The Red Onion Restaurant

I was a patron of this restaurant for over 15 years. The food quality has gone downhill in the past while, especially the meat and fish quality — very unfortunate! The worst for us was the very bad attitude of the tall, thin server there who created a huge fuss and inquisition when we said that one of the meat patties was overcooked, dry and partially burnt. He went off to replace it, at first, then came back and said «no» that all meat patties come off the grill that way” — huh? Well, one of ours had not been too dry on one half of the burger and partially burned, and well, does he scrutinize every patty coming off that grill every time /​every day? He was condescending and nasty to us, kept arguing his point and did not care at all about our experience there. It got worse as we still thought that he would return with a replacement, given the time this was taking (and with one of us still hungry!). Other customers looked on in disbelief — very bad for the business, and for us! Still quite upset by this! In the end, we wanted to deal with the owner /​manager before paying the bill, but he flipped out, at that point, lectured us about the starving children of the world (HUH???) and lost us as customers — I used to take several friends and colleagues there.
Do not go — you risk being subjected to his mood and unfair and unreasonable customer «service» !

Went there last week w/​my wife and son.
Pro’s: ‘Meh.
Cons: Was seated outside and the waiter took our drink orders. Because he took so long to come back, we were getting ready to get up and head to White Spot. Right about the time we agreed to leave, he came back w/​our drinks. My son ordered a dog w/​no fries and the toppings on the side. Sure enough when the order came, so did fries and no toppings. My wife’s and I’s food came OK.
The food itself is OK.
We won’t be coming back.

First time customer, would defiantly go back, chicken burger is the way go to, love the Smokie flame grilled taste. Do a great milkshake as well and peacan pie.

Like others, I’ve been going here through the years.
Owners have have changed hands, the menu has been added to and and the décor has been upgraded.
Having said that, I miss the old Red Onion.
The newer incarnation falls flat on the value and flavor that I used to enjoy here a few years back.
The pop was weird tasting. I had a ginger ale that tasted like a cleaner from under the sink. Maybe the syrup lines need cleaning?
Next, the samurai tuna burger had some sort of weird seaweed — type vegetable on it. It was off putting in taste and texture. The actual tuna steak was dry, while the menu says it’s prepared medium rare.
Portion sizes have also shrunk a bit; I used to have to use many napkins as the burgers were a fair size and were messy at times.
The one constant was the fries and fry dip were still fresh and tasty. The service was decent and the food came quick, although it was a little disappointing.
I remember the food being simple and fresh but now it just seems simple and uneventful.

I came here this week with my good friend/​former co-​worker to get a burger and just chill. I had a craving for burgers all week and have heard some hit and miss reviews of this place, however, decided to give it a chance anyway.
I had the salmon salad which was amazing. The salmon steak was well spiced that it didn’t need the dressing.
Portion is decent sized, however, was expensive at $ 12 for the salad.
My friend had the Chicken Hawaiian burger which costed $ 11 without fries. Over priced burger. The least they could’ve done is odd fries. The waitress didn’t even offer her fries = missed opportunity for upsell.
Lots of seating and service was fast.

I’ve eaten here twice, and the food was good enough. I have only tried the burgers, and I enjoyed them both times. I like that the restaurant is very casual, including the servers — ours was wearing jeans and T-​shirt.
The one thing that went awry was when I asked to take our leftovers to go, the waiter misheard and threw out an entire untouched burger that we had put aside for a coworker. We didn’t make an issue out of it, and neither did the waiter: «Oh. Oops.»
Probably would not come back, since White Spot on West Blvd has booths and smarter servers.

After hearing good things about this place I had to come check it out. The restaurant was half empty when I went but my food still managed to take half an hour to arrive. When it did, my Hawaiian Chicken burger tasted like burnt chicken, burnt bread and pineapple. Overall it was a hugely disappointing experience — redeemed only by the polite service and relaxing atmosphere. I will not be coming back. If you’re looking for burgers in the Kerrisdale area, try White Spot.

My partner & I really like the burgers here, and would visit more often but for the inconsistent hours. They seem to open and close at their whimsy. We have walked by on many occasions on a weekday evening or weekend and the place is closed. I guess there is a reason why they don’t post their hours!
The restaurant is quite spacious and comfortable, with a few TVs around. I’m not sure I’d come here to watch a game for the atmosphere… even when they’re open it’s pretty quiet.
The burgers are really flavorful, and don’t come with an abundance of toppings — which I like. Lettuce, tomato, onion, some sauce, that’s all you really need. Cajun burger is also quite good. I am not a fan of their fries which you have to order separately. Onion rings were okay.
Service is good, and the food usually comes from the kitchen within about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, they no longer give out a red onion with the bill — might have changed management a few times. Price is about average for Vancouver — just shy of $ 10 for the basic burger, north of $ 10 for the specialty offerings.

This is for the service. My kids and wife were here and ordered food. When she brought the food thats when i came into the restaurant and because i paused about 7 seconds to place an order scanning the menu the server impatiently blurts out «I am really busy.» and rushed off. One would hope that they would have a bit more patience with the customers or perhaps make some menu suggestions. There are too many food options in Kerrisdale for me to come back for some attitude.

Burgers are freshly made to order. Always hot and served exactly the way you like them. Fries are fresh. Onion rings are good too!
Good service and I love the onion given at the end with the cheque.

