5 Guys does SUCK

[dexxa]

Went to 5 Guys today for the first time. Paid $12 for a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a coke. The Burger was OK, nothing to write home about. the bacon was crispy as ordered. The fries were plentiful but very bland. Only ate a small handful of them. WIsh I would have went to Applebee's instead. I will not be visiting 5 guys again. In my option, its a ripoff. Bottom line is, its a fast food joint. Might as well save $7 and go to McDonalds! The free peanuts were nice.

[Roland Parker]

Consider what you wrote: "The Burger was OK, nothing to write home about. the bacon was crispy as ordered. The fries were plentiful but very bland."

Does that sound like food that did "suck?"

Suck is a strong word with very negative connotations. I'd suggest you use titles such as "5 Guys was disappointing" or "I dont' understand the hype surrounding 5 Guys."

Now, back to the subject of this thread: I've had 5 Guys burgers that were tasty and enjoyable if on the greasy side. For me it's a step up from McDonalds and your generic family style restaurant, but not as good as my homemade burgers.

But the other posters are correct regarding the portions of fries. It's simply too enormous.

[Heatherb]

I believe the "sucking" comes in with the price points and at the meeting betwixt reality and hype. The OP probably wouldn't be complaining if he'd gone to Wendy's for a value meal of similar quality that cost 6 bucks.

[fara]

I think the problem with them, as others have mentioned is inconsistency. At the same location I have had very good and kind of gross burgers. We went one night late and a kid who was obviously new, was cutting our burger as it cooked to see if it was done. Needless to say it was totally dry and gross. Maybe they need to train their employees a little more. I also noticed it's not great in some places if too busy..there is another location at our mall and I will stick to that one if I want to eat there. They are consistently good. Maybe they need to borrow the mcd's training manual and standardize things a little more.

[The Professor]

It's a hamburger. A fast food hamburger.
And a very undistinguished one, not far out of the Burger King or Checkers league.
Actually, the burger that Checkers sells for One Dollar is probably tastier than what 5 Guys offers for considerably more.

Gotta hand it to the 5 Guys though, for creating such a hype and buzz!
If only they'd put that attention to the food, they could be HUGE.

[scottca075]

5 Guys is overrated and overly expensive, but it doesn't suck and the peanuts are the coolest feature.

I also like their seasoned fries, but not as well as In 'n Outs fries.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Wow, seeing your icon, we came from the same school. So, we have 5 Guys in Bay Area California, now?

[Chemicalkinetics]

Dexxa,

I don't get Five Guys. I ate there once a long time ago, and I thought it was ok, passable. Later I found out that Five Guys is supposed to be very well-liked and respected. Last month, I went there again. Again, I thought it was ok and passable but not great.

To be fair, Five Guys is better than McDonald and Burger King like, but it is not as cheap as those. Five Guys just aren't that great. So, I really don't get its popularity. I like In-N-Out Burger much better. Just my opinion.

[Heatherb]

I'm lucky enough to live down the street from a Smashburger. Far and away better than 5 Guys. I always feel gross after eating a meal from there, but Smashburger has just the right combo of indulgent and healthy(er) choices, I think.

[Fydeaux]

You are fortunate to live in an area (presumably) that has many varied options for high-end yet inexpensive chain burgers. 5 Guys is a recent entry into the area I live in; with the possible exception of Culver's, 5 Guys out-does them all.

Are they all things to all people? Of course not. Personally, I wish Fatburger would open here. But preferring Applebees? Seriously?

[ediblover]

Just curious - Can one order how the patty is cooked at Applebees? If a medium-rare or medium was available, that would automatically place it above 5's.

[Fydeaux]

I dont know, and I am not inclined to try to find out. If that is what is important to you, I hope you and Dexxa will very happy there.

And speaking of the OP, this seems to have been Dexxa's first and only post on CH. He/She has not weighed in since, neither to agree with those who agree, nor dispute those who disagree. Curious.

Regardless, of all the chain/fast food burgers near where I live and work, Five Guys Is at the top of the list. I envy you if have better burgers handy, but not if your idea of 'better' is Applebee's.

