Amazingly, this place has been in Pickering since the mid-1960's, longer than I've been in…read morePickering, or even alive for that matter! For ages, we passed by Big M, noting its classic retro vibe and steady flow of customers. For years, we brushed off the recommendations of Pickering friends, but now, we have finally decided to stop by for a burger. There is outdoor seating only, so in the winter, Big M is a take-out only restaurant. Nevertheless, it was doing a brisk business at 6:00 on a Saturday. We each ordered Banquet Burgers (cheese and bacon). My husband and daughter ordered fries; I went for onion rings. They also each ordered a milkshake. Our opinion was united in that the burgers, shakes, fries and onion rings were exactly what the traditional, retro décor would lead us to expect. You'll not find surprising toppings or artisanal brioche buns at Big M, nor will you encounter the trending smash-burger. Rather, Big M succeeds because it delivers a fantastic version of the sort of burger that your Dad or Grandpa might have grilled up, or the burgers from that retro diner that you parents may or may not have dropped by on their way to the cottage that your family may or may not have visited or owned. Even if these weren't part of your childhood experiences, Big M serves up great traditional fare. Our burgers were made to order as we watched, and had a pleasantly browned and smoky finish, flame-licked by the grill, fresh, tasty toppings. The burger patty itself was neither thick nor thin, but classic 1/2 inch or so. The toasted Kaiser roll stayed crispy, and survived the trip home without getting soggy. The onion rings were the old fashioned, somewhat ponderous kind, as opposed to a lighter tempura style batter, and I relied on my husband to finish eating them on my behalf. But that substantial batter was exactly the right choice to pair with a traditional burger. The shakes were also traditional milk shakes, as opposed to, simply, "shakes", which may or may not contain actual milk or ice cream. The take-away: Big M is what it appears to be, a classic diner offering simple, diner-style fare. As such, it delivers a satisfying meal that more than meets the expectations: words like retro, traditional and home-style spring to mind. If you are in search of a trending, cheffy and possibly pricy experience (and I do tend to flock to those, when budget permits!), then Big M is probably not for you. However, for well-executed, basic, down to earth cooking, Big M serves up an excellent retro experience at a reasonable price. I'll be back to try the Whistle Dog (cheese and bacon) and the Canadian burger (Cheese and Peameal), plus another order of those indulgent onion rings.

The best burger I've had in the GTA!!…read more It was amazing. The bun wasn't soggy, all of the ingredients were high quality and well made. The sides are also really good. I've tried the onion rings, poutine and fries and they're all GREAT. Although make sure you hydrate because I did feel the effects of having a salty lunch afterwards The diner calls themselves a "drive-in" but it's more of an outdoor diner/to-go place. Most of the seating is outdoors and picnic table style. The service was wondering. Everyone is really nice and you feel welcome going here.

Poutine craving - I am so lucky to have this food truck nearby. I think I do not need to provide…read moredetails about this simple beauty. Their fries are the best, gravy flavour is on point, plenty of cheese (although not real cheese curds) - and the generous size and the reasonable price ($12 for medium). Sitting on the bench while waiting around the truck on a sunny afternoon and receiving the super hot poutine and picking some pieces from the container and say "Oh my god..." Priceless moment. Super stress buster. I will come back. For comfort.

This is one of the best chip stands in the area. They are seasonal, only take cash and entering the…read moreparking lot is pain..but once you order the service is friendly and fast. The fries are hand cut and have the skin on them. They are perfectly crisp but the flesh inside is light and fluffy. The best part are the little pieces that are extra crispy. I don't understand how some other fry trucks use bagged fries - that should not be allowed! I also appreciated the different types of vinegars and herb sprinkles (I used the garlic one) and it added additional flavours to the fries. I ordered the burger and it was okay-patty was a little overcooked and patty was store bought but at least it had a good beefy flavour. It's a fry truck so ambience is limited with a view of traffic going by. Fries are 5/5 but lost a point for an okay burger. Would have loved a fresh burger smashed on the flat top.

Great food, prices not so much. The average Family would…read morefind it difficult to eat here. Roughly $110-$120 for Family of four. These are just burgers and fries, not sure where all the expense is coming from? It will be interesting to see if the area income will be able to support Rudy. Good luck, no issues with quality, just the highly inflated prices.

It's a great burger cooked on a flattop..the thin patty has a nice char around the edges that…read moreprovides a nice textural bite. The bun is fabulous and fresh toppings and the Rudy sauce is very good. I could use a few more leafs of lettuce but o am nitpicking. Didn't try the fries but will have to next time. Seating is limited but the restaurant is bright and clean. The service is efficient, especially because burgers are made fresh.

Returned to this place after two years, we moved. Ordered a cheeseburger and poutine, first of all,…read morethe place got super dirtier than I remembered, The guy who's taking the order he's mean, dirty looking and super rude. For two items was $22, That's beyond insane. Burger was small and tasteless. The topping counter is dirty and the vegetables looks like it was thrown out at no frills. The gravy on the poutine is filled with MSG and put me into a coma straight away it looks nothing like the picture. If I could give this place a -1000 I would, stay away from this place. Safe to say I threw everything out.