Love love love this place! Have been coming here forever, new owners are awesome! Big fan of the chicken burger!!!
Try to come once a once at least!

I have been coming here for ages and just tried it since the ownership change.
The new menu looks good but I didn’t venture off my old standards.
Red Onion Burger with fried onions, a chicken burger with bacon, fires and dip.
We also split a milkshake, but the waitress didn’t give us the extra bit left in the silver mixing container but shoved it in the freezer. I held out hope she’d bring it over when ours was getting empty but we never saw it again. Since we stopped early there was only one other customer in the place so its not like she got too busy and forgot!
Anyways the burger and fries were just as good as always and the chicken burger was top notch. Really needs that bacon to make it a winner.
Now you have to remember this placer is about a nicely flamed cooked burger, a little mustard, lettuce & tomato. Nothing fancy or piled up with lots of gooey condiments. Just a basic good quality tasty burger.
Will try out some of their new items or I might just stick with my favs.
PS; I used to love the red onion with the bill but in all honesty it was mostly a wasted onion that never got used.

No doubt the recent reviews reflect this; was here late last year & totally forgot about it, that’s how memorable or un-​memorable lol.
since discovering Moderne Burger, there’s no way I can spend a dollar or refer a Unilocaler to RO; it’s just ok come to think of it, but for the price you’re paying, or even the atmosphere, it’s lacking but in Kerrisdale, there’s no other choice for a burger. Thus the one star lol. Didn’t find anything special with their sauce, unlike Vera’s ;)
Metered street parking pretty easy at this stretch of 41^st.
too bad the new owners don’t give out the red onions any more along with your receipt ;(

I mourn for the Red Onion of memory.
I revisited one of my favourite burger-​joints recently (March 2013) and was thoroughly disappointed. I expected the same joyous experience as I’d always gotten, but the food was completely different, and much for the worse.
The restaurant occupying the same location and using the same name you fondly remember is simply not The Red Onion. It’s a third-​rate grill masquerading as a venerable old friend.
If you loved the Red Onion, don’t ever go back. It’s gone forever. In its place you’ll find only a strong sense of tragic loss at having your favourite memories polluted by poor food.

First time into the Red Onion since the new ownership. The prices are higher, and the magic mustard sauce, while sloppy and gooey, lacked magic.
The Red Onion Burger, my favourite was hot, and tasty. But if seemed very basic. Or is my memory failing? We used to do the RO on a monthly basis, and certainly enjoyed our meals.
Pleasant waitress, but …

I always wanted to visit this place and test their burgers. Last week I was in the area so decided to check them out. The place is clean and cozy and the service was great. The prices are also reasonable as you can get their burger for 8 bucks. Although, it is not the best burger that you can get in the town, the overall quality was acceptable. The bun and fillings were pretty good, but the patty itself was small and rather dry. Overall, a positive experience.

Great burgers (especially the chicken ones) and fries. They no longer give you a red onion after your meal (laaaame). One of the waitresses is super awkward…

I went here when the place was under the old ownership. Honestly, I liked it a little bit better then only because it was the original ownership that’s been around for decades. Now with the new owners, they’ve changed some stuff, like not giving a red onion to you after your meal (since they don’t do that anymore, I’m not sure they should still call the place «The Red Onion»). They’ve also added stuff, though. The menu before was just a laminated sheet showing what’s available, but now they have a menu that looks like sometime you would see in a fine-​dining restaurant. The menu includes the original burgers, but now there’s also some new addtions, all of which sound fantastic. There’s pictures of some of the food in the menu and boy, does it make me hungry when I look at them.
The menu has been revamped and so has the restaurant itself. Before it was more of a diner-​feel, but now it’s much fancier. Hey, if the menu’s fancier, I guess the place has to match.
The burgers thankfully taste the same as before. I always order the red onion burger and a large basket of fries to share with my family/​friends. Just note that the burger is big, so if you have a small appetite or wanna pig out on fries, then I recommend sharing. Speaking of fries, they are amazing, probably the best fries I’ve had other than at Go Fish near Granville Island. You do get more fries when you eat in rather than when you take out, though. — I know this from experience and I was disappointed with the amount I got the 1 time I did have fries to go.

* Burger fail *
I ordered their signature «Red Onion Burger» which is listed as 1/​3lb all natural beef flame grilled, homemade mustard sauce, crisp lettuce, and fresh tomatoes for $ 8. $ 2.75 extra for fries.
What I got was this
, which was a hockey puck over cooked charred patty, dripping in mustard and mayo (I guess that is the magic «homemade mustard sauce»), with some soggy lettuce, a less than ripe tomato, and some onions that tasted of burned hockey puck patty from the grill. Meh.
The fries were better than the burger, but were overly greasy. Photo:
This was concession stand quality at premium burger prices. Boo!
I won’t be back…

The last time before this It was back in the 80’s.
Something must be good if they’re still here.
And the burgers are good.
Just make sure that if you order the tuna, do not ad sauerkraut. It made it taste fishy and although I finished it. I wish I hadn’t.
Should have gone with a beef burger and some chili. That would have hit the spot.
Fries are extra and they’re so so.
Coffee was decent.
Price good.
Better than the hot dog I remembered from when Duran Duran was popular. Or was it really that long ago?
At my age it’s all a blur.
maybe it was the 90’s… yeah, that’s it.