Five Guys

Why is Five Guys so expensive? Does anyone know? At £26 for two bacon cheeseburgers, one portion of regular fries and two drinks I was a bit taken aback.
That’s not to say I didn’t like the food because I did. The burgers are huge and delicious — although very squishy, if that makes sense. We ordered the regular size burgers thinking that the ‘little’ ones would be tiny but honestly I think the little ones are probably just normal burgers.
They labelled our burgers wrong so we each started eating the wrong one, which was kind of annoying. Although proved my theory that Rich C is sometimes picky just for the sake of it, as he happily ate half a burger covered in gherkins and mustard, which he claims to hate!
The portions of chips are huge. Really huge. We got the regular and it was more than enough to share. Unless you have a huge appetite I would suggest you downsize the fries. The guy serving us suggested having the Cajun salt on the side and this was a good idea, meaning we could control the level of seasoning ourselves.
The drinks machines were very exciting to me, lover of carbonated beverages that I am, although they seemed to be having some technical difficulties at the time I was there. I had a still peach Fanta, a vanilla diet coke, a lime diet coke, and a mix of raspberry and vanilla diet coke for the drive home.
Overall I enjoyed the food and the drinks but it’s just not worth the price. If I’m peckish again at the Trafford Centre I’d consider getting a little burger and some small fries, to keep the cost down a bit, but I won’t be rushing back to be honest.

So I finally tried 5 guys tonight having had many people tell me quite a variety of things about it. I went with my girlfriend after a shopping trip and we both ordered a bacon cheeseburger, a soft drink and regular Cajun fries to share. I ordered my burger with lettuce, tomato, mayo and ketchup just to keep it fairly standard. The burger was nice enough and the portion of fries was huge and I have to admit they were very tasty, but the total came to just over £26 and I have to say that’s just too much for this kind of food. This is probably about as good as fast food burgers can get (I’m not sure if that’s high praise or an apt summary of the whole industry).
If me and my girlfriend are the right kind of hungover we sometimes head to McDonald’s where we could order just as much food for about £13. Admittedly this is better, but worth twice as much as McDonald’s? I doubt it. As I said these are probably amongst the best fast food burgers you can get, but there is still an appreciable gap in quality to somewhere like Solita. I realise Solita is more expensive but 5 guys is closer in price than it should be and I think there lies the problem, I would have quiet happily given this a higher rating had it just been a little less expensive for what it is, nicer McDonald’s.

For a burger fast food place this seems a tad expensive, at £25 on average for 2 people.
But the burgers are the best i have ever had, and you can have as many or as few toppings as you want all for the same price.
Portions of fries are stupidly large… you really can share and still be full! Also the large selection of softdrinks, including numerous that cannot normally be found in this country.
I have not yet tried the milkshakes but looking at hem i feel i must!

Five Guys is like a high end version of McDonalds. My experience was okay overall. The service was very friendly and efficient. The chips were very good and I like the fact that you have so many soft drinks to choose from about 6 flavours of lemonade and 4 for coke as well as other options. The problem for me was as a vegetarian choice was limited which to be honest at this kind of place I’m used to but the quality of the veggie sandwich was very poor. It was served in a burger bun and the cheese sauce was so runny the filling all slopped out so I couldn’t eat it. The only reason I have given this place 3 stars is the excellent service I received after I complained, it was second to none and I received a full refund. To be fair my husband loved his burger and said it was very good. So this place is fine for meat eaters but sadly not vegetarians.

Wow what an experience! A fast food burger joint where you can add about a million toppings to your burger for free and it is ready within minutes. You can watch the production line while you wait as its all open plan — they’re a well oiled machine and know what they’re doing! I went for the bacon cheeseburger (should have gone for a small which is one patty instead of two as I couldn’t move by the end) with all the trimmings. Superbly delicious and very messy! Cajon chips also a great buy. The 5^th star is missing as there’s no place to wash your hands (just a wet wipe would do!) so had to go in search of some loos with the greases hands known to man. attractive! Check it out!!!

