I had heard about this restaurant, but this was the first time eating here. The layout of the restaurant was ok, but I didn't love the open space in the middle with table and chairs and then the booths on the side. It just seemed too open for me. The menu had a wide variety of burgers. I got the swiss and mushroom burger on a lettuce bun, with a side salad (extra $2.99) and the usual salad dressings to choose from. The portion size of the salad was good. The burger was a good size and I appreciated the lettuce bun, but the meat didn't have too much taste, and there weren't a lot of mushrooms. Since it was a lettuce bun, they could have given fewer mushrooms as it would have been messy to eat. It wasn't a terrible burger, but it was only ok. I tried one of the thick cut fries, but it needed ketchup as didn't have much taste. The service was friendly and attentive. If I'm in the area, I would give this place another try. read more

The Varsity - Kitchen bar burgers is a restaurant in southern Edmonton. Similar in menu and food to Red Robyn, Varsity serves burgers, shareable appetizers such as popcorn shrimp, dry rib and The Big Onion, to name a few. Sandwiches and handhelds are served as well, such as grilled ham and cheese, chicken clubhouse, BBQ chicken wrap, and so much more. The Varsity also serves a variety of entrees, like salmon, Fish & Chips, Mac and Cheese, and fajitas. Salads, soups, deserts and kids menu are also available for choosing. The atmosphere at the Varsity burger bar is super neat and welcoming. Plenty of TVs with sports games playing. Service was very good and professional, and quick!! read more

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Try the chicken fajitas!! The best in Edmonton. In my opinion. Burgers are also very tasty

Our family (22 of us) celebrated a birthday at The Varsity Feb. 24. Everything was lovely ( food, service, drinks, atmosphere, and what have you). Only small quibble is I wish the french fries were made from fresh potatoes, and crispy. These fries perhaps are made from frozen, and are floppy. read more

This is no Red Robins. It was Father's Day, so I was glad that I made reservations and got in pretty quickly. Pretty much the same menu items as what you would get at Red Robins but named differently. Also had a few additional sandwiches etc. Hubby decided on the Kentucky Bourbon BBQ 6oz burger topped with lettuce and tomato, melted cheddar cheese, crispy shoestring onions, garnished with mayo and smoky Kentucky Bourbon BBQ sauce. Kiddo went with the Bruschetta Chicken - 5oz breaded chicken breast topped with our own roma tomato and goat cheese bruschetta with a dash of our house made spicy aioli. While I went with pacific salmon burger which included grilled pacific salmon filet, fresh lettuce, tangy dill sauce. Our youngest went with the pepporoni pizza and fries from the kid's menu. And oldest went with a milk shake. Our server depite forgetting some things was friendly and apologetic and it was super busy. Food was mediocre. Hubby was confused by the texture of the meet, and felt that the patty was a bit small. Toppings were fine. I enjoyed my salmon burger but again pretty small filet. Oldest kid did not say too much about it. Youngest wolfed down her kids meal. No complaints there. Steak fries were undercooked. The best thing in the meal was my kid's milkshake which was nice and thick and great flavoured (she decided on the raspberry) I heard mixed reviews of this place but needed to try it for myself. Probably won't be back. read more

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Just average nothing to separate it from the noise of restaurants. Meh food, meh drink, meh service

The place in this mall I was pla Ning to go was closed. So I came here for lunch. Had burger and fries and a coke. All perfectly good and passable. As more of a pun or bar, it was not ideal place for lunch, but it did fine read more

I went here because I heard it was similar to Red Robins. I'm not 100% sure the food was similar but its been ages since to ole Red Robins. Lots of seating and a fairly simple menu. I got a bacon n' cheddar burger with fries and a pint of raspberry granville island. Good food, good service, I'll have to check out the rest of their menu. read more

We came to tryout this place on a recent Tuesday afternoon after a recommendation by my daughter's friend. I had the Bacon cheddar burger and a Lg strawberry shake both were really good high quality meat and tasted great. My daughter had Kentucky bourbon burger on a gluten free bun fries and a strawberry banana milkshake. She said the burger was very juicy and the bun was very good fresh and soft that is not easy to find. Over all very good and bottomless fries! The service was excellent. Andrew the server we had was very help and spot on with recommendations. He was attentive checking in as well as giving us time to enjoy our meal Great job Andrew!!! read more

