A&W Canada in Port Alberni

3555 Johnston Rd #201, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 8K2, Canada

★★★★☆
(416 reviews)
Categories: Hamburger restaurant American restaurant Breakfast restaurant Canadian restaurant Chicken restaurant Fast food restaurant

About

Canada's original burger restaurant. Known for great-tasting burgers, handmade onion rings, and frosted mugs of famous A&W Root Beer. Now Proudly serving Organic Pret Coffee, offering hot, iced and frozen beverages at A&W Brew Bar.

Website
web.aw.ca
Address
3555 Johnston Rd #201, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 8K2, Canada
Plus Code
7687+H8 Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
Time Zone
America/Vancouver

Business Hours

Sunday
7 AM–10 PM
Monday
7 AM–10 PM
Tuesday
7 AM–10 PM
Wednesday
7 AM–10 PM
Thursday
7 AM–10 PM
Friday
7 AM–11 PM
Saturday
7 AM–11 PM

Services

Service options
Kerbside pickup Delivery Drive-through Takeaway Dine-in
Accessibility
Wheelchair-accessible car park Wheelchair-accessible entrance Wheelchair-accessible seating Wheelchair-accessible toilet
Offerings
Beer Coffee
Dining options
Breakfast Lunch Dinner Counter service Dessert Seating
Amenities
Toilets
Atmosphere
Casual
Crowd
Groups
Planning
Accepts reservations
Payments
Credit cards Debit cards NFC mobile payments
Children
Good for kids High chairs Kids' menu
Parking
Free of charge street parking Free parking lot Parking

Reviews

4.0
★★★★☆
416 reviews

Most Mentioned

fast food (18) drive thru (14) root beer (10) breakfast (8) clean (7) gravy (4) mug (3) mozzarella (3) chicken strips (3) organic (2)
5 stars
201
4 stars
106
3 stars
45
2 stars
22
1 stars
42
★★★★★
November 16, 2024

This place has been there for me. Dub shack 4 Lyfe. Straight up, have never been disappointed. Love the family of burgers, they tickle my fancy. Good servings, good beef, good stuff.

★★★★★
October 12, 2024

Great staff, good food, clean inside. All I ask for at a fast food place definitely worth going if you come to port alberni

August 1, 2024

Had chicken strips that were just gross, and the poutine was no better, the curds didn't melt because the gravy and fries were cold.

★★★★★
July 21, 2024

Stopped here on our way to Victoria and it was incredible! Amazing service and great tasting food!

★★★★★
July 14, 2024

I visited this store yesterday on the way to Tofino with husband and someone named Manpreet took my order and her service war excellent.👍

★★★★★
November 15, 2022

Best A&W Ive ever been to! The burger in the photo I shared belongs on an ad with how perfect the layers were. This was on a particularly busy day as well, and staff were pleasant and polite through the rush they were going through. A refreshing fast food experience while we were on a road trip. Thanks to the staff!

November 11, 2021

They changed the recipe for the chicken buddy burgers, terrible. What once was a juicy, fresh breaded piece of chicken breast has been cheaply reduced to a mechanically seperated chicken patty that tastes of sawdust and is so dry its inedible. AND ALL FOR THE SAME PRICE! Oh and if that wasnt enough, to top it all off they no longer use REAL cheddar cheese slices. Will not be returning.

★★★★★
August 16, 2021

Wonderful service! We came in a group of five friends and two young children one evening after waiting for the better part of an hour at the Boston Pizza across the road (just to be told then that the Manager wasn’t seating anyone for the indefinite future), despite many empty tables. The staff at the A&W totally rescued our evening. It’s still open in the evening when other restaurants are closed, plus like other A&W’s, they just have good fast food. They brought out root beers out in those classic frosted mugs, and the staff were super courteous, friendly, and helpful. 100% recommend.

★★★★★
Local Guide
November 22, 2024

Dietary restrictions: Lettuce wrap, no gluten in burger but not a separate griddle Food

August 22, 2024

Its freezing inside the orders are always messed up and staff are incapable of having more than 1 IQ

★★★★★
August 22, 2024

Great place, excellent staffs.

