Wally’s Burgers
4141 Dollarton Hwy (Cates Park)
2611 East 49th Avenue (Location visited)
Vancouver, BC
Last week, reader Ryan wrote a comment in my Wally’s Burger (Cates Park) post saying there was a new location in Killarney Market in the Victoria Drive/Fraserview area. While I wasn’t necessarily impressed in my visit to its North Vancouver location, I still had some willingness to give it a try but, of course, this time with lower expectations. (Of course, the fact I did not have to cross any bridge helps!).
While Ryan mentioned it just opened, I did not realize he meant they *literally* just opened. When I went, they said they were just open for a couple of days! Not sure if it was as a result of it being just opened or it is intended, they had not tables in the straight sense of the word. No, it wasn’t intended to be take-out only; instead, they had some stools near the wall. However, the fact it was given to me in a bag (i.e., takeout)… Well, it was odd.
Sorry for the fuzziness of the pictures. Lightning conditions were a bit odd for these shots…
Unlike last time where I ordered their combo burger, I went the burger route this time. And here it is their deluxe chuck wagon combo where I switched the fries for onion rings. The reason I didn’t go for yam fries (like last time) was that I was planning to bake some yams for dinner hence, avoiding some level of redundancy. So why not regular fries? Come to think of it, I think I should have but, nah, onion rings suits me better! 
While they are far from being the perfect onion rings, at least I will have to give them some credit for making decent rings. First of all, they were rested, though this can also be attributed to the fact I had to go home first. However, on the flip side, they were quite greasy. Once again, the fact I had to go home first allowed the paper bag to “soak” all that excess oil… But, back to the rings, once you bite into it, you could easily notice that the batter/onion ratio was relatively balanced and that you won’t grab the whole onion piece on the first bite. Some seasoning might have helped but, I guess, that was the purpose of that dipping sauce. On that note, that roasted pepper dipping sauce was a complete flop compared to the one I had originally in my first visit. In this case, it was bland and had a really odd chunkiness in it.
Back to the burger… In addition to the regular burger, I asked for extra mushrooms. They are not quite visible here but, let me reassure you, there were mushrooms. I did not add cheese due to the transit time but I don’t think that would have matter much.
One thing that is quite evident about this burger is that eating it would be a mess. Now, there are good mess and bad mess. In the first case, it is due to juiciness of the burger; while the second case is due to everything falling apart. In this case, it was a combination of both but mostly from the “good” mess. OK, in reality, it ended up being condiments dripping out while I took different bites. While it was not as juicy as it could have been, it did had a little bit of fat into it, which made that mess, well, messier. (Sorry about all the messy way that was written! ). And, yes, it did have some beef flavour, despite that elliptic hockey puck looks. As for the condiments and sides, for the most part, they were forgettable, except for the mushroom which did add some savouryness to the burger.
In the end, I will have to say it is a huge improvement compared to its Cates Park location. As for a comparison against other burgers… Well, it might be better than MickeyD’s (slightly more expensive, though) but, against Burger Burger, it faces an uphill battle. As for me, been there, not sure if I am in a hurry to go back as, in the same complex, I think I might rather go for Chinese BBQ
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
My friend Vandelay lives near there and had the same thoughts as you. Decent, nothing special and expensive. So it is truly a been there, done that phenomenon.
That definitely looks like a sloppy burger…did the bun do a good job holding together, or did the sauces turn it to mush?
Sherman, I think you said it best…
Raidar, a combination of both: the bun did not hold things together and the sauce made things sloppier.
yes, do go back and try the chinese bbq, their bbq duck is the most popular item and regularly sells out.
even at the original wally’s, i always got my chuck wagon without relish. it’s kind of like triple o’s the relish just makes it too messy and dilutes the taste.
Koji, I don’t think I taste any relish in it so I can’t say. But, yes, I will have to find time to go to the BBQ place. If it wasn’t because it is hidden, out of the way…
The appeal of the old Wally’s was that the location had been there for ages and it became a Kingsway icon. The burgers themselves were never all that good.
Michael, welcome! The key here is that, since that one selling point is gone, the question is what else they provide instead. Unfortunately, after tasting the new version of their burgers, the answer ends up being “nothing”.
I grew up eating wally’s burger and loved them but even back in the day it was a hit and miss sometimes they were great and you had a 2nd or 3rd sometimes one was good enough but experiencing cates park something was missing (the sauce was not the same)last week we went to the new wally’s in Killarny was very dissapointed they may call them wally’s but the name is all that you will find….anyone that grew up with wally’s burger do not expect the same great burger, I will not go back unless I start to hear the sauce has returned to its former zing, the burger served in killarney was oversauced, tuff and the bun doughy my hopes of having my favourite burger again are gone.
Leslie, welcome! Yeah, while I have really vague memories of the burgers at the old Kingsway location, on its own, well, it wasn’t that good anyway. Hopefully, they read this and “set things right” (that is, how it was before…).
I agree – I just went there today and the burgers were way too oversauced. The patties seemed almost more steamed than grilled, and the onion rings were greasy and dry. Overall, the burger was decent still, but could use some refining to say the least.
I had a Wally burger and i thought it tasted great! Even though it was a bit sloppy i think it was delicious. The poutine is good too but I think they should put a but more cheese, but in my opinion I think Wally burgers are good.
OH MY, thank you for this review! My husband has been moaning the loss of Wally’s Burgers on Kingsway ever since the place closed. It was part of my memoryscape growing up and he hasn’t been able to get over it. When I stumbled upon this post, he was thrilled.
VB, no problem! If you are looking for burgers (and since you have mentioned you are in the South Burnaby area), I will highly suggest you try Burger Burger in New Westminster, as well. It is near Guantanamera!
i went to wally’s after school with my friends and i got the poutine . I had about 10 friends with me then 5 friends came like an hour later. I was the 3rd person to order and EVERY ONE of my friends got their meals before i did. They ALL finished THEIR MEALS then i STILL didnt get mine. Finally when i got mine there were hardly any cheese left and i wasnt hungry anymore plus All my friends waited about 1 and a half hours for my food to come. I DO NOT RECOMEND GOING THERE AGAIN. TERRIBLE SERVICE!
Oh man, I’ve got to try Burger Burger–maybe tomorrow? I’m starting a new “mission” — Best Burger. That’s right, you heard it here first.
Anyhoo, went to Wally’s for lunch. Review coming soon, probably tomorrow. I’ll “tag” this post as it was the catalyst for us finding/trying Wally’s.
VB, please go to Burger Burger! I think it is pretty much safe to say that you will like it! (And, if you don’t it will set you just $5!) Now, for a more “gourmet” burger, there is Burger Heaven just down the road.
Want a great organic burger, great onions rings, fries and real milkshake… at a great price? Check out lost in the 50′s Drive in Burnaby! Its awesome! They have made some changes and I think there is a new manager but, its the best burger and price around. You wont be sorry!
Debbie
I went to Wallys last Friday I had the Deluxe Chuckwagon with fries my old favorite.The fries were the best nice and golden brown alittle well done,perfect. The burger was good not the same old sause but it was still good .The only thing I would change is the way you get canned pop instead of a fountain drink. I will be going back. p.s. I would rather have Pepsi than coke and the original Wallys was a Pepsi house.
Glen, welcome! Hmmmm…. Does that mean I should do a revisit? Will see!
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