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Great location (previously Red Robin) with lots of parking. Inside is clean, spacious, with similar layout to the old Red Robin. They opened fairly recently, they are working hard on providing great service and will be running smoothly sooner than later. They are a little slow with new staff but the food quality is top notch. Steak fries are the best (and Bottomless!), the Kentucky Bourbon BBQ Chicken burger and fish & chips are good. Burger is priced fairly, but the Fish & chips is a little high. Because they were a little slow on service our milkshakes were on the house. Worth a repeat and recommend checking it out! read more

So I've only been here once now but it fulfilled a desire I had since Red Robin left that location: and this is having a meal with my family and a friend and having something of the flavours and fun that I remembered from way back when... that said there were highlights and lowlights to the visit. Highlights included the waitlist experience (the restaurant managed our expectations very well -- they were quite busy but we knew approximately how much time we had (just enough to jaunt across the parking lot with the toddler for some library entertainment before returning to the restaurant to eat/drink)), the range of options on the menu (very similar to the previous restaurant that occupied this building including the unlimited fries), the kid's colouring page was good with a number of activities and the crayons were actually high quality Crayola brand and finally the food quality and flavour was good too. Lowlights were the fact that they had run out of milkshakes when we visited (the smoothie was okay to share with my toddler but I had high expectations for a milkshake), the very busy restaurant also meant that food service was somewhat slow, and I always wish that restaurant washrooms (especially restaurants that have kids' menus) were better suited for toddlers (like having a stool so that the kid can better reach the sink for example). Our server was very busy but she refilled drinks and fries frequently. The kid actually ate most of the meal and we adults had good burgers (though one person did mention wanting the burger to be slightly larger). I was quite happy to add a fried egg to mine (though the upcharge to do that is a bit of a deterrent to doing that frequently). I really wish that they had other unlimited side options like the old Red Robin did with broccoli, but I completely understand why that wouldn't be a common thing. Anyway we'll be back, I'm pretty certain of it. read more

If you're nostalgic for Red Robin this is as close as you're gonna get without taking a trip to BC. It's pretty much a carbon copy of that place that left our fair province low those many years ago. So much so it's a wonder they aren't getting sued but I was a huge fan of the bird, so we'll give it a shot The menu has identical items for the most part, they've changed the names slightly to avoid litigation. We started with the popcorn shrimp which had entirely too much batter but tasted ok. I always get the classic bacon cheese burger from RR, and they have it nailed. Tasted exactly the same. Very tasty. The GF hit the "Big Kahuna" chicken burger (Bonzai Burger) which had the thinnest little piece of chicken in it. She could only taste basically sauces and pineapple. Not great at all. Seeing as it's an old Red Robin location it does bring back memories. The decor has changed significantly but still a cozy place to eat. Our server was kind and prompt. Food took a minute but not too terrible. And you can still get a pint for less than 7 bucks! I'd probably go again Cheers Andy read more

THIS IS NOT A DRILL - Red Robin is back. Or at least, as close as we're going to get. I don't know if this is truly, but I heard that this is run by a former GM of a Red Robin location, and they are working hard to bring back the magic that once was. The location is great - easy to get to, loads of parking. Decent size waiting area and lobby. They were still in their first few weeks of operations when we went in for dinner, so some bumps and kinks are to be expected. Overall things went very smoothly. The one thing that irked me is that I could hear the manager on a couple of different occasions tell customers how much busier they are than they expected and that they are still understaffed and trying to keep up. This is understandable, I just think it's tacky to discuss it with customers so much. Our server was super friendly and attentive. I ordered the mushroom burger but asked if I could swap the swiss cheese for pepperjack - she said it was no problem and that that's what she likes to do as well. What she failed to mention was that I would be charged $2.50 for making this change :( I really hate that. The burgers and fries are very reminiscent of what you would get at Red Robin. I love those thick cut steak fries and yes.... they are still bottomless! Everyone enjoyed their meals and the prices were good. All the burgers were around $16. We'll be back for sure. read more

