The Chickenburger

B-​L-​A-​N-​D and I won’t be going back. Fortunately my bland experience was paid for by someone else!
As someone below mentioned they NEED some sauce choices. I know they’re playing the old tried and true game but this day and age where you can go anywhere down the street and pick up YUMMY TASTY food they’ve got to «get with it» and add some flavour
I did ask the boy behind the counter if they have any sauces and he said «no it’s cooked in a broth and that’s it’s own sauce» So I asked for some BQ sauce. He then suggested cranberry sauce so I added that which then made the burger taste of bland chicken with cranberry sauce on a dreary white bun hahaha it helped a bit I guess.
I haven’t had a chicken burger in probably 25 years and i’m not sure why I thought something might have changed. The recipe comes from a day when people ate bland food with no spices. Anyway I thought I’d give it a try and again after all these years was disappointed.
The prices are reasonable. The fries are forgettable. The atmosphere clean and sterile. There is a jukebox.
Oh and yes as another person mentioned. The unsightly and stinky garbage bins of Second Cup don’t add to the attraction. A fence would help.

I want to love The Chickenburger. So badly. I want it to be Halifax’s answer to the Peach Pit or the Max, but it just doesn’t get there for me. The retro diner feel is definitely enjoyable, and I love the communal picnic tables set up outside, but there’s just something absent from the experience… a lack of special sauce if you will. And speaking of sauce that might be what the burgers are missing. I know it’s their signature recipe, tasty pieces of chicken on a (smallish) steamed burger bun, but I’m not in love with the steamed bun, as the whole situation gets pretty soggy pretty quickly. In my humble opinion the burger just needs some more zip. The fries are standard fare, and 2 chickenburger combos come to less than $ 20 — so the price point isn’t bad. Overall, the food is good, but I feel like they’re just coming up short of being amazing. My suggestion for greatness: toast yer buns and give the people some sauce options.

Chicken Little is the Chickenburger’s ice cream-​toting sidekick. They serve Scotsburn’s ice cream in a trailer that’s parked by the Chickenburger’s Queen Street location. My favorite flavor is Udderly Devine (vanilla with peanut butter cups) The staff are super friendly AND they have Moonmist, the quintessential ice cream of summer! Reminds you of your childhood, yes? Begging your parents to pull over their wood-​paneled station wagon because it’s SOOOOOOO hot outside and if you don’t have an ice cream you’ll surely die.
Chicken Little is open 12pm to 8pm daily. Also the logo is super cute.

The Chickenburger is a constant and this is the one thing that works for them. I have been to the Bedford location and the food is the same — fresh and tasty. I find the burgers a bit on the small side and honestly I find their fries the same as any fast food place. The things they have going for them are the nostalgia factor and the «if it a’int broke» factor. I love the addition of the ice cream hut at the Spring Garden Road location — a great stop for a little treat when you don’t want anything but ice cream. Realistically I find the chickenburgers a tad on the bland side but with some added fried onions they are tasty!
What they need to concentrate on is customer logistics — I ordered outside at the Spring Garden Road site and told the clerk I would be eating inside. I went inside and 3 other staff asked me if I wanted to order anything! Anyhow when I did get my food it was cooked to order.
Anyhow — the Chickenburger is one of those places that you will always visit like an old friend — I hope they stick to this as it works very well for them.

This might be the least pretentious good food downtown. You get burgers, fries, etc. Service is fast enough, the location is awesome. If I had a complaint it is that the parking is utter crap but you should be walking when downtown anyway. If you want gourmet fast food stroll down to Pete’s Frutique but for fast food that isn’t the industrial waste of the major chains then this is the place.

