The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
The cheeseburger. One of the most basic units of fast food in North America and something enjoyed by Canadians every single day.
But, with all of the options out there, it can be hard to know for sure which fast-food burger reigns supreme over the others.
To get to the bottom of this, I tried cheeseburgers from four of the biggest fast-food chains in Canada.
The joints I checked out for the purpose of this review are McDonald's, A&W, Harvey's and Wendy's.
Of course, there are plenty of other famous burger spots in Canada, from Burger King to Dairy Queen but — sorry — I wasn't prepared to eat more than four cheeseburgers in one go.
As for my methodology for selecting, I tried to get the closest thing to a basic burger: one beef patty, cheese, some toppings and condiments. In each restaurant, that looked different, so I will be grading on a curve to ensure fairness.
So, without further ado, here are best fast-food cheeseburgers in Canada.
McDonald's
A McDonald's cheeseburger.
Price: $2.93
There's a case to be made that McDonald's is the reason why we even have fast-food burgers.
For my taste test, I got the classic cheeseburger which comes with a patty, pickles, onions, condiments and a slice of cheese.
What this burger does well is marry all the elements into one singular flavour you can only get at McDonald's. They simply have some sort of magic, because you can never get a homemade burger to taste like this.
It's nostalgic, wonderfully chewy but also a bit basic and a bit small. While it's under $3, the patty is on the tinier side, and it almost seems like there's way more bun than anything else.
It's good and it's a classic. But it's maybe not the best option out there.
Score: 2.5/5
A&W
An A&W burger.
Price: $6.77
I've extolled the virtues of A&W on many occasions and some of their burgers are among my favourites. On this outing, I opted to get the Mama Burger because it seemed like the most down-the-middle classic burger you could get from the restaurant.
One thing that really stood out to me here was how tasty the beef patty was. It was seasoned with that wonderful A&W seasoning that seems to be on everything they make — in a good way.
The limited toppings and sauce were quite good, but I did find that the bun was a little bit too big. It sort of felt like I was mostly biting into bread, which sucks since that's not the case with some of their other sandwiches.
All in all, this was a good burger and definitely something I would get again — but it was not the standout this time around.
Score: 3/5
Harvey's
A Harvey's burger.
Price: $7.19
If you've never been to Harvey's, you're missing out on a Canadian institution.
Harvey's is a Canadian-run company that serves up flame-broiled burgers and allows customers to fully customize their sandwiches.
I ordered a classic burger with cheese and it came with lettuce, ketchup and pickles. I've only had Harvey's a few times, so I was really surprised when I took a bite and the patty had a really tasty smokey flavour.
I found the bun was good and fit the number of toppings quite well, but I could see things getting really soggy if you really loaded it up.
It's not often that a patty makes you feel like you're eating one made on an actual grill, which honestly almost propelled this burger to the top of my list.
Sure, it looks a mess, but it's hard to beat the customizability of this burger and the beef truly tasted like a family member just grilled it up.
Score: 4.5/5
Wendy's
A Wendy's burger.
Price: $8.58
This was my first time having a Wendy's burger, and let me just say that I loved it. The burger I got is called Dave's Single, a new option, and I genuinely think this is the best one I had on my taste-testing journey.
The bun was perfectly chewy, and the toppings played with each other really well. I know Wendy's whole deal is "fresh, never frozen" and that might be true — because I found the patty to be juicy, tasty and just the right size.
Eating this made me feel like I had missed out on years of great burgers because there was no Wendy's in my hometown.
So, while Harvey's is a close second, I think I'll have to give the top spot to Wendy's this time around.
Score: 5/5
I'd be remiss to mention that a huge factor in fast food is the cost, with the price of a Wendy's or Harvey's burger being roughly three times the amount of a burger at McDonald's.
That being said, I really do think it's worth the extra cash for some of these burgs, as the quality of ingredients, the beef and everything about them makes it worth your while.
But, granted, maybe three pretty-good cheeseburgers give you more joy than one really good cheeseburger!
If you're wondering about some of the other best fast food items out there, I've also ranked the best breakfast sandwiches, french fries and poutine from big chains in Canada.
Or if you don't trust my opinion, you can hear it from some of Canada's top chefs who recently named the best fast-food items in the country.
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