Reception
Customers' opinions vary on how similar the Impossible Whopper is to the regular Whopper; some say that it is almost identical, others think it is not even close. Some reviewers found the texture to be similar, while others found that the Impossible Whopper was dry or missing the crumbliness of beef.[26] Reviewers at Foodology found that they "really couldn't tell the difference at all".[27]
Megan Schaltegger of Delish found that the burger tasted "nearly identical to an OG Whopper", saying that she double-checked her receipt to make sure it really was not meat.[28] Meat industry lobbyist Eric Bohl likewise said "If I didn't know what I was eating, I would have no idea it was not beef."[20] Zachary Fagenson of the Miami New Times said the burger's taste and texture were very similar to the regular Whopper and praised Burger King for providing an environmentally friendly alternative to beef.[25] Another positive review came from Antonio Villas-Boas writing for Business Insider, who said that although the Impossible Whopper was not as good as the regular Whopper, it was better than most veggie burgers. Despite being a meat-eater, Villas-Boas continued buying the Impossible Whopper, saying that "reducing the amount of meat in my diet can only be a good thing".[29]
Writing for The Washington Post, Tim Carman said that the Impossible Whopper patty is more flavorful than the traditional beef patty because the bar is set extremely low.[30] He concluded: "The product is close enough to beef that your brain is willing to fill in the rest of the flavors, even if somewhere in the dark recesses of your cerebral cortex, you know it's all a lie."[30] Adam Bible of Eat This, Not That wrote that the burger was "good, almost great". He was impressed by the burger's meatlike taste, but when he tried a regular Whopper alongside it, he found that the Impossible Whopper paled in comparison.[31] Similarly, the Tampa Bay Times Christopher Spata said that eating the two versions together made the Impossible Whopper feel inadequate.[26]
Alison Cook of the Houston Chronicle said that although the patty differed from the regular Whopper in taste and texture, this did not matter too much because of the burger's lavish condiments. She called the Impossible Whopper "a burgerlike experience" rather than a burger, and gave it a D+ compared to the regular Whopper's C−. Thrillist Adam Rothbarth likewise said that the condiments were the main source of flavor compared to the patty itself, which is something that, according to Tim Carman's Impossible Whopper review, is also true of the regular Whopper.[30] Rothbarth found that the burger tasted very much like a regular Whopper but that "the question shouldn't be whether it tastes like a Whopper (it does), it should be whether it tastes good (not especially)." Rothbarth and The Spoon Chris Albrecht both said that Burger King's interpretation was not as good as other restaurants' versions of the Impossible Burger.[32] Nonetheless, Rothbarth expressed approval for Burger King's decision to introduce the Impossible Whopper.[32]
Food blogger Matt Taylor said the burger "didn't taste exactly like meat, but fairly similar"; he concluded that it was not quite as good as a beef Whopper but that some consumers might not be able to tell the difference.[33] The Spoon Chris Albrecht said it was good but "definitely wouldn't fool a meat eater", concluding that he would order one again in the future for environmental reasons. Both Taylor and Albrecht commented that the patty's shape looked too perfect.[34][33] Alison Cook of the Houston Chronicle similarly noted that the edge of the Impossible patty is straight whereas the beef patty's edge is irregular,[35] and Zachary Fagenson of the Miami New Times said it was "a near-perfect circle with right angles at its edges".[25]
Two reviewers from The Diamondback called the Impossible Whopper bland.[36] One called it a "solid meatless option", while the other concluded that like the regular Whopper, it has the characteristic low quality of fast food.[36]
One reviewer from the Tampa Bay Times found the Impossible Whopper to be better than the regular Whopper, saying that the plant-based burger tasted like beef, whereas the beef burger was too greasy and had a soggy bun.[26]
TheReportOfTheWeek enjoyed the Impossible Whopper. He remarked that the burger was distinguishable from the traditional beef patty in terms of taste and texture, but still good in its own way with a rich, organic, and earthy flavor. He said that he would buy it again in the future, and gave it a total score of 8.2/10. [37]