If you’ve been to the Bedford location, you should pretty much know what you’re going to get at this new downtown joint: good, simple food at pretty low prices in a 50s throwback diner.
If we’re being honest and fair, the food here is not spectacular. The burgers are definitely really tasty, but pretty small (at least compared to the burgers served at the many new gourmet shops). The fries are no better than you’d get at a beach canteen. The milkshakes are nice and sweet, but a little thin. And I’ve never understood why the place is named after what I think is a really underwhelming sandwich.
What makes The Chickenburger work is that it’s a simple restaurant and there are many times when that’s all someone wants.
My biggest complaint? I hate when restaurants have no-​refill fountain drinks. From my knowledge, there’s a pretty big profit margin on fountain drinks and I think people would be much less frustrated if they could just order a one-​size drink and refill it as many times as they like.

Worst experience. Doesn’t do justice to its predecessor. Ordered, waited, waited.waited. Asked where’s food, was told it didn’t get put on the board! Left and went elsewhere. So my order wasn’t even started.!Very unorganized with nonchalant, unprofessional staff.

This is a tough one to review! I have never been to the original chickenburger even though I have driven by it a billion times. Went today with the coworkers to take advantage of the sunshine and I ordered a cheeseburger, fries and drink. Between the 7 of us, onions rings, chickenburgers and milkshakes were also had.
I don’t see the appeal of the chickenburger so I didnt bother with that, but my burger was SO juicy, flavourful and delicious. I’m a huge fan of red meat and burgers in particular so I was impressed. I know some people complain about the size of the portions here, but I’m glad they stick with portions of the 80s. we need to stop eating giant meals anyways. The fries were meh, I probably wouldnt bother ordering them again and the one onion ring I tasted made my my heart sing. Greasy goodness right there I tell you!
Some things that they might want to look into — on the other side of the parking lot we have a gorgeous view of the starbucks dumpster which looked like it needed to be emptied about 3 weeks ago. Maybe some type of screen or fencing around that would be nice. Also, I think they could have a better streamlined refuse system. I didnt realize they were recycling at all, the organics bin was set far apart from the garbage bin.

Nice to see in the south end. I ordered a cheeseburger. It was great and cheap. Don’t know what else to say. If you want somthing quick good place to go. Not really healthy but it is a burger joint.

I waited a long time to have a Chickenburger in my ‘hood, y’all. And now that it’s arrived, I couldn’t be happier.
The space does leave something to be desired. The inside is lovely, as it looks a lot like the original and has a juke box and some classic photos of Halifax. But I do wish the outdoor space was more inviting.
I’ve been to this location three times now, and the food has been great. The first time my fries were cold, but my chickenburgers have been delicious and my fries, onion rings and milkshakes have all been good upon returning visits. I love having this option downtown!

I was very excited to hear that the Chickenburger was coming to Halifax. Not just Halifax but across from where I work, which provides me with a very close option for food if I want to have something quick while at work without having to go more than half a block, or something quick and easy after work. So, most of my joy comes from the convenience.
The rest of my joy comes from the simplicity. I admit I was a bit surprised during my first visit to the original Chickenburger a few years back because while I had heard so much about it over the years, it seemed lacking when I finally tried it. But then things fell into perspective for me. The setting is very vintage, even in the new location, while smaller than the Bedford one, it still builds into the 50s look. It offers an outdoor order window, for quick and easy «to-​go». The burgers themselves are simple. Nothing extravegant but basic burger and bun with your choice of a cheese slice, ketchup, mustard, or whatever the works have. Plus you can order a side of fries with chicken-​gravy, or onion rings, or a hot dog. Classic! Oh, and I forgot the chicken burger, obviously.
While I wasn’t a fan of the chicken burger itself, and it seems most people I talk to aren’t, it’s the hamburger that wins all around. Real ground beef burger, the best kind. It’s not too big but it’s also not small. I feel you get your money’s worth since two burgers, a side of fries and a milkshake comes to about $ 10.
Sometimes simplicity wins but for this location, it’s the simplicity mixed with the personal convenience that pushes it over the edge.

