I've lived in Waterloo for 3 years and been pretty familiar with the name, but never actually visited until now. If you're someone who wants a quick bite to eat, but also want quality food, this is the best place to go. Not only is it affordable, but it's also fresh and has many selections (especially the sauces). The poutine is also very good which comes in a big portion. I got mine with beef gravy which isn't at all too salty and balanced well with the cheese curds. read more

Johnny Fresco - a sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil - Burgers Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

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2.5/5, +.5 for the service. Can't say I was overly impressed with this place, although I can pick out positives from the burger I had and the place overall. First, they have options for white or multi-grain buns, both costing the same. Since I like to be healthy, I chose multi-grain. Good on them for offering bun options since most other restaurants only offer white buns. Second, they have awesome service, with the employees knowing many of the regulars and offering options for customers to get more value for their meal. However, I ordered a swiss melt burger...and the patty was extremely dry. They advertised juicy burgers, but my burger was anything but. The grilled mushrooms were minimal, and the grilled onions were pretty much regular raw onions placed on the grill...which actually didn't taste too bad. Finally, the onion in the onion rings were good, but the coating was too hard and too crispy. I'll probably give Sonny's and Frat Burger a try before I come back here. read more

Johnny Fresco - Swiss melt whole grain burger. - Burgers Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Do you want fast food? Excuse me. Let me make myself clear. Fast "made-to-order" food? If so, then this may be the place for you. I've had their hamburgers and pitas, french fries, and onion rings. On their pitas, I love the pitas here. (But all the pitas in Canada appear to be the same. Thin with a half opening where all the stuffing can be inserted and then rolled into a "wrap". [I probably messed up the description of Canadian pitas, but ... use your imagination!] They have daily specials which can change from week-to-week. Their specials are the best deal. So, if you can find out what the special is and you are a fan of whatever it is, then go! **Chicken soulvaki Pita. **Gyro Pita -- the gyros are frozen and cooked to order. The actual gyro meat is very thin. I wish it were a little thicker, but at least it's cooked when you order it, right? **Tzatziki Sauce -- The tzatziki sauce is different here than I'm used to. The tzatziki is just a cream -- a thick cream. Different than the Great Wraps (an American chain) tzatziki sauce. I prefer the tzatziki sauce at Great Wraps, but maybe because I grew up on it. **Basil Mayo Sauce -- They have a basil mayo sauce which is pretty good. I added this to my gyro pita because I'm not the greatest fan of their tzatziki. It was a good addition. Service is quick. They can get busy during lunch, so beware! (The line does go fairly quickly, though.) read more

Johnny Fresco - Gyro Pita with Tzatsiki and basil mayo sauce - Burgers Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Waited 20 minutes for a simple cheeseburger. When received it was woefully overcooked. Kind of like eating a hockey puck. Unapologetic service. Great ambiance though. So if you're a Hindu looking for a fun time out fasting, then I highly recommend Johnny frescos!! Update: I couldn't eat the garbage served here and even my 6 year old son turned his nose at it. Still hungry though, so I traveled down the street to McDonalds. Comparatively, Mc D's is like 5 star dining. read more

Johnny Fresco - I call it the hockey puck burger. Except a hockey puck has more flavour! - Burgers Near Me - Waterloo, Ontario

Johnny Fresco is a pretty good choice if you're looking for an inexpensive meal. I tried the chicken + bacon pita special of the day (Monday). To get the special, you do have to order a drink though. I was originally going to order ahead of time and then pick it up but didn't. I would recommend doing so. The line was pretty long as the location was quite busy. The staff did a pretty good job of expediting orders quickly, but there was just too much going on so things were a little disorganized. The meal itself was very good. The pits split along the side but it was ok. read more

gyro pita was burnt, hard, and super salty. Tried the greek fries and that was so salty as well. Maybe i ordered the wrong things so ill give it another try again. read more

Spotted sign on exterior promising 'vegetarian' options; felt this might be promising... Vegetarians visiting Waterloo will want to go out of their way for the pita with the mountain veg with FRIES and TWO FRIED EGGS chucked into the whole mess. If you are a vegetarian out of your own home your opportunities for a sandwich with a little warmth and heft are tragically limited; Johnny Fresco fills a gap, quite nicely. Service was pleasant and quick and all ingredients were tasty and fresh. It was an enormous amount of good food for the price. read more

It's good 'fast' food if you don't mind a bit of a wait. Food is hot and made fresh, with lots of toppings available. Their chicken sauce and basil mayo are both great additions to any pita. I usually get a chicken pita and it's always tasty. The one downside is I always find a rubbery bit in my pita, without fail. You know, the rubbery bit that sticks to the bone? The bit that you're not supposed to eat and can't actually chew? It's always in my pita, without fail. I wish they'd be a little more careful while cutting up their chicken so I wouldn't find myself fishing a gross little rubbery bit out of my mouth every single time I eat one of their pitas. Another downside is they've recently changed their beef gravy and it now has a weird chalky texture. I'd switch to their chicken gravy but it's pretty gross, so I've stopped ordering gravy altogether. Unfortunately most of the staff aren't very friendly, and even the owner seems tired and annoyed half the time. I always feel like I'm inconveniencing the staff just by placing an order. Smiling at your customers never hurts! read more

