Fast Food Restaurants That Are Only In Canada

How do you convince a bunch of Canadians to give you their most prized possession? You ask them nicely, of course. That's exactly how several nations got their hands on the coveted Tim Hortons. Revered by all who are fortunate to live near the coffee and breakfast chain, we have humble Canada to thank for gracing us with such a gift. From dollar cold brews to elite road trip snacks, Tim's proves that Canadians really do have the art of casual eating down, eh?

Though plenty of non-Canadians are lucky to have access to such great coffee, they are certainly missing out on several other of Canada's casual eatery gems that are tucked away from the rest of the world. And while Americans, for example, cannot survive without great local burger joints of their own, they simply will not know the pleasures of drive-through poutine and beaver tails like their northward neighbors.

If you happen to find yourself touring the beautiful country, you do not want to miss some of Canada's best fast food opportunities that can only be found in the land of moose, maple, and bacon that's really just ham.

Inspired by the actual tail of a beaver, the beloved Canadian beaver tail pastry can be found at this popular dessert chain. Made with a sweet dough that has been stretched and fried, beaver tails are topped with all sorts of sweet or savory treats — depending on your mood — all promptly served to perfection in its classic red box.

If you are someone who appreciates the fried sweetness of a donut but not its density, you've found a friend in the beaver tail. While traditional donuts place a greater emphasis on the treat itself, the star of the beaver tail show is all in its heaping pile of toppings.

Try it covered in warm apple pie, hazelnut banana, or maple sugar crunch, or if you're feeling really Canadian, top it with an order of poutine — a Poutail, if you will. Whatever you may choose, your journey up north is not complete without a beaver tail.

You can find deals and combos and discounts aplenty at Double Double Pizza & Chicken. This fast food joint has all your classics: chicken tenders, fries, burgers, ribs — you name it. Some locations even offer a signature butter chicken poutine inspired by the classic Indian dish.

This genius mashup, of course, brings us to the only two categories of people: those who like the idea of a Canadian Indian collab — and those who love it. The robust tomato-based sauce of butter chicken objectively belongs on poutine and there cannot possibly be a soul out there who disagrees. And if they do, they are just trying to play devil's advocate. But there is a time and place for such disagreements, and a butter chicken-based poutine gravy does not leave room for debate.

If you aren't yet ready for such an exotic crossover, however, you can also rely on the simplicity of Double Double Pizza and Chicken's wings, potato wedges, and plain-Jane traditional poutine to be the stars of your trip to the classic Canadian eatery.

As the saying goes, "Coffee Time is any time." We cannot agree more with such a statement, which is why we must discuss this local coffee and donut chain. If you're looking for the perfect snack to feature in your early morning picnic, Coffee Time is a great option. Known for its abundance of pastries, this Canadian favorite is the best place for slow Sunday mornings. Choose from muffins, donuts, bagels, cheese pies, soups, and more — all while appreciating Canada's scenic mountainous views around you.

If you're looking for a more substantial meal, you can order a Brekwich (breakfast sandwich), breakfast bagel, or even a submarine sandwich for lunch if you so choose. And if you've never tried a Jamaican-style patty — a ground beef filling with an empanada-like pastry wrapper — Coffee Time will give you a glimpse of this hearty treat, both plain and stuffed with your basic hamburger toppings. 

Whatever snack you may choose, your day does not officially begin until you've had your cup of coffee. And if you've filled yourself with more Tim Hortons than you can handle, you can always rely on Coffee Time to provide your morning fuel.

If you're looking for an upscale fast food dining experience, let us introduce you to The Works. From burgers unfit for small mouths to giant towers of onion rings to all sorts of poutines, The Works comes through with an assortment of options that are certainly more elevated than your average fast food joint.

Perusing its burger menu, you'll find all sorts of unique options that you wouldn't find at your local Mcdonald's. The Works' Get Elked burger, for example, contains its signature elk patty adorned with melted Havarti cheese, a sweet and savory maple bacon jam, and crispy onion strings. And for those who can never have enough bacon on their burger, try the Gettin' Piggy With It — a burger topped with heaps of bacon, both Canadian and smoked.

