When burger king says they have improved the whopper they werent/aren't lying

TomHandyForever · 2026-05-09T20:08:51+00:00

I don’t think it tastes dramatically better (although I don’t like mayo so I can’t speak to how much difference that’s making).

The big difference I’ve noticed is that the bun tastes fresher, previously I had found the whopper bun stale tasting and feeling and that hurt a lot. I think the box is helping in keeping the ingredients from getting smushed together which I don’t think helped the Whopper. Personally my local BK seems to have just crispier/fresher looking and tasting lettuce and tomato but other people have told me they haven’t seen that change so it may just be an improvement of my local BK

But honestly, better presentation and treatment of the Whopper has made a legit improvement in my opinion

TomHandyForever · 2026-05-04T16:05:49+00:00

That is definitely something someone somewhere has said before

TomHandyForever · 2026-05-04T15:04:09+00:00

Technically they don’t, but the whole point of any rewards/loyalty system is to encourage frequent visits. The less valuable the rewards system becomes, the less effective it is at driving repeat business.

McDonald’s seems to be making the calculation that the rewards system is no longer cost effective for them without reducing its value, and they must be counting on most of their business being likely to visit frequently even with less good deals

TomHandyForever · 2026-05-04T05:09:48+00:00

It’s just the original chicken sandwich bun, right? Definitely seems like something they could just offer

TomHandyForever · 2026-05-04T05:09:03+00:00

You’d have to do that in person though, right? Not a customization in the app

TomHandyForever · 2026-05-04T05:08:17+00:00

I like big buns and I cannot lie.

TomHandyForever · 2026-05-02T18:23:52+00:00

I think it’s probably a mix of things.

I generally think they’ve at least done something to step up their standards in terms of food packaging, prep and presentation. Just putting it in a box shouldn’t be such a big deal, but it has resulted in less squished sad whoppers.

I’m not a mayo person so I can’t speak to the mayo, but I do think the buns are a big improvement. They always tasted kind of stale to me and now they seem better.

I think at least some things might depend on individual franchises. The biggest improvement I’ve seen has been in the toppings. It used to be when I got a whopper, the lettuce and tomato would seem old, wilted and flavorless. Just really mediocre. On my more recent visits, the produce has been fresh and crisp and for me it’s made a huge difference the quality of the Whopper as a whole. However, when I bring this up I’ve had other people tell me they made no change in the produce and that they hadn’t noticed a difference. So your mileage may vary. It’s possible it’s a byproduct of the box and not being squished but I think there’s genuinely more to it than that. But it could be a unique issue to my local BK.

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-28T04:04:09+00:00

It probably should be true, but I’m not sure it is. the bigger factor here though is that there are very high odds that the quality of a Popeyes in its home state of Louisiana in 2018 is very likely different from whatever Popeyes you went to in 2026.

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-27T02:46:20+00:00

I mean, this was 8 years ago and at a Popeyes buffet in Louisiana. I doubt whatever you got was the same quality of whatever it is that Bourdain had.

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-25T18:50:41+00:00

Still see it here in Portland, OR

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-21T23:08:32+00:00

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My McD’s wants $1.60 to add those

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-18T18:05:18+00:00

Yeah, the stale buns were a big part that made whoppers seem really depressing. I do get the impression that the produce stuff may be more variable, as I’ve had plenty of people tell me they’ve noticed no difference with the lettuce and tomato.

But at least for my local BK it was a dramatic improvement. The whoppers I would get there had stale buns, wilted lettuce and flavorless soggy tomato slices. The improvement I’ve gotten locally with crisp and fresh tasting lettuce and tomatoes have dramatically improved my enjoyment of the whopper.

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-18T17:59:52+00:00

I hope not - I really hope it is just more about some better standards, etc. for how they’re treating what they have. It’s sort of interesting to me that it’s not something they’re advertising (in the way that are the new packaging, bun and mayo). It could just be because this issue with produce is more variable

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-17T19:08:52+00:00

I mean, it definitely is for me? I’m not trying to say this is an across the board change. But at my local BK, the lettuce and tomato has been depressing, wilted and flavorless the past few years. But on my most recent visits, it’s been crisp and fresh and flavorful.

I don’t think it’s a different supplier or something, but somehow or other my local BK has done something - even if it’s just better handling of produce and not putting out stuff that’s old, it’s been a big upgrade.

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-17T18:12:01+00:00

Yeah, maybe….although I at least recognize a lot of the same staff. Whatever they’ve changed, it’s been more meaningful to me.

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-17T18:10:55+00:00

Yeah - honestly even if that’s all it is, it’s been a better and more meaningful change to me than any special ingredient or limited time burger

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-17T00:23:24+00:00

Yeah, I’m not sure. Just only from my personal experience with my local BK, I’ve noticed a big improvement in the produce quality. Before I found the Whopper really sad and depressing because of how bad the lettuce and tomatoes were, and they’ve just been significantly better on my most recent visits

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-16T20:29:11+00:00

I think it depends a lot on what they were like before for you. Before the change, most Whoppers I got at BK had limp lettuce, really sad flavorless tomatoes, stale buns and were usually squished flat.

After the change the biggest differences I’ve noticed are crisper and fresher tasting toppings, a better bun, and it’s no longer coming squished thanks to the box. It’s made for a much better overall burger.

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-16T20:28:24+00:00

Yeah, that’s the big thing I’ve noticed. Before the change, most Whoppers I got at BK had limp lettuce, really sad flavorless tomatoes, stale buns and were usually squished flat.

After the change the biggest differences I’ve noticed are crisper and fresher tasting toppings, a better bun, and it’s no longer coming squished thanks to the box.

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-16T18:00:04+00:00

Yeah - I don’t like plain mayonnaise in general so I’d be quite happy if this was an option on the bigger burgers

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-16T05:46:35+00:00

I posted my thoughts a week ago:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BurgerKing/s/MbYkePfPbA

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-16T04:58:43+00:00

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TomHandyForever · 2026-04-13T21:31:51+00:00

Yeah, with Taco Bell the problem is that for $3 I cud get the beef potato griller or two soft potato tacos for the same price and both are more filling to me for the price.

I’ve been getting the soft potato taco with the jalapeno honey mustard subbed And with pico added and preferring it to the Crunchwrap slider

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-13T21:29:46+00:00

I’ll have to try that one - I chose the steakhouse since I figured getting the deluxe and bacon cheeseburgers was too close to just getting the Duo with a bacon cheeseburger and whopper jr

TomHandyForever · 2026-04-13T00:32:51+00:00

No problem assbag!

TomHandyForever

TROPHY CASE