It’s no secret people have strong opinions about Arby’s. You’re probably a fervent supporter or you wouldn’t touch (or eat) their roast beef sandwich with a ten-foot pole. I fall in the former camp. The chain proudly announces “We Have the Meats,” but never before in 58 years has that included a hamburger. I’ve always taken a strange pride in this absence (because in my mind, I operate a profitable Arby’s franchise, and yes, we still serve potato cakes). I’m pleased by the fact that Arby’s succeeds by doing something different and doesn’t feel the need to sling an average burger. So while Arby’s doesn’t NEED to offer a burger, what happens when it wants to? Perhaps it realized it had already served most legal meat products and decided it was time to beat all the other joints at their own game – ground beef.
The Deluxe Wagyu Steakhouse Burger offers up a 6.4-ounce patty that’s a blend of 52% American Wagyu and 48% ground beef. It’s topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion, and burger sauce on a toasted brioche bun. Since Arby’s restaurants don’t have grills, they’ve decided the best cooking route is sous vide, claiming this results in a medium-well burger, something you rarely see in fast food.
This looks like a classic burger with just a handful of ingredients done right. At first glance, it didn’t appear that hefty, but upon closer examination and consumption, it’s a weighty patty. Many times in the world of fast food, I don’t want this much ground beef. I avoid items like the Quarter Pounder or anything double beef at Taco Bell because it’s more mediocre meat than I want to eat. I didn’t feel this way about the Arby’s burger at all. It tastes meaty in a good way, and the interior of the patty matches the advertised pictures: pinkish, juicy, and not the gray throughout that I’ve come to expect from most hamburgers that are handed to me within three minutes of my ordering.
The cheese was perfectly melted, and the vegetables were fresh and actually contributed something to the eating experience. The pickles are thicker cut and tasty, and the red onion is crunchy with a not-too aggressive bite. The sauce is your standard mixture of condiments. I enjoyed it, maybe more than Big Mac sauce, but there’s too much. It’s applied to both the top and bottom bun and should be contained to just one. I liked its thinner consistency and it had a good flavor balance, the only issue being the ratio of sauce to every other part of the burger is off. It makes for a sloppy situation and because the meat here genuinely does seem to be of a better quality, they could have showcased the wagyu more by saucing less.
Since it lacks a grilled element, you won’t be getting any char on the patty’s exterior, but the texture and quality of the meat and toppings exceed the expectations I have for burgers of this size in a drive-thru setting. If hamburgers are part of your fast food repertoire I’d encourage you to grab this one while you have the chance. It’s available through July 31st, and after that, Arby’s will hang up its ten-gallon hat from the burger game, and both fans and (fake) franchise owners like me will rest assured that they don’t have to serve burgers, but if they want to, damn it, they can.
Purchased Price: $6.99
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 715 calories, 43 grams of fat, 17 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 97 milligrams of cholesterol, 1567 milligrams of sodium, 46 grams of total carbohydrates, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 14 grams of sugars, and 39 grams of protein.
My husband and I found it chewy but kind of tasty.
Horrible dry and tastless
The burger is sous vide off premise, fried in oil, and microwaved to melt the cheese. It’s an absolute disgrace.
OK I’m in on the burger. However —-Where the heck do I find the potato cakes to go with the burger?
Preach it! Miss the potato cakes.
I got char on mine since they burned one side of the burger and the top bun.
Nice review, I might give it a try
I read some advertisement that said it had crispy edges, which seemed baffling, was there any of that?
I’m just eating the deluxe version now and yep, mine has crispy edges! I’m really curious as to their pick up on this.
When you talk about advertisement, mine didn’t even come close to the picture of the burger they keep advertising. I wish I had taken a picture of mine. There are other big burger franchises out there that make a far better burger.
I stopped going to Arby’s when they stopped serving the potato cakes. This looks good, but only the potato cakes coming back will bring me back.
I agree. Bring back the potato cakes. It stopped me from going to Arby’s as often as I did before. The potato cakes are unique; no other fast food has them.
I loved the sauce, the bun, everything but the hamburger patty. it had too much seasoning on it. I wish they would just season the hamburger patty with salt and pepper. It would be perfect.
