Five Guys Burgers and Fries Review
Five Guys Burgers and Fries has been around town now for a while, but it seems like the hysteria has not died down much yet. As everyone probably knows, it is located across the parking lot from the Super Walmart, and as everyone probably knows, it is almost constantly packed with lineups. To thwart this, a friend and I went to the restaurant yesterday at 4PM when it would hardly be busy.
The first thing I noticed upon entering the restaurant, which I imagine is similar to many stores, is the numerous staff that were working at the front – at least 12 during our visit. I know that at 4PM this would be the start of the supper/evening crew, but with so many people it just felt somewhat intimidating. Their production line seemed a little crowded and redundant, and part of their crew seemed to be proficient at slacking off. They were hiding behind a wall in the seating area where the boss could not see them goofing off. Two people in particular stood there for around ten minutes rearranging their bandaids, attempting to do the splits, and sauntering around to lazily wipe the tables without any cleaner.
The food is rather expensive, which was the talk of the town after the restaurant opened. A normal cheeseburger goes for $7.50, while a smaller version of the cheeseburger goes for about $4.50. Fries do not come with the meal, so they have to be purchased separately at $3.50. Drinks are $2 for the smallest size. On the plus side, you are able to combine any or all of the toppings they offer, which there are a lot of.
The burgers were tasty overall, and I enjoyed the fries in particular. In the store, there is a sign that declares where the fries for the day are from, implying their fries will have a slightly different taste with each visit.
I found it odd that around the store and on their take-out menus there were quotes, mostly by magazines, about how wonderful the establishment and the food were. For instance, one quote said, “Voted the best family burger.” I just do not get the significance of a quote like that. Also, Five Guys is apparently Barack Obama’s favourite burger stop. The more you know!
I am not an avid lover of fast food, but Five Guys would be my place of choice if I were craving a fast food burger.
February 9th, 2010 at 7:42 PM
Brian says:
I’m not a fan of fast food burgers either but these are really good. I really like their fries (hand cut, not frozen, cooked in peanut oil). I think the fries are my favorite in Medicine Hat. It should be noted that the regular fries should really be for two people. They should almost have a small fry option for someone picking up lunch on their own. Otherwise, their regular fries are almost too much for my wife and I.
Also, their “normal” burger is two patties and the “smaller version” is one patty. I order the one patty burger. Their small version is really a regular burger anywhere else. So 4.50 isn’t bad when I compare it to any burger from another fast food place in town. I like that they have a pretty wide selection of toppings for your burger as well.
February 9th, 2010 at 8:52 PM
mhatRD says:
I dare you to check out the nutritional information on Five Guys.
http://www.fiveguys.net/files/files/NutritionalInfo_2009.pdf
To put it into perspective, most people should only be consuming 40-60 g of fat in an entire day! The smallest burger at FGBF (with no cheese) is 26 g fat and the largest (bacon cheeseburger) provides 62 g fat!!!!! That doesn’t include fries. One serving of fries provides another 15 g of fat. That is too much!
And why do I care if Barack Obama loves this burger?
February 9th, 2010 at 9:06 PM
Vaughn says:
That’s expensive for that amount of food? Have you been to A&W or Dairy Queen where you get like prefab food that gives you 1/2 of what you need to feel relatively full all for about the same price.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:42 PM
Sean says:
@mhatRD: My original post before editing followed the Barack Obama quote up with the news article that covered Obama going to Five Guys, which blew it out of proportion claiming it is his favourite burger, but I didn’t want to sound too sarcastic. I then compared it to the news article that I saw once with the title “BREAKING NEWS: OBAMA KILLS FLY”.
@Vaughn: I’m pretty much to the point that if I want to “eat out”, I will start going to a dine-in place, because I am invariably paying the same amount, and the food there will without a doubt be better in taste and not usually result in IBS. I guess Krug threw up after we ate Five Guys anyway.
February 10th, 2010 at 7:01 AM
Dean says:
Thanks for the review, Sean. We had not heard of Five Guys and are always in the market for a better burger (on occasion).
I have IBS anyway so, we will give them a try.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:16 PM
Vaughn says:
I think the real question is, can It be better than the best burger in Medicine Hat which is awarded to Dublin Pub’s Danny Devil Burger. I will find out and post my own non-bias/non-fast food hating motivated review.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:22 PM
Sean says:
@Dean: Let’s start an IBS club.
@Vaughn: You make it sound like you never wrote a biased post before, or a ranting post, except when you try to be jokingly sarcastic in your posts and people get mad, like Fail Friday. Besides, a blog with restaurant reviews would be boring if it was just all good things.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:52 PM
Vaughn says:
I was mostly being facetious in the entire comment. But I tend not to review things that I hate going into and hate going out, in fact, I don’t think I ever have posted anything like that. You hate fast food and reviewed a fast food place.
February 10th, 2010 at 2:23 PM
Taylor says:
@medhatRD: I just wanted to point something out. Fast food is horrible for anyone. Obviously. If someone doesn’t know that then they are an idiot. I seriously doubt Five Guys is any worse than anywhere else, and its not like the people that eat there don’t realize that they are screwing their calorie/fat/sodium count for the day. I dare you to check out the nutritional info for subway. You’re kidding yourself if you think putting something like ranch dressing on an otherwise healthy sub isn’t going to give you nearly as much fat as any other horrible food.
http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/index.aspx
Also, without biased posts mhm would be super boring and posts probably wouldn’t get the number of comments that this one has. So I think that as long as the biased posts aren’t disrespectful they should almost be a requirement!
