Carl’s Jr

Yummmmmy, a little pricy folks but the toppings on the burger, the bun, those fry things, etc all very very good. Still mayhem with the new store in town but wow yum!!! I tried Carl’s in Idaho a few years ago & Epenticton a couple years ago and very good burgers. You order your burger exactly how you like it including toppings and then find a place to sit if you can and they bring it out to you — it’s as fresh as fresh can get, no sitting under a heat lamp here! Yummy :)

After much anticipation and missing Palm Springs, CA Carls we were extremely disappointed to get 2 Cold hamburgers at 10:30am when it should be made fresh. When the wait time for Cold would be the same amount of time we should have waited for fresh. Also who wants a head of lettuce on your sandwich?

Only been here once so far and I LOVED the taste of their burgers. The store was super busy even after 3 months of being open, next time I’ll go through the drive thru for hopefully quicker service. Other then that the food was fantastic

#151
Long awaited arrival of well known Carl’s Jr. to the Calgary market, apparently located in an old Arby’s location near SAIT, Starbucks, and Sushi BBQ Inn along 16^th Ave NW.
I had always loved Carl’s Jr. since living in the US years ago so you can imagine my excitement being able to drive 20 minutes instead of 8 plus hours to get to one.
Unfortunately, the excitement, like any of Vancouver’s Stanley Cup runs or Dallas Cowboys playoff runs, fell short.
For $ 28 and some change, two people got the following:
Super Star w/​cheese for $ 6.01 in a combo including onion rings that overdone and almost chewy instead of crunchy for $ 3.09 (combo price which are better at Burger King or A & W) and a chocolate shake that was more whipped cream than shake for $ 4.49 (combo price which are better at Smashburger).
Note: most burgers come with mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, tomato, onion so buyer beware.
Western bacon thickburger for $ 7.01 in a combo including crisscut fries for $ 3.49 and medium beverage for $ 2.69 (which is the extra large from years ago). The burger was not charbroiled enough as what they advertise is charbroiled Angus burgers and the bacon was too thinly sliced. The portion of the fries was disappointing.
For this price, I expect higher quality since there are many places like Smashburger or pubs like Joyce on 4^th that have higher quality at the same price of sometimes less.
The service, especially by Canadian standards and actual delivery, was adequate.
This was a bucket list to do item but I might come back to see what changes, if anything.
Technically, this should be two and a half stars, not three.

After having Carl’s Jr. in the US, I was glad to finally see one here in Calgary.
The Canadian experience doesn’t live up.
Our first experience was in the UBER long drive through line (more than 15 min) AND They got our order completely wrong. But the line was so long, and there is no place to park so we just took it and left. (they have about 10 spots right out front the restaurant)
Went back this evening.
Burgers were o.k. Cris-​cut fries are o.k. too, but not nearly crispy enough.
Onion Rings were overly breaded but crispy.
My burger was dry, it was the western, and was supposed to be slathered in BBQ sauce — it was not.
My wife had the Teriyaki burger and she quite enjoyed it.
Honestly though, for the money — you’re FAR better off going to Five Guys (cheaper) or to Fat Burger (comparitive).
The patties at Carl’s Jr. are very processed, and taste like it. Likely they are made at a central location and then frozen and shipped in.
For the money — you should definitely get freshly made and grilled/​charbroiled burgers.
I don’t think I’ll be going back — I’d rather spend that kind of money for a burger at Five Guys!

Okay, so, I may have cheated on my pescatarian diet again (sorry, animals) but I just had to make an exception for Carl’s Jr. The hype was too major. I’ll chalk it up to mob mentality.
As for Carl’s Jr., I was satisfied with the experience. Was it worth it to break my diet? Nope. I mean I haven’t had a burger in a 8 months so maybe I was building it up in my head. The burger itself was massive (¹⁄₃ lb) and you could make it ‘massive-​er’ by ordering the ½ lb. I got the Guacamole Bacon Thickburger, I mean if I was cheating on my diet, I might as well eat all the farm animals I can, right? right? lol. I would describe it as an equivalent to a pub burger. It is nice to have pub-​style burgers available as fast food though. And the atmosphere of the restaurant is nice too, like an upscale version or renovated fast food/​diner place – which seems like the new trend for FF restaurants.
I also upgraded my fries to the chilli fries, which I really did not like it was quite salty and the spices were odd. It almost tasted like there was curry powder in it.
If you’re coming here prepare to wait, it must be the hype surrounding the opening. And the drive-​thru has major delays! Like spilling onto the streets-​delays.
I probably wouldn’t go back to Carl’s Jr. because of my dietary restrictions (unless I give in again, which could happen) but if you’re a meatasaurus this is your jam!

