Canadian fast food poutines ranked from worst to best

Ah, the perfect trifecta: fries, sauce and cheese. You see, poutine is a very simple dish, but it can be so complex.

Sounds easy to perfect, but there’s more to it than just lumps of cheese and sauce on a stack of fries.

It takes love, commitment, and the right ingredients (looking at you, cheese curds) to make a great poutine. Take it out of a Quebec and frequent poutine inhaler: the best poutines are in greasy spoon joints and snacks, but sometimes when you really need a fix, fast food poutines can do the trick. ‘case.

Known as Canada’s national dish and having been created in Quebec in the 1950s, poutines have greased the menus of fast food chains across the country for the past decade.

And while we recommend making the trip to la belle province for a true poutine experience, these fast food chains across Canada can do a pretty decent job.

We’re sticking to the basics here; no added bacon, peppers or onion rings.

Here’s how Canada’s fast food chains rank from worst to best on the poutine scale.

Take our white cheese word for it.

7. Burger King

It’s no surprise that a place called Burger King doesn’t serve phenomenal poutine. Thin fries – while tasty on their own – don’t really have the density to support layers of cheese and sauce.

See, when it comes to poutine, you want an equal ratio of cheese, fries, and gravy in every bite, and Burger King kind of puts it all together with bland cheese and a sauce that tastes too much of barbecue sauce.

Stick to the Whopper, folks.

6. KFC

KFC has good fries and the cheese in the joint is okay. But they don’t really approach the sauce traditionally. It’s very thick, has a bit of chicken flavor and makes soggy fries. Unfortunately, the cheese and gravy aren’t good enough to justify soggy fries.

We tell you, poutine is an art and neither Burger King nor KFC have yet reached the gold of poutine.

5. Wendy’s

Wendy’s has good portions of cheese and they actually have the squeak of traditional Quebec cheese curds. The fries aren’t spectacular, but the sauce is pretty good.

Wendy’s has a surprisingly decent fast food-wise poutine. Pair it with Chicken Nuggets and a Frosty and have a day out.

4. McDonald’s

If McDonald’s were to go after cheese, that would be a big improvement. Their fries are phenomenal (not much of a debate here), and the sauce is surprisingly good. The cardboard box presentation is a classic poutine move, but they’re cheap on cheese.

Don’t overpriced on cheese; it’s a big poutine no-no.

3. A&W

A&W serves a very good poutine. The chain turns red potatoes into chick cut fries, squeaky cheese curd, and a light sauce that has a slight kick.

A good ratio of cheese and crispy fries makes for a real tasty and balanced poutine.

2. New York fries

Despite what the name suggests, New York Fries is a Canadian channel based in Ontario. The restaurant uses a vegetable-based sauce (good news for vegetarians hungry for poutine), heavy doses of cheese curds and a rich gravy.

If you want a fast food poutine that tastes like a greasy spoonful, keep these guys on your radar.

1. Harvey’s

Harvey’s prepares a peppery poutine that offers the perfect balance of thick fries, dense gravy and cheese curds with classic poutine stretching from fork to plate.

Of all the fast food restaurants in Canada, Harvey’s makes the best poutine, pulling off the trifecta with a perfect execution of the three elements of the trifecta.

Who else is hungry?