A&W Menu With Prices in Canada

The number worth knowing at A&W is $5.20. That is what turning almost any burger into a combo costs — a Teen Burger is $8.49 on its own and $13.69 as a combo, a Buddy Burger is $2.99 and $8.19, a Mozza Burger is $8.49 and $13.69. The uplift is identical whether the burger cost you three dollars or ten.

That flat surcharge changes the maths at the cheap end of the menu. On a Grandpa Burger at $10.49 the combo is a 50% markup; on a Buddy Burger at $2.99 it nearly triples the bill. The exceptions are worth spotting: the Piri-Piri Buddy combos add $5.09 to a $3.99 sandwich rather than $5.20, and the Masala Veggie Burger jumps from $6.00 to $11.70, the largest uplift of any burger at $5.70.

Breakfast is priced on a different scale

Combining at breakfast costs $3.00, not $5.20. A Bacon & Egger is $4.99 and its combo is $7.99; a Cheese & Egger is $3.49 and combos at $6.49. Only the two sit-down plates break out of that band — the Classic Bacon & Eggs at $8.79 and the All-Canadian Special at $10.79, whose combos are $11.79 and $12.78. The single cheapest thing to eat in the morning is the Breakfast Wrap at $3.89, listed at 230 calories.

Where the 135 items under $5 actually are

A&W lists 215 items and 135 of them are under $5, which sounds implausible until you look at the drinks. The hot beverage sections alone account for dozens: every tea is $1.89 Small, $2.09 Medium, $2.29 Large, an espresso is $1.49 anywhere on the menu, a small brewed coffee is $1.99 and a small cappuccino is $2.59. Fountain drinks are $2.19 Small and $2.59 Regular with no exceptions across root beer, Coke, Sprite and iced tea.

The chicken side of the board

Chicken is where the sub-$5 food hides. A Chicken Buddy Burger is $3.79, a Bacon Chicken Wrap or Spicy Chipotle Chicken Wrap is $3.89, and the Double Chicken Buddy is $4.99. Step up to the Crunchers and you are at $9.19 for the standard and Nashville Hot versions, $10.79 for the BLT — the most expensive single sandwich A&W sells. Three chicken strips are $7.49 and five are $10.29.

Sides are short and cheap: Russet Thick-Cut Fries $3.79, Sweet Potato Fries and Onion Rings $4.99 each, a Hash Brown $2.59, Poutine $5.99, and sauces at a flat $0.50. Root Beer Lollipops at $0.69 are the second-cheapest item on the entire menu.

Do prices vary across Canada?

A&W Canada is largely franchised, and each operator prices its own board — highway, airport and downtown restaurants tend to sit above the numbers here, smaller-town locations below them. The combo uplift is the more portable figure: even when the individual prices move, the gap between a burger and its combo tends to hold. Everything shown excludes GST, HST and PST.