Had the worst experience at Varsity today. This is our 3rd visit and wow what a difference 20 min for drinks another 40 min for food which showed up 2 minutes after asking where our food order was. It must of been sitting cause all cold (room temperature) Which was awesome with mac and cheese. read more

Burger was awesome.. was like going back thru time. Service was excellent it's getting harder & harder to find a good burger joint but search no more read more

If you loved Red Robin's, then you will love this place. In the used to be Red Robin's Restaurant is now the Varsity, just off of the Whitemud & Gateway. A good sign that we were in for a treat was that the parking lot was full and there was a line-up. It took about 10 minutes for us to get a table, and when we sat down we were notified who our server was going to be. Within minutes, we had our menus and our drinks ordered. The ambience of the restaurant is pretty plain, it would be good to create an environment that they are looking for. The restaurant is exactly how it was when it was Red Robin's, including the dishes and the menus are a take from the old menus. I loved the Banzai Burger when it was Red Robin's, but now it's called the Big Kahuna. Great burger, no complaints. The fries were the same and were endless just like Red Robin's. My wife had chicken wings/nuggets?..... they were burnt which was too bad. My toddler had a kids burger and yam fries and was a good portion. The growing pains that I noticed was that there was too many staff on the floor and some not knowing what to do. It's hard to look busy when there isn't anything to do. I noticed a lot of the servers training others, so I do understand that they are in the opening stages of the restaurant. The other items was to handout something for the kids to do while they wait for their food. A misstep, but something to highlight. And as mentioned before, the ambience is not there. It's a skeleton of a place that it used to be, it needs to become its own. The great thing to note is that people loved Red Robin's, and people are wanting to have those great burgers and milkshakes again. This business will thrive, but it is in it's adolescent stages and I am sure in no time it will be running on all cylinders. read more

this was my sons 21 st Birthday and he wanted to go here. He really regrets making this choice. It turned out to be a DISASTER. 1st we waited forever for drinks and my Margerita had NO ALCOHOL in it. I drink Tequila all the time. Then we (the table of 6 people here) waited 1 hour for our food. And guess what... All of our food orders were very cold. And then to top it off you people have the nerve to DEMAND A TIP. How dare you. You people don't deserve anything, I plan on reporting this complaint further. Food and Safety with the board of Health. How dare you people. We will never come back here EVER. I have also posted this on Facebook. Crappy service from Red Robins. Just because you changed the name doesn't make you an better now. Bad is Bad. Close your doors. read more

To be honest I think this is the best burger I've had in Edmonton, the server was also so nice and was always checking on us to see what we needed. The music was also bumping and was throwbacks. I tried 2 different burgers and they were amazing, I would definitely recommend and I'm going to be back with friends! As well I think it was either the owner or the head manager was super sweet. read more

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Came to visit the Red Robin doppelgänger and was greeted once again by my favorite host by the name of Mia, she is such a sweetheart! The service here is amazing! It makes up for the fact that this isn't really Red Robin LOL! I got a delicious burger!!! It filled me up was very delicious. I have no complaints about anything, the bathrooms were very clean and the food was tasty. The workers had a friendly smile and only treated me with the upmost respect! I always have an excellent time when I come here. read more

This was our first visit here. We arrived at 5:30 p.m. and beat the rush that arrived about 15-30 minutes later.We were immediately greeted at the front desk in a friendly manner. After being seated, we noticed that the decor had been changed significantly from the former Red Robin. It has been updated and is now focused on images that reflect its new name. Our server was prompt and courteous. We ordered both the Blue Moon and the Spicy Pepper Jack burgers. They were excellent! The beef patties and buns were very substantial and overflowing with all the toppings and oh....so tasty! The forever fries were very good and of course, with unlimited refills. It was so filling! All this for under $20. each, was an amazing bargain and quite affordable. Nothing to complain about and we will be back. read more

Excellent- Definitely will be back. Super busy. Food was hot and tasty. Friendly staff. Clean.

