Whataburger

If you’ve never been to Whataburger, start with the regular burger. As someone who travels the country I can say it is by far the best tasting of any large burger chain. I prefer my burger to be fairly simple, not the Red Robin style. Whataburger has the most consistent quality of any burger chain; ingredients and how it’s made. I work nearby and have visited this location many times over the course of a few months. They have always been great, and while I haven’t had the patty melt other non burger items I’ve eaten are well made.
FYI, as much as I love Whataburger I don’t care for items on Texas Toast, they usually do come out greasy/​soggy.
The customer service at this location is also excellent. I don’t always expect much at fast food restaurants due to the nature of the work, but the folks that work at this Whataburger are very polite and customer service oriented.
I’m not saying Whataburger is the best in the country, but if you had to decide I’d choose it over the other local burger chains. More often than not you’ll be happy you did

I think the only people who really like Whataburger are those who grew up in Texas and remember it from their childhood, besides that I really cant say that im a big fan of the food. My gf had never eaten here before and she got caught up in the buzzfeed hype and insisted that we eat here in our recent trip to dfw. My gf really wanted the honey butter biscuit but its only served from 11pm to 11am so we had to settle for the patty melt. I think the jack in the box patty melt is so much better especially with the sourdough bread. I think the best part about the meal was the spicy ketchup. I think the next time one of my texas friends say that Whataburger is better than in-​n-​out really needs to have their head examined.

I ordered a chicken biscuit and a chocolate shake. The chicken was way over cooked, dried out and had this weird coagulated stuff sticking to it. The shake was bad also. It tastes like the product had expired. Very disappointed! I have not had very good luck with this location.

I guess you gotta be from out of town to appreciate Whataburger, don’t know why this place is getting bad reviews. Taking into consideration that it is fast food, it was excellent. The bread and veggies were fresh in my Whataburger with cheese, the breakfast taquito with bacon was delicious, the shakes aren’t the best, but better than other fast food chains. All in all good stuff!

Not great quality, I’ve been to many whataburgers and it appears they are cutting corners, I worked at whataburger when I was younger and it’s delicious. Taste like they’re using old food, and cutting cost on products they are supposed to be using but aren’t example is the «Texas toast» they advertise which the double patty melt they have displayed on the window, I saw they make my patty melt with mrs. Bairds sand which bread which is NOT Texas toast. This results in a very soppy bread which turns into mush with all the butter they soak it in. Not satisfied will call the GM to complain tomorrow.

Only ate here once and was severely disappointed. I am generally a big fan of the brand, but this gas station attached outpost is the exception. Good news is that it is open 24 hours.
Had the patty melt which was ordered as a medium rare, totally did not come the way I ordered it. Just an overcooked greasy mess. Ironically the fries were undercooked and not worth further mention. Like pizza I find it’s rare to eat a bad burger, but they managed to get there.
This location has made me rethink my enthusiasm for Whataburger.

This location near the DFW airport hotels is pretty similar to the other Whataburgers in the area, but this one is in a Shell Gas Station so do not expect a similar experience to other traditional locations. It is open late with a drive thru window and has the same menu. If you are stuck at one of the hotels near the airport, you can probably walk to this one and get your Whataburger fix.

I came through tonight and the woman taking my order didn’t even speak English. I had to repeat my order twice. When I got to the window, she gave me my receipt, I noticed she charged me for a whataburger with cheese, which I specified no cheese. I get home and the burger has cheese on it. Not only that she gave me a small fry and a regular coke. I asked for a large fry and a diet coke.

What’s a Whataburger? That’s what I thought when I passed this place on the way to my hotel about a block away. There weren’t too many options nearby, so me being in a rush to get out of the cold and back to my room, I decided to give it a try.
The staff was great, but the food wasn’t that good. There was nothing special about the bacon and cheese whataburger. It was very dry and didn’t taste fresh at all. This was the most disappointing meal I had while out of town. I’d skip this place if I was ever in the area again.

