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| Photo by Andrew Hockridge |
Date Visited: November 27, 2020
Location: East York, ON
BurgerTours Rating: 4.75/10
| Taste | Messiness | Price | Venue | Pluses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great | Messy | $11-$15 | Fast Food | Veggie, Alcohol, Patio |
Drew's Review
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| Photo by Andrew Hockridge |
Welcome to BurgerTours and welcome to another edition of Where will we eat next? Well, lucky for you, we have an answer for you. Today, we order in from King’s Drive-In, a small joint on Pape Avenue in East York that offers burgers, hot dogs, fries, poutine and fish and chips served in all their greasy glory.
We originally stumbled upon this location after a quick Google search of joints in the area and saw that they were open and taking orders. We grabbed our wallets, emptied our stomachs and prepared ourselves for some delicious burgers…a hem…(cough cough)fish and chips.
Yeah, so they didn’t have the Veggie burger at the time, so the nice lady behind the counter offered us the next best (healthier) option: fish on a bun. So, this won’t be a burger review per se, this will be a fish on a bun sandwich review.
Upon entering the East York location in the late afternoon, some things caught my attention: first off, the exterior resembles closely to that of a White Castle, and secondly, the menu has a wide variety of options available including beer.
So, when we heard the Veggie option wasn’t available, the nice lady suggested we order the fish on a bun, which I guess is essentially the same as ordering a veggie burger. So, we both ordered the fish on a bun. It was a slab of hand battered haddock fish served on a fresh bun, and in quotes on the menu beside this option, it reads “this is as good as it gets!!!” So, I have to like it, don’t I?
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| Fish on a Bun/Photo by Andrew Hockridge |
We took pictures, we shot video, we sang a song and we dug in. The bun was soft and fresh, just like the advertising said, so that was satisfying. The fish was well cooked, or fried I should say. And the flavour was just alright, nothing to spectacular about it. It came with a nice Tartar sauce that complemented the haddock ever so well. It was good. Not great, not boring. Just good. The fries on the other hand were tasty. They were thick and golden brown. If I had to return just for the fries, I would.
Overall, a mediocre sandwich gets a mediocre review. The fish on a bun is nothing special, but I guess when the lady behind the counter THINKS that you’re vegetarian based on what you were craving, then this would be the next best option available. However, I wasn’t necessarily satisfied with the sandwich. I hope to return in the future to try a burger from them, or at least when they have the Veggie burger option available. But as for now, this will just have to suffice.
5/10
Mark's Review
We take you a new neighbourhood in East York for this burger tour, a well known and reputable joint in Pape Village… King’s Drive In!
Nestled at the corner of Pape & Mortimer, King’s Drive In is known for its ‘amazing and affordable food’. A local favourite, their savoury BBQ and burgers are what attracted us to pay a visit to this joint.
When we got inside there was a nice ambiance of a classic diner, which I appreciated since we rarely see that type of decor in restaurants nowadays. Browsing through the menu, we noticed a variety of options from burgers, off the grill sandwiches, fish n’ chips, and poutines.
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| Fish on a Bun/Photo by Mark Avila |
Like our most recent burger tours, where we either go for a meatless or veggie patty option, we went for their Veggie Burger. However, to our surprise, the veggie patty was on back order. Fortunately, we were suggested the next closest thing which was the Fish on a Bun Sandwich. Yes, its not a burger, but we couldn’t turn down a recommendation. Even though Andrew and I aren’t vegetarians, and we easily could’ve tried one of the other burger options, we just had to give this a try.
The Fish on a Bun is a battered haddock topped with our choice of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and tartar sauce.
There’s not much to say about this, since its literally a… fish on a bun. It was bland, lacked flavour, and the only thing giving this life was the tartar sauce. At least the Haddock was golden brown and crispy, which is probably the one thing they hit on the mark.
Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I’m willing to give King’s Drive-In another chance to impress, and I hope to come back and try one of their signature burgers in the near future. But, for now with this underwhelming experience, this visit doesn’t come close to the other burger joints we’ve visited this year.
4.5/10