This is a great place to eat. There is a wait for your food but that is simply because they make all of your food fresh to order on the grill in front of you - obviously this takes time! My wife and I usually order a poutine, a pita and a mushroom swiss burger. All of these items are delicious and definitely worth the wait. Sizes are huge and we can never even finish our food. People are friendly and location is clean. read more

You know it's a good thing when there's a lineup, constantly throughout the day. Just ordered the garden salad, fresh ingredients to choose fr: cucumbers, green peppers, romaine lettuce, pineapples, mushrooms, red onions, topped w/ mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Plenty of parking. read more

Not wearing masks. This is not safe for your staff or for customers. It's a simple thing to do, and to not wear a mask is laughing in the face of basic hygiene during this pandemic. read more

Terribly rude and cheap staff. Owner overworks all the employees and I have on multiple occasions heard him yell at workers who drop even a single fry or a paper container. Once he scolded the cashier because she didn't ask if I wanted a drink with my meal (because it's all about making money for him). Tries to cheap out on the portions and will tell the staff to put less inside pitas and salads. Food is cheap for the amount you get but I wouldn't want to support such a rude employer. read more

I went here for the first time yesterday and I really enjoyed it. The burgers are very tasty and the fries are great. If your looking for something fast, with no frills - this is the place to go. read more

We go to Johnny's a lot. But always have to use a coupon as it can be expensive. The service is pleasant and always very quick. They made delish pita's and you can even add fries to them. There are daily deals which helps the pocket book. Defiantly worth the price though. My only complaint would be they tend to over cook their burgers and under cook the bacon. But we don't go there to have burgers it's all about the pita's. read more

Food tastes very fresh and the price is not too bad ! I felt very full but healthy after eating my chicken pita :)

The last 3 times I've ordered through one local, the order doesn't arrive on time, if at all. If you want to cancel an order you have to go through one local, but no one seems to know how to do that (and they are very rude on the phone). I live about 15 minutes from this place, so at max it should take 30 minutes for delivery. I am now waiting an hour, phones to cancel and was told that they can't do and it doesn't matter because I would have to go through one local. This places food is okay if you go there, but if you are ordering through one local don't bother, it's greasy and cold by the time it gets to where it should go! Give this one a skip folks, it isn't worth the aggravation. read more

I went back, regretfully, again. It's been five months since my last review and the burger are still horribly overcooked. It's a patty not a hockey puck. Please, for gods sake, learn to grill a burger, it isn't rocket science. read more

The food here is good, but they need to step up their service. For a fast food place, nothing is fast. I guess it is nice to see your food being cooked before your eyes, but with one person at the cash and 4 people making the food I don't understand why there is a huge line-up before you order, and an even bigger one after you order! Another issue I had was that the person making my pita clearly did not understand the concept of capacity! When I asked for everything, I thought it should be clear that I did not mean literally every morsel of each topping available. Before they chicken (that I had to wait 10 minutes for) was even put into the pita, it was soggy and bursting at the seems. By the time I ate the pita, I needed a fork and a handful of wet-naps! If you're not in a rush, and you like one or two toppings, the food might be worth it. I wouldn't recommend it during lunch though! read more

The pitas here are great. Waterloo doesn't have much choice, but while I did my uni studies here for many years, this place was a staple for me. Can't go wrong with the chicken souvlaki or greco pitas. The pitas are very big, and very fairly priced. Better than any of the franchise pita junk in this city. read more

I was told that this place has the best burgers in waterloo. After trying almost everything on there menu and other burger places, I would agree that this place does indeed have the best burgers. They are big, juicy, high quality and the bun size is perfect for the patties they make. For the price you get such a big burger that it fills you up and its perfect for students who are on a budget and want a good quality burger. read more

They took over the old Donut Queen location. The lamb burgers are the best. Very good vegetarian selection.

I had Johnny prepare some food for my daughter's first birthday party. We ordered a family sized greek salad and two pita platters. The salad was presented beautifully and was made with fresh vegetables and lots of feta. The wraps were made with love and tasted great! read more

I had the chicken cesear pita, and boy was it delicious. I was a little apprehensive about trying this place, as I am an avid extreme pita eater, but I was not disappointed. You can tell that the ingredients are fresh, and they have a HUGE variety of them available. The croutons were crunchy, the lettuce was fresh and the chicken was warm and had obviously been marinated. The only negative part to my pita was the fact that they don't toss them (like the better extreme pita restaurants do). So I had to rearrange some ingredients or strategically bite in order to not get a mouthful of lettuce. This is somewhere I would definitely go back to. Looking forward to trying their breakfast pita with eggs and ham! read more

You have to eat here if you are in the KW area. Poutines are great.

