Shamrock Burgers

Address: 6109 Kingston Rd

 

Phone Number: (416) 282-0121

 

Website: http://shamrockburgers.com/

 

City: Scarborough

 

Category: Burgers

 

Shamrock Burgers in Scarborough is one of three Ontario locations for the rock n’ roll themed burger joint, the others located in Ajax and Brooklin. Founder Danny Maleganeas founded Shamrock in 1970 and the business has been booming ever since. Shamrock’s core menu items are two burgers – the Classic Rock and the Rock Star, as well as Famous Combos. They are also known for their Monster Sham burger, which is a 20 ounce burger true to its name. In addition to the core menu, Shamrock Burgers also offers a variety of other high quality, homemade goods including Prime Rib Steak on a Bun, a Grilled Chicken Breast sandwich, a Crispy Chicken Burger, and some wonderful sides to go with your meal. Shamrock even offers a Ketogenic burger bun, so those with dietary restrictions can still enjoy what this old school burger joint with a twist has to offer. The space inside the Scarborough location has edgy décor, friendly service, and even a Galaga/Pac Man tabletop arcade machine to pass the time while your fresh homemade goods are being prepped (the machine takes quarters, so you may plan accordingly).

We tried the Classic Rock burger during our visit to Shamrock Burgers. This particular burger typically comes with ketchup, mustard, relish, mayo, pickles, onions, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and jalapeno peppers. There are also free additional toppings you can add to your burger, including crispy or caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, garlic or chipotle mayo, and many other sauces and veggies. For $1 each, you can also add American cheese, mozzarella, peameal bacon, Monterey jack jalapeno, 2 slices of double smoked bacon, and/or an egg. We personally stuck with the plain ol’ Classic Rock Burger as is, to get a true sense of the classic ingredients uninterrupted by fancy toppings (minus the jalapenos, because we like spice, but it doesn’t like us). It is evident that the ingredients are fresh and the slight wait time after ordering is a result of the care that employees take to craft your perfect, hot burger. The burger is made from a home recipe using premium local grass-fed AAA lean ground beef, which is made into what we think is a pretty standard patty. The meat was not dripping with juice, but it was not dry. It also had a simple salt and pepper flavor, which was somewhat plain in our Classic Rocks, but would be an excellent canvas for other, more complex burgers, like the popular Canadiana, featuring chipotle BBQ pulled pork, peameal bacon and side bacon, caramelized onion, lettuce, secret sauce, and poutine. Aside from the burger, the bun was fresh and fluffy, not soggy like many burger buns can get from the grease. The onions, tomato, and lettuce were all crisp and ultra-fresh, evident from the very vibrant colors of the lettuce and tomato and the wonderful flavor from these high-quality ingredients.

When considering a combo, there are many delicious sides to choose from. Shamrock burgers offers classic hand cut fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, waffle fries, Greek salad, signature beef gravy, frings, and poutines. We tried the sweet potato fries and poutine with waffle fries instead of regular. The sweet potato fries were our favorite. They were everything one imagines when thinking of the perfect sweet potato fry – crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, and packed with a deliciously balanced sweet and salty flavor. The chipotle mayo we got as a dipping sauce had a slight kick and a smoky flavor, complementing the fries well. We also got a very exciting waffle fry poutine, which had crispy waffle fries drenched in just the right amount of glossy brown gravy and authentic Quebec cheese curds. The dish was a meal in itself and all the elements were perfect. It was a touch salty, but it was very delicious.

For dessert, you can treat yourself to a hand scooped milkshake made with real ice cream. The available flavors are chocolate, French vanilla, strawberry, and cookies and cream. The latter option was creamy with a comfortable thickness (read: it was not a mini-workout to suck out of the straw) and had pieces of Oreo cookie in vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce drizzled on top and throughout, finished off with a dollop of whipped cream.