This was my first trip to a Five Guys. A couple of my friends are big fans and have been telling me to try it since it opened last year, so a trip was well overdue.
My gf and I both ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger and we shared a large portion of spicy Cajun Fries.
The burgers arrived in good time and when we opened them up the first impressions were pretty good. Plenty of melted cheese on top of some hearty burger patties is always a good start.
The taste matched the visual. The burgers were well cooked, tasty and filing. The Cajun Fries were and excellent accompaniment. Sometimes fast food fries are a disappointment and I’ve had a number of trips where they’ve been cold/​flavourless. However, these were great. Nicely cooked and spiced, and there was more than enough for two to share in a large portion (as you’d hope, of course).
The drinks were less good, but that’s because we both got overexcited by the drinks machine. Loads of choice including many flavours not usually available here, meant that we chose drinks we hadn’t tried before and were not overly keen on our selections (Coke Zero Raspberry & Fanta Zero Fruit Punch). This machine alone would have been an attraction had I been a kid. Free refills and loads of flavours? What’s not to like?
We both enjoyed our meals and will definitely be back. I particularly like the range of options to customise your burger (15 different free toppings). The only thing that was a bit off putting was the price, as for the almost £30 we paid for our meal you could go to Solita/​Splendid. Mind you, I’m sure Five Guys would say that the price they charge makes the difference between them & McDonalds/​Burger King etc

BEST BURGERS IN MANCHESTER. Seriously. The best. I go there every weekend, became a ritual. Fast service, an awesome selection of soft drinks and their fries are yummmmm (crispy and soft). Also the staff are super friendly and smiley!

Went tonight with my cousin who is a coeliac — I commiserated with her & had the lettuce wrap bacon cheeseburger (to be fair it’s quite easy to forgo the bread when you have 2 patties, American cheese & crispy bacon in your hand!) I have only been to one other Five Guys — and that was in Ohio… the UK stores are missing the following: free nuts (which GBK do & there’s no reason why FGs shouldn’t be doing it here), the milkshakes (an American staple in 50 style diners such as FGs) and root beer. Why oh why can we still not get access to root beer on tap in the UK?! I honestly find it maddening! I checked their website & they say they are unable at present to secure a UK supplier… maybe some day!

This was my third visit to Five Guys, and each time has been brilliant.
The concept works incredibly well, you order at the counter just like any other fast food joint and you choose from their menu of Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Bacon Burger or Bacon Cheeseburger. All of which are huge, with two beef burgers on a brilliantly soft sesame seed bun. You can choose the ‘little’ versions of these burgers which just have one patty if you so wish, and they also have Hot Dogs and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches if you don’t fancy a burger.
Once you’ve chosen the burger you can add your own toppings — ‘all the way’ gets you ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, and grilled mushrooms. PLUS you can add or subtract any of the toppings if you want to, adding others such as BBQ sauce, HP Sauce, Hot sauce, relish or taking away any that you don’t like. All the toppings are free, so you can have your burger exactly the way you want it.
On this occasion I went for the Cheeseburger with a few toppings such as relish, ketchup, onions, pickles and tomatoes. I ordered regular fries to share with Neil C. of which the portion size is HUGE! Definitely enough to share between two. I also ordered a soft drink from their Coca Cola ‘Freestyle’ drinks machine — which serves over 100+ flavours of soft drinks! This machine still amazes me.
After watching your burger get cooked freshly by the Five Guys guys, you see it work its way down the line to where you’re waiting for it at the end. It arrives, proper USA style, wrapped in tin foil and in a brown paper bag. Yep.
Then on to the drinks machine, which serves every flavour of Coca Cola you could wish for — cherry, vanilla, strawberry, raspberry lemon — the same flavours of lemonade, Dr. Pepper, Fanta etc. just so many types to try! And free refills too — so you can keep going back and trying different flavours.
My burger was hot, juicy, the toppings I chose were balanced just right and the fries were tasty. I don’t know what else you would want from an American Burger place.
Five Guys has had a lot of criticism for being too expensive for fast food — with some people trying to compare them to the likes of McDonalds and KFC?!! Pfft. Well, their burgers are better quality than McDonalds so expect to pay that little bit extra for it. It’s fast food, yes, but it’s done well. Sure, you wouldn’t be able to eat here every week as it’s more like £14 for a burger, fries and drink rather than £4.50 for a maccies meal — but once in a while it’s fine.

