Hi, I'm Abby, your resident foodie here at BuzzFeed Canada. Now, I've ranted many times before about how many food chains the US has that Canada NEEDS. Namely Trader Joe's, but also, Shake Shack.
Anyway, I guess the burger gods heard my prayers, because Shake Shack's first Canadian location just opened last week in downtown Toronto. And not just this, but we get something nobody else does: 4 NEW TORONTO-EXCLUSIVE DESSERTS. Hear that, Americans? Canada only!!!! REJOICE!!!!
So, I decided to take the hour-long trek downtown to try — and rate — these desserts. And the location did just open after literal years of anticipation, but I was prepared to wait in any kind of line to try these new menu items.
Before I talk about the location as a whole, let's get into the desserts. Here's the breakdown: There's one additional shake, and three new "concretes," which are essentially custards with toppings. The concrete flavours are: "I Heart Butter Tart," "More S’mores," and "Shack Attack," and the shake is none other than maple pretzel. 'Kay, got it? Let's taste.
First, I had to give the Maple Salted Pretzel Shake ($7.29) a taste. I was... reluctant on this one... but don't worry, I gave it a fair shot. In addition to the cream-coloured milkshake, it had whipped cream and pretzel bits on top. So without further ado, here's my review...
The maple and pretzel flavours were surprisingly amazing together, and it's true to its name. The texture was THICC, with some sips having a fun little crunch from the pretzels — which I LOVED. And most importantly, the balance between sweet and salty was incredible!!! It honestly felt a bit nostalgic of maple snow taffy, with crunch and salt, so that put this one over the edge for me. Shockingly, I'm giving it a 9.5/10.
Next up, I was intrigued to try the Shack Attack Concrete ($6.49), mostly because I had no clue why it was called that (still don't). And I'm a sucker for chocolate. This was a soft-serve custard with brownie pieces and chocolate sauce. Here's how I felt...
TBH, this just tasted like chocolate soft serve to me. Which isn't bad, but I was expecting something more unique. It was pretty rich, which is always good, and I loved the chocolate pieces and sauce. But overall, not much to write home about. There's nothing wrong with it by any means, but it certainly isn’t anything special. So for that reason, I'm giving it a 7/10.
The third Toronto-exclusive dessert I tried was the I Heart Butter Tart Concrete ($6.49). It's described as having vanilla custard with an actual butter tart mixed in, along with salt. I'm not the absolute biggest butter tart girlie, but I appreciate how on-brand this is, since all Canadians worship butter tarts.
I actually prefer vanilla soft serve, so I loved the ice cream in this dessert better than the previous one. As for the butter tart add-ins, they were good! Again, some sweet-and-salty vibes — which normally I'd like, but my second bite was v salty, and butter tarts aren’t normally salty, so that was a tad confusing. But I did like the graham cracker bits. It sort of felt like a not-as-good version of the shake, but hey, I did want to keep eating it, so this gets an 8/10 from me.
And finally, I had to save room for the one I was most excited for: the More S'mores Concrete ($6.49). Ohhhh boy, I LOVE S'MORES. Anything s'mores. This had a chocolate and vanilla custard base (although mine was pretty much all chocolate), with marshmallow, chocolate pieces, and of course, graham crackers. Let's see if my high expectations were met...
...GUYS. This was giving s'mores, but like, cold edition!! I really appreciated the graham cracker dippers, and the chocolate bits were a nice touch. I would've liked a biiiit more marshmallow, but I'm not too pressed. The ratio of base to mix-ins was really quite great. So for all these reasons, this gets a 9/10 from me. The best concrete by far.
So my favourite overall? The Maple Salted Pretzel Shake. 100% the most worth trying, the most Canadian, and the most unique. I was NOT expecting this one to win my heart — I don't even really like shakes or maple (I’m a bad Canadian), but wow, it was truly delicious! The flavours were amazing, and it's exactly what it should be. Definitely worth trying and worth the extra dollar above the other desserts, IMHO.
As for the experience? It took around 25 minutes from when I stepped in line until I got my food, which was shorter than I anticipated. There were organized line barriers outside, a security guard who let people in one by one, and lots of tables available, despite it being busy. You could order at an iPad or a till, and all the workers were really nice!
So anyway, I was suuuuper impressed with this Shake Shack experience, and I'll definitely be going back to have a burger (the avocado ones in particular caught my eye). My fellow Torontonians, go get yourself one of those maple shakes. Or, you know, whatever floats your boat.