If you haven't yet tried poutine, this eatery will give you a welcoming intro to the Canadian specialty. With fries smothered in cheese curds and gravy, poutine is the definition of comfort food. Try The Works' Tragically Poutine topped with the standard garnishes plus plenty of bacon, or the Get Baked poutine featuring sour cream, green onions, and even more bacon. If nothing else, The Works stands as a monument to Canada's steadfast dedication to bacon.

If it's lunchtime, there isn't a soul who wouldn't go for a classic submarine sandwich. Fortunately for all tourists and locals, Canada seems to have mastered the whole "big portions, small prices" concept beautifully. At Mr. Sub, you can eat a colossal sub for a great price.

Meat lovers have the option to try all sorts of protein-packed subs, including the Ultimate Club featuring turkey, ham, beef, and bacon — all the deli meats you could ever want or need. If you're craving the quintessential deli experience, enjoy a smoked meat sandwich: a sub adorned with pastrami-like cured beef, pickles, cheese, and mustard.

Your vegetarian friend can surely tag along on this meat-eating expedition of yours, as Mr. Sub offers a choice of fresh salads, sides, and a crunchy veggie and cheese sub. While Subway may be your go-to sandwich option, it's important not to miss out on this delicious pit stop that can only be found within the borders of Canada.

Those who frequent Mary Brown's Chicken are well aware of all the hype surrounding its award-winning Big Mary chicken sandwich. With a giant fried chicken breast between two fluffy buns, merely looking at a picture of the Big Mary is sure to make your mouth water. Whether you'd like that original, spicy, or Buffalo-style, it's always served with a side of taters and a can of pop — just the consistency you seek when placing your fast food order. And if taters just aren't enough, you can make them into — you guessed it — a delicious order of poutine.

And while the Big Mary is certainly Canada's Beyoncè of chicken sandwiches, Mary Brown's has many other delicious options to try, including its fried chicken wings that include as many as 30 in an order. It's also worth mentioning Mary Brown's sweeter side; it sells mini strawberry cream cheese pies as well as a Cadbury Caramilk Cup — a small chocolate cake topped with chocolate mousse and the beloved Cadbury caramel.

Whether you're feeling savory, spicy, or sweet, Mary Brown's Chicken is a fast food must-eat. The only downside, however, is that once you try this delicacy, you'll find yourself spending your life savings on all-too-frequent plane tickets and road trips to Canada.

Fourteen Toppings. Ten Sauces. Infinite Choices.

The popular charbroiled burger chain Harvey's is known for its infamous toppings bar, in which — as the slogan states — patrons can choose from an infinite selection of toppings and sauces to garnish their delicious meal. Top your burger with crispy onion rings, hot peppers, garlic mayo, or even cucumbers if you feel like making an odd choice today.

And if you're not feeling burgers, that's fine. "Harv'ehs," as it's sometimes called, has plenty of other choices, from deep-fried pickles to classic poutine, Harvey's offers plenty of your classic fast food favorites. Can't choose between fries and onion rings? Order some Frings — a delicious combo box of both crispy treats.

As for drinks, Harvey's offers an array of frozen beverages — be they slushy, creamy, or infused with an energy drink. Try a salted caramel milkshake, an Oreo shake, a peach slushy, or an energizing Red Bull lemonade with 80 mg of caffeine.

Whatever you may choose, there is nothing better than the invigorating freedom that comes with a build-your-own-burger bar. If you're feeling bogged down by the constraints of predetermined meals, Harvey's could be just the autonomy you've been looking for.

If you're a Lay's fanatic, you may be familiar with the limited-edition Chalet Sauce Chip. Its signature umami tomato flavor is inspired by the famous Chalet dipping sauce from none other than Canada's favorite: Swiss Chalet Chicken & Ribs. The sibling of Harvey's, this classic chain offers a vast array of chicken dinner combos, garlic shrimp platters, wing plates, pot pies, and more.

If you think you've found the most festive fast food restaurant in all of Canada, think again because Swiss Chalet is the royalty of holiday celebrations. Known for its commitment to offering a discounted holiday menu featuring everyone's favorite seasonal foods, the chicken and ribs hotspot will serve a quarter chicken with heaps of stuffing, cranberry sauce, a soft dinner roll, a side of your choosing, and five Lindor's Chocolate truffles.

If you have a whole family to feed and cooking for the masses isn't your cup of tea, Swiss Chalet has you covered. And if you're looking for an award-winning sauce that will pair perfectly with a rotisserie chicken or perhaps a turkey, you can always request extra Chalet sauce to take home with you.