★★★★★
July 22, 2024

I am a regular customer of this store and their customer service is beyond excellent

★★★★★
July 22, 2024

Excellent food and good customer service

★★★★★
July 22, 2024

Parking: Great customer service and good food Food

★★
June 22, 2024

Food was good but the restaurant is very dirty and the heat seems to be broken

★★
Local Guide
May 22, 2024

Its fast food, never hot, always luke warm

★★★★★
Local Guide
May 22, 2024

A frosty mug and teen burger hit the spot

★★★★★
Local Guide
May 22, 2024

Awesome in Port Alberni

★★★★★
Local Guide
April 22, 2024

Got that great Canadian beef baby

April 22, 2024

Your cashier just left a line up of people at the till to sit down and eat his food.. horrible service

March 22, 2024

Not good,

February 22, 2024

Didnt like the way the beef tasted...very expensive compost

★★★★
Local Guide
February 22, 2024

Im not a fast food guy, but when I am, its A&W. I go when I have coupons. The staff are always patient, and for a bit more I get a patty for my dog. Food

★★
Local Guide
February 22, 2024

Feb 2024 was super dirty inside . Food was okay.

★★★★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

Very good service

★★★★★
January 22, 2024

Was such a good experience! Went around 8 in the evening. The boy serving us was very friendly! His name was Vanderlyn and he was a very host

★★
December 22, 2023

It used to be great and I wish I didnt have to say that we were disappointed with the last couple of visits, but the service and cleanliness are not great.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Its an A&W. It is just like every other A&W. Thats the whole point of a chain restaurant. It was good though....

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Its a franchise. But I like that they still do the glass chilled cups.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Cold brew drinks are great, but its a Shame theres no vanilla milkshake. Their beef burgers are always a home run. The poutine uses chicken gravy and it was very nice. Not as heavy and overwhelming as other places. Food

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Friendly staff

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

ima be 60 and still be eating here lol

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Always happy with A&W

December 22, 2023

Our family orders for five people. Three times in a row at least one of the combos were shorted the fries. The last and I would say last !!! all the combos were shorted the fries. Would you order from here again?

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Clean and friendly service. Dietary restrictions: Lettuce wrapped burger available. Food : 4/5 |

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Slow, and cant understand the person talking through the microphone. Everything else is fine, but no such thing as a vanilla shake?

★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

I was hesitant to eat here due to the lower rated reviews, but tried it out anyways. The food was good, typical of A&W chains. However, my shoes stuck to the floors with every step..sticky floors. Waiting for my food I started to regret my decision as I noticed grime build up on napkin dispenser, garbage on the floor, sticky lid dispenser and splashes on unused lids, fingerprints everywhere..doors windows..and uncleaned tables. I took my food to go and ate in my car..most likely first and last visit. Too bad because A&W was iconic and the place to be back in the day. This location needs to do better, especially being in the food industry.

Local Guide
December 22, 2023

First time dining in. Spent 10 minutes in the line to not even get to order. They had 1 til open and didn t bother to open another. Waste of time

December 22, 2023

Garbage. No root beer floats, paper cups for the root beer, no onion rings. This place sucks.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Teen burgers Awesome Food

December 22, 2023

Food ok but staff terrible.

December 22, 2023

Over priced , slow service

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Good food.

★★★★★
December 22, 2023

Best customer service Ive had in YEARS! It was amazing. Parking: Lots of good parking. Food : 4/5 |

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Super fast, fresh made, delicious veggie burgers.

★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

This place is hit & miss!

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Great fries!! Fresh food good service.

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

The beyond burgers here are phenomenal every time we go. The best on the Island! Most recently I had a really positive experience when visiting with my family. My little boy wanted a kids meal box - I asked the employee if he could have the burger patty replaced with a beyond burger patty. There was no easy swap out for that but the employee figured out a way to make the kids meal box vegetarian for my son. He was SO thrilled to finally have a kids meal box that he was able to eat and I kindly thank the staff for taking the time on a busy shift to make our experience really positive. He is still talking about his kids meal box :) Thanks again, we are looking forward to our next visit.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

As connoisseurs of Alan & Wrights famous fast food restaurant, we must acknowledge that our road trip feast was truly remarkable. The cheese on our burgers was hot and melted to a freshly cooked piece of meat. The lettuce was crisp and fresh, and to top it off, the condiments were evenly distributed throughout the entire burger. If I could leave 6 stars out of 5 I would.