I was excited to try out this new diner that was spitting out neon light pollution into my neighbourhood. So when I needed to pick a place that both my BF and I would like I thought I had hit the nail on the head. At first everything seemed to be going great. I only had 35 minutes left for lunch and the service was fast and relatively friendly. The interior had been redone so that it still felt like a diner inside a two storey urban home (exactly what it is). Then the food came out.
I had ordered a chickenburger with cranberry and a milkshake, and my fellow diner ordered fries with a chickenburger plain. He didn’t realize you had to make a request for a topping. While the milkshake tasted like any milkshake I have ever guiltily purchased at McDonalds it was the chickenburger that was the big disappointment. The chicken was fine except a little bit of cartilage that works it’s way into any chicken noodle soup I have ever made. No biggy. The problem was that my bun was soggy. Soggy buns, now that just sounds like something only a duck would love. Is this how these legendary chickenburgers always are? Is this what makes people’s eyes sparkle when they recount their childhood trip to the original chickenburger. Or were we just two unfortunate people who were the victims of an under-​drained batch of chopped up chicken? I’ll have to decide if it is worth the trip back to find out.
Readers Note: Two days prior to eating at The Chickenburger I had my first heavenly experience at Darrell’s with the peanut butter burger and a creamsicle milkshake. It is possible that the comparison made the chickenburger at The Chickenburger seem worse than it was. Darrell’s review is pending.

I’ve only lived in Halifax four years, and all of that on the Peninsula. So I have no nostalgic memories of The Chickenburger. I went recently after failing to find any Kitchen Door Takeout at Open City that had any food left. Honestly, it was pretty darn tasty. I had the hamburger with the works and the onion rings. Although as people have mentioned, the burgers are small. But, the burger and rings together only came to $ 5.15 with tax in. I left feeling full, but not overstuffed. I also felt like I’d eaten real food and not something that barely qualifies like you find at other fast food joints.
All in all, I’ll probably be back. It’s a good spot to grab a quick and cheap lunch while running errands on Spring Garden.
I feel a bit bad for them when it comes to the less-​than-​positive reviews. Nostalgia is a hard thing to live up to.

I was really looking forward to testing out the new Halifax Chickenburger because it’s been years and years since I’ve been to the Bedford location and have been walking by and smelling the deliciousness on my walk home from work.
Having said that, I might have indulged a little bit during my first visit by ordering a double cheeseburger, onion rings annnnnnd chocolate milk shake. Yes — in one sitting!
Overall, I really enjoyed the meal! It was clear that everything was homemade — the onion rings were crispy, the burgers were juicy and the milkshakes were thick. There were tunes playing on the juke box (footloose — my fav) and the place was packed so it was a really fun atmosphere.
The Chickenburger might not be a regular spot for me personally (mostly because of my obvious lack of will-​power) but I will definitely be returning to test out the classic chickenburger. I’m also looking forward to a few visits to their patio in the summer — I think it’s going to be a hotspot in Halifax!

