The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro

Been to the Newmarket location with my daughter twice and we love the burgers! The gourmet toppings and endless fries are great but the milkshakes are the best I’ve ever had! Barking at my Cow is my favourite so far…

Used to go there quite a bit until late last year. We ordered a burger that comes with a fried egg on top, and oddly the egg yolk was half cooked, half raw. When we inquired about this, the waitress said it’s because the microwave doesn’t work as well anymore. A microwave? For eggs??? It also turned out that the broccoli was undercooked. Oh, turns out they nuke the broccoli too.
Any goofball can cook in a microwave. Never going back. Oh and the burger meat is bland. They just throw different toppings on the burgers so I am convinced that they are not making the burgers to order. Sad.

Consistently great experiences here. Sometimes I have to stop by just for the sweet potato fries. Can’t beat the selection here for the burgers themselves, buns and contents.

Ive been here a few times and finally decided to do a review… would I come here again? Yes. The burgers here are different than your average burger joint, theybhave «wacky» burgers which I love to try. The environment is cool looks different. They serve drinks in pyrex mugs.
Ive given it 4 stars because they have some really good food items (the premium limited menu) and when you go back again its not on the menu. Because its gone. (To try new items)…
Good service and good food.

Fun atmosphere, really nice servers. I believe we met the owner. really nice guy.
Wasn’t a HUGE fan of the burgers until my last visit. burger was cooked perfectly and very tasty. It’s really all about the toppings at this place I think. Tons of options. make sure to try to beech house sauce. Hope I spelled that right!
Great place for a group or date night.

The place to go when you are HUNGRY. Large servings plus endless concoctions and toppings to put on your burger. The menu is huge… Over 50 burgers to choose from plus sides and appetizer options. Soft drinks are also very large (served in a 2 cup measuring cup). The service is usually good and the food is reasonably quick to arrive, considering it is made to order.
The takeout option is good here too but I really love the freshness of dining in. My new fav burger = Nacho Libre… so amazing. I’ve also tried the Sweet Ride and the Hipster… both great but after having Nacho Libre I just can’t go back…

I really like this franchise!
They offer different burger combinations you may never have thought about. I was nervous but thought «what the heck!?» and ordered something so out of the box for me… and I LOVED it. Who would have thought peanut butter & bacon go hand in hand with a beef patty. Another fave is the beach house sauce so really, any burger you get with that sauce is going to be unreal.
I’ve tried their tower o rings, poutine chez guy, a pumpkin pie milkshake during Thanksgiving (Barrie location), sweet potato fries, Johnny be goat burger, man cave, man-​o-​war, sk8r boy (¹⁰⁄₁₀!), son of a beech, and the sweet ride burger (Barrie location). I can’t recommend sk8r boy more!
Next time I’m there, I’m going to sample either the babewatch burger, the Beverly hills lawsuit or the gotta be KD burger.
Another great thing about this particular location is that the manager interacts with his customers, on multiple occasions! He often recommends craft beers and can pair your beer with your burger choice. He also orders kegs based on his customer’s preference so if you’re thirsty for something, speak up! He just might be able to help you out.
Will be back!

I’ve been here twice with co-​workers. The first time was for a co-worker’s goodbye party and we had about 8 people in our party with all separate bills. The staff was super nice and even brought out a free onion ring appetizer for all of us. I’m a bit unoriginal when it comes to burgers (I usually just do cheese and ketchup) but I like that there’s over 20+ different burger combos to choose from. The first time I had Getting Piggy With It and the second time I came I had the Greek Goddess burger. Both absolutely delicious, and staff was nice both times, and the wait for food wasn’t bad at all.
Would definitely go again and will definitely recommend to friends.

I came here for lunch when working. I thought it was more of a fast food place. Defiantly not a good option if your on a schedule. I waited over 15 min for my lunch. The place was pretty slow. There were about 5 other groups. The food was pretty over priced. It came out just over $ 25 for a burger with fries and a pop including 15% tip and tax
The burger was ok. Nothing special. Defiantly not for the price. I could have gone to South St and had a burger with extra baccon for $ 10 less.

Way overpriced for an average at best burger. Fries I liked, also had some good beers on tap that was about it.
They have plenty of options and some of the specialty burgers sound good, but you can get a better priced and much better tasting burger lots of places now which offer huge range of toppings. Really no reason I can see for the price.
I don’t think I’ll be back

The outside is a little bare, with greyed out windows. I wasn’t sure if it was open as I drive up. Inside its another story, creative atmosphere and great for the kids. While waiting for the hostess, my son and I admired the various toys and other objects half cemented into the brick wall.
I was a little overwhelmed by the menu and I’m not a big fan of design your own type menus. So instead I choose one of the specials which had pulled pork, onion rings and a pretzel burger. It was as good as it sounds. My son tried it and was mad I made him order the basic kids burger.

I like their burgers. They have such a variety and it appeals to almost everyone. The waitresses are nice most of the time and the atmosphere is easy going and fun.
The only reason why I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars is because one time I had a witch for a waitress who pretty much called my husband an idiot (when it was her mistake).

They have great beers on tap and unlike mad brew hops, they don’t over charge for the beer. Offer a high protein, lean elk burger and some pretty crazy topping-​combinations. I had peanut butter on my burger.
Service was quick and friendly, atmosphere was great. Losing a star on location as it is slightly out of the way and in a bit of a corner of an odd plaza.
Will definitely go again!

Fantastic food, but grossly overpriced.
Went here for the first time yesterday with my wife and brother-​in-​law. Bill came to $ 70 for 3 people. A bit shocking.
However, putting the price aside the food was really good. One of the best burgers I ever had. Tasted so good, and the best part was I didn’t feel like crap afterwards.
Will probably visit again.