Greasy, unhealthy, no frills american burgers! Love it! The fries with their own peri peri sauce were lovely too!

So excited about trying five guys and what can I say it wasn’t a disappointment mouth watering juicy burger! Service was slow but it was the christmas period but defiantly worth a try!

I hadn’t tried Five Guys until living in Wisconsin and I do enjoy them. However, I am like most people in thinking that they are a bit on the expensive side and I think they are even more expensive here… although that could be me doing a quick conversion in my head from GBP to USD.
I do like burger places that just do burgers, no frills. Why? Because lots of places get caught up in the frills and forget about the piece of meat that makes the burger. I like a fresh, juicy burger, not some dry tasteless thing that gives me heartburn for days because it is so dry. I do like that you can add the toppings you want and particularly enjoy the fresh (not pickled) jalepenos. While I do like a steamed bun, I will say that I do prefer the toasted In-​n-​Out bun that holds up a bit better with a juicy burger, but then again, that is another plus to having your burger wrapped in aluminum foil… peel as you go.
However, I think Five Guys best item on the menu… THE FRIES!!! I have never had the Cajun Fries, so I can’t speak to those, but the regular fries, they are so addicting! I love that when you order your fries, they put your fries in the cup size you ordered, but there is also a small tin of fries that they keep filled and after putting you fries and burger in, they dump that small tin of fries into your bag. Bag fries… mmmm!
This location has seating outside if the weather is nice. Some seats are under speakers that are blasting music and while the selection of music is nice (Weezer, Pearl Jam, etc.) it can make it difficult to hear conversation… or your order number being called. The staff are quite fast and there is a staff member at the entrance to explain things if you have never been before, although it can slow things down. They have one of those fancy Coke machines with loads of different choices… for example if you select Diet Coke, you get about 6 different types… Cherry, Vanilla, Raspberry, Lime… I don’t remember the rest. If there wasn’t a queue behind me, I might have browsed the selection to see what other exotic options they had. I agree, you don’t need to make this a destination, but if you are at the Trafford Centre don’t settle for McDonald’s or Burger King.

I work really close to the Trafford Centre I was very excited about Five Guys opening. I went along with my boss for a lunch.
Cheese burger and Cajun fries came in at £12 (no drinks) so certainly pushing the top end of burgers prices, I have no problem in paying for quality but was severely underwhelmed by this place.
The portion size of the fries was too big, meaning that half of them were cold by the time I got to them. The burgers were ok but nothing special and in no way shape or form justified the price. The buns were a particular let down as they disintegrated halfway through the burger.
I always have a problem with «all toppings included» as what they’re basically saying is you’ve paid for everything but feel free to leave things off as that’s more profit for us.
If there’s one thing Manchester isn’t short of it’s burger joints. Five guys may be ok in the Trafford Centre but I don’t think it’d work in the city. Sixteen quid for a burger/​fries/​beer combination is way overboard, unless it was the best I’d ever had — it wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination.
Overall I’m glad I went but they need to sort portions, prices & quality before I come back.

People had been raving at me for a while about Five Guys’ new place at the Trafford Centre, and since I wouldn’t venture out there just for a burger, I had to wait until my eating companion (who you’ll notice alot of my reviews will feature from now on) was heading out there to pick up some shopping and suggested we tick it off the list. She’s a huge fan of the American fast food joint and wanted me to experience it for myself (and prove my initial doubts wrong).
I was aware of the company in the states via this guy:
But was also aware of the hiked up price in this country.
It works incredibly simply — order a base burger, straight, cheese, bacon etc; then add extras for free. You’re already at 9 quid at this point, then add fries and a drink. It has to be said portion sizes are pretty good — the ‘little’ fries were more than you’d get at the golden arch place. The drink is a one size cup with bottomless refills at their syrup and soda machine — they claim to have 100+ flavours, but it’s really only popular fizzy brands with 6 different syrups.
Food quality is pretty high — it’s not gourmet, but it doesn’t ever claim to be. It’s a well cooked burger with nice sides in a sesame bun.
Their hand-​cut fries are the redeeming feature, the queue being broken up by sacks of today’s potatoes (Dutch spuds when I was there).
My burger could have been hotter too.
Seems to me to be a bit of a fad and people are blinded by the show in the same way MacDonalds customers must have been when it arrived here in ’74.
I think if it were half the price (two burgers, two fries and two drinks +tax was £27) I’d rave about it a little more like this:
If you’re at the trafford centre and fancy a burger or a hot dog, don’t go anywhere but here — but don’t make it a destination.