When I was a kid, whenever my parents would come to Halifax, the first (or last) thing we’d do on every visit would be a quick visit to the Chickenburger location in Bedford. A tasty burger, some fries, a milk shake, some cool tunes out of a even cooler looking juke box. It was a fantastic experience for years and years. I haven’t made the trip out to Bedford as much now that I live in the Halifax area, mostly because I just didn’t want to drive out to Bedford to feed the craving.
So when I found out a new Chickenburger was coming to the Downtown Area, a 4 min. walk from my office, I couldn’t wait for it to open so I could try it. Well, the other day I finally did, and I was not as impressed as I thought I’d be.
Food: ²⁄₅
The burger wasn’t bad, taste-​wise, but it wasn’t great either. It was super small, a bit smaller than a junior type burger at McDonalds. Also, the bun was stuck to the wrapper, leaving half the bun on the wrapper once unwrapped. You get a nice amount of fries, but they are clearly the same fries you get right from the supermarket (I would guess McCain’s Shoe-​String fries, based on taste and look). The soda cup you get is also pretty tiny, far smaller than a cup you’d get at just about any other restaurant in the area. The food was not gross, by any means. But it just was not great, and I’ve had better in a lot of other areas, including the Original ChickenBurger.
Service: ³⁄₅
The staff were all super friendly, and tried their best to answer any question I had. They served me my food less that 2 minutes after I ordered it. Overall, the service was good, but it seemed odd that at a lunch hour, in the 30 mins I was there, there were 10 employees working behind the order desk all at the same time, some of them just standing and telling each other stories. A friendly work atmosphere is important, but not when they are also avoiding work. Way too may cooks in the kitchen on this one.
Atmosphere: ³⁄₅
The overall look is identical to the original. 50’s theme. Black and White checkered floor, juke box, green stools at the tables, little convertible cars on the tables. This isn’t bad, and the novelty doesn’t fade away nearly as fast as one may think. But the Juke Box isn’t hooked up yet (big disappointment for me, since it was one of the things I was looking forward to). And the fixed-​in-​place stools in place of chairs? Not so great when you want to move your chair back a bit, or lean back, or other things a normal chair would afford one to do.
Price: ³⁄₅
The prices are not crazy high, which is good. But much like the original, this new Chicken Burger does not have any kind of combos, or platters, or etc that would give you a bit more bang for your buck when getting a burger, fries, and drink all together. It’s just crazy strange to order those things all separately, and pay for each that way. So where a combo might have cost $ 5, it worked out more like $ 4 burger, $ 3 fries, $ 2 drink. For the size of the burger you get, I really don’t think combos would be a bad idea.
Overall, the place isn’t bad, but I’d still rather go to Bedford to the original, or just go somewhere else. Hopefully it’s all due to them just starting out, and I will definitely update the review in the future once I’ve tried them again and they’ve had a chance to catch their groove. I’m pulling for them on this one, if only to recapture my childhood memories of the place.

The Halifax incarnation of the Bedford institution known as The Chickenburger seems to be finally spreading its wings after much anticipation from local fans.
While I have to admit with a head hung in shame that I haven’t been to the original location. During my wanderings today I noticed that there was an interesting amount of people coming and going from the Queen St. location, and not just the usual contractors, these were definitely customers! While I had plans to meet a friend at a another, more booze-​friendly establishment, I made a mental note that I would have to stop by afterward. I eagerly did so and while the doors were now locked (I’m not sure if today was just a soft opening) my girlfriend and I were offered a free TRAY of food to sample — two orders of onion rings, fries, a burger and the namesake chickenburger. Let’s be honest, a tray of free food is going to make anyone’s day and I’m trying my best here to not let that bias this review. But yeah… free! The onion rings were crisp and flavourful, although too many seemed to be stuck together. The fries seemed to be your run of the mill, from frozen shoestring fries, but they weren’t too bad, but I did wish we had a cup of free ketchup to help them along. The burger is like that of the only other Chickenburger I’ve eaten at, their airport franchise, and presumably the original — a relatively small 2−3oz patty that appears to be hand formed, but is a little on the dry side and has an almost off putting amount of relish on it. The chickenburger itself isn’t what you might expect if you haven’t eaten one of these before; it’s not a burger per se, as there isn’t a whole patty of meat, rather it’s chunks of chicken. The chicken does have a nice chicken flavour and isn’t too dry, but had I ordered it myself I likely would have gotten a condiment or two to add some other flavours.
As I was not able to go inside, I am unable to currently comment on the atmosphere which is so often pushed as being one of the big upsides of the Bedford location, but from what I can tell there appears to be ample amounts of black and white linoleum and neon lights! The question of whether the jukebox is there will have to wait for another day or another review, but I’m sure I’ll be back to sample their menu as they get in more of a groove, even if it does mean that I have to pay for my own meal.