried again and the same thing.What happened to the days when people remembered your name or your food preference or even trusted you. Thats when Davis was a cool place to live-even the Safeway grocery clerks new our names.This is for all he W.I.S.E. guys who I spent many hours eating with at Murder Burger and having fun! —NotImpressed
2007-04-29 11:25:20 This place is terrible. It has a great rep, but the burgers I've had on my three visits were mediocre and the fries are ALWAYS BURNT. They need to change their oil at least once a week and I doubt they do that. The restaurant is always grimy and the staff isn't friendly. In short, all the above bitching is true. —William.Peacock
2007-05-02 20:31:35 Redrum is definitely not fast. It usually takes about 30 minutes to get your food. The joint is not particularly well-run. They need to get a new door-closer, too. I can still hear it in my sleep: SLAM. And yet, the burgers are very good. Optimal bun to burger ratio is achieved with the 1/2 lb burger — but that's a lot of burger. There are lots of topping options (lots of burger options, too), but no pineapple, which is too bad. A chocolate shake with malt rounds out the meal nicely. The onion rings were huge and greasy — never again. —CovertProfessor
2007-05-02 23:22:55 takes a long time to get food and not exactly a good quantity for the money —KaiWan
2007-05-20 10:51:44 i love hole in the wall places like this..alotta ppl decide to pass and eat at in-n-out, but u gotta give murder-burger a try..food is kinda greasy, but hey wat do u expect with a burger joint..only drawback is that without a coupon its pretty expensive —DonaldJaye
2007-05-27 15:12:23 This place is way overpriced and looks/smells dirty. It takes forever to get your food. How come i can get a burger in a few minutes at anyother place but it takes an hour here. I know how long it takes to make a goddam burger. Last time I tried to go there, I stood in line for 10 minutes and then walked accross the street to in and out. The line didnt even move. —dancohen
2007-06-01 23:09:02 This place left a terrible first impression on me. My one Burger took like 45 mins to make and i had time so no biggie but then, the dude inside treated me like i just showed up on the short bus with a helmet and a big foam #1 hand. MESSAGE TO REDRUM; I understand that it sucks to work but, dont dish out a bunch of crap to innocent customers who you KNOW will take it because they are hungry. If the comments were any indication of the state of the business, i would sugguest new management....... After all the burgers are damn good. GregFurnish
2007-06-19 01:41:40 I don't eat there that often, but I decided to go back and wait 40 minutes for a burger again. Hey, I had some time to kill. The burger was okay, but it had one of those plastic bread bag ties on my sandwich. How in the world did that get there? I don't think I pissed off any of the employees, but who knows. Seasoned fries were good though. —BrentLaabs
2007-06-20 17:12:37 After stopping there today, on the way from Sacto back to Santa Cruz, I felt compelled to post a comment. We arrived (4 of us) at 11:50. My companions received their food about 30-35 minutes after the ordered, mine was about 45. That was after I asked the front counter where my food was twice. This was the worst burger I have ever had at this place, and I will not stop again. The restaurant was not even busy! At the price, $11.01 for a 1/4 pounder, fries, and shake, I expect good, decent food. They handed me an overdone pattie, with a piece of cheese that wasn't even melted. If I had had the time, I would have asked for another one. There was another diner who was complaining right before me about waiting 45 minutes and not getting food. Save some time and some money and go to In and Out. The food is consistent and less expensive! If anyone knows REDRUM's e-mail, please post. I'd like for them to commend on how the place has gone downhill! —Larry
2007-07-18 10:49:44 This place sucks ass the people who work there are all tools should be in a group home and food is overpriced sucks SUCKS BAD, what happened to good hole in the wall places with good food? this place just plain sucks ass —dickjones
2007-08-04 03:41:24 wow this is the dirtiest restaurant i have ever ate at i am sorry but wow and the flies i totally lost my appitite —Brians
2007-08-15 10:04:33 "Despite going in there totally excited and really stoked about the menu and all the options, I was unimaginably disappointed with the food there. I'm really hoping the half-inch charred fries, completely tasteless and plain burger with none of the stuff I asked for and all the stuff I asked them to leave off of it abundantly present is a fluke. I'm trying to work up the openness to go back in there again, but the exorbitant prices and the terrible food I got there last time sort of put me off the place. Convince me though, and I'll go back. It's certainly got a reputation. I will say though, they had good local rags from Sac. - DanielMedinaCleghorn "