I don’t know whether it’s the chili sauce in the burger sauce or the seasoning on the burger (I didn’t try them all separately) and I agree that their is too much seasoning all around either way. Definitely detracts from the burger itself. Why even use any Wagyu if you’re loading it up with heavy spice?
I was pleasantly surprised with this burger. I will definitely order it again. So glad it isn’t char broiled – I won’t eat those.
No matter what the toppings and all the other ingredients are, it all comes down to how they cook the hamburger. If it’s overcooked it will taste a like a dried hockeypuck, between two buns. Just like most of the fast food joints make it today. Every one is overcooking their meat for safety reasons and ruining a good burger.
Haven’t had a fast food one unless they asked me how I wanted the meat cooked, meaning they actually cared.
I tried the burger .it was ok nothing to write home to mom about .wouldn’t order again.
I got to spend the night on the toilet thanks to this burger.
Don’t blame your terrible diet, obesity, and poor genetics on Arbys.
right, like a fast-food restaurant has never given anybody a toilet visit…
You need to get your research in order before reviewing these.
These are cooked off site, via sous vide, and shipped to Arby’s restaurants.
The patty is then deep fried to get it hot and char the outside.
It is then briefly microwaved to melt the cheese.
You’re welcome?
Perhaps not everybody is privy to that information. Anyways, it’s a review of the burger’s taste and execution and not the cooking method at the restaurant.
That explains crispy edges, thank you, and thanks Holly for confirming!
My pleasure! I’ll be interested to see what your experience is like if you give it a try.
I didn’t get any real crispy parts to mine, I can confirm it took a dip in the fryer because I saw it happening but I guess it didn’t really translate to the final product.
That sounds like the worst way to make a burger.
Actually I think it’s pretty smart and makes sense (aside from the microwaving aspect) and also cool that Arby’s figured out a burger cooking method adapted to their kitchens.
im in the UK so i’ll never get to try it, but the review made it sound very nice.
Knowing they deep dry and then microwave it would make me not want to have it. seems pointless to use higher quality beef and then nuke it and also fry it. Quite odd.
I can understand the deep fry (it’s essentially the same as pan frying or griddling except the whole burger is exposed to the oil) and definitely agree that it seems silly to have to zap it in the microwave to melt the cheese…though I suppose they are just working with their kitchen setup’s capabilities.
I tell you what though, the end cook on mine was honestly juicier and nicer than other fast food places. I think the biggest offense to the quality of the meat is the over seasoning.
I’m glad that I tried it! I only crave a burger every now and then and this is definitely a decent option at a reasonable price. It’s pretty evident that they put a lot of R&D into this. I would have enjoyed it more if there was less spice/seasonings and also if they had remembered my pickles!!!
Also…they should do a patty melt version at some point if it sticks around…
Bummer they forgot the pickles! Mine were a nice addition and not the throwaway flimsy pickle you sometimes get.
Your reviews are like a sandwich with too much bread! Get in, review the sandwich and get out. It’s OK to add a little storyline thought you simply had too many words to get a simple review out. Trim it down, you’re not going for a Pulitzer Prize.
I’m having one today, can I ask that they not add the excessive seasonings? Does anyone actually think this burger is worth eating? What about the taste of it other than it being seasoned to much. Does it have a smell, is it greasy?
Wanted to try the new steakburger tonight so pulled up and ordered but no luck. They are frozen was the reply can’t serve you one at this time. Don’t advertise if you can’t deliver. Dissatisfied!
Erin: you are saying you operate an Arbys franchise that has potato cakes.
where is this arby’s franchise located?
I know of no Arbys that still have this item available in the entire USA
Tom dot jackson at skaldheim dot net
Did not care for Wagyu burger, can’t compare to Culver’s and over priced
I tried the burger at Arby’s and it was so disgusting I’d would definitely eat at McDonald’s or Burger King before I ever ate that nasty item again…. AND I DON’T EAT AT EITHER OF THOSE ESTABLISHMENTS. IT WAS SOOOOO BAD!!!
I tried the Waygu steakhouse burger it would have been a lot better without the burger sauce. It taste to much like thousand island dressing.
I tried the waygu steakhouse burger I did not like the burger sauce. It taste to much like thousand island dressing or what McDonald’s puts on Big Macs