Erika G.

Spruce Grove is city just to the west of Edmonton and it's basically a bit of a suburb at this point. You'll find a teeny-tiny burger shack there, and let me tell you, it's adorable. VUE Weekly voted Jack's Drive-In as #1 Worth the Trip: Spruce Grove 2018 and I jumped straight into my car to make the 30 minute drive. If you blink, you'll miss this place. It's super small and old-timey, which makes sense since it has been in the exact same spot since 1961. It's a Spruce Grove landmark! They've got plenty of seating out front for outdoor dining and the inside has a few tables as well. Entering the little building is quite like stepping into a time machine, as the inside is completely decked out like something out of the 50s. Chrome bar stools, red vinyl-wrapped everything, and a jukebox that is free to use. Of course the music playing is all 50s and 60s. They've got a TV screen in one corner that is inside one of those retro wooden TV set boxes. Murals cover the walls with paintings of celebrities from the era, and it's all completely on-theme and done really well. You'll find a window to order at (they also have a drive-thru) and they offer a surprising amount of different things to eat and delicious sounding treats. The girl that took my order was extremely friendly and I couldn't help but think that working at a diner like this must be something straight out of a cliché high school drama or comedy. Jack's has different monthly specials that only happen for each particular month. These include food and drink items. Since it's October, it made natural sense to find a Pumpkin Milkshake ($5.50 for large) on the specials menu. I would have ordered a milkshake regardless so this seemed like the right thing to do. I was really impressed by this shake! Not only was it perfectly thick but the pumpkin flavour was extremely on-point. It tasted exactly like pumpkin pie filling. Just the fact that it tasted so real was unexpected. I loved this. Move over pumpkin spice latte, because Jack's pumpkin shake is super legit. All of the food arrived very quickly. The whole order was bagged and brought to the table that we were sitting at in no time at all. As an appetizer of sorts I wanted to try the Corn Fritters ($4.25 for five) because they seemed quite unique to the restaurant. They come from O'Donnell Farm and seem to be a bit of a "thing." I was asked if I wanted any jam with them (strawberry or raspberry) so I said "yes," since it sounded like the appropriate way to enjoy the fritters. They come in a bag of piping-hot, irregular golden orbs. Taking a bite, I loved the crispy exterior and the soft, sweet interior. Dipping the fritter into the jam added an extra sweetness that worked very well. These were great and perfectly cooked. I've got my eye on the deep fried pickles for next time. I figured that I would order a burger since that seemed like the main thing to eat, although there are quite a lot of other options which range from; fish & chips, Nathan's Famous hot dogs (literally the best hot dogs), and even perogies (which I liked seeing because it felt like a very Canadian prairie type of item to offer). But back to the burgers, "the one" to get has to be the Spruce Burger (A seasoned 1/3 lb beef patty, fried onions, bacon, ketchup, mustard, swiss cheese, tomato, pickle & an onion ring - $6.99). This burger was on the original menu when Jack's opened in 1961 and it used to cost only 50¢! Named after the city itself, it's definitely one of the restaurant's signature items. And it was a delicious burger! I noticed right away that everything seemed extremely fresh and it just had that homemade feeling about it. The beef patty was very juicy and meaty. (I know that "meaty" seems like an obvious thing to say, but it truly had an actual meaty quality about it.) I found the use of swiss as an interesting departure from the norm and I loved the added crunch from the crispy onion ring. This was a very good, well-executed hamburger. We also ordered Fries ($3.99 for small) because fries. While the portion size was generous, the fries were the weakest part of the whole meal. There wasn't anything special about them and they weren't fresh-cut or anything. I would certainly recommend some of the more interesting sides on the menu instead. Lastly, there had to be dessert especially with all of the amazing ice cream options on the menu. Jack's specializes in soft serve ice cream, which I love. In fact, I prefer it! There. I said it. They do all sorts of sundaes, dipped cones and whatnot but the Almond Roca (Waffle cone with vanilla ice cream, toasted coconut, hot fudge, peanuts, topped with slivered almonds - $5.99) caught my attention. So good! The toasted coconut is a very special and unique thing that they do at Jack's. It's more like a delicious fudge dip with coconut in it. I loved that this cone incorporated it! Both the hot fudge and the toasted coconut created a shell over the cold ice cream that was satisfying to b

Rocky P.

Jack's Drive-In is a historic fixture in Spruce Grove. If you haven't been, it's worth trying at least once to see if it's for you. I've been a few times now and could take it or leave it. There are better options in the area. For a diner, it had the expected diner look and feel but was smaller than expected. It focuses on drive-in/drive-thru business. The interior seating area has spots for about 20 inside and there are 4 tables outside, but most people aren't stopping in. On a hot summer day, however, the interior air conditioning is welcome. The food is concession-style burgers and fries. Nothing fancy here. I have tried a few different burgers but they all seemed the same to me. Nothing jumped out, not even the milkshakes.

Steve P.

And here I thought McDonald's had the worst fast food available. Overly expensive, Slow service, and absolute garbage burger. Next time I will just hit up the awesome beef jerky place down the street and at least get some flavour for my money.

First time going here about 3 months ago was good. Went here today for the second time and the food was significantly more expensive and worse. Paid $33 + tax for a Jack's burger combo, chicken strip combo, and fried pickles. The fries came out cold, not crispy and had no salt. The chicken strip combo was $14 and had 3 small strips on a pile of fries. The burger was mediocre at best. The fried pickles were both soggy and falling apart, and tasted bitter. Otherwise the service was ok. The quality of the food was very disappointing, my boyfriend and I really liked this place the first time.

Jen A.

Thought this would be an awesome, local, gem to try since we are travelling. I was very disappointed overall and would never come here again. The patties are the frozen beef patties that you get at an arena canteen. Nothing was fresh. The mushroom burger has orange processed cheddar on it and it completely takes away from the mushroom sauce, which has canned mushrooms. Tastes like aluminium. No condiments on the cheeseburger. Bland The shake was supposed to have real fruit but it was sugary syrup. If you're going to charge that much for food you need to step up your game! Will not be back. Too bad. Gord Ramsay would say mean things.

Dana C.

It's not *quite* a 4, but definitely better than a 3, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I've wanted to check out Jack's Drive-In for quite a while and finally got the chance this weekend. It was considerably smaller than I expected it to be. There are 3 tables on one side, and 5 or 6 bar stools up against a ledge on the other side that you can sit at. There's also a couple of patio tables outside. And don't forget the drive thru - which was lined up the entire time I was there, but seemed to move at a decent pace. When we walked up to the counter to order, there was a sign next to the register, basically telling customers to be patient with them because they are training new staff. And they weren't kidding! The lady who took our order was incredibly sweet, but clearly new to her job. The order was accurate though, so I can't complain! They got very busy when we got there and it took quite a while for the food to come out. But they were apologetic and the food came out hot. I had the mushroom burger. Its one pattie, with mushrooms (I would guess that they're from a can) and cheese (they only have processed cheese). It doesn't sound like much, and it certainly doesn't look like much, but they put enough mushroom sauce on there that it's really tasty! My mom had a hot dog with sauerkraut and bacon. You have the option of "upgrading" to a Nathan's dog, which is apparently bigger. I think she got the original one, but she said it was delicious. We also shared a "small" order of fries and gravy. The fries were tasty and the gravy was thick and rich. The table I was sitting at had a perfect view of the front counter, and when it got really busy, the girls really hustled to make sure everyone was taken care of. I had to go back to the counter before I left to tell them how amazing they were doing.