Whataburger just opened in Las Vegas

[desertrunner]

Will finally get to try it. Dont know if Druff has been to Whataburger yet.

In summer 2023, Whataburger made its long-rumored Las Vegas debut official with an announcement that it would open on the Las Vegas Strip. In a surprise move, Whataburger will open its doors at noon today, February 7 — and keep them open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in a two-story building right on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Whataburger operated a restaurant in Las Vegas about 50 years ago — it’s fondly remembered by longtime locals. Since closing, fans have been clamoring for the company to again set its sights on the Las Vegas Valley. Whataburger’s newest location at 3752 South Las Vegas Boulevard, in front of the Waldorf-Astoria, shares a restaurant space with Parry’s Pizzeria & Taphouse; both brands are opening just in time for Super Bowl, which falls on Sunday, February 11, and is being hosted in Las Vegas for the first time ever.

Whataburger opens first Las Vegas location on the Strip
Surprise! Texas Icon Whataburger Opens on the Las Vegas Strip Today

[Texter]

#5 no tomato, or patty melt would be my recommendation

[Sanlmar]

Dont know if Druff has been to Whataburger yet.

I’ll bet Druff prefers straight fats to trans fats

[desertrunner]

Dont know if Druff has been to Whataburger yet.

I’ll bet Druff prefers straight fats to trans fats

Agree.

[Cerveza Fria]

Dont know if Druff has been to Whataburger yet.

I’ll bet Druff prefers straight fats to trans fats

Actually, I'l bet he prefers Minnesota Fats.

[Dan Druff]

Since you guys were asking for it, I went to the Vegas Whataburger early Sunday morning.

I had just been up all night at a home game in a hotel where one guy won all the money (not me, unfortunately), and was quite hungry.

It was 6am, and I decided I might as well give Whataburger a shot on that Super Bowl Sunday. Unlike most fast food places on Las Vegas Blvd, Whataburger is open 24/7.

First off, the parking situation is a pain in the ass. If you're staying in or near the Aria or Waldorf, it's an easy walk. However, if you're driving, you need to park at the Aria, and then walk maybe 5-7 minutes between the lot and Whataburger, passing the PokerGo studios along the way.

Whataburger is located right on Las Vegas Blvd, but as I said, there's no parking lot for it.

Anyway, once I got in there, I found this somewhat confusing menu:




You probably can't read this blurry picture well (it's not mine), but the two prices you see are "a la carte" and "whatameal".

The pricing there was bizarre. The "meals", which come with medium fries and a drink, are $4 more than the burger itself. Yet medium fries themselves are $5, so.... why would you ever order an "a la carte" burger or sandwich, unless you absolutely don't want fries??

Also, this was quite expensive. A single burger, fries, and a drink for $12 plus tax? Not amusement park level expensive, but still expensive.

I tried to ask how large the patties were. The guy showed me with his hands. I clarified, "No, I mean in weight. Are these a quarter of a pound?" He looked at me like I was speaking Greek, and then went to ask someone else. The manager walked over and admitted that she also had no clue how much weight the patties were, but "they're a good size". I dropped the matter, threw caution to the wind regarding my 52-year-old arteries, and ordered the triple burger combo.

I don't like anything on my burgers except ketchup (which I like applying myself), and of course get my infamous tomato on the side. I also don't like cheese on the burger. I have a lot in common with Allen Kessler in that way, and I'm not proud of it.

Anyway, my next question was how much it would cost to upgrade the french fries from medium to large. If I was going to gorge myself, I might as well go all the way. Again, the manager didn't know, but said she'd "try it and see the difference".

I was expecting an upcharge of like $2, making the $15 meal total go up to $17 (plus tax), probably setting me back over 18 bucks for this meal.

That's why I was a bit shocked when the price of upgrading the fries was $14.69 AFTER tax.



I was sure there had to be a mistake. How did it get CHEAPER to upgrade the fries?

I asked, "So that's a triple burger and large fries, right?"

She confirmed it was.

I decided to go into Bill Clinton "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" mode, and paid the $14.69 without inquiring further about the weird discount. Maybe it was because I got no cheese? But still, how was it $4 cheaper than expected?

Sure enough, the receipt said "triple burger, large fries, medium drink", and a $14.69 total!



Before I go on, I should mention I've had Whataburger once before. This was when I went to the Houston area in 2008, and I was brought there by the person I was visiting. I walked away with the impression of, "Good, but not great."

Here's what came this time (drink not pictured):




Yes, that's a triple. I just took the picture at a bad angle.

But where was my beloved side tomato? I assumed they forgot it. I went to the front counter and inquired, and the woman said, "Yeah, we ain't got 'em."

I asked, "You are completely out of tomatoes?"

She replied, "Yeah, we're waiting for a delivery. Sorry."

Oooooooooookay. A burger place without any tomatoes. Interesting.

I dropped the matter, sat back down, and started to eat my food. A minute later, the manager who took my order came up to me and said, "Yeah if you can wait a few minutes, I'll get you your tomatoes." I told her I could, and thanked her for doing it. Indeed, about 2 minutes later, she brought me a small bag with 3 tomato slices. Nice! Not sure where she dug those out from, but they were cold and tasted good.

In fact, all of the staff was nice. They were all a bit clueless, but each and every person I encountered was very pleasant and friendly -- a rarity in fast food nowadays. The restaurant itself is also very nice inside by fast food standards, but it's oddly laid out. In fact, the weirdest thing is that there's no place to dump your tray. They have employees coming around to take your tray and trash when you're done.