-EXACTLY HOW I FEEL —KaiWan
2007-10-30 12:07:16 Since moving to Davis five years ago, I have consistently hoped that Redrum would shape up into a dependable source for non-corporate food. Unfortunately, eating here continues to be a gamble. If executed correctly, their menu great: big burgers, any flavor shake you can imagine and some of the best fried food I've ever had. But more often than not my order is wrong, the food is crappily prepared or the staff is so out of it (both in behavior and appearance) that I actually don't want to eat what I've ordered. The owner seems so intent on differentiating himself from In-N-Out that I can't help but wonder what he's smoking. Hand written menus are cool, but not if they were taped to the wall 15 years ago. And where does he do his hiring? Methodone clinics? —JewpiterJones
2007-12-14 19:55:33 Love their shakes, although they are on the pricey side. Oreo shakes = _ —BenShmidt
2007-12-17 19:20:59 I'd rather eat at places where most of the employees aren't ex-cons and wash their hands before making and serving my meals. —thelonepiper555
2008-01-01 10:10:58 This place is very dirty employees are very rude dirty and scum try to avoid this place
2008-01-20 23:23:49 This place is DIRTY! My friend's brother used to work there, and he will never eat there because he doesn't trust the food. That tells you something!! —Dr.Lindsay
2008-01-25 17:57:37 I dont much care for the place, there use to be two people there that were obviously on drugs, all they did was fight while they were working in front of everyone, not good for business! It is filthy! The owner is a known drug addict and hires drug addicts! Who would want one of them feeding our children?! I tried to go back because I use to really like the food years ago, I was happy to hear they had fired the one rude drugged out lady that used to work there, think her name started with a L, lisa or somthing. Wake up Jim, you have rude discusting people out front working for you your place will slowly go to pot! —roni
Hey guess what f you roni. I work at this place and i am no drug addict ok? Honestly how can you say that all the people who work at this place is a drug addict? I am also not rude or DISGUSTING I have never once been blatantly rude to any customers, it is bad business! If anything I try to level with customers at all costs, and honestly it is customer attitudes that have a lot to do with customer experiences! The place has a weird reputation, but that doesn't speak for everyone who has or is ever going to work there.
2008-02-11 22:24:36 I just ate here a few days ago... I would NEVER want to go back again. the food tasted plain and the workers were rude. this place is so dirty. the back door from the parking felt like it was about to break down. the burger they gave me had so much mustard i stop had to stop eating. the workers do look like they were "high." nothing look cleaned :(. i will not be going to the place again. hope all is well. —ChiYang
2008-02-12 00:28:06 expensive but good —cobugi
2008-02-12 00:29:49 i thot the people who worked there were extremely nice. me friend even commented saying we need more places like these. —cobugi
2008-02-17 21:27:35 Ate here recently. Pretty good, although nothing remarkable. Kind of pricey, and the place isnt excatly sparkling clean, but the staff was nice enough. Be prepared for a wait though. —CindyBanh
2008-02-18 18:27:17 Peanut butter milkshake is to die for. —AlexPerkins
2008-02-19 20:20:45 I ordered 2 milkshakes and bbq fries tonight. The bbq fries were fine, but the milkshakes I got were really really watered down. Are they even supposed to put water in milkshakes!? Anyways, on my previous milkshake orders, it was fine, but this time it was watered down. —BenLee
2008-04-07 My experience was "eh". It is quite run-down inside. I don't mind regular wear and tear since I like cities and hole-in-the-wall type places, but yeah, I wouldn't take out-of-towners to this place to make a good impression. I will say that the variety of burgers and sandwiches is good. Maybe it's best to grab the food to-go and eat it at a park or something. —YupYup
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I totally agree. I ate there with my parents and the door in the back *slams* when it shuts. It was so annoying while we were eating. The food was really good, but the place really needs some fixing up. —BrandonBarrette
Hey people, that door got fixed! yay no more gunblasts in your ear while your eating!