I was happy to hear about Carl’s Jr. coming to Calgary. Calgary’s restaurant scene is livening up and I think there is an excess of trendy-​hip restaurants that price their food to cater for six-​figure incomes. We need more places that hold value and quality at the same regard. I believe this location of Carl’s Jr. does just that.
We decided to go on Boxing Day and the evening dinner rush wasn’t that bad. As soon as we walked in we were asked if we wanted to order. Being it was my first time at a Carl’s Jr. and I wasn’t familiar with the menu it would have been nice to have someone greet me and help me with my choices. I don’t like taking up the order taker’s time and holding up a line when I’m deliberating what I want. In fact, there were two other couples hanging out reading the menu before deciding what to order and they asked if we wanted to order before them. It was good to see Will walk around and chatting with people who have ordered to ensure people were happy, perhaps he could have also helped some first timers with their orders. Kudos for him to be active on Unilocal to help improve as well!
The food quality was there. The burger patties had enough flavorful and were lean. The fries were a bit on the salty side but tasted good and were fresh. My wife and I ordered a combo each and our bill came out to about $ 25. Not too bad for a full meal. I did have a concern about how the bill was itemized. Adding a combo was a set price but the bill looked like fries and a drink were added at full price. It’s a bit misleading thinking that we paid more. However, we talked to the cashier who directed me to a supervisor. He explained that the price of the burger went down to compensate for the full price fries and drink. Not a big deal but it could be confusing to some first timers.
4-​stars for now but I’m hoping they get to 5-​stars. I’ll definitely go back to try a different burger and see if I can get an equally good experience (if not better)!

A good experience on my visit a couple of weeks ago. I went first thing in the morning so I didn’t experience the long wait times like others have complained about. I went through the drive-​thru which was quick and the lady working was very friendly and polite.
I usually get the same thing and the quality was on par compared to my visits to restaurants in BC and the US.
No complaints here.

Had the place a few weeks ago. Was pretty good. Tasty burger, though the toppings I asked to be removed weren’t, which included condiments, so that did knock it down a bit. Also was disappointed to discover no breakfast, as that’s what I really wanted from this place. The location is out of my way as a transit user, so not sure if I’ll be back without the breakfast offerings

Drive thru pics look good. Food was another thing. Stick with 5 guys plain but consistent. One good thing the staff were super nice in drive thru

Great, to finally have one in Calgary!!!
Food was great, service was quick even though the place was packed.
I highly recommend everyone to try it!

Pretty average fast food burger, not bad. Would have been better if it was hot, everything was kind of luke warm.

They’re likely undergoing startup pains, because there seemed to be a lack of coordination. I ordered a portobello mushroom burger, but when it got to our table I couldn’t see any mushrooms (were they mixed into the patty?). My dinner companion’s burger said Jalapeño on its wrapper but it had no jalapeños, which is good because I’d ordered him an Original Six Dollar burger with no jalapeños. Sure, ¹⁄₃ lb. patties are big, texture was OK, flavour was a bit bland, lettuce was crisp… but I’ve been to an assortment of trendy burger places and missing a key ingredient or getting a mislabeled burger is no bueno. I didn’t complain because I was oh so hungry and the kitchen was under a lot of pressure: lineups in sporadic waves both inside and at the drive-​through. On the plus side, my chocolate milkshake was delicious, the waffle fries were well-​seasoned and crispy, and table service was attentive and cheerful. The WiFi seemed fast, too. I’ll try them again after they’ve sorted out their workflow.

Wonderful burger, very lean. With such a lean patty, there is a dryness associated and a good sauce is a must. I tried the el diablo and found the jalapenos too briney. The poppers were also not very tasty and more gooey soft bits in the burger. The bun was awesome very fresh and soft and didnt disintegrate immediately while eating. The bacon was rather thin but cooked nicely soft and helped provide some juice for a lean burger.
Another downside is the coke. The flavour is off. The first try was because it was empty. The second gave me the taste of american coke which is different than what we get here in canada. This was very disappointing.
Overall not a great experience but I would go back foranother burger.

Had the privilege of sampling their burgers, chicken fingers, waffle fries and milkshakes the day before they opened. Those hand scooped milkshakes are worth coming back for like every day. So yummy and I may or may not have been back for one already ;)
The burgers are juicy and delicious. Love that the chicken fingers are real chicken — so good! The waffle fries are the perfect combination of salty and crispy.
Great experiences here already and they’ve only been open a couple of days.