Big ol' Burger Comparison Thread

molinari · 5 Jan 2015 at 13:59

Went to Guildford last week so popped into Five Guys for some lunch. Silly me, I didn't read the menu board, and just ordered a cheese burger. It came with no toppings

. Went with regular fries as well. The burger arrived and it was 2 thin patties with cheese, in a seeded bun. Basically a double cheeseburger from Burger King, and I probably couldn't tell the difference if there was a taste test either. Disappointed. The regular fries was actually quite a large portion, and it was the best thing about the meal.

So it's fast food in that you walk in and up to the counter to order, but not fast food as you pay twice the price and have to wait 10 minutes for it. Not comparable in the slightest to Patty & Bun or Honest Burger, and I'd probably rather eat at Byron or GBK too.

Jolteh · 5 Jan 2015 at 17:37

molinari said:
Went to Guildford last week so popped into Five Guys for some lunch. Silly me, I didn't read the menu board, and just ordered a cheese burger. It came with no toppings . Went with regular fries as well. The burger arrived and it was 2 thin patties with cheese, in a seeded bun. Basically a double cheeseburger from Burger King, and I probably couldn't tell the difference if there was a taste test either. Disappointed. The regular fries was actually quite a large portion, and it was the best thing about the meal.

So it's fast food in that you walk in and up to the counter to order, but not fast food as you pay twice the price and have to wait 10 minutes for it. Not comparable in the slightest to Patty & Bun or Honest Burger, and I'd probably rather eat at Byron or GBK too.

No offense, but if you go in there and buy basic burger with no toppings then it's not really a fair judge of it. The toppings are kind of the point at Five Guys.

It's food in so far as you go up to the counter, order and pay circa £25 for a meal for two as you do at all the other mid-level casual dining places like GBK/Nandos. It's not a new concept.

And I don't think anyone would compare it to a small, 2 branch place like Patty & Bun that is run by enthusiasts when it's a big multinational chain.

flinco · 5 Jan 2015 at 20:21

Went to MeatLiquor a few weeks ago. The bacon cheeseburger was very nice, although it was so dark I couldn't really see what it looked like.

molinari · 6 Jan 2015 at 07:50

Jolteh said:
No offense, but if you go in there and buy basic burger with no toppings then it's not really a fair judge of it. The toppings are kind of the point at Five Guys.

No offense taken

. I did say that it was my mistake that I didn't get toppings, I didn't do it intentionally. However, the key ingredient of a decent burger is the patty, and these weren't very good. Toppings can finish a great burger, but they aren't what make the burger great in the fist place. Perhaps they should change their name to Five Guys Toppings and Fries?

Jolteh said:
It's food in so far as you go up to the counter, order and pay circa £25 for a meal for two as you do at all the other mid-level casual dining places like GBK/Nandos. It's not a new concept.

Not suggesting it's a new concept. I just think it's caught in 2 minds between a fast food restaurant (McD & BK) and a restaurant like GBK or Byron. For the money I paid, I think that a burger from GBK or Byron is nicer. Had it been half the price, I could see the appeal of going there.

Jolteh said:
And I don't think anyone would compare it to a small, 2 branch place like Patty & Bun that is run by enthusiasts when it's a big multinational chain.

Reading through this thread you'll see that many people have compared all of these Burger restaurants, chain or not. Aside from that, inside Five Guys, they plaster the wall with quotes saying how great the burgers are, so I will compare it to other burger restaurants including Patty & Bun, especially considering their price point. Surely being a multinational chain doesn't stop you buying decent meat

.

Siliconslave · 6 Jan 2015 at 11:46

currently sat in workshop coffee, pretty much half way between p&b and meat liquor trying to decide what to have for lunch...

Youstolemyname · 6 Jan 2015 at 19:11

Going back to Vegas this summer, the home of the best burgers on the planet. Have truly fallen out of love with Five Guys, very very average burgers but great fries.

Grimley · 10 Jan 2015 at 19:27

The Craig said:
I've been to five guys in brum, gbk and byron in Cambridge. Gbk is the best however decor/serving situation in byron is nicer.