2008-08-03 17:06:34 I was pretty disappointed when they stopped greasing up their buns. Their burger just lost that fatty essence taste. I would rather go across the street and get more of an affordable meal. —AvidSpots
2008-09-03 15:34:01 I have been going to this place for lunch about twice a week,walking distance where i work.The service is good and people who work there are great.I found that the Chicken Malibu is the best,i am hooked. —jasen
2008-09-03 15:43:23 I don't get why people consider this place in the same league as In-and-out. They are completely different types of places. Del Taco sells burgers, but I wouldn't compare them to In-and-out or Murder Burger. Plus, In-and-out is a cookie cutter burger joint with preformed everything and they are constantly getting customers, so they don't really stop cooking. I don't get why anyone would compare them to anything other than perhaps Wendy's. —SunjeetBaadkar
2008-09-03 16:08:34 I love Murder Burger, and I would eat here a lot more often if I didn't care as much about my health. —TheAmazingLarry
2008-09-21 21:25:19 I hear rumours that Redrum might be shutting down? Can anyone attest to the validity? —ArianeMetz
They probably are valid, but Redrum is like the phoenix. It has shutdown several times before I think. —NickSchmalenberger
2008-10-05 12:32:42 Rating the food is easy: I had a tasty burger that was sit-down restaurant quality at a short-order dive. Big meat patty with good flavor and great ingredients (the lettuce was shredded though, that kinda sucked.) A 1/2 lb burger is about $6.00 and with fries and a drink it comes to around $10.00. So I paid about the same what it would have been in a Chili's or some chain sit-down. Expect to pay about $8-14 for a visit.
The staff was two people when I went: a cashier and a cook. So when I saw the people in front of us order a lot, we knew there'd be a wait. It took maybe 20 minutes for two burgers, a fries, onion rings, a shake and a soda. Not terrible but after reading how the wait would be long, we just grabbed newspapers to read. Give them a break - for one cook I think he did a good job.
The cashier forgot my soda, and a friendly reminder seemed to be a hassle for him. Blackberry shake was good, but we both expected them to use blackberries and not blackberry flavored syrup. My fries were pretty flavorless and soggy. My girlfriend's onion rings were huge, crunchy and tasty - too much batter is debatable. The burgers were excellent but had me feeling greasy and overly full afterwards. The buns are a bit too big for my taste and I didn't want to fill up on that much bread.
2008-11-10 13:48:01 i've only been there once and i suspect that's my last time
their burger was mediocre in taste, and their chili cheese fries tasted like a bean salad with fries on top —fredchen
2008-11-30 10:56:38
The good:
-Tasty (if extremely greasy) fries.
-The Ostrich burger is supposedly healthier than cow burgers.
-It tastes something like a cow burger and something like a turkey burger.
-The servers were polite and efficient.
The in between:
-The burger that I had was OK, although not anything special.
-For the same price, you could get a much better burger at Burger's and Brew (although likely with a longer wait).
-For less money, you could get an equally tasty burger from In'n'Out across the street.
-Actually, you could get In'n'Out's fries too and still be spending less than you would pay for a burger alone at Redrum.
-The ostrich burger comes with some tasty topics on it.
-Burgers take about 10 minutes, although I saw some orders come out in about 6 and others, well, I got and ate my order well before those customers (who ordered before me) got their order.
The bad:
-The person who took my order smelled VERY strongly of cigarette smoke. Yuck!
-The place was filthy. Trash and food on the tables. Trash and food on the floor. Yuck! While I did see someone come by and clean up at one point, this apparently isn't occurring frequently enough to keep the place clean.
-Seating is very limited. Perhaps this contributes to the concentration of trash and food on the tables, since everyone has to sit at one of only a few tables. I had a hard time finding a place to sit that was not covered in something that I didn't want to sit near (and there was still trash at my feet). If there are a bunch of people here, it may be hard to find a place to sit at all.
-The tasty toppings on the ostrich burger include cheese and some sort of sauce. This may cancel out the reduced fat in the ostrich burger.
On the IDoNotExist Sushimeter, this place scores a 0, as it does not serve sushi. On the IDoNotExist Burgermeter, which scores burgers on a scale of burger goodness from absolutely zero burgers to burger bliss, this place scores a 5 out of 10.