Oke here it is
2 burgers with fries for $ 40.00.
The burgers should of been tasty right? wrong! Juicy right? Wrong! Dry as can be! The coleslaw was bitter! I sent it back for fries that were oke… But come on 40 bucks!
We will go to 5 guys next time for half price twice the taste half the grease and no attitude! Plus the are no waitresses to tip.
Plus free peanuts.
Think twice before you blow your burger budget here. Don’t know how long they will last…
I got home with a sick stomach. Heart burn.

Delicious hamburgers! And what a variety! Awesome place. I love the quality of meats used to prepare their burgers. The options of buns are a nice touch too. The fries and chips are good. I found it odd to drink out of a measuring cup but hey, it didn’t take away from the food. I would recommend and definitely come back!

I went here for my lunch break and received my order 5 minutes before I had to leave. This was around 1:30, so it was the tail end of the lunch rush. There were enough people there to make them busy enough to be late with my order, but it was not fun to wait and watch the clock and calculate how fast I’ll have to eat and how fast I’ll have to drive to get back to work late.
I ordered a quesadilla. A $ 12 soggy, slim quesadilla full of cheese and nothing else, and, not to mention, made me sick. I know it’s a burger joint and their star attraction is burgers, but if they’re going to have it on the menu, it should be decent, not swimming in oil, and a size befitting the price. Made in Mexico has quesadillas to DIE for, and they’re worth every penny.
Won’t return for lunch break or any time I’m on a schedule. Two stars because they offer a side of steamed broccoli and their takeout containers are biodegradable. My server was very nice, too. Cool atmosphere.

My family went to try this burger joint that is all the rave in Ottawa & other parts of Canada I hear. It smelled so good. It’s a full service super casual burger restaurant. Which is one of the twists in a burger joint so expect to tip for service. We got there & the place was packed! But we just managed to avoid the next slew of waiting diners & thankfully got seats for 5 of us. The servers are really dressed down in casual tshirt & jeans, that’s ok it’s a burger place after all. Our server was very knowledgable & suggestive to the numerous choices of burgers and the swapping & mixing of ingredients to your liking. For example I had the «sum yung guy» burger with a turkey patty instead of beef. Note all the beef burgers are 100%hormone free of antibiotics and are handmade on the spot to order; this is one reason I suspect it took a long time for our burgers to come. The burgers are amazing and priced to reflect freshness & quality, so in my opinion not overpriced but is pricey due to all the above mentioned. They have veggie & portobello burgers for vegetarians. Burgers are priced anywhere from $ 12 – 15 but can add up quickly with the various add ons. I had onion rings with my burger which are breaded type, I usually prefer batter but they fried them to crispy not greasy perfection. We also tried the pulled pork poutine –yummy! They also have Kraft Mac & cheese as a choice for a side which is the only thing that is a little off putting for me. The drinks come in a Pyrex glass measuring cup which I do not like cause I found it hard to hold (maybe I’m too refined) here’s where you can start to add up extra dollars on your bill: you can have alcohol in your drinks or shakes. I tried the orange crush shake which is all fruit & water, it was ok. Im cutting short this review cause overall my entire family enjoyed their works burgers and would definitely go back. Oh quick note the Elvis Pressley burger sounded weird but tasted amazing cause the peanut butter was just the right amount.
We spent for a family of 5 ea of us ordered a drink, no booze & 5 combo meals $ 130! Yes I had a little sticker shock because the whole place is like «yin/​yang» you are in a casual place that serves high end burgers that takes awhile to cook so be prepared to wait for your food to cook and also wait in line for a seat.
I can’t wait to go back and try a different burger!

Visited this restaurant with a group for lunch. The menu is creative with some really good burger combinations. I had the 3-​ring binder that came with fries, I added an order of onion rings, and my girlfriend ordered the same burger. While the burgers were good they certainly weren’t $ 13.99 good. Dinner for two was $ 45… For burgers!
While the food was pretty good I can’t justify paying so much for something that’s so easy to make at home.
First and last visit for me, the consensus was the same within the group.

Take South Street Burger, mix in the attitude of Jack Astor’s and add the variety of a Chinese menu and you get The Works. Really, you get the works! I never thought I would give a burger joint 5 stars, but this is 3 steps above.
Every burger has an edgy theme with names like Babewatch, Beverly Hills Lawsuit, Crappy Tire, The Full Mountie, unless you make up your own custom concoction. There are 5 specially named burgers for Newmarket, designed by their namesakes. Tons of options, tons of sides, tons of toppings and tons of variety. I ordered the Porkasm, a bacon burger with chipotle ketchup, caramelized onions and havarti cheese, with my addition of mushrooms and avocado, on a whole wheat bun. As a side, I had the spicy die-​cut fries,
This is the only time I have not winced at paying $ 15 for a burger.
For a drink I had the pumpkin pie milkshake, served in a measuring cup. Then I found that they have hand scooped milkshakes in 16 different flavours. Of course, you can add rum or vodka to any milkshake, except perhaps the ones served to kids. Of course.
I can’t say it any clearer – this is a different burger joint from the menu to the rocking’ décor to the T shirts that say «Screw the App-there’s a burger for that». During my lunch no less than 4 different staffers checked up on me. I fired up my iPad and THEY offered ME the guest wifi password-​without my asking.
Here is how I scale it: Five Guys is a solid 3 stars. South Street gets 4 stars for the custom, somewhat exotic toppings and the New York Fries, so The Works can only be worth 5 stars. I hope I never find anything better, or Unilocal will need to create a 6 star scale!