Got a peameal on a kaiser, the most dried out pieces of meat,also burgers have these weird hard…read morechunks. The most unappetizing meal I've ever had . Will not go back !! Horrible food just made us feel sick . Nasty

Tip: Collect Scene+ points at Harvey's…read more Last Saturday, I wanted to grab some dinner. I was in Pickering and did a search. I found this Harvey's restaurant close by. I pulled out my Harvey's app and found an angus burger combo for $9.99 before taxes. Perfect! I ordered these items: - Angus burger - Onion rings - Large Diet Pepsi - Apple pie I got an estimated time that my order would be ready to pick up. I took my time getting to this restaurant. This eatery looked fairly new. It's located in a small plaza with a lot of construction. There was a danger sign warning folks about open excavation. It was not your typical sign! I hit the drive-thru. When I got to the order area, I indicated that I had an order and rattled off my name. The woman found my order and said that I could drive up to the window. There was one vehicle ahead of me. When I got to the window, a friendly woman who talked quickly said hi. She grabbed my drink and paper bag with my food. She wished me a great day. I reciprocated and drove away slowly. I ended up parking briefly to put my food in an insulated bag. I then drove home. I had dinner once I was home. This meal was perfect. I loved my angus burger. It was flavourful and juicy. I liked customizing my toppings. Garlic mayo is a must. I customized mine with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and relish. I was happy. My onion rings were so good. They were crispy and the onions were naturally sweet. I upgraded my drink to a large Diet Pepsi. I needed it to wash everything down, including my crispy apple pie. The filling was so good. The drink was crispy, cold, and perfect. Ordering through the Harvey's app does have its advantages. My Scene+ card is a part of my profile, so I'm always collecting points when I made a purchase. I also had a gift card as part of my payment method. I used it to pay for my meal, which felt like I had won the jackpot. I had an excellent experience at this Harvey's. I'd return for more good eats and drinks when I'm in the area again. (171)

I was around the area with my family and we decided to stop by to grab lunch. I think this Harvey's…read moreis newly opened as there some empty stores in the plaza. The restaurant was clean which was great. Prior to arriving at the restaurant I had placed an online order through their app so I was hoping I wouldn't have needed to wait to get my order when I got there. But when I got there I still had to wait for quite some time. I also ordered another two burgers through Uber eats and it took even longer just to get all my orders. The lady that was making my burger took quite some time making it. I was a bit disappointed in the wait other than that everything else was okay.

Excellent burgers, fries are crispy and both very tasty. Friendly staff and service was great…read more Portions are big and good value for your money. Definitely going back.

Wow... I learned about this place from the local food FB group. This area (Durham) has lots of…read moreburger joints which I usually am not particularly interested in as I have seen them doing drab competition. However for some reason I craved for burgers and picked this place based on the local people's review, and that I can use my Skip points (many other similarly well reputed places are not working with Skip). We ordered (delivery): # Bad Boy Burger # Onion Rings # Poutine The burger was very good!! Large bun with a large thick beef patty. Hint of charcoal. Sauteed onions and peppers are abundant, fresh veggies are also plenty. Not soggy, not dry, hitting the best juicy point. Onion rings are ok. Poutine's cheese was not real cheese curds, no squeakiness . But the brown gravy tasted good enough to comforted me. Fries are a bit over cooked but no "frozen" taste, thank god. We will re-order for their burger for sure. Nice find!

A bit disappointed…read more I sent my daughter to this place for order & pick up hoping to enjoy their poutine and burger together- we are both fresh-cut fries' enthusiast, and I had a very positive experience a few weeks ago. Poutine was as good, but felt that there were much less cheese than the last time? Cheeseburger was disappointing. My daughter ordered it but when she opened the wrapper she found that there was no lettuce or tomatoes or fresh onions inside. She was not even asked about options, just got this burger with meat & cheese & condiments only. It is $10. It was a whole different experience from mine, as I was asked for my preferred fresh veggie toppings and condiments extensively. I do not know why it happened, but I felt very sorry for my daughter's experience. It was a huge let down.

Best burgers I've had, portions are very large. I'll be honest I have tried a lot of the menu and I…read morehaven't found anything I really didn't like!

Second time I stopped here for a meal and it will be the last. The first time I got the Big Mac…read moremeal and the fries were either sitting there for awhile or completely over cooked. It was so dried out and lukewarm. And the burger bun didn't taste fresh. The second time I got a McChicken and the sandwich seemed rushed. It was a mess when I opened it and the bun seemed stale again. At least the fries were okay but lacked salt.

Love the service. Nice and quick. Very good fries on the day. Not as many ppl eating. Many empty…read moreseats, the wifi was fast too