[bfish]

I don't get the FG love either. One opened nearby in the past year and my husband and I tried it out. For the wait involved and the price, I wasn't impressed. So a couple of months ago when my husband was going there with a neighbor kid he offered to bring me back a burger. I was kind of reluctant, but hungry, so I said yeah, I'll give it another try. This time I thought the burger was really tasty, turning around my initial opinion. Consequently the next time he went and offered to pick me up a burger, I was all in. And that third experience was anything but stellar -- the burger was tasteless. I like the choice of toppings feature but they seem to vary in taste too; last go-round everything was bland.

I realize that the same people aren't cooking every day but I'm adding this to say that product consistency is a real big problem within the same store, not just among different FG locations as other posters have noted. Will I go for a 4th sample? I don't know . . . it might be worthwhile to try a different location but that would only be if there's no place more interesting to eat in that area.

[Tapas52]

I dislike five guys as the Bun is always smashed as its is wrapped in foil and gets steamed flat Grrrrr! I'll agree way over priced also.

[Samalicious]

I like 5 Guys a lot. I just didn't realize they had so many locations in I'm-Never-Satisfied-With-Anything-Land.

[ospreycove]

Went to 5 Guys once, when it was new here, liked the peanuts in the shell while waiting for your burger/ff; but as I hogged out on the free peanuts, the edge was off my hunger when the food was ready so I couldn't finish the burger/ff....I hate to waste food! As for the quality, it is o.k. fresher than some other places but not worth going out of my way. The portion of ff are enough for a family of 4..........

[cavandre]

I would like someone who works for this chain explain why they think that putting their fries in a plastic cup & then in a closed paper bag (even if I didn't order "to-go") improves the product.

[fourunder]

It forces the Franchisee to purchase proprietary paper products......

[BiscuitBoy]

"WIsh I would have went to Applebee's" and "Might as well save $7 and go to McDonalds!"....'nuff said

[Fibber McGee]

Not really. is that an indictment on Five Guys or an indictment on the people makling those statements?
Opinions aren't official beyond the person making the opinion.

[wadejay26]

Are "options" official?

[Fibber McGee]

Until the secret menu is discovered, yes.

[David11238]

I thought the Five Guys (now closed) in Woodstock, VA was pretty good. Their burgers had a nice meat & iron taste and their fries certainly had a nice nutty taste inside & out, as well as being crispy. When I went to the outlet in Park Slope, Brooklyn I found the same things were quite the opposite, mediocre and blah. Do different locations get their products from local sources, or does it all come from the same mega-warehouse? I ask because the difference between the two locations were quite striking.

[monkeyrotica]

If you check the other Five Guys threads, you'll see the biggest complaint after price is the consistency. One location will be fine while another down the road will be lousy. I think it's because of the franchising deal. You can't buy a single Five Guys franchise, you have to buy several within a certain region. My theory is that because of this initial cash outlay for those stores, it leaves some franchisees relatively cash poor, so the quality of service suffers.

[David11238]

Well Park Slope and Woodstock, VA are not what I'd call next to each other. But I do get your point.

[atg106]

Actually, I'm surprised the Woodstock location is closed as it is pretty close to their original store in NoVa.

To my understanding about FG, it is a nightmare to own the franchise from them as they are micro-management to the nth degree. The "Five Guys" are the father and four sons which are regional managers. I know about two years ago they performed a nationwide evaluation and ended up purchasing back the franchises from various owners as part of a failure of a performance-plan. I have read corporate charges a decent overhead (5% of income) for a marketing budget, but there is no active advertising plan. The funds actually goes towards mystery shoppers which critique the franchises highly and ends up putting so-so stores on performance plans to be eventually improved or closed.

So far, it looks like the chain has been successful as they have been moving into Wendy's territories pretty well. The big question is will Five Guys go through the same turmoil with the loss of thre CEO/father as Wendy's is going through with the loss of Dave Thomas???

[Cathy]

Dave Thomas died in January 2002. Wendy's hasn't been going through turmoil for ten years.

[acgold7]

If you really can't taste the difference between a Five Guys and a McDonald's burger, then you should definitely save your money and stick with the Golden Arches.

