Lick’s Homeburgers & Ice Cream

Keep in mind that the last time I went to this venue was quite a few months ago, however m’lady and I both felt rather ill after eating there, so there’s the chance we got food poisoning from there. They didn’t have iced tea, and when requested pickles on the side, they forgot to serve. They also only had vegetarian chili in the freezer, which turned m’lady off of it, which is actually the main reason that we went there.
So all-​in-​all, compared to a typical Lick’s chain, this venues wasn’t the best for us, and I’d be quite unlikely to be returning to it.

The burgers and french fries are always really good and the staff was friendly but the sweet potato fries were very poorly made and the bathroom looked like something out of a horror movie.

Don’t go here for ice cream! They have hardly any flavours, no waffle cones or anything, and they don’t give you much given how much you pay. Also, the ice cream I had was starting to go crunchy like it had been sitting around in the freezer for quite a while.
I haven’t had anything other than the ice cream there, but «… & Ice Cream» is in the name, and they displayed ice cream cones prominently on their signs, so I don’t feel unfair rating it low for that.

2.5 to 3 stars because at least they’re nice.
VIBE
The Danforth location is conveniently located to the subway so if you need to grab and run and you literally can do just that. The décor is very «old time» harkening back to the 50s soda shops of our day or looking for modern day Sandys and Dannys to sip on milkshakes.
The cashier is always smiling here. That said, the staff are young and someone is always in training here. This is why it takes 10 minutes for your order to be done. It’s because the trainee doesn’t know how to package up the bag. «Burger first? Fries on top of burger?» The correct answer is: Burger on bottom and fries beside. Where’s my gold star?
I ATE
I always get the Turkey Burger here. This is also known as the «Gobbler.» This time it was much too charred. But they give me extra pickles so I was happy. I need to go back to the location in The Beach and see how it compares. Plus, they sing at that one. What happened to the singing?!
And as Chris P. said, the fries ARE fresh.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
I’d be «licking» my fingers if my burger wasn’t charred. But I understand turnover. That said, it’s nice to see this Canadian company still kicking around in the proliferation of Hero Burgers and A&W joints popping up everywhere.

While Lick’s is a bit pricey and doesn’t exactly have the best food, the staff working at this location are extremely courteous and friendly. So much so that I’d actually consider coming back just for them.
For me, the burgers are a miss. They just don’t taste good. The chicken tenders are much better, and the BBQ sauce they come with is fantastic. I can also vouch for the chocolate shakes.

This is the second location I’ve been to since coming to Toronto (The first being The Beach). Lick’s burgers are good but not the best burger I’ve ever had by any means. They are better than you traditional Wendy’s or McDonald’s though.
The burgers are good enough and the fries are always fresh. I’ve never had a good experience with the onion rings sadly.
The place looks like its starting to show its age and the dining area isn’t the cleanest. Another downer on today’s visit was that their debit machine wasn’t working.

When I first moved here, there was much hype about going to a Lick’s. But if you strip down to what it is all about: a burger, it’s hardly «all that and a bag of chips». More accurately, some of this and a couple of chips…
But I digress.
There’s something about the seasoning that doesn’t make a Lick’s burger my burger of choice, like an unnecessarily extra amount of pepper. And when you ask for your burger with cheese it’s a shredded blend (WIN) that’s piled high on the bun (FAIL).*
And though the staff playfully carnival-​barks your order, this particular location could use a Lobby Bobby wiping down tables and keeping it clean. It feels sticky… like, everywhere!
*Yes, I’m someone who only eats cheese that’s melted nicely on her food.

Great burgers, great fries. I wish I could just end the review at that, but that’s not all Lick’s has to offer.
As everyone else has illustrated, the employees along the line sing the orders, and if they’re enthusiastic enough, they just sing all the time. Definitely entertaining when I was a child, as it is entertaining for all children, but if you’re over the age of 12, it’s really just kind of annoying.
Not to mention the bright décor and the kids toy section in a lot of the locations. Basically, if you aren’t a child and you don’t have children, you feel like one while you’re in Lick’s. The burgers are great, but get them to go. Now you can buy them frozen at the grocery store, as well as the Guk stuff, so you could really make the whole burger at home… what a concept. No singing!

i was living one major city block away from this lick’s when it first opened and was so psyched, enough to claim that id be going there all the time.
well if i had enough money to eat out every day of the week and didnt care if i smelled and looked like a hamburger this might just be the burger joint where id do it. ive loved licks burgers since the first one i tried (back in the days when we didnt have internet…). at the time it was a nice gimmick how the people in the kitchen would sing along the orders to each other instead of just saying «cheese burger and fries man.» now i gloss over it, no more than the kids who probably feel stupid saying it themselves.
this lick’s is like any others for all intents and purposes. its got the wood tables and chairs painted red, it has goofy cheesy signs and decorations hanging from the ceiling or posted on the wall and everything is bright. thats all i care about recalling.
the burgers are pretty thick and juicy and they put freshly grated cheddar cheese, their special guk sauce — probably just mayo and ketchup and relish — and the rest of the condiments are pretty standard. somehow though its pretty tasty each time.
sometimes i find the fries are wanting though — but thats only if ive ordered with my brain and not my eyes. if my eyes order, i not only order a homeburger with cheese and bacon, but i get their Taters N’ Cream which is fries, cheddar, sour cream, bacon bits & chives. just plain stupid. but good.
so i say get it all to go, or hell, go pick it up in the supermarket and bbq at home, because they sell it there too. (in packages in the freezer, with no singing.)