Big ol' Burger Comparison Thread

Associate
Joined
21 Nov 2002
Posts
1,586
It's the fact that it's considered cheap food in the USA plus in the UK it's not even table service. You're talking a few rungs up from BK at 2.5 times the price.

Honestly mate, I don't understand your fixation on table service. Most people I know are indifferent as to whether they get table service or not unless they're going for a full blown restaurant meal. There's a well established precedent for self or semi-self service for casual dining in the UK. A lot of people (myself included) actually prefer it, because we get the payment out of the way early, and we don't periodically get our conversation disturbed by a stranger expressing insincere concern for whether we're enjoying our food or not.

Beyond that, it's not 2.5 times the price of BK. If we compare burger prices alone:

Lowest:

BK - Whopper (Single) - £3.79
5G - 'Little' hamburger - £4.75 <- The 'little' denotes that it is a single rather than a double, all else is the same

Highest:

BK - Angus Smoked Bacon & Cheddar (Double) - £5.99
5G - Bacon cheeseburger (Double) - £8.75

Consider that the burgers at 5G are much higher quality and use fresh ingredients rather than frozen/microwaved at Bk. It's not a bad deal at all. I love me a BK, but they're not comparable.

As I say, when me and the missus eat at 5G we pay the same as when we eat at somewhere like Nandos. I don't see what the fuss is about.
 
Associate
Joined
8 May 2014
Posts
300
Wasn't a fan of five guys tbh. As stupid as it sounds because it's from a takeaway. I think the chilli cheese burger from Archie's in Manchester is the best I've ever had.
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Jun 2005
Posts
4,694
Location
Wiltshire
You're doing it wrong if its too expensive. You don't need two patties for a start unless youre obese ;)

Me and the gf eat FiveGuys now and again, and are stuffed for under £20 in total.

Compared to american prices it is expensive, but then all our food is expensive compared to the US.

I need to try Byron and shake shack next.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
OP
Joined
7 Mar 2005
Posts
5,231
Location
The Voice Of Football
The main problem I have with Five Guys aside from the price/service method is that it just doesn't taste as good as burgers from Byron and Almost Famous.

If we took price/service out of the equation then Byron wins the UK burger battle for me at this moment in time with Almost Famous a close second and probably Solita (indy in Manchester) or Free State Kitchen (independent in Liverpool) joint third.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
7 Mar 2005
Posts
5,231
Location
The Voice Of Football
Byron is great. Very beefy tasting, cooked pink in the middle unless you ask otherwise. Good sauces and great home cooked chips. If I was being picky their 'snacks/starters' are a bit limited but the burgers fill you up so aren't really needed unless you are starving. The garlic aioli dip is amazing too.

I go for the standard Byron burger and it has always been excellent.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Dec 2010
Posts
14,735
Location
Over here
Granted I haven't had many out and about but my fave burger joint thus far is Schwartz Brothers in Bath, they are not anywhere else though.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
18,171
Location
London
I have to say that Byron really is good. I work in Soho and am forever reading about all the new trendy burger joints, but in reality even at lunchtime unless you go practically before midday it's bloody hard to get a table. Invariably I'll end up at Byron thinking why should I waste my life queuing outside P&B, Honest Burger, Meat Liquor etc when this is a mighty fine burger? Byron really have it down.

That said, I have managed to get into Honest Burger and it was great (if the burger itself was a little small). I've heard so many good things about Patty & Bun I really can't ignore it much longer. Meat Liquor and Meat MArket just look ridiculous though. I walked past ML at 4pm on a Saturday and there was a queue of about 30 people in matching skinny jeans, lumberjack shirts and thick-black glasses. It looked like a nightclub inside. Er, no thanks.
 
Soldato
Joined
2 Nov 2013
Posts
4,187
I had a fantastic burger in the Lincoln Center Hilton in Dallas. Given that it was just from a hotel chain, I wasn't expecting it to be as nice as it turned out, but then I guess making a sub-par burger might be grounds for the death sentence in Texas*.


*I'm not sure whether I'm making a joke about them liking their meat, or liking giving the death sentence. Maybe both.
 
Associate
Joined
5 Mar 2012
Posts
1,281
Burger and lobster do a good burger.

Meal Liquor is also very very good.

Trolls pantry in Brighton is a truly epic burger experience though....

Myself and the missus have thought about opening a burger restaurant round our neck of the woods... Just need to plan it all out and not be scared off!
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Nov 2002
Posts
7,654
Location
Under the Hill
Soldato
Joined
23 Dec 2009
Posts
18,180
Location
RG8 9
We have a Five Guys in Reading now and I have been there three times, all paid for by doing some market research and filling in an online questionnaire.

I would never go there and pay with my own money though. Sloppy unseasoned burgers and over seasoned fries? How can their 'thing' be unseasoned burgers? I reckon a bit of salt and pepper in the patty and they would be fairly reasonable, if they did not cost so much.

Also the peanut oil they use in their fries adds nothing really.

Luckily we have plenty of other places that sell a good burger in town like Handmade Burger Co and even Burger King I find superior in taste.

Best burger I have ever had by some margin was from FergBurger in Queenstown, NZ.
 
Back
Top Bottom