Fiver guys just feels like an overly priced burger king.

I went in the Cambridge branch Tuesday just gone. Not bad TBH & you get a lot of fries too. I prefer Byron though.

Stretch · 13 Jan 2015 at 03:21

HazardO said:
There's a 5 guys in Cambridge now, I've not had the chance to try it yet, but a random poll of one guy I know who's been to both rates byron over 5 guys. I need to see for myself TBH.

I 100% agree with "one guy". Everything is better at Byron, not least of all the burgers.

5 guys is ok, but I don't really understand what all the fuss is about.

Rich_L · 13 Jan 2015 at 03:31

My 'perfect' order at In 'n' Out

Double-double, animal style, whole grilled onion and chopped chillies

French fries 'well done'

Chocolate shake

Side of pickles/chillies

Ohh yussss

(ignore the wife's order - double meat, no sauce, whole grilled onion, lettuce and tomato with lettuce wrap pth pth pth)

Mind you, we normally split the fries and milkshake so you can't argue with a $10 dinner for two

cainer · 13 Jan 2015 at 03:48

^^ need to see the burger pics next time

Rich_L · 13 Jan 2015 at 03:52

cainer said:
^^ need to see the burger pics next time

I accidentally ate it all

I had been meaning to post a pic for ages but all I had was the receipt when I got home

cainer · 13 Jan 2015 at 04:38

^^ cant say i blame you tbh

spudbynight · 13 Jan 2015 at 14:28

I do think Five Guys is overpriced for what it is. A burger and fries can easily cost you £13-£14 which is a lot for fast food.

I think the burgers at places like Meat Liquor are superior and they work out cheaper (with proper table service)

cainer · 15 Jan 2015 at 01:09

An 18 year old woman has died after eating at Almost Famous burgers in Manchester, possable allergic reaction to the food
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-30820918

Freddie1980 · 15 Jan 2015 at 08:31

cainer said:
An 18 year old woman has died after eating at Almost Famous burgers in Manchester, possable allergic reaction to the food
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-30820918

Perhaps they should change their name to 'Now Infamous Burgers'?

There was a tv program on other day about this unusal events and creatures and one of stories was about an a man in the US who had scoffed two beef burgers and had to be rushed to hospital because he couldn't breath. It turned out he had been biten by a the Lone Star Tic which had left its poisonous saliva in his blood stream and when he eat red meet it caused an increase in virus cells and becuase he had so much food his body was flooding his blood stream with anti bodies which caused a reaction. Can't reremember the name of the show but it's very interesting.

FrenchTart · 15 Jan 2015 at 09:09

cainer said:
An 18 year old woman has died after eating at Almost Famous burgers in Manchester, possable allergic reaction to the food
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-30820918

That's pretty crazy. One of our students too :eek:

Hopefully it wasn't related to the burgers because if I'm honest it's not going to stop me going to Almost Famous...

shroomz · 15 Jan 2015 at 14:21

I went to burger meats bun in Glasgow recently, the burger was big, good toppings, reasonable price, all in all very good. The only disappointing thing was that their milkshakes aren't made with ice cream, it's syrup.

booyaka · 15 Jan 2015 at 14:27

shroomz said:
I went to burger meats bun in Glasgow recently, the burger was big, good toppings, reasonable price, all in all very good. The only disappointing thing was that their milkshakes aren't made with ice cream, it's syrup.

i do love that place- burgers are ace and the thai spice fries are awesome!

shroomz · 15 Jan 2015 at 14:43

booyaka said:
i do love that place- burgers are ace and the thai spice fries are awesome!

Did you have the deep fried haggis balls? The three of us got different sides (spicy fries, cheesy fries and haggis balls), all three were awesome

malolo · 15 Jan 2015 at 15:19

shroomz said:
I went to burger meats bun in Glasgow recently, the burger was big, good toppings, reasonable price, all in all very good. The only disappointing thing was that their milkshakes aren't made with ice cream, it's syrup.

Have you been to Bread Meats Bread? Their sweet potato fries with maple syrup and coconut are amazing!!