With its quick service and wide availability, fast food offers an affordable and convenient dining option — especially when you don’t have the time (or energy) to cook three times a day. Among the plethora of choices, Burger King stands out with its quirky menu items (hello, chicken fries) and emphasis on individuality, as emphasized by its “Have It Your Way” slogan.
But while we love to indulge in BK’s onion rings (they’re so crunchy and delicious), not every menu item the chain offers is on point. From dishes that will give you a “guaranteed stomach-ache” to lackluster bread and frozen patties, here are seven menu items that former BK employees and fans say you should stay away from.
Flame-Grilled Burgers
According to a former BK employee, the chain’s flame-grilled burgers are “probably the worst quality burger you can get.” Well, damn — and the roast only got worse as I read on. “The ingredients sit out longer than they are supposed to,” writes the user, adding, “I’ve covered understaffed locations, so I know this from multiple places. The broiler is not cleaned every night, and some people barely do it.”
Sigh. And I used to love a Whopper from BK. This one is a bummer.
Impossible Whopper
While many users agreed that menu items can and will vary depending on the store you go to, most agreed that the chain’s Impossible Whopper is lackluster at best. “The Impossible Whopper went into the trash after one bite,” writes one user, adding, “It tasted like straight chemicals compared to the regular Whopper.”
The Fries
The topic of French fries is a contentious one. We get it — everyone has their favorite (we even had our own debate here at Cheapism), but when it comes to BK’s fries, the general consensus seemed to be: Stay away. “If a potato had an a**, that’s the part they use for their fries,” writes one user, while another adds, “[Burger King’s] fries are cold most of the time and NEVER have salt on them.”
To make matters worse, the oil that’s used to cook the fries is questionable in some locations, the user points out. “The oil is not filtered every day like it should be,” they write. “The hose used to clean a lot of equipment, including broiler parts and fry station parts, is placed right next to the toilet plunger.”
Yikes, guess we’ll give McDonald’s the W on this one?
The Breakfast Menu
One thing you can always count on with Reddit is that users will have zero chill, 100% of the time. This is good if you’re looking for honest (perhaps a bit too honest) reviews. But for fast-food chains, this also means they’re getting absolutely blasted in the comments.
“Worst fast-food breakfast,” writes one user in regards to BK’s breakfast menu, while another points out that the chain’s breakfast items are “all fried in the same oil as the fries, the fish, the breakfast sausages, and the French toast sticks.”
Another Redditor notes that the chain “used to be delicious,” but is now “mostly just hot (if you’re lucky) and salty with a guaranteed stomach-ache.”
Bacon King
One user shares how they stopped ordering the chain’s Bacon King burger because the quality has gone down compared to previous years. “BK’s quality isn’t the same as it was a couple years ago,” they write, adding, “I stopped getting my Bacon King because it’s just plain now.” You’d think all that bacon (six strips to be exact) would make this burger anything but plain, but looks can be deceiving.
Most users seem to agree with the chain’s drop in quality, with one noting, “BK is still lowest on the chain of fast food for me. I feel like their offerings are pretty mediocre overall.”
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Grilled Chicken Sandwich
According to one customer, BK’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich is so bad that they “almost vomited” after trying it. “I just tried the new grilled ‘chicken’ sandwich. I took one bite and almost vomited,” the user writes in an X post, adding, “For $5, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Other Reddit users seem to agree that the chain’s chicken offerings can be subpar. “The chicken is absolutely abhorrent,” writes one user, while another says they tried ordering a chicken sandwich once and it was “all moldy + green on the inside.” What is going on, BK? Get it together.
Bacon Cheeseburger
Another user shares how the last time they ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger at the chain, they were handed only a patty and nothing else. “No cheese, bacon, or bread in sight. Straight beef. Pure meat. Wanted to cry,” writes the user. You’d think this would be rock bottom for BK, but it gets worse.
According to a former Burger King employee who also worked at Chick-fil-A, the chain’s use of frozen beef patties is concerning. “So basically the Burger King kitchens use broilers to cook all their patties, all frozen by the way,” writes the user, adding, “I was a bit taken aback seeing at Chick-fil-A as literally everything is fresh so seeing essentially frozen hockey pucks was a bit jarring.”
The user then described how “raw and bloody” patties would sometimes be mixed with other food items but the manager didn’t seem to care. “That is a massive food safety hazard,” they add. Run for the hills, friends!
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