As far as Fatburger restaurants go, this location is a little unusual (unless the other ones have been converted as well). The St. Albert Fatburger is a combination store which serve burgers as well as Buffalo Express wings and Marble Slab ice cream.
First impression is great, it is new, it is clean and the menu is 3X the size of a normal Fatburgers. The TVs on the walls were all tuned to sports of some sort, definitely enough to keep most people entertained during the wait.
I was greeted by the cashier immediately, service was prompt. I had a tough time deciding between wings or burger but eventually settled on the large cheese burger with fries and drink. Burgers come in 5 sizes now: small, medium, large, XL and XXL. I ordered the large (thinking middle of the row should be safe); then I reviewed for food value chart, small = 400-600 cal, medium = 590-790 cal, large = 850-1050 cal, XL = 1350-1550 cal, and XXL = 1850-2050 cal. Plus fries and icetea, OH MY, that was a lot of calories I consumed at lunch; lol.
I took a picture of the wings and burger menus, have a look at the choices yourself.
The food came quickly. The burger was a little on the crispy side. Very well done, charred on one side (new location = inexperience chefs?). Oh well, can't expect a perfect burger every time. With a ton of lettuce and tomatoes on top, it was an okay burger. The fries was great, fresh, hot and not over-salted like some other locations. The meal was satisfying, although I do question whether it is worth $14 plus tax plus tips (a $18 fast food meal).
Besides my stomach for eating too many fries, one thing did bother me a little, if you pay with a credit card, the "No Tip" option does not exist on the machine. My personal dilemma has always been, if I tip at Fatburger, why don't I tip at McDonalds or Starbucks? The staffs at these stores don't really do anything different. May be I wouldn't be bothered if the staffs were friendly and cheerful, they really didnt look like they want to be there working today.
Fatburger is a good place to grab a burger; but, there is nothing special about their burgers. Taste wise, Fatburger's burgers still trail behind Jack Burger Shack's burgers and Five Guys' burgers; price wise Fatburger is pricier. Would I return, yeah, still need to try those wings but probably won't return for the burgers!
Will update once the wings have been had. read more