Right well. I came here a few weeks ago just after the place opened and I felt it only deserved 3 stars as my burger was particularly bland (other half loved it, rating it 5stars hence the overall 4star rating) and I have to say, five guys have seriously upped their burger game since then!
This time I opted for a double bacon cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, jalapeños, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes and my the burger was much juicier and the bacon really does add to the flavour. It actually tasted like a burger this time which for £8.95. I would kind of expect.
We were really disappointed with the plain fries last time, we opted for a ‘little’ Cajun fries this trip and they have improved tenfold. The Cajun flavouring on the fries was really good, even a little spicy which is a big winner for me, and they were so much crispier, not floppy and lifeless like last time. We got a large portion between two on our last trip– way too much. We only got a little portion to share this time and this was more than enough between two!
Drinks machine as awesome as ever, the cherry vanilla coke still does it for me! Some of the other drinks are a little interesting. Just be prepared to experiment !
There were still a couple of things that meant five guys didn’t get five stars–
On my burger, the pickles were stone cold (almost freezing) which took quite a lot of the heat out of the burger unfortunately. The bun on top had become so cold I thought the burger hadn’t even been cooked ! (It had. Just the top was very cold!)
The burgers don’t actually look appetising either. Very squished. I know the burgers are wrapped in foil but how is it possible that they get so squashed in the 2 minutes they are wrapped up?!
Also, the price is still pretty steep for not getting perfection. Two burgers, a small fries and two soft drinks cost me over £25. It’s not too expensive in the grand scheme of things. But it’s quite a lot considering it’s a ‘fast food’ joint.
Overall– I would now recommend five guys to others after my most recent trip. It may not be a place where you would come back too frequently as it isn’t great value for money, but it’s a good experience and the burgers now actually taste like burgers !!!

So I’ve been here 3 times since it opened a few weeks ago — don’t judge me.
The first time was ok but a little disappointing if you’ve tried it before in the states. It was not long past opening night and they were clearly still finding their feet. The service was a little forced and slow, the burgers was just ok, and the fries were soggy. Not at all how I remembered.
The second and third time they’d really picked up their game though. The staff were enjoying it a lot more, churning out the food quicker and having fun with the customers as well — a forgotten order resulted in a delighted teenager with a 5 burger, 5 bacon, 5 cheese monolith!
The burger was bigger, fresher, hotter and all round more delicious. The fries were back to their excellent crispy, salty goodness, and I’ll never get tired of the choice from the soda fountain.
It would get 5 stars. Hell it probably deserves them, but Shake Shack is hot on their heals in the UK, and neither will ever compete with In-​n-​Out.

In the US Five Guys is sort of the equivalent IN-​N-​OUT burger of the east-​coast, and I frequently get my foodie instagram spammed with skinny models posing with enormous burgers. And with +1000 locations world wide and a growing queue outside the London restaurant it was finally Manchester´s time to have a shot. The concept of Five Guys is essentially built on mass customization and the idea that the burger you create yourself must magically taste a million times better, to justify more than average quality and high prices.
I wasn’t too keen on going at first, when I heard that Five Guys has taken over the gorgeous Orient Hall at the Trafford Centre (previously Saffron, previously KRO), and ruined the entire décor with the cheap screaming burger chain look. A friend of mine was excited to try, so I skipped breakfast to have an early burger lunch. At 12.30 there was no queue and a lovely girl at the till talked me through the options– no table services, just ordinary ordering at a desk and then waiting for your number to be called out.
I was opting for a Double Cheeseburger with bacon, and several toppings that are all free: Lettuce, Tomato, Fresh Onion, Mayo and Ketchup. My standard and favourite. The other half was going for a more BBQ-​y option. Being wrapped in aluminium foil when still hot, the burgers buns were immediately soggy and squished from the hot steam– I let the pictures speak for themselves. Not a very appetising look.
The babies came at the hefty price of over 8 pound each. Fries and drinks are extra, with large fries being an extra 5 pound (Cajun spices optional). Days later I´m still questioning how to justify this price tag, as there is absolutely NOTHING special about this burger. Mine was so similar to the bacon double from Burger King I couldn´t have told them apart blindfolded. The fries were nice skin on fries and probably the nicest bit of the menu.
Overall we paid over 20 without drinks. Considering that I can get a super fresh burger, with nice service and a nice interior at Solita or Southern Elven at a similar price the choice for me is clear: Go if you want to follow the hype, but I´m pretty sure you will be underwhelmed.

