Lick’s Homeburgers & Ice Cream

I remember when I was a kid, every so often I would go to a Lick’s restaurant with my family. The whole experience was great, employees were very live, cheerful and singing while making your order… it was very entertaining. As the years past, more and more locations started to close which made me a bit sad because that was one of the few places I went to that reminds me of my childhood. Fast forward to last weekend…
I was in the area and I was looking for a place to eat. I couldn’t narrow it down to one location, but when I saw Lick’s I thought I’d give it a shot for nostalgic reasons. In a way, I wanted to relive my experience that I had when I used to go to Lick’s as a child. As soon as I entered, the place was near empty (during 5pm on a Saturday with only one person seated and two employees working). I figured I would still give it a shot since I’m here for the food as well. The cashier that took my order seemed very displeased to be there — very far from welcoming. After I placed my order, I observed on how the atmosphere had change for the worst. There was no lively, cheerful and singing employees… just older ladies which are very quiet and no where near the atmosphere that I dined with my family years ago. My food came and I was hoping the first bite would take me back to how delicious their Homeburger used to be for me but instead, I got THE worst burger I ever ate in my life. The beef patty was burned on the outside which added an unwanted crunchy taste to it and the inside of the beef was dryer than the Sierra desert. I just couldn’t believe how bad my experience was and if my experience is the same with the few Lick’s locations left in the city, I don’t see them lasting for another year. My memory of the Lick’s brand is forever tarnished and it’s highly unlikely I would be back even if the meal was free. If there was anything positive that came out of this situation is that my horrible experience inspired me to write my first Unilocal review on how my childhood experience of Lick’s was ruined at this Warden/​Eglinton location.

This place has gone downhill big time.
Overpriced for what you get.
Spent $ 12 on a combo, got about 6 onion rings and a burger which was pretty cold, it didn’t even melt the cheese it was put directly on top of.
Friend got a chili poutine and drink, came up to $ 9.50, huge rip-​off.
Do not go here if you want a good burger.

Employee behind counter not very pleasant most of the time. Doesn’t change gloves after handling money. Ewww. Probably won’t be back. Have to tell friends about that. It’s a red flag for me.

Licks is generally good.
The employee was a bit hostile… And a bit overly aggressive.

I usually like Licks so I was surprised when I visited here not too long ago. I ordered the regular homeburger combo. I was not impressed. It didnt taste the, same, the burger was dry and the fries were not good. I just recently started buying the Licks burgers at the store. When I cooked them on my own Licks is once again redeemed!

Any form of explanation should be made available to a menu that is not straightforward with food names, such as Chick’n Lick’n, or The Works. Needless to say, it would have been excusable if the staff was at least willing enough to give a quick explanation of their four specialty poutines for example — but apparently, such request was beyond their capacity. I was told that I was asking too much, and to inquire only about one flavor.
…And did I mention how I was constantly negated about ordering the weightless platters, despite telling the cashier twice, that was what I wanted? I would like cottage cheese and fruits, yes?
We’ve been trying to eat in this branch, but we always arrive a little bit later than their closing time. And when we finally got the chance, the dining experience was not even worth it.
Good thing ‘The Works’ worked. The food saved it by a margin.

Another Friday lunch mission to Scarborough. This time we decided to see how well Lick’s could stand up compared to the Five Guys burgers down the street that we had visited a few weeks back. My opinion is a bit skewed as I decided to have a turkey burger on this lunch time stop, but I had a few people who at the beef «Homeburger» to keep things balanced.
The store itself is pretty clean, and had ample seating. There were only 3 people in line when we got there but it was at least 20 minutes before I had ordered and received our food back. The service was all pretty unpersonable at ordering, but at least while standing waiting at the topping area the woman said some pleasantries.
As for the food… As mentioned, I had the Gobbler (aka Turkey Burger — $ 5.49) with cheese (+$ 0.99), and back bacon (1 slice = $ 1.49). The sandwich was decent, but in all honesty I buy the Lick’s Gobbler burgers at the grocery store and cook at home, and maybe its because Im using a flame barbecue, but I’d take that over the sandwich that was served up to me today. My dining companions who ate the Homeburger said that while being a decent burger, was not as good as Five Guys, and was overall a bit dry. The fries are also a losing situation. The quality was some of the most boring fries I’ve had in my life. Lots of salt and ketchup required to make it through the order.
In the end it was a $ 15 lunch that did provide the sustenance required to make it through the rest of the day, but reminded me to just stick with buying Lick’s burgers at the grocery store and cooking them at home and save my dining out money for something better.