If Tim and Robin's are the Batman and Robin of Canadian coffee and breakfast chains, Tim Horton would be our Dark Knight and Robin's the trusty sidekick. Robin — though an all-around enjoyable character — does not stand on the same pedestal as his cape-crusading counterpart and, as a result, finds himself living among his shadows.

The same goes for breakfast chain Robin's. While it does serve some delicious handmade baked goods, it simply does not possess the notoriety held by its good friend Timmies. There are about 4,300 Tim Hortons in Canada — that's roughly one Tim Hortons for every 9,000 Canadians — while there are only 140 Robin's locations.

Other than scale, there isn't much discrepancy between the two chains, to be perfectly honest. Both offer coffee, pastries, bagels, hearty breakfast sandwiches, lunch submarines, smoothies, and soups. One specialty of Robin's, however, is her Robin's Eggs — tiny donut holes that are just as cute as their title.

If you're anything like us, you'd agree that one of the best parts of poutine is the delicious gravy that belongs on seemingly everything. French Canada's Chez Ashton will smother not only its fries in its signature brown sauce, but also just about anything else on the menu if you order from the "assiettes en sauce."

If you're not feeling an entire roast beef sandwich smothered from head to toe in gravy (why wouldn't you?), you can also stick to one of the menu's various poutine options. Try the star of the Chez Ashton experience, "L'authentique Poutine Ashton —" your basic gravy and cheese curd poutine combo, also known as the bread and butter of the popular poutine chain. "Pas de flaflas," or without the fluff, the site says in French. Just a fresh plate of traditional poutine.

With the addition of beef, chicken, and peas, guests can broaden their horizons with a few other variations of the Ashton's classic. Order "La Galvaude," a poutine topped with all the staples, plus a heaping scoop of chicken and peas, or "La Dulton," a poutine featuring some juicy ground beef — both looking just as good as they sound.

If you're not a poutine fan, you've found yourself in the wrong country. Not to worry, though, because Chez Ashton also serves a fine selection of burgers, roast beef sandwiches, and loaded hot dogs with quirky garnishes like cottage cheese, cabbage, and fries. If that's not exciting, we don't know what is.

While the great state of Texas may be unfeasibly south of Canada, Montana's BBQ & Bar brings some good old-fashioned Lone Star State flair just north enough for Canadians to enjoy the flavors of BBQ Tex Mex.

Famous for its Wednesday all-you-can-eat rib specials, guests come ravenous and ready to devour as many racks of ribs as they can handle before their hearts give out. From pork-back ribs to their Honkin' Beef Rib, Montana's offers ribs aplenty, alongside some fresh cornbread, fries, and beans or coleslaw — all served with some tangy BBQ sauce, of course.

A few other honorable mentions on the Montana's menu are the BBQ Brisket sandwich, chicken burrito bowl, warm and toasty churros, and — for the vegetarians of Canada — a delicious mushroom skillet coated in a garlicky wine sauce.

If you're not coming to Montana's for the food and drinks, you're certainly here for the lodge-inspired vibes. Montana's BBQ and Bar is a delightful Southern joint with wooden and stone accents and a cozy rustic feel that's nostalgically reminiscent of the deep heart of Texas. After all, there's nothing that describes the Texas BBQ experience quite like making eye contact with mounted taxidermy animal heads while you eat.

Who would've thought the birth of some of Canada's best poutine is all because some guy named Smoke wanted to impress a girl? Yes, that's right. The "Smoke" in Smoke's Poutinerie is actually a real person (according to the fast food chain's absolutely unhinged website containing UNWARRANTED CAPITALIZED PHRASES and a cursor in the shape of Smoke himself) and the whole concept of the restaurant came about all because he wanted a girlfriend.

Legend has it that his potatoes cut with "the determination of Wolverine's retractable claws" and smothered in a litany of mouth-watering toppings was enough to win the affections of his love and they were, apparently, wed at once. Since this valiant act, Smoke's Poutinerie exists to serve its customers with some of the most unique poutine mashups in Canada.

From Korean poutine featuring flat-iron steak and sambal to a boneless buffalo wing poutine, Smoke has graced us with pretty cool concoctions — plus a DIY option in which you have the liberty to decide your own poutine fate.