I have eaten here a couple of times and I love the fries and poutine. HOWEVER.. I got a burger and got the worst food poisoning in my entire life. I was puking for days and days and this was the only thing I ate. Couldn't eat more than half a meal for more than three days. I called and explained the situation and the supervisor just tried to say okay thank you to hang up the phone. And the people who work there are kind of rude, disrespectful and do not make you feel welcome AT all. They even try to make it more awkward by saying wow were just standing here and people are staring at us. Me and my friend were appalled.. As they continued to talk about what they were going to wear to the bar that night. Real professional and then they give me food poisoning. read more

Used to be good, but last 3 times over the past 18 months burgers are over cooked on the edges and undercooked in the middle; fries are cold, staff, yes, very unfriendly and seem unhappy to be there or else semi-incompetent or not well trained or prepared. Last time took forever, which I get bc it's fresh, girl on cash was unsure what she was doing or what to charge me, everything is an extra cost (getting milk vs a pop) on their combo coupon, I ordered onion rings which were extra, which was fine and I paid for got home and they weren't in the order. Too far to drive back again as I am in NW Waterloo. To summarize, we will NOT be going back there again - close to $30 for a very disappointing meal. could have gone to A&W..... read more

Decent priced and decent wraps and pitas. Chicken burger was awful and small. Their topping selection doesn't always look the freshest either. Employees are young and not the friendliest. Usually a busy place. read more

amazing pitas! Always put on a max amount of toppings for a delicious and filling meal. Compared to other pita competitors this place is amazing in both flavour and size of pita. burgers not so much. read more

The food is great here! I really like that it has less of a fast food feel to it than the majority of the restaurants in the area. Although, it can be a really long wait at times and they have accidently given my order to someone else before. read more

Well, we tried this place for the first time today. Both of us got the home made Swiss melt burgers, one with fries. The burgers are generous and very flavourful. The problem is the SALT... SALT and more SALT. I asked for fried onions and mushrooms and my partner did as well. Well, they made only enough for one burger, so my burger was left literally flaming on the grill while he made more for me ( maybe one tablespoon of each and hard to find in the burger!). They forgot to put my bun on to toast so it was held to the grill while he heated it, and again my poor burger was still sitting on the grill, not off to the side, but in flames. Did I mention the burger was very overcooked and charred and tough? My partner's burger was cooked nicely, which is strange since the orders went in together. My partner got the multi grain bun and it was soft, warm and doughy. Both buns got soggy real quick from not being toasted properly. In addition my burger was drowning in mayo... really - a triple helping of mayo. The fries were awful. Many were limp like a wet noodle, not crisp at all and again the SALT!!! We couldn't eat them. Tried brushing the salt off a little, but seriously - I have never seen so much salt on fries in my life, not even at Macdonalds! So very disappointing. All that being said since we lack good burgers in K-W and Little Louie's is a long drive and not open weekends, we might try it again IF we can get them to leave off adding more salt to the burgers while they are on the grill. The salt content they add to their home made meat mixture is MORE than enough to put anyone into hospital with kidney failure. They do a roaring business in poutine apparently, not my favorite choice, but I can't imagine it being much good with all the gravy on fries that are already limp and soggy. VERY disappointed. On the plus side the servers are helpful, quick to explain the choices and very friendly. On second thought, we'll just make burgers at home next time until we find a better place to eat. read more

Burgers are pretty tasty. Chicken gravy poutine is amazing but will probably kill you if you eat them to often . Pita are well pitas there not bad but not very different . Sauces are great . Staff is very nice . read more

I love the pitas! The burger is just okay, just if you're looking for a pita it's definitely a good place to hit up!

Ordered a grill cheese with bacon, I mean how hard is it to screw that up? First clue was when they had to go to the back to get it, I guess they don't have the time to butter two slices of bread. They then proceeded to take the frozen, yes frozen, sandwich and sling it into the microwave for a trip to radiationville. Threw the soggy gooey mess on to the grill then ripped it apart to throw some soggy undercooked bacon between the sheets. When complete could not even be bothered to find a knife to cut it and hacked it apart with tool they use to scrape the grill. Needless to say it was the worst sandwich I ever eaten and I will not be returning if that is how they do the basics. read more

worst service ever, they took my order wrong and didnt ask me about any of the options, i got the crispy chicken and the chicken was burnt, i was not asked what bun and cheese i wanted. this being the new year i wanted to go for a healthier choice i thought johnnys was the way to go but they make assumption and now Im stuck with a white bread carb over load burnt piece of crap, Im never going there again read more