As a non-​meat eater I am often stuck with the same old same old veggie sandwiches and fish burgers when it comes to fast food restaurants. Five Guys gave me two options — a grilled cheese and a veggie sandwich. As the sandwich had mushrooms (the devil to me) I went with the simple grilled cheese, which was standard and what I expected.
The fries are delicious, salty, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside… Today’s burgers came from Dronten in Holland don’tcha know! And what’s more is the portion sizes — we got a ‘regular’ and a ‘little’ and not only did we get full boxes but the bag was filled up too. Far too many to finish but great portions.
That being said, I would have been disappointed with a tiny, Burger King style portion at the price we paid for Five Guys. This isn’t a place to rival cheap and cheerful BK or Maccies, but it’s so much more. You pay extra for that — closer to a pub lunch price. It’s totally worth it tho.
Welcome to Manchester, Five Guys! Great to have you here.

In America, Five Guys Burger And Fries is on the same par as Burger King, KFC and McDonalds etc, but in the UK it’s been marketed somewhat at a premium, so I went to The Trafford Centre to try the newest store and see what the fuss is all about.
Short answer? I’ve no idea, it’s the same in the UK as it is in America, which is pretty bland and underwhelming really.
I score it two stars because of two things; the location, and the staff. The location is gorgeous, sitting in The Trafford Centre’s Great Hall, and the staff are friendly, professional, and cheerful.
The food? Meh…
I ordered the «Little Cheeseburger» which was £5.50, and the «Little Fries» which were £2.75, but didn’t fancy a drink at £2.50, even if it was the Freestyle Coke machines, which, by the way, had just UK standard fizzy drinks in them, and didn’t have Root Beer, as a member of staff told me they couldn’t get the licensing for it (or something similar!).
After the pleasant interaction with the staff, and seeing the venue, all that was left was to try the food. For £8.25, I was left pretty underwhelmed.
I wanted to sit in their outdoor area, but there were no doors leading to it from the restaurant itself… you have to leave the restaurant, and walk through the Great Hall to the main exit, then walk around the front of the building to the seating area. Very odd.
Now for the food.
The burger I chose with a simple ketchup and mustard topping, but aside from being a juicy burger, it had no actual flavour! It was exceptionally bland, and there was way too much sauce, so it felt like the bun (which was okay, if not a bit crumpled), was pretty much just ketchup and mustard. I get the impression that if you chose a burger with tons of the ‘free toppings’, you’d find that it’d taste the same without the burger patty as it would with it!
Worst still were the fries. Their whole schtick is that everything is cooked in peanut oil and with skins-​on, and so they’re meant to be crunchy and crispy.
They ain’t.
These fries were floppy and FAR FAR TOO SALTY! It felt like eating actual salt, to the degree that it made me feel a bit unwell, and I had to LEAVE most of them, which is something I just don’t do, leaving me feeling disappointed and ripped off. They were also incredibly greasy… the bag was covered in oily splashes, the table had a puddle of oil on it afterwards, and I had to go to the ‘restrooms’ to wash my hands afterwards due to how greasy they now were!
As it stands, Five Guys is «alright», if you fancy a burger, you could pop in there, but I personally find it a bit pricy for a quick burger and fries.
I also sincerely hope the «Employees Must Wash Hands» sign in the restrooms was done as a nod to American culture rather than something necessary for staff to be instructed to adhere to!
Give it a go by all means, but I don’t imagine you’ll go back again afterwards.
I won’t.