A&W Canada — Restaurant in Quispamsis

I have been to this location before and have always found a great amount of consistency in terms of the taste of the food/beverages. Last night; however, was different.

I always order a Teen Burger Combo and this was the case last night (about 7:17pm) when I stopped by with my family. I will also note that we chose to dine in.

In a nutshell, the problems with the food were numerous...

1. The root beer (from a publicly accessible dispenser) was very very sweet and had very little carbonation. If I had to guess what the issue was I would say that there was too much syrup and too little water, and (of course) too little carbonation. It was pretty awful which his saying a lot because I really love root beer.

And although this is not a matter of taste, I was disappointed when we were handed disposable cups as opposed to the frosted mugs I have always enjoyed when dining in. I guess they have done away with that signature feature...which was a little disappointing.

2. The onion rings were incredibly salty. I chose the french fries with my Teen Burger Combo but my wife chose the onion rings with her Teen Burger Combo. And when she gave me a couple to try out I was instantly taken aback by the level of saltiness. She's not one to make a fuss but had they come with my order I would have taken them back.

3. The bun containing the Teen Burger seemed outsized for the beef patty. In the end I was left with quite a bit of bun which, on its own, is not a treat to eat and so it was discarded. My wife felt the same thing in this regard and she discarded her left over portion as well.

The dining area was nice and clean but it was brutally cold! After we finished our meal and went to our car, the car's temperature gauge indicated it was 16 degree Celsius outside. My wife and I both commented to each other that the air temperature outside seemed to be almost the same as what we just left in the dining area. If I had to guess I would say it was about 18 degrees Celsius inside this A&W.

We used coupons last night. One coupon was for two Teen Combo Meals, and the other coupon was for a Teen Combo Meal (so three Teen Combo Meals). Looking at my receipt I find it difficult to understand the math the led to the final balance owing. For example, while the receipt does have three charges (one for the two combos and two other charges for single combos...totally 4 Teen Combo meals) the credit that gets applied to reduce the bill down to 3 meals is less than the charge added for one of the single Teen Combo meals. To me it appears I was overcharged.

On the plus side, the food was hot when it was brought to our table. The fries were just excellent. Plenty of uniformity in terms of size and shape, and they had just the right amount of crispiness. Also, the veggies on the Teen Burger Combos were very fresh looking and tasting.

The staff were good. Nothing to offend. They weren't particularly upbeat in demeanor or words, but they were also not dour/surly or presenting themselves as if we (the customers) were an annoyance (a common perception I have when dealing with younger, front line service staff in the food services industry).

The next time I visit this location I will go alone. This is simply because my wife doesn't like all the bother, attention, and sense of confrontation when food needs to be returned. She would rather suffer through some poor aspects of a meal as opposed to demanding better. If I am alone it will be easier for me to return those item(s) that are not prepared sufficiently.

In closing, I have found that over the last decade or so, businesses like A&W seem to be adding more and more salt to foods. At least that's been my impression. Maybe it's because their key demographic are the older folks (60yrs +) who require more salt to enhance the flavor. I am hoping my experience on my next visit will be better. Otherwise, I will have to look elsewhere in those moments when I am really craving a burger topped with veggies. They do a good job with the burgers but the other detractors will be enough to...

I went through the drive thru and ordered a Beyond Burger and the woman taking my order specifically asked if I wanted cheese on it and I said no. I’ve been vegan for 5 years and so don’t eat dairy but when I started eating my burger later I didn’t even think to check if there was cheese and so ate most of it before I realized there was. That was very upsetting when I clearly expressed I didn’t want any and could now get quite sick from it. I’m disappointed they didn’t take that more seriously. I’m sure it was a mistake but that could cause people with allergies or who aren’t used to eating dairy very sick and it was a mistake that made me violate my beliefs. Wouldn’t trust this...

I've been there to eat 3x in the last 3 weeks and have had probs with low/no carbonation in their root beer, both diet and reg, but one was ok then not the next time when the other was. I complained about it and got shrugged shoulders from an employee. The 3x I ate there, I had two teenburger combos, and one chubby chkn sand. They were all dry, so I asked for more mayo and they got me some, but why are they dry every single time? This location is slipping, and sometimes when there is an A&W promotion like a featured sandwich on TV, they don't honor it when the A&W's in Saint John do. I think I will stop going there and try the SJ A&W's when I got...