If you had asked us a year ago about how excited our family was to return to Canada’s Wonderland, it would not have been much of an option. While the park itself was great, our experience in 2015 was degraded due to terrible weather, which resulted in getting limited “work” done and “FUN” with the family.

However, over the past year, Canada’s Wonderland has seen some simply remarkable changes. Under the guidance of a new Director of Food and Beverage Operations, Brian Kerr, and a new Executive Chef, Dilup Attygalla, the food scene now caters to a large selection of guests.

One of our most anticipated events this season, and the reason we opted to make the trek up to Canada’s Wonderland again, was because of the extraordinary menu for the inaugural Brew & BBQ event.

We have visited our fair share of special barbecue events at both Cedar Point Brew & BBQ and Kings Island Banshee Brew fest this season, and the menu options made them not only a great value for the money, but getting to try some of the chefs creations was a treat!

However, the menu for Canada’s Wonderland Brew & BBQ made our stomachs hungry just thinking about them. Things like a smoked BBQ pork belly sandwich or a BBQ meatloaf stack sounded delectable, and boy were we glad we returned to Canada’s Wonderland.

Review: Canada’s Wonderland Brew & BBQ

Brew & BBQ was set up within the Action Zone area of the park, right in front of Psyclone and Sledge Hammer. The event works on a token system for both food and beverage. Upon entry into the event, guests purchase access which includes a wristband proving they are of age, a mini 5 oz Brew & BBQ cup, and tokens.

Pricing was as follows:

8 tokens + 1 beer mug = $10
10 tokens = $10

Bottled Water- $4

Beer was 2 tokens with food ranging from 12-16 tokens.

BBQ Ribs & Wings Combo

We started our visit with a BBQ ribs and smoked chicken wings combo, served with tri-color slaw, mashed potatoes topped with baked beans, and an ear of corn. Two ribs and three wings were included with the combo for 14 tokens ($14).

The first thing you will immediately notice is that it was a LOT of food, and knowing we had a lot of tastings ahead of us meant we needed to try and pace ourselves!

The flavor of both the wings and ribs were dry rub style with very different flavors, packing a great taste with tender meat.

As you might have seen in any of our previous reviews, we are very particular about our cole slaw to make sure it is not to runny or processed tasting like you would by at the grocery store. The Brew & BBQ slaw was FANTASTIC and really accompanied the dish well.

Then on top of it you get a hearty scoop of homemade mashed potatoes with a drizzle of baked beans on top. Again, it was a fantastic side option, fresh, and unique as we had never thought to pair it with beans. Can we also thank the chef for deciding to keep the skins on the mashed potatoes! We love the homemade taste and look of a mashed potato served with unpeeled potatoes! Great job!

BBQ Pork Belly Sandwich

Next we tried the BBQ Pork Belly sandwich served with old cheddar cheese, grilled onions, & mushrooms, on a potato chive bun with a chipotle aioli sauce. A side of chips accompanied the meal.

OMG! Pork belly can often be hit or miss depending on how it was prepared. Again the sandwich was HUGE! After the first bite, we could have just fallen to our knees in praise to the BBQ Gods, because Chef Attygalla nailed it! The flavors were absolutely incredible, words almost can not even describe how fantastic it tasted!

A round of applause also needs to be given to the Chef for making sure that a great bun held the sandwich together. He chose wisely with the potato chive bun which never for a second whimpered at the thought of holding this monster sandwich together. We found ourselves making sure every delectable drop that fell out of our sandwich from being packed with amazing content did not go to waste. The pork belly was our favorite option during the event!

Hunter’s BBQ Chicken

This is a great time to point out that almost all the food served at Brew & BBQ was locally sourced. The chicken was from a local producer which was marinated for 24 hours before being lightly seasoned and smoked to perfection. The meat was tremendously moist and very flavorful.

The meal was served with the slaw, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and baked beans for 14 tokens ($14).

BBQ Smoked Beef Brisket

By this point, we thought we may just explode from having eaten so much amazing food, but we carried forward with the task on hand.

Next we tried the BBQ Smoked Beef Brisket served on a crusty bun and topped with slaw and crispy onions, and served with a side of chips.

In all fairness, it could have been that we were so full, but the brisket was not one of our favorites. Rather than a typical sliced brisket style, this was more of a shredded version. We are not sure if it was the crispy onions, or what it was, but we did not enjoy this sandwich as much as we anticipated. We may give it another try tomorrow just to verify.

BBQ Meatloaf Stack

We finally decided to call it quits after trying another one of our anticipated options, the BBQ Meatloaf Stack. Two thick cuts of meatloaf, served with grilled onions, aged cheddar, lettuce, and chipotle aioli, served on a brioche bun with a side of chips.

Again this was a MONSTER sandwich, which immediately started drawing questions from those around us of “what is that and where can we get it?”

The meatloaf stack was a great way to end the event with a great all-around assortment of flavors from the many components.

Did we also mention there was also tons of crafts beers being served too? The crowds were ample, and it ranked up there as one of the busier BBQ events we had attended. The guests really enjoyed the live entertainment, beer selection, and we saw tons of people enjoying the food options.

Summary

To say our opinion of Canada’s Wonderland was changed would be an understatement. The park and teams really hit the ball out of the park by introducing some amazing new menu options paired with craft beers, and tying it all together with an “event” type setting with the live entertainment and sorta barricading the area off while still allowing guests to go through to get to Behemoth, etc.

We also really appreciated that the event was not quarantined and easily allowed families to bring their kids into the area and attend the event.

If you attended the Canada’s Wonderland Brew & BBQ, we want to hear from you. Let us know below in the comments what you thought.

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A special thanks goes to Canada’s Wonderland for sponsoring our visit to the Brew & BBQ event.