I’ve been told this is the place to go in Calgary – Peters’ Drive-In. It’s been here since 1962(!) and since Fredrik and I live just minutes away, we decided to give it a chance. After all, the reviews on Google gives it over 4 of 5 stars. Still, I couldn’t find a more thorough review of Peters’ Drive-In and after eating there, I decided I’ll be the one to make that review – and here it is! If you’re thinking about trying out life as a Calgarian (in other words, buying food -especially milkshakes- at Peters’ Drive-In) read my Peters’ Drive-In – review before you go:
The milkshakes
Let’s start with the best part of my Peters’ Drive-In – review: The milkshakes. My co-worker described them as “good, but after all, it’s a milkshake” meaning that it’s hard to fail on milkshakes. I’m not sure she’s right about that one, however, I know for sure that the four milkshakes we’ve tried so far have been delicious (yes, four – we went back the day after eating there the first time to grab another milkshake each, that’s a good sign!) Also, if you end up with a weird tasting milkshake at Peters’ Drive-In it might as well be your own fault – you can mix up to three different flavours, making over 4500 combinations. Some of the flavours are the classic ones like strawberry, banana and chocolate but they also have more experimental ones like coconut, bubble gum and mint.
However, you should know this – the milkshakes are huge! I barely managed to finish mine and I usually always finish anything sweet, no matter how much I’ve already eaten… In other words, they’re well worth the money when it comes to both taste and size!
If you’re looking for something sweet, I can recommend the two I ordered: Caramel/maple and oreo/marshmallows. Fredriks is more into fruit and tried rasperry/banana and strawberry/banana and would come back to buy these at any time. I’m more for trying new things, and next time I’m thinking about trying the peach or lemon… Or why not bubble gum!
The food
As backpackers, we don’t eat out much – we make our own food. Back home in Sweden we bought take-out every now and then, but very rarely fast food. However, I don’t really mind eating it on rare occasions and this was one of them. We decided to try their cheese burger with fries and tried to not have too high expectations – even though the reviews I found on Google of Peters’ Drive-In are mainly positive, there are (of course) some negative reviews as well and I’ve also heard different things from co-workers and friends here in Calgary.
The cheese burger was definitely OK. It comes with meat, cheese and mixed onions/cucumber. We were happy to see that the there was two hamburger patties and not one – we weren’t expecting that, but it was a pig plus! To be honest, I had my first ever hamburger two years ago in Queenstown, New Zealand, at the world famous Fergburger. After that, nothing has been able to impress me again, not even near – sadly not this one either. I would absolutely eat it again, but I wouldn’t come back just for the cheese burger.
The fries, however, were also OK, but not really what we would’ve prefered. They felt a bit dry which was a pitty, because they look really good and the family fries that we got was huge! We managed to finish the whole thing after some slow-eating, which I guess at least tells you that -yes- you can eat the fries. However, I wouldn’t go back just for the fries either – but who knows, maybe we were just unlucky this time.
But I would go back for the milkshakes, over and over again!
The service
We’ve been to Peters’ Drive-In twice now, and both times the service has been great! Everyone is friendly and they carefully noticed our food allergies and made sure everyone who handled our food knew about them. Even though there was a line both times we were there, we never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes for our food and milkshakes. The staff are doing a great job!
The price
The price is not too bad. The milkshakes are definitely worth the $5 CAD, and the rest of the food isn’t expensive, but not cheap either. A family sized fries cost $8, but again, it’s huge! You get quite much for your money.
Peters’ Drive-In – location, seating and drive-through
Finally, here is the last part of my Peters’ Drive-In – review. Peters’ Drive-In is situated at 219 16 Ave NE in Calgary. Our biggest chock when we visited the first time was that you can’t enter the building! If you’re not going by any of the drive-through’s (they have two, and so far there’s always been a line up in both everytime I’ve passed by) you have to wait outside to buy your food through a small window. It’s not as bad as it sounds though, the area is heated so you will stay warm while waiting. They also have tables outside where you can sit down and the whole menu is right next to the window where you’ll make your order.
If you don’t want to have you food at the table, and preferably have a car, I recommend going to the lookout point in Crescent Heights just minutes away – you’ll have a pretty nice view while eating your food and milkshake!