How was the burger? Just like I remembered in 2008, it was "good but not great". They do have more than one variety of Whataburger branded ketchup, but I only tried the original, which was pretty good. I enjoyed the fries, as they were definitely tasty.

Judging from the size of the patties, they looked 1/4 pound, so my meal was actually a good deal by 2024 inflationary standards. 3/4 pound burger, large fries, and a drink for $14.69 after tax. For whatever reason, there is relatively little difference in price (apparently $3) between the single and triple burger.

Will I go back? Probably. The biggest downside to the whole thing was the parking. It's just a lot of effort to deal with strip traffic (fortunately none at 6am), parking at Aria, and walking several minutes both ways, mostly outside, to get to a fast food joint. But if I'm in the area, I'll probably stop in again.

Definitely props to the friendliness of the staff, which was an unexpected surprise. That made up for their confusion on various matters, which I'm guessing will improve with time.

I hope you enjoyed my Whataburger Vegas review.

[DukeCaboom]

I live in Texas and have eaten at Whataburger hundreds of times. They are my favorite fast food burger place.
I love that they are 24 hrs (the only place around here in North Texas.
They are notoriously slow though compared to other fast food places, this is because they don't start cooking the burger until you order.
My drive thru wait is often 10 min.
They are 1/4 lb patties (at least here in Texas).
Here in North Texas a #2 (double patty) combo meal is $11.30 with the "Wata-sized" fries.
We plan on moving to Henderson in a few years and I'm happy they have one in town.

If they run it right I'm hopeful they will do well, I've never seen one go out of business in decades here in Texas.
They are a family owned private business.

P.S. My brother lives in Houston and goes through their drive thru EVERY SINGLE DAY for lunch, but he's a little nuts :-)

[Sanlmar]

A whataburger employee has to work 2 hours to earn enough after tax to buy a fast food meal?

The current Taco Bell ad campaign centering on affordability with its $3 Cravings menu has been hard to miss recently. They obviously know something and have a plan.

I went in a McDonalds about a year ago and was confronted with the filthy Kiosk and lousy service and now my self esteem demands I never go back. The employee challenge and automation. Fast food is depressing.

Todd’s burger looks sad as shit.

[desertrunner]

We plan on moving to Henderson in a few years and I'm happy they have one in town.

Good call on moving to Henderson.

Good review Druff, thanks. Never tried WAB yet, but will soon. And will try the Vegas location as well. And now we have Tomatoes on the Side 2.0 to talk about in the future.

Thanks for the review Druff.

[Texter]

So just meat and ketchup? No offense but that’s awful.

Also the medium drink is really like a large elsewhere, the large is way too big considering refills are free.

[Texter]

A whataburger employee has to work 2 hours to earn enough after tax to buy a fast food meal?

The current Taco Bell ad campaign centering on affordability with its $3 Cravings menu has been hard to miss recently. They obviously know something and have a plan.

I went in a McDonalds about a year ago and was confronted with the filthy Kiosk and lousy service and now my self esteem demands I never go back. The employee challenge and automation. Fast food is depressing.

Todd’s burger looks sad as shit.

They get a discount on food….so 1 hour

[Dan Druff]

So just meat and ketchup? No offense but that’s awful.

Also the medium drink is really like a large elsewhere, the large is way too big considering refills are free.

Might be awful to you, but that's the way I've always liked it.

For some reason, I never found cheese on a burger appealing. This is despite the fact that I love dishes like chicken parmesan which involve cheese being on top of meat.

I'm not a lettuce guy at all. I especially hate pickles. I like tomatoes, but not on the burger. I find it makes the burger soggy and cold. That's why I always get it on the side. I hate mustard, but love ketchup.

My son also does not like cheese on his burgers, and also doesn't like mustard. However, he likes lettuce and loves pickles, so I typically get his burgers with lettuce and pickles only, while mine is completely plain.

My plain "ketchup burger" is part of the reason I never get a single burger. The burger itself ends up smaller without this other stuff on it. The other reason is that I just have a big appetite (which makes it a challenge to keep my weight down as I've been getting older).

Looking at the picture again, the burger doesn't appear particularly appetizing, especially at the angle I shot the photo. However, it tasted far better than it looked.

Regarding fast food burgers, I rank it as follows, regarding chain places I've gone to in California/Nevada:

1) In-n-Out
2) Smashburger
3) Tommy's
4) The Habit
5) Five Guys
6) Whataburger
--------------
7 and beyond) Every other fast food place

So it barely squeaks into top 6 fast food burgers, and then there's a big dropoff to #7 and beyond.

As I said, I will go back if it's somewhat convenient, but it's probably not worth the strip drive and Aria parking hassle unless nothing else is open.

[desertrunner]

Had to share this recent find-

[zebra23]

Nice review! The price doesn't seem that bad for the strip. the western bacon cheeseburger combo at carl's jr. is $13 where I live.

[desertrunner]

Regarding fast food burgers, I rank it as follows, regarding chain places I've gone to in California/Nevada:

1) In-n-Out
2) Smashburger
3) Tommy's
4) The Habit
5) Five Guys
6) Whataburger
--------------
7 and beyond) Every other fast food place

So it barely squeaks into top 6 fast food burgers, and then there's a big dropoff to #7 and beyond.

Druff- You need to visit Fatburger. I assumed youve already been there, but maybe not.