Heard that this was similar to OG Red Robin's and decided to give it a try. Went early on a Thursday and we were a party of 7: 5 adults, and 2 kids. Excellent selection for kids menu, each meal comes w a beverage and dessert (vanilla ice cream w choice of chocolate or caramel sauce). Both fussy kids gobbled down their meals. And there were coloring pages and crayons given to engage children while we waited for our food to arrive. Extensive Red Robin-esque burger menu, amongst other offerings and shakes. All of our food came out hot and, as ordered and was tasty, and with the classic steak fries. Hot wings are like OG Red Robin, which comes w ranch and veggies. I had the mushroom and Swiss burger and brought back RR vibes. Generous amt of mushrooms, and the parmesan butter on the bun was excellent. Very tasty. If I were to offer a criticism, my burger was slightly overcooked and a tad dry, but the generous toppings and fries helped balance it out. Service was on point, from being greeted at the front door to our server and bus staff. Our server handled our table of 7 amongst others with ease and efficiency. She was attentive w drink refills and taking away empty plates all the while being friendly, interactive but not intrusive. Definitely will return. Just wish they'd open a downtown or north location. We left around 6pm, and it was very busy, so come early and come hungry. read more

I went today with my family as I heard this was a family friendly place like the old Red Robin's that used to be there. This place falls very short of that. Our service was the worst we have had in a long long time. To start our order took almost 45 mins to arrive, when it finally did we were not offered any salt and pepper. I asked for hot sauce, they did not have any. Not even Frank's. They ended up bring me some buffalo sauce they use for the wings. Our kids got the kids meals and my son requested apple slices, when they arrived they smelt and tasted like they were cut with the same knife that was used to cut onions!? The waitress apologized and said the apples were stored to close to the onions? Worst of all, we were looking forward to "forever fries" that never came. The manager apologized and asked if wanted to fries to box and take home. The food it self was ok, I ordered the Philly cheesesteak and it wasn't the worst. I also did not get one refill of ice tea or was even asked. Honestly there is just so many other places to take your family. read more

The Varsity - Requested hot sauce got buffalo sauce. - Burgers Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

We had an amazing meal tonight. We had a large family group, and as with all families, some real characters. Our waitress, Carmen, was brilliant. She intuitively knew what we all needed. She was professional, warm, polite and friendly. She clearly is an expert server. Oh! and the food was great too (very similar but we agreed better quality to what was at the same location when it was a RedRobin). We will be back and if you have a family event coming up, you should go too! read more

Edmonton - Really enjoyed it before, but now . . . why bother offering gluten-free buns if you're serving burger patties with gluten?? Please go back to the gluten-free patties!!! read more

my wife and I decided to come on over from westlock to see what this varsity was all about. After reading the google reviews and some yelp reviews we were skeptical. The service was amazing... my burger not so much. My wife and I both ordered the varsity burger mine with swiss, hers with cheddar. Both of our burgers were pink on the inside. We spoke to Star our server and she got the new ones made pretty quick. We bit into the burger and again it was pink. We didn't want to be the guests that cause a fuss so we just spoke to our server and explained why we didn't tip as well as we normally do. She was amazing and on the ball otherwise. Other then the burgers our cookie milkshakes hit the spot. That was our first and last experience at the varsity. read more

I had hoped to find Red Robin like they said in ads. Now it maybe that they are not ready yet or they well never be. The poor bartender was taking care of the drinks for the restaurant, 10 seats at the bar and at least 4 tables that had 14 people seated will I was there. That's to much to do!. People seemed to enjoy the burgers but my fish was over cooked. The extra fries took 15 mins and my beer sat empty for 10. This could be the fact that I sat at the very busy bar. read more

I had the sweetest host greet me. She told me her name was Mia which was so fitting to her apparence. I tried the Guacamole burger and snuck a bit of the banana milk shake from my wife. It was so much better than I expected! The servers were so charming and the food was delicious. We sat in a very comfortable booth that allowed us to lay back when we were too full to move. I highly recommend this place! They even have a bar for the foodies who love a drink! read more

