Just The Specials: SpongeBob X Burger King ‘The Bikini Bottom Bundle’

Welcome to the table,

Just the Specials is where your old pal Anton chows down on the new, weird, and often wild menu items, food offerings, and branded collaborations that find their way onto the plate in front of him. I was honestly a little hesitant about this new Burger King/SpongeBob collaboration after the really disappointing Wendy’s/SpongeBob Squarepants collaboration I covered a while back.

Still, I was really impressed with Burger King’s Limited Edition Monster Menu I covered back in October. I do this for you, dear readers, so I ordered up. After eating my meal, I’m ready to give you the real scoop on what to expect from this film food collab.

Let’s get into it.

Out of the gate, the Burger King offering in every conceivable way is an improvement over what I have seen in the SpongeBob space from other fast casual food places in the past. The packaging was this delightful paper box with a pirate ghost on it and a pineapple pattern that immediately locked me into what this whole thing was about. The whimsy of it all really charmed me in the best possible way.

The box is durable enough to keep my meal warm, but it did not have the typical meal box/bag issue of oil clinging to it and leaking through. This thing made it from the Burger King all the way home without warping, and that alone impressed the heck out of me.

Now, before we get into this burger, I’m going to let you know I don’t eat lettuce on things. So, the hallmark green ruffle that one may expect to see on a burger is not present in these pictures.

First up is SpongeBob’s Krabby Whopper. It’s said to be a “1/4 lb. 100% beef patty, flame grilled on a yellow square bun (color from natural spice), stacked with melty American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and a splash of mayo and ketchup.”

I’m not 100% sure what the “natural spice” was, but the lack of artificial taste to the bun was a welcome change from what I have seen others do in the past. The bun was less round than normal, and honestly, the whole thing tasted very Whoppery, so for the money, it was a solid burger that I have no notes for. The wrapping was delightful as well.

Next up are Mr. Krabs’ Cheesy Bacon Tots. They are said to be “Crispy, coin-shaped tots filled with gooey cheese, savory bacon bits, and fluffy potatoes. Served in a treasure chest carton, they’re a crispy, cheesy jackpot straight from the Krusty Krab.”

I enjoyed the texture of these a lot, but the cheese was not really gooey, and there was not a really discernible bacon element that I could detect. Honestly, there was not a discernible element of anything I could detect. They were warm, crispy, and a bit soft in the middle, but the flavor was not there, not cheese, not potato, not bacon, it was kinda like eating dense foam in a lot of ways. Not unpleasant, but also really not an explosion of flavor or anything.

The next bit I tried was the Pirate’s Frozen Pineapple Float. It’s said to be an “Icy refreshing frozen pineapple flavored beverage topped with tropical flavor cold foam. Sip, slurp, and let your imagination set sail with every frosty sip.”

With the last SpongeBob pineapple-themed drink I tried being the absolute worst, I was ready for this to be awful, but it pleasantly surprised me as being a really solid little treat that paired nicely with the Whopper. At first, there is not much of a pineapple flavor, and the drink tastes a bit more like a Fanta or store brand soda with a slightly muted flavor elevated texturally by the cold foam on top. I really liked the cold foam addition. The aftertaste of this comes across very pineapple-forward, though, and finished very nicely. I was really surprised by how well this weird little drink works. The cup it was in was also a ton of fun and very nicely branded.

There was also a Patrick’s Star-berry Shortcake Pie. It’s said to be a “Strawberry shortcake pie slice with strawberry and vanilla flavored creamy layers, a crunchy cookie crumb crust, shortcake cookie crumbles, and pink star-shaped sprinkles make this dessert a star-studded undersea treat inspired by SpongeBob’s best pal, Patrick.”

When I was a teenager, I would get a Burger King Hershey’s Pie as a treat on the rare occasion I had money for dessert. I have a ton of fond memories of pulling that strip to open the little cardboard container and slowly eating the pie to make it last.

I think the mix of fond nostalgia and the texture of those star sprinkles really sold me on this offering. The packaging is fun, the pie was chilled, sweet, and slightly crunchy in the right places, and the flavor wandered between something vaguely strawberry and something more akin to fruit-flavored breakfast cereal. It totally works for what it is and finishes the meal nicely.

All of this came as part of something they are calling the Bikini Bottom Bundle, and for the money, it worked really well as a nice little late lunch.

You can grab your own Burger King/SpongeBob offerings for a limited time, and also, if you are so inclined, you can check out the newest SpongeBob movie, Search for SquarePants, when it hits select theaters on December 19th.

Until next time, this was a 10 out of 10 meal for me. Even with the tots lacking flavor, I think the effort and care that went into the packaging and presentation elevated this well beyond what I was expecting, and I’m pretty stoked that Burger King pulled this off the way they did.

So far, they have been winning my vote for the best fast casual collab spot this year.