My wife says 1 star. I say 2. So let’s call it 1.5.
In Full Disclosure
The following experience was not unique, but typical of my experiences at Whataburger’s around DFW. This particular trip simply inspired me to finally write about this local favorite. Nearly every native Texan I meet swears by this place… I’m not sure why.
That having been said…
It was a long day at the end of a long week. The Hurst Library Summer Reading Program gave free Whataburger Jr coupons for the kids. It had been awhile since I tried this place, I figured I’d give it another shot. This particular location was inside a Shell gas station.
Overview
The wife and kids stay in the minivan, all playing hand held games and fully engrossed in their game of choice. I walk in, because I personally detest all drive through experiences unless absolutely necessary, irrespective of the restaurant or brand (it’s just a thing with me). I’m already a little tense, because of previous experiences with this brand in other parts of DFW. So I take a breath and smile bigger than usual.
As I enter the the door, I’m greeting by the familiar look of a restaurant that was probably very popular… in 1985… and never had a make over. I’m greeted by the half-​smile of a person who really has no passion for what they are doing, but hey it’s a job. It’s the same non-​smile I’ve seen on every employee, manager, and GM I’ve met at a whataburger, except the GM at Roanoke. I think he actually might enjoy his job. However, he’s the exception.
I hand her the coupons and explain «I’m here to get the free items from the Library Program, the kids are in the car.» She looks at them with a strange face, and walks away, without explaining why. Her look tells me I’ve confused her.
The shift leader comes over and looks at the coupons, then me, and asks where the kids are. I tell her that they are in the car, and I point to the window where that they are just outside of. (*Note to restaurateurs everywhere — this creates a REALLY poor customer experience, but I already wasn’t expecting much, so I didn’t let it bother me too much). The cashier mentions a third time, «I just needed to find out if I could do it without the kids here»… they are in the car, just outside the window, which is what I said in the very beginning. That’s «here» in my book.
I order their Whataburger Jr’s and I figure I’ll get one too since I’m here. They charge an extra $ 0.50 for cheese… really? Is this 1985 or 2014? As I’m leaving, I ask for a dipping sauce they have enticed me with through effective counter top advertising. That’ll be another $ 0.48. But I’ve already swiped my card earlier, never mind.
We eat our mediocre flat dry meat with too much pepper, on decent buns. The Produce is ok, but I’m not calling it farm fresh. The onion were probably chopped a few days ago and kept in a cool but not cold place during the day. (I used to work restaurants).
Here’s the thing. It’s not junk. It’s decent. I’ve had better at a park BBQ made by volunteer firemen, but I’d say it’s better than McDonalds. It’s not anywhere NEAR In-​N-​Out, possibly the antithesis of it. It actually reminded me of a Burger King burger, but not quite up to par with Burger King, plus Burger King doesn’t charge me extra for cheese.
Cost
Their drinks are more expensive, adding things that are normally free elsewhere cost here. All and all, if other people wanted to go, I’d go, buy something, and be happy. But it’s not my first choice… probably not my tenth. Maybe my eleventh.
Kids
My burger eating kid liked it. But he too, would rather eat at In-​N-​Out.
Tips to enjoy it better…
Mentally prepare for mediocre service and paying extra for everything. It’s a decent burger, it’s not bad, but it’s nothing I’d endorse by any means, or throw out as a suggestion unless it’s the only place open. Which brings me to my closing thought.
Final Thoughts
There is one highly redeeming quality. Convenience-​Time. They are open 24 hours! They serve burgers at 6 am! I have to give cudo’s to any restaurant that will sell me a burger at 6 am. So between the hours of 2am — 11am this is my burger stop, it is better than a gas station burger!
I have had experiences where the burgers were actually better here, if you load up with sauces and toppings. As a pure burger, they fall desperately short, but in a pinch, I’d still make a stop here.
Darrell Wolfe