Dairy Queen Grill & Chill — Restaurant in Kitchener

I had a rather unpleasant experience at Dairy Queen about 3-2.5 years ago. During my visit, I couldn't help but notice the presence of cockroaches not only over the counter but also around the drink dispenser and throughout the establishment. This was extremely off-putting and raised serious concerns about the restaurant's cleanliness and sanitary practices.

To make matters worse, the burger I had consumed during that visit left me feeling sick for an extended period of time. It was disheartening to think that my meal from Dairy Queen haunted me long after the visit, as I continued to feel ill at the mere thought of it.

There was no way that many roaches weren’t getting into ice cream, food, they find their way into anything I’ve thought to myself.

As someone who had fond memories of visiting Dairy Queen as a kid, it's truly disappointing that I can no longer bring myself to dine there. The excessive cockroach problem and the lingering effects of the food I consumed have permanently deterred me from returning to Dairy Queen.

In an effort to address these concerns, I reached out to Dairy Queen's corporate office via email, hoping for some resolution or acknowledgment of the issue. Unfortunately, they never responded or displayed any care regarding the problem. This lack of responsiveness and apparent indifference only solidified my decision to boycott Dairy Queen, along with my family, due to the restaurant's failure to maintain proper sanitary practices and the biggest issue was a corporate team that just doesn’t care to address customer concerns. Please note my solution was asking them to fix the problem with roaches and safe food handling, not a refund, credit or coupon, I sent two messages to give them the benefit of the doubt.

They did not address this with me. It's a regrettable situation that has led me to look elsewhere for my ice cream options - often just going to the grocery store today.

Honestly, I drive past any DQ location with disgust today, I don’t even know if I will ever step foot...

I’ve been going to this Dairy Queen for years and overall it’s a solid spot, especially when I’m in the mood for their poutine (which has vegetarian gravy!): my go-to. The portion size is generous for the price, and it’s always hot with crispy fries, lots of tasty gravy, and big chunks of melty cheese. Everyone I’ve gotten to try it says it’s better than they expected.

I also really like their mix option where you can pair a small fries with a small sundae or slushy. It’s a fun and affordable way to get a bit of everything.

When it comes to Blizzards, I’ve had some mixed experiences. They don’t always flip them when serving, which I know some other reviews also said was the case. Lately, I’ve noticed the Blizzards melt super quickly. I’ve had a couple where, within a minute, it was dripping down the cup and just got super messy. That made it hard to enjoy. I’m also just not a huge fan of their ice cream taste/texture overall and find that there isn’t enough of the mix ins, though that might be personal taste.

The service is usually friendly and fairly quick. Most staff I’ve interacted with have been great. There was one time recently during a busy period where my order took over 15 minutes and people who ordered after me were getting theirs first. I didn’t have my receipt, so I had to go up and ask about it. Not a huge deal, just something that stood out.

My one ongoing wish is that they’d clean the tables more often. Every time I visit, there’s usually crumbs, grease, or sticky spots left behind. It’s not super bad, but it does affect the atmosphere and makes things feel unkept. Outside of that, it gets pretty busy in the evenings and of course, there are typically families and kids here so the noise level is moderate.

Still, I’ll definitely keep coming back for the poutine and other quick treats. With a bit more attention to consistency and cleanliness, this DQ could easily be a...

The customer service at this location is terrible. Last month, I ordered a large birthday cake online for pickup and I received the email confirmation with the date and time. When I arrived to pick it up on that day (the day of the party), the store was closed. It was the Sunday of the long weekend, but plenty of other similar restaurants were open and I received no contact from the store letting me know that I would have to pick it up earlier. I had to scramble and find another place to supply me with cake for 25 people on a holiday Sunday. This obviously cost more money than I originally planned to spend on cake, and more than a bit of stress. When I followed up with the restaurant the manager said, “Sorry, I forgot to call you”, and left it at that. She seemed completely insincere and appeared to have zero insight into the fact that her “honest mistake” had actual consequences for me. She said that the situation was also partially my fault, because I should have called to make sure they were open, even though I had an email confirmation. When a restaurant messes up, and there is no way for them to fix it, I think it is reasonable for them to offer some small amount of compensation, like a gift card, as a gesture of good will. When I suggested this to the manager, she actually hung up on me! I called back and asked for the franchise owner to call me, and I have also contacted the Dairy Queen head office twice now and have emails from representatives stating that they have reached out to the owner about this and, yet, I’ve heard nothing after over a month. The owner obviously doesn’t care and thinks what happened was acceptable. I will avoid this location in the future and would encourage others to do the same, if customer service is something...