February 10th, 2010 at 3:04 PM
Laws Jonson says:
5 guys is awesome except when your sitting their waiting for your food and some girl with a neck tattoo comes out and kiss’s the girl taking orders and then saying “hey hunny how are you today”… other employees goofing around in the back… and then immediately after eating their burger you throw up in the sink…
a classy establishment…
5 guys is my vote for top burger joint…
February 11th, 2010 at 10:42 AM
Dusty says:
If we want to do bias posts then let’s each start our own blog?
Sean: URGH, IBS.
Dusty: I hate everything!
Vaughn: I’m serious/sarcastic but YOU can’t tell.
Taylor: Bad stuff is bad!
February 11th, 2010 at 3:03 PM
Justin says:
I never had 5 Guys yet but I’m all about people openly giving bad reviews. I think as consumers we should be applying a lot more pressure on business demanding quality. Customer service/quality product is at an all time low and the only one to blame is ourselves for being so complacent. Really, push back everyone! If you don’t like something then talk with the manager, at the very least blog it… LOL.
February 11th, 2010 at 4:09 PM
Aehiilrs says:
Really, this review seemed to just be all of the obvious potshots that could be directed at any fast food restaurant. Bad decor? Expensive? Too much staff right before the supper rush? I’m shocked!
Please stand by for my review of Highlights magazine. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but you should see the simplistic writing and clumsy illustration. I totally tear them a new one because we should expect more from established print media sources.
February 13th, 2010 at 3:16 PM
rbaxter says:
That was the best burger I’ve ever eaten! I’ve eaten at Five Guys in the US on the East Coast and in the West and thought they were the best but the 5G in Medicine Hat uses Canadian beef and Canadian Cheese which is definitely better than American beef and cheese! Plus, they have free refills even on their small pop, so it’s best to order a small for $1.99. The fries are very good, fresh and homemade, but a little too much food unless I’m sharing. You can order a “No Topper” and they’ll only give you a large cup full without all the extra. They will donate the extra food to charity so I don’t mind taking less. One problem is getting in at lunch hour, so I order ahead by calling or faxing my order in and it’s ready for me when I pull up.
February 13th, 2010 at 6:06 PM
sandy loblaw says:
Alright, I let the massive rush of lemmings die down before going to Five Guys today. I was prepared to be disappointed after reading this blog but they won me over. The burger was real meat, not the normal frozen puck. I loved all the toppings and the fries were incredible. I got some cajun style seasoning on the side and my boyfriend ate them all..and there were a lot in a small fry! Place was still very busy but we only waited about 5 minutes for everything. As for the price being high, well it’s about the same as a quarter pounder anywhere else. The fries are more expensive but it’s the same as getting two large fries anywhere else and they taste much better. I saw if you can handle the rock music this is the only place to get a great burger and fries.
February 15th, 2010 at 10:54 AM
aehiilrs says:
Hrm. Even if the burgers didn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth, the last two comments might.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:10 AM
laws jonson says:
Uhhhhmmmm, according to Subway it’s a hell of a lot healthier then 5 guys… “less bad for you”; i can’t say anything is healthy when it comes to fast food buuuuuuuut… (I had company in town and they wanted to try 5 guys “the best burger place ever” and both of them left that dive of a restaurant, swearing that they will never return… i don’t know why i gave it a second chance).
more to the point…
maybe I’m illiterate but…
-were talking about 570 calories(12inch turkey) vs 1320 calories (hamburger and small fries)
-But here is the kicker… 7 grams of fat vs 73…
-Then the cholesterol… i know you need dietary cholesterol but atherosclerosis here i come!!!!
I will stick to subs thank you very much… not to mention they are much tastier. and have a larger variety of toppings…
words will never be able to express how much i dislike that place… and i gave it a second chance, i really did…..
February 18th, 2010 at 2:34 PM
Dusty says:
I’m more a fan of smaller portioned variety combo meals than massive and more expensive individual sides.
I did enjoy the burger, it was very fresh and delightful, the fries seemed meh. The fries are apparently cooked in peanut oil and there’s a big box of peanuts for people to snack on while they wait for their food (lol?) so it seems like a risky place to go if you have allergies. We got a large fries, the fry cup was full of fries when we took it out of the bag, ate those fries, then put the “bag fries” into the cup, and it filled the cup a second time.
They have extraordinarily amazing fountain Coke-Cola.
August 28th, 2010 at 5:50 PM
Brittany says:
Five Guys was just voted “Best Burger in America” with In N Out Burger #2. I wouldn’t call them fast food. Their burgers and fries are made to order and all fresh ingredients. The most succulent, juicy burger I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.
November 20th, 2010 at 3:37 PM
Jon says:
The only issue I have with Five Guys is that they are out of the US and the franchisee’s they picked are from the US as well. The franchisees don’t even live in Canada. Seriously Five Guys couldn’t have found a Canadian to be the franchisee? Even the franchisees executive team are from the states. It might be good food but out of principle I am staying away!!!!