[Clams047]

Same for the fries. If you prefer the frozen potato product at McD's, etc you should stay away from fresh fried. My complaint with Five guys is the huge portion sizes. Unless I have someone to share with, I avoid them (burgers, fries & drink sizes are geared for the obese).

[cwdonald]

Reason number 1 Five Guys Burger sucks.. the roll .. my old sponge that I use at the sink has more body than this thing does.

2. The cooking temperature ranges from Burnt to a crisp to incinerated.

3. The Fries - inconsistent.. sometimes underdone undersalted, sometimes saltier than the Dead sea... Always dumped into the bag.

Two good things about Five guys.. malt vinegar.. and the kosher hot dogs.

[Clams047]

Fully agree that Five Guys rolls are terrible, although they are really not much worse than typical fast food burger rolls. Definitely a place to improve & move ahead of their competition. I've also found the quality of their fries do tend to vary from fair to excellent, but I've generally associated that with the fact that they use fresh cut potatoes vs. the manufactured potato products of mediocre quality used elsewhere.

As for the salt, I appreciate the fact that their burgers & fries tend to be lower salted than other fast food places. McDonald burgers & fries, for example, are so salt ridden that I find they have little flavor beyond the salt.

Five Guys variety in condiments is a definite plus, but as mentioned previously, I still have a problem with their huge portions to the point I rarely stop anymore, even though I usually like their fries & burger condiments.

[monkeyrotica]

Never really been a fan of 5G fries for the consistency reason. One place will be fine, the other stale or really greasy. Then you have to deal with getting them out of the bag ASAP before the steam builds up and they get all soggy. And just because they're fresh cut doesn't mean they're any good. Proper fries need to be fried twice; once at a low temperature and again at a high temperature right before serving. One of the reasons McDonalds fries are consistently crispy is that they're flash fried before being frozen. I'd rather have frozen fries that are cooked properly than "fresh" fries done poorly.

[Chowrin]

... the frozen potato product that's in the top 20 french fries, plain period? that one?
if you're going to kvetch about it, kindly kvetch about beefy fries. that's a valid bitch.

[Jay F]

When I eat alone at Five Guys, I often spell out "T-O-O M-A-N-Y" with my leftover French Fries. (I can't eat FFs without a burger, and I can't eat a burger without FFs.) If I remember, I ask for a half-order (for which they charge me full price) I can't tell you how many times I've e-mailed them asking for a smaller "small," but to no avail.

I think the only way to get them to do it is not to buy FFs, but if I'm not going to buy FFs, I'm not going to buy a burger, and if I'm not going to buy a burger...

[fara]

lol, i think that would be a problem on your end. toss the fries if you want to only eat 1/2

[johnseberg]

Count me in. It's a problem on my end, too. Almost $3 to waste food? That's not right.

[smartie]

I gave some of my fries to 2 young guys a few weeks ago, they were very grateful.

[Fydeaux]

How about finding another person standing alone in line and offering to split an order of fries with them?

Or take the leftovers to go and leave them where a homeless person will find them?

[Janet from Richmond]

I have done this.......one day there was a lady behind me and we both commented on how we wish they had small fries. We split them and it was a win-win.

[smartie]

if it was ok and nothing to write home about then ergo it did NOT suck!

the little burger is big enough you'd find and if you share the fries they are big enough for two.

[Mattkn]

I agree, smartie. I'm one of the fatties that Clams047 so eloquently refers to, and a little burger and shared fries are plenty for me. I'd prefer not to be eating fast food burgers in the first place, but the SO is a fan.

[fara]

i get a single cheeseburger with toppings. no fries, no coke. sometimes i split the burger and get a hot dog with my dh or dd. there is nothing else on the fast food market that has such fresh burgers that taste like really good diner food. i don't love their fries. i do think it's a lot better than applebees(blech) or mcd's (Fake food).

[Berheenia]

I'm with you Fara although I don't share mine.. Great bacon cheeseburger with a free ice water for me.

[sueatmo]

I agree. I've been twice and I didn't think the burgers were special.