Restaurant: The Chickenburger
Address: 1531 Bedford Highway, Bedford
Date: June 9, 2011
Fish: Haddock
Cost: $8.04

Of all the places we’ve reviewed so far, The Chickenburger is by far the most well known of restaurants. It’s so iconic when you search Wikipedia for the word Diner, they include a picture of the Chickenburger in Bedford, Nova Scotia. It’s been around for generations and has a very loyal following.

Of course, The Chickenburger’s most famous offering is… the chickenburger, but they’re also quick to proclaim the excellence of their fish and chips. In fact, quite regularly their road-side sign states, “You’ll love our fish & chips”, as shown by this recent picture.

So on a fine Summer evening we stopped in to put their claim to the test. The place was busy, as usual (you rarely drive by The Chickenburger when it’s not busy… especially on a nice evening). Sadly, however, we came away less than impressed. The overall consensus was, between the ho-hum flavour and the seriously small portions… this is not a place we’ll be frequenting in the near future for F&C.

Fish and Chips Score: 65

FCP Review Crew

Rachel’s Thoughts

I always want the food to taste better here than it actually does.

I love this place. It symbolizes summer, classic cars, vacation, and family outings! But the food isn’t as great as the ambiance – that’s for sure.

The milkshakes and the chicken burgers are good, but the fish & chips are not good at all.

Too bad. I really wanted it to be.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Rachel’s Final Score: 64

Poochie’s Thoughts

The very first thing that went through my mind when I saw my food… tiny pieces of fish… that’s all for fries?… I was not amused.

The fries were warm at best and just real blah. No flavour and very starchy.

The batter was crisp, sorta thin, and a bit pasty/doughy on the inside. The consistency of the inside reminded me of wet drywall compound… not the ringing endorsement you’d want for fish and chips.

The fish itself had very little flavour, but on the plus side, it wasn’t very greasy.

This place was a DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT. People rave about this restaurant, but I think it’s all about nostalgia and tradition… it’s certainly not because of the quality and quantity of the food. A friend of mine is gaga over the chickenburgers themselves, but when I saw how puny they are for the price… they’d have to be dipped in the sweat of angels and delivered by Bono riding a unicorn for me to justify getting one.

Oh, yeah, and like it has absolutely any chance of redeeming this experience… the tartar sauce was Kraft, and no coleslaw came with this bad, overpriced experience.

Go visit The Chickenburger on Tuesday nights if you want to see some real nice classic cars. Stand in line at Chicken Little for an ice-cream (the single scoop is a good deal at just $2.61 (after tax) for a good size portion), but take my word for it… don’t waste your money on their fish and chips.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Poochie’s Final Score: 63

Minnie’s Thoughts

This place was crazy busy, but I’m not sure why. The fries (what few there were) are shoestring, and very starchy. I didn’t like them at all.

The fish was moist and seemed fresh, but the batter had very little flavour, and was doughy on the inside.

There was no coleslaw – so sad – and Kraft tartar sauce.

This is a place I won’t be returning to spend my hard earned cash.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Minnie’s Final Score: 63

Skippy’s Thoughts

I absolutely LOVE The Chickenburger. Why? Because of this little known factoid: my parents met here. (True story!)

My mom was a waitress and my dad was a customer. Wouldn’t let any of the other girls take his order. The rest, as they say, is history. So you see, if it wasn’t for this place, ol’ Skippy would not be reviewing F&C… anywhere!

So why did I tell you that story? To hopefully distract you from the fact that The Chickenburger’s F&C is not good at all. Boo! (Yes, I just booed the Chick.)

Okay, maybe that’s not totally fair. I mean, there was less grease than you’d find in your average F&C. And the fish & batter was… average. But teeny tiny portions (hence the boo). And my fries were totally tasteless.

Other than their shakes (perfect-o), I think they ought to stick to chicken burgers.

I’m just glad they weren’t serving F&C back in the day or my dad might have gone somewhere else to eat. <Shudder.>

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Skippy’s Final Score: 69