I'd really have to think twice (or three times) about coming here again. OK, but unhealthy food. Gross eating environment. —IDoNotExist
2009-04-26 01:43:45 Awesome burgers ever!!! The appearance of Redrum's exterior first turned me off, so I never went in (was kinda afraid)and had gone to In-N-Out instead. However, I got a gift card and tried them out for the first time and really really enjoyed their burger and fries. I had the 1/3 lb burger with the chipotle mayonnaise and it was delicious. I like the extra spice and would recommend the special addage for those who like spicy food. It's not that spicy, but it offers good flavoring. Their fries are the best I've had in a long time, it was crispy and had a good taste to it unlike other restaurant's fries that are salty and bland. I highly recommend this place. I even prefer it over Burger and Brew. cost are similar, but the burger here taste so much better. —kikao
2009-05-31 03:06:11 i champion the zoom. my particular favorite are the fried mushrooms. the order is great to pickup with friends and goes perfect with beer. —NickKory
2009-06-21 00:56:27 I remember having pretty pleasant experiences here (a couple of times) until the turkey burger. Not a fan. —Babhari
2009-07-17 03:03:26 I've always had very good service here. They may be a bit slow, but they're a good sight faster than driving out to Citrus Heights for Fuddrucker's. All in all, this is where I go when I want something better than Carl's Jr. but not as expensive as Burgers and Brew. —JoePomidor
2009-09-09 14:59:43 I've always had decent to above average experiences here, it's quite expensive but it's within easy riding distance of campus and the food is good. The wait is a bit of a pain but you can easily order ahead and avoid it (Nobody with a cellphone should complain about the wait here). I frequent the mushroom burger and the nacho fries, both of which are guaranteed to make your arteries look like I80 just before the causeway when heading out of sacramento during rush hour. This might be a problem for some people but if I'm taking the time to head to the other side of the tracks I expect nothing less of my food, and anyone who takes a look at the exterior of this joint and doesn't expect super greasy middle america style food they're a bit more than misguided. This place is awesome, just make sure to expect a bit of the tattoo subculture and bring your antacid tablets. —OlinHannum
2009-09-14 22:12:20 i've been looking forward to having another burger here for a long time now, and I finally had the chance to be in the area last night, but sadly I was disappointed by what I had. I got the same thing I got last time because it was amazing before, but this time around it wasn't as good. I don't know if they got a new cook or if there was a change in cook, but the hamburger meat wasn't cooked very well and it didn't have as much flavor as before, the special sauce wasn't as tasty, the fries weren't as crispy and flavorfull as I remembered, and what topped off the bad experience was that I was given the wrong soda(realized that after I got on the road cause I ordered to go)not only was it the wrong flavored soda, but they gave me diet—yuck. —kikao
2009-09-20 01:17:37 Had an ostrich burger today, it's good, for a non-cookie cutter place. It's true the actual place is a little drab, but the cashier was nice and my order only took some 5-10 minutes (taking into account 2 orders before myself). It's a bit on the expensive side, but a burger and fries fills you up nicely. —elliotgoethe
2009-10-09 23:31:19 wow ok so i have a huge problem w/ all this.... redrum is NOT fast food..... it is good food.... unlike mc d's they dont microwave their burgers... they use half the grill to grill the burgers and the other half to toast the buns so they can only bust out burgers so fast... if you ever pay attention to their service that is why three orders come out at the same time one after another... as for dirty this is so false they clean for hours at closing and try to keep clean during the day but can only do so much if they are really busy because the cashier that is taking your orders is responsible for the front dinning area .... try not being slobs and the place would stay nicer... also none of them do hard drugs and there isnt a single person who is an ex-con there might be some jail time under one or two ppls belt but it is for minor things like drinking and driving.... normal things... and they dont try to be rude to the customers.... they just have personality god forbid someone poke fun at you when you do something obviously stupid..... listen to the conversations between the employee's- everyone gets treated the same.... they treat you like they do fellow employees.... if you ask a dumb question like " Is there cheese on my burger? " when it is posted on the board and on another sign w/ some mouse on it of course they will be real and tell you duh... it real ppl not ppl who are going to kiss your ass and i know for one i have been in there and ordered fries and they gave me the size larger... or some small thing like that was just a cool thing to do.... and the fries are AMAZING... they dont water down the shakes but if there are alot of previous shake orders the shakes become runny... and of course burgers, and fries, and FRIED onion rings are going to be greasy they are fried in grease.... if you dont want a long wait come by on a week day or call ahead... if you call ahead all you have to do is wait for fries becase they try to make them fresh and crispy for you.... if your a interested in a good burger try this place.... —chillout....
2009-10-20 19:26:29 ok we just came from there, first time. is their ZOOM supposed to be soft and spongy batter? i mean it was SO THICK and the only crispy parts were where the batter thinned out and made little offshoots. i have left a whole container full of soft squishy breading. is that right? also their burger with the garlic mayo was kind of flavorless, and again, HUGE thick bun, wayyyyyy too much bread. their fresh banana shake was good tho! —StephHolm
2009-11-18 14:38:57 I tried this and unfortunately, I am not impressed. I'd choose Burgers & Brew over this place any day! Plus, after reading the comment below about an employee of this place not wanting to eat here grosses me out (because it does look pretty unsanitary in there). The guy who works the counter though is really nice. This place is OK to me, but it sure does have a lot of fans (it was packed when I went there). —ElizabethLee