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Everytime I go to this location the staff is always so friendly and the food is delicious! Great job guys!

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Great customer service

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

the workers are so nice absolutely amazing customer service!!

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Great food, fantastic staff!

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Good welcome, good coffee, clean establishment, recommended

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Delicious and kind staff

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Usually a good place for what one expects

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Considering other rising costs, here is a great deal for a double mozzarella burger w/fries

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

These people are great! Delicious food and super friendly staff

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

AMAZINGLY AWESOME AND ABSOLUTELY LOVE THERE BURGERS ETC

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Excellent service. The hamburgers were succulent. The root beer was ridiculously tasty. Super happy to see they switched back to Cane Sugar. :)

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

I like the Teen Burger.. their Burgers are a good size..

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Kody rocks, best service from an a&w ever <3

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Had a teen burger for the first time in 2 years. Was hot, made to order and fast. Super good. I want to compliment the cook but I realize it was a team effort! Thanks for an awesome lunch everyone!

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

We got French and sweet potato fries

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Great friendly place staff is amazing would recommend it for sure

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Good service

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

The workers here are so kind and everyone does a great job :)

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Always great fast food love their chicken strips

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Good welcome

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Great food and staff always friendly

★★★★
December 22, 2022

Always consistent

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

A&w is my #1restaurant.all prep food is done with alot of hard and dedicated work and love from someone very special thats works at a&w for iver 13yrs.this special person worked through all the covid times.lets give him a cheer

★★
December 22, 2022

Store would not accept a $100 bill even though i was buying $63 worth of food for my family of 5. Super unimpressed

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

The fella working the counter right now (hey manager, its may 31 3 pm, fella with glasses) is polite, professional, efficient, and helpful. What a difference staff that cares is. This fella deserves a raise.

★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Its alright

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Great. Friendly.

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Love a momma burger

Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Lower quality everything(literally) at the Port Alberni A&W than your normal A&W. Slow drive thru, rude staff. 50/50 chance at being served room temperature food.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Great service and food!

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Fresh and hot food, love the root beer in the chilled mug

★★★★
December 22, 2022

A teen burger and a frosty cold root beer cant go wrong

★★★★
December 22, 2022

Wonderful free root beer!

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

It was a great place to get some lunch at.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Try the Nashville hot chicken sandwich it was good

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Wonderful service, great experience.

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

fresh food and awesome staff always helpfull it is the best fast food restaurant in town and i love there teen burger....

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Parking: Lots and RVs

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Amazing service from Alex !

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Good food and good bathrooms

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Great fast service! Friendly staff and clean restaurant

Local Guide
December 22, 2022

I used to work at A & W and was pleased to hear they were bringing back the Whistle Dog. They should have left it in the past. Worst thing I have ever eaten from the Dub. Absolutely no flavour, I actually thought I had covid... Very disappointed as that is our go to for burgers, especially with the Beyond burger for our vegan son. If youre going to bring back a classic make sure you get it right!

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Great restaurant to bring the family to. Love them burgers

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Excellent customer service by Damien

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Damien does great customer service.

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Very friendly guys working here

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Damein great customer service Must visit

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Excellent service by Damian

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Damein great customer service.

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Really nice food I come here atless three times a week

December 22, 2022

Your commercial desecrating the music of Beethoven is absolutely disgusting. Worthy of a boycott.

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Very nice place to grab food and coffee!

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

There is a free coffee for a review, so here I am. Perfect serving by Kumar!

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

A&W coffee and burgers are amazing!

★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Love a&dubs. I always get the teen burger. Dont order onion rings tho. Last time I ordered they werent cooked enough, soggy and wet. Just ended up throwing them away cause they were gross. Everything else I have ordered has been great though.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Simple but super tasty.

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Would highly recommend. Love everything

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

The fries were delicious and the service was friendly.

December 22, 2022

Horrible service. Store is dirty. Stood at the counter, staff completely ignored me. Finally a girl came and took my order. I repeated it 3x for her & she still did it wrong. She handed me new frozen drinks (waste of money by the way) & one was wrong. She shrugged her shoulders. No offer to fix the incorrect new frozen drink.

