Now this is a proper fast-food restaurant. So many reviews you read of Wimpy seem to be people going ‘I haven’t been here since I was a child’.. etc. Is that just considered a fashionable thing to say, because as far as I’m concerned, Wimpy has never been away. Yes, it was more prevalent when I was a child, and there have certainly been a lot less of them since Grand Met sold the takeaways to Burger King back in the early 90s, but the core of the chain itself has always been there, quietly existing in smaller towns. Prior to having on the doorstep, as it were, it was a thing I would go out of my way to find – leading me to visit such exciting places as Strood, Southend and Fareham.
This Wimpy in Sittingbourne is actually a newer one, having opened only about 7-8 years ago – this is a chain making a quiet comeback – there was an older one in town previously, up next to Woolworth, but that closed around 15 years ago, becoming an awful café for a while and now the Co-Op Funeral place. We were without Wimpy for a good few years, it was a barren time – a time without burger sauce. Thankfully that time ended.
The menu remains classic, despite attempts over the years to jazz it up and ‘modernise’ it – you have your core classics, the Quarter Pounder with cheese, the brunch and the bendy sausage in a bun – these are the things that made Wimpy great. Sadly, the brown derby is no longer with us, a loss to the world. Why mess with the classics….
Visit here about once a month on average for lunch, don’t want to overdo it – meal of choice has to be the quarter pounder with cheese and chips. The burger is a classic, it comes in a slightly wholemeal bun, with finely chopped lettuce and burger sauce. Never change. On the side, a hot plate of freshly fried chips. The food here is a served on a plate, you get a knife and fork – rare these days in the world of fast food. The burger here is always a pleasure to eat. Generally I don’t do sides, but they did use to do something called Cheeso rings, which were like onion rings with cheese and onion inside them – these could be molten when straight out of the fryer. Tasty.
I’ve had delivery from here a few times, but it’s not really my go to for that. Service in the restaurant is aways quick and efficient, there are a good number of tables. Food is decent value, more expensive than McDonalds or Wetherspoons, but possessed of it’s own unique flavours and heritage which justify that slight premium. Definitely recommended.
Convenient for Wetherspoons and the Vineyard, for a post-burger pint.
Rich Deerdog | 2025-12-16