What a great meal! The "bacon & cheddar" burger was a mouthful,literally!, and very tasty and their yam fries are to die for! And I will be ordering the wild berry smoothy again. To top it off, if you get Ellen as your server, you will get the best of the best! read more

We were in the area yesterday so we went for lunch. Aiden was our server and he is FANTASTIC!!!! the service was fantastic and the food was great as usual. You could tell that he loves what he does, He was definitely one of the BEST servers we have ever had anywhere!! We were his last table of the day so we had a chance to chat. He was telling us what he is heading for as a career and let me tell you, he is going to be amazing at it!!! all the best to you in the future, we will for sure be taking advantage of you while you are still doing what you are doing. Go and ask for Aiden the next time you are in, YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED :) read more

Went to Varsity with the family and the food was disappointing. My burger patty was dry and not flavorful. The forever fries were good. The service was great. The server was quite attentive. My wife and kids were disappointed with their burgers as well. My wife ordered the blacked chicken and it did not taste very blackened. The value for your money is just not there. It was very quiet in the restaurant for a Saturday. read more

We tried Varsity Kitchen & Bar tonite. What a treat! If you were fans of Red Robin you'll LOVE Varsity! The staff were friendly, the restaurant has been updated & the food menu is excellent & with the bottomless fries this place will quickly become our favourite go to! Great news a second location will be opening soon in North Edmonton! read more

Been here four times since discovering it a little over a month ago. The food is amazing and always comes quickly. Service has always been great and I've never had to wait for a drink refill. I would highly recommend giving it a try. So many vegetarian options too! read more

Food was good. No onion rings were available and we got there when it opened. Service was good as well.

My husband and I came I to your restaurant this evening around 8:30 pm. We waited for almost 10 minutes before someone actually greeted us to seat us! Unacceptable. Then we were sat down, browsed the menu and sat for almost another 10 minutes but in the meantime another couple (younger) was seated behind us in a booth. Funny thing they weren't even there for 1 minute and a red headed young lady server walked to their table and asked if she could bring them some drinks! So what were we, chopped liver? There were staff walking around, at least 5-6 that I could count. NO one came by to take our order. My husband said if that waitress walks away without coming to take our order we are walking out. Well that's exactly what we did. WE WALKED OUT! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! Your staff needs to be trained! Certainly a lack there of. We had a business and if we would have treated our customers in the way we were treated we wouldn't have had a business. Your restaurant was recommended but believe me BAD NEWS travel a lot faster than good! We couldn't believe what had just happened! Bad bad management. read more

Oh my god, where do i start with this dreadful restaurant. I recently dined at the Varsity and was extremely disappointed with my experience. The service was painfully slow and my food took decades to arrive at the table. When it finally arrived, it was clear that the dishes were not at all prepared to my liking and were completely inedible. The flavors were poisoning and the presentation was revolting. To make matters worse, multiple entrees was prepared incorrectly and had to be sent back to the kitchen. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a deep power nap in between when you order and when you actually receive the food, or to anyone who wants to eat their food with dirty utensils that look like they've been fetched from a garbage in their back alley. I STRONGLY URGE anyone and everyone who is debating coming to this restaurant to turn the corner and go to hungry birds instead cause enough is enough. UNBELIEVABLE. read more

Was super packed- but the food was worth the wait. Be patient- if you're craving old Red Robins food you won't be disappointed

Went here on family day and they were packed so I was happy I made a reservation for myself, my husband and our four kids. The place was really busy we got sat down right away but after that we didn't see anyone for almost half an hour then we finally got a server to find out for us who our server was. Long story short our server took our order finally but we didn't get our drinks for another 25 minutes and then we didn't get our food till well after 6pm.The only person that every truly apologized once was one manager when he realized at the beginning no one had come to help us. Also at the end of the night we got a nice $103 bill and they didn't comp any thing after having us wait so long and my burger was super dry and not great. We will never go back. read more

We went today, it was horrible long wait for our food wasn't busy inside, an hour for our food, and management was so rude when we politely asked to pay for our drinks and leave. read more