Local Guide
December 22, 2022

Used to be okay but since the renovations not so good. 1. There is no way for a person who is in a wheelchair to reach the payment terminals. Head office, are you okay with this? 2. The new equipment takes up alot more floor space meaning that the tables are now so crammed in to each other I dont recommend going to eat inside during peak hours youre just asking for health troubles IMO. Ive seen that people arent coming back once they see the table arrangements. 3. No receipt is available when you use a debit or credit card for payment. What the heck? Talk about no one gives you a you know what. A&W head office really needs to pay a visit to see how they are being represented in Port Alberni.

★★★★★
December 22, 2022

Good vibes. Excellent root beer

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

If you can find your way in you will enjoy some pretty good sushi. Odd location but worth the effort to make your way inside.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Took the 5:15am ferry from Tswwassen to Nanaimo on our way to Port Alberni to see our family for Christmas, my wife wanted to wait until we got to Port before we had breakfast. We decided on A&W on Johnston road, for fast food it was good, fast and hot with friendly service following all Covid#19 rules. I would definitely stop there again.

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Very clean. Nice staff. Typical A&W burgers etc. Social distancing a plus.

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

This is the busiest A & W l They do good work there.

★★★★★
December 22, 2021

Good food at A&W, Im a fan of the teen burger, love the full size burgers there instead of the small ones at other places, cheers A&W

★★★★★
December 22, 2021

great service

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Breakfast is still good ... rootbeer was watered down day before yesterday.

★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

odd drive-thru and the food wasnt the best.

★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Good burgers....going through drive through good service

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Good, hot and fresh

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Good service food is always consistent & tasty.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

A&W Port Alberni Burger was awesome service friendly I really enjoyed it after a long day of spending money I didnt have hit the spot two thumbs up keep up the good work guys and gals

★★★★★
December 22, 2021

Love this place! Food is sooooo good. Burgers are usually pretty fresh. Staff is a lot nicer than some of the other fast food joints in Port. Kind of a weird drive thru setup but totally worth the confusion for the food.

Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Dont make the mistake of ordering hashbrowns here for breakfast. Every single time I do they ask me to pull ahead and wait for them to cook. How can McDonalds always have hashbrowns ready but here it takes 10+ minutes?? If I wanted to wait that long I could just get some frozen hashbrowns and bake them myself!! Teen burgers are alright but nothing can save them from this breakfast sin!

★★★★
December 22, 2021

Good fries & Beer !!!!!!

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Good organic coffee...and love the classic breakfast with pancakes, great deal!

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Best Burger Restaurant In the World.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Nice burger pit stop !!!

★★★★
December 22, 2021

Same

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Great,always fresh,and working hard to get your order out fast

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Egg & bacon muffin was better than Tim Horton s. Service was slow at drive-thru but the food was fresh and hot, just cooked! Was hrrst as Tim s was lined up and so was McD s so it was a nice surprise!

December 22, 2021

Terrible place to go inside. Drive through seems to be all these people care about. A&W been going downhill for a while now and this will be my last visit.

★★★★
December 22, 2021

Good burgers and lemonade.

★★★★
December 22, 2021

It is a and w. Same menu across canada. This location is good. I have never had an awful experience.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Good service. Thank you for an enjoyable experience.

Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Didnt like the food

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Great location and quick service.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Consistently great food 5/5, service 5/5, Clean 5/5, Fast 5/5.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Chubby Chivken all the way

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Had the spicy habanero chicken. Was good but not to hot

★★★★★
December 22, 2021

Great food/service

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

#Drive-thru #papa #chicken #fries

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Had a beyond meat burger. Delicious fries hot and crispy. Hate paper straws, they stick to your lip. Drink containers get soft quickly no ice in the drink so not very cold

★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

The A&W Nanaimo restaurant didnt follow COVID protocol. No one asked for proof of vaccination for dine in customers. The restaurant was dirty, table was not clean, washroom was even worst.

★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2021

Slow service and the fries where cold and the cheese wasnt even melted on my mama burger.

★★★★★
December 22, 2021

Great food and staff at their location here in Port Alberni.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2020

Best hambergs

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2020

Food was good but, they used the same cloth to wipe tables and chairs with. Then they never cleaned the edges of the tables.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2020

Fast service.

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2020

The crispiest hashbrowns! Good staff!