BurgerBloc — Restaurant in Mississauga

Felt the need to write this HONEST review to offset the “reviews” that somehow showed up within hours of their opening. Some claiming this burger is the burger to end all burgers. Not even close.

So disappointed with the quality of the food. I am not going to fault the slow service too much since it was their first opening night of their soft opening. I will lead off with the GOOD. The bun was great. Soft and slightly buttery. Totally reminded me of a brioche bun.

The BAD. Where do I start? I am a stickler for fresh everything. I could clearly see the cooks cooking up the seemingly freshly ground burgers. But to be honest I have never had a fresh ground burger taste like it was frozen. Maybe cause they keep them in the fridge/freezer and don't let them rest at room temperature before hitting the grill. I don't know, but it tasted like a frozen burger with the texture. Not juicy at all. Whether it was overcooked or not. Hardly any taste whatsoever. Toppings were a bit skimpy and some were missing but really it could be because I tossed my burger after a few bites. I just couldn’t go on.

My friend ordered a burger and clearly stated that all he wanted was cheese and bacon. Easy enough right? I commend the girl taking the order as she made an effort to make sure the cooks knew to not put on anything other than cheese and bacon on it. At one point we saw her taking some napkins to the kitchen and I asked, “they put on all the toppings right? Not just the cheese and bacon”. She said yeah so not sure if the napkins were meant to wipe off the condiments or if they decided at the end to make another burger or use a new bun cause it was taking pretty long. Not sure why my order was so quick to be made, but will assume it was cause as soon as they punch in the order the kitchen sees it and starts grilling.

The fries. I asked if they are fresh and was told yes. There is no way that those were fresh fries. I even saw one person filling the fry hopper from a bag. I thought, okay maybe they cut the fries fresh and they bag them for ease. Nah. Once I tasted them I knew there were frozen. Good thing they were free cause there is no way those are worth the price they are charging. They were tossed as well. They were pretty cold as well as it seems they don't have anything to keep them warm. I just saw someone scooping them out from the fry basket which makes me think once they are done they are removed from the hot oil and left to drain and get cold.

Now the kicker. While I am waiting for my friends order to be complete, which was taking in my opinion way too long, I tend to observe things. I definitely did. I noticed two different kitchen staff member handling food (one was cheese the other was lettuce) without wearing gloves. I asked the girl at the front shouldn’t anyone handling food be wearing gloves? She said yes. I told her I just saw two guys not wearing gloves even though they had several boxes of those gloves all over the prep station. She relayed what I said to someone else that seemed to be the manager, but didn't seem to phase him as he just stared right through me.

I really really wanted to like this place cause of it being in the new plaza right across the street from me, but I just cant recommend this place. Sorry. Hopefully someone reads this review and makes changes for the better. I may try this place in a month to give them time to hopefully improve, but honestly this really left a bad taste...

Summary: Small burger joint. Newly opened location. Good burger. Nothing extraordinary. Checks all the boxes of a good burger except for the sad lettuce. Their crispy chicken was good too. Price comparable to hero burgers. Halal. Do your own check. Definitely worth a visit.

Free upgrade to combo during opening. No end date visible.

In details:

Halal: visible signs everywhere. Do your own checks

Taste: classic burger bloc: Ticks all the boxes of a good burger. Burger cooked right. Bun is brioche like, sauce is good, good slice of tomatoes. The lettuce was a bit sad. The midrib part of the lettuce reminds you that this is not a fancy eatery and the attention to detail stops at one point. Overall a decent burger. For $7.99+tax, it is not your everyday burger joint but worth a trip

Crispy chicken. Tasted good. Juicy, bun is like brioche. Nice sauce. Hot and freshly done. It basically is on par with the popeyes chicken sandwich with tomatoes, sad lettuce and cheese. Bun to chicken to condiment ratio was decent. Worth a shot if you want something alternate to popeyes.

The fries was good.

Price:$$. Is a bit on the pricey end of the spectrum for the chicken burger but aligns with this type of establishement for the beef burger. Not sad that I spent my dollars there

Place: clean & new. Little seating area. Needs some rethinking to add coziness.

Staff: courteous. Wait time: 10minutes Menu: nice selection Washroom: Yes Otherwise...

Order: Beef Cheese Bloc

Service: Nice people. Welcomed with a smile. Polite.

Food preparation: Took roughly 10-12 minutes. Meat was cooked thoroughly unlike other places where sometimes beef has some smell.

Taste: Overall it's a decent burger though nothing to crave for. The burger is a bit sloppy. The bloc sauce, their spicy mayo as the lady explained, was proportionally a lot more than the other toppings, and very messy. The beef was bland so you can tell they are hoping that the sauce would make up for the tasteless meat. Also there were 5 pickles in that tiny burger.

What I would like to see: Spread the bloc sauce evenly on top and bottom of the beef patty. Better tasting tomatoes rather than the basic cheapest ones. Tomatoes should be soft to eat and full of juices. Buns that are lightly grilled. Distribute the toppings proportionally. Perhaps add some taste in the beef patty e.g., herbs, spices?

I think the quality will improve over time once business starts to pick up. It's a place where you go because your next door burger joint is too busy, not because you are craving for the taste.

I will go again to...