Restaurant: Five Guys Burgers & Fries
Cuisine: Burgers/American/Fast Food
Last visited: April 30, 2011
Location: Surrey, BC (South Surrey)
Address: 2285 160th ST
Price Range: $10 or less
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!
Food: 4-4.5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3.5
Overall: 4
Additional comments:
- Since 1986
- Fast food franchise/burger joint
- Named “Best Burger”
- ZAGAT Survey rated – ’01 thru ’10
- Award winning
- 250,000+ possible ways to order a burger at Five Guys
- 100% Fresh ground beef
- Custom made buns
- No freezers
- Free toppings
- Big portions
- Only peanut oil used
- Free peanuts
- 100% Trans-fat free
- Quick/casual
- Cheap eats/budget friendly
- Open daily 11am-10pm
**Recommendations: Hamburger & Fries
I’m not really the 5 Guys kind of girl, although I did enjoy it. It definitely calls for a messy time and it’s not really the mess that bothers me, because that’s kind of part of the fun! On the other hand getting sauce all over my… errr this isn’t sounding too good is it? Okay let me back track a bit.
I don’t mind the sloppy, messy BURGERS and overwhelming amount of greasy FRIES at Five Guys BURGERS & FRIES, but it sure is one of the messiest things I’ve eaten. It was messier than the 1 1/2 pound Olympic Burger I had at the YEW Restaurant & Bar – see the video here.
Anyways Five Guys requires a big mouth, big appetite, wet naps and a fun sense of humour since the jokes are endless. Just like the self serve nuts… no really! They really do have a barrel of endless peanuts for your own taking!
Five Guys Burgers & Fries is an American franchise that started making its way to Canada last year. Now with 3 locations in Metro Vancouver it’s quickly become a favourite for casual diner style burgers and fries.
Just like In-N-Out Burger, the menu is simple and offers nothing more than what the name suggests. Burger and fries (and I guess a couple simple sandwiches and hot dogs) and the best part is that toppings are all included in the price. They say it’s “the best $5 burger a Man Can Eat”, but that’s only if you get their “Little Hamburger”, which is actually quite large.
It’s retro feel and old fashioned taste makes it a solid stop for a good ol’ burger and fries. However there’s nothing imaginative or really that outstanding about it. It’s freshly ground beef, with generous toppings and traditional sauces that you would have set out at a casual home barbeque. It’s good alright, with a filling and bun ratio of 2:1, but taking everything into consideration I’d call for a quick In-N-Out before I would Five Guys… although both are satisfying.
On the table:
**Hamburger – 4.5/6
- 2 beef patties $6.99
- Mayo, relish, onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, BBQ sauce. The only thing I left out was A1 Steak sauce and I asked for hot sauce on the side.
- It’s piled quite high and it’s hard to eat without all the toppings and sauces slipping and sliding out the sides.
- The buns are custom made by bakeries and they’re super flat, thin, soft and lightly grilled. It’s purpose is just so they can call it a burger because it’s a 2:1 ratio of meat and toppings to bread.
- The patties are fresh and made of 100% coarsely crumbled beef that was cooked all the way through (no choice). It’s not juicy, but not dry and they do have an all beef flavour with no apparent seasonings besides maybe salt and pepper.
- They’re thicker than In-N-Out patties, but I wouldn’t call them thick patties either.
- I could taste the grilled smokiness, but it’s grilled on an iron flat top and not over a flame.
- They’re super generous with the toppings and there’s about 5 pickles, whole leaf lettuce, whole tomatoes and a fair amount of grilled mushrooms and onions that seem sauteed. I actually didn’t taste the green peppers though.
- The onions aren’t caramelized so they’re still crunchy, so personally I’d ask them to cook them for longer.
- Just imagine making your own homemade burger at home and piling on as many ingredients as you can. That’s pretty much what you get here.
- The hot sauce is about mild to medium spicy and it’s more tangy than it was spicy. It’s really not that spicy at all. Tobasco or
Frank’s Red Hot sauce is much spicier. It turns out the do use Frank’s Red Hot sauce! I guess my tolerance for spice has gone up as well! - There’s no house made special sauce or anything fancy, but it’s good, and incredibly messy and hard to eat. Don’t take it out of the wrapper!
Little Cheeseburger – 4/6
- 1 patty with cheese $5.99
- Mayo, relish, onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, BBQ sauce. The only thing I left out was A1 Steak sauce and I asked for hot sauce on the side.
- Same as the hamburger, but with one patty and cheese.
- I was really disappointed that it was processed American cheese.
I was hoping for real cheese like at In-N-Out Burger.They both use processed American cheese, but I think In-N-Out Burger has a higher quality of it whereas the one here tastes like Kraft Singles **see comments. - I’d prefer the Little Hamburger because it’s easier to eat and it does the job for me. I could still taste the beef even with the one patty.
- Again I’d ask them to grill the onions longer so they’re caramelized rather than crunchy.
**Regular Fries – 3.5/6
- Five Guys Style (salted) or Cajun $3.49
- I got Five Guys Style.
- The regular fries are more than enough for 2 people!
- They fill the cup with fries and then toss in a a bonus scoop at the end. So literally fries are spilling out the cup and just all over the bottom of the bag and on top of your wrapped burger. Brown bag grease stains galore!
- They’re skin on Russet potato french fries that are fried in peanut oil.
- The fries are very tender and soft and not really crispy, but they’re still good and well seasoned.
Regular Pop
- $1.99
- Unlimited
Shelled Salted Peanuts
- Complimentary and unlimited.
[geotag]
wow o wow! i was just talking about this place with my boss and told her that i always bus by one when i go to park royal! my friend loves the fries here and i’ve always wondered about this place every since 🙂 any comparison with burger burger though?
the little cheeseburger is definitely HUGE – i can’t imagine them even calling it small just because it has one patty instead of two. too bad about the processed cheese though – i wish they had a bigger selection of cheese too! like pepperjack or even mozza! i’m glad the fries were a bit crispy because i really can’t stand soggy ones 🙂
Just to say, I almost 100% sure that In N Out uses process cheese, based on what I remember of my many trips there. Also, maybe a better comparison might be Fatburger since they are up here and In N Out isn’t.
I went to the same location, I wasn’t wowed by the burger, maybe for the same reason you said, the burger itself just tastes like beef and nothing extra, which is a bit of a ‘meh’ in my books. Fries are too big for one person so I ended up wasting a lot of them.
I give them a 3.5, all based on the freshness, not necessarily flavours. They are a step below Fatburger (not in price, just flavour) and a couple steps below Romers.
Mijune, if you get a chance on one of your trips, try The Counter, as far as burgers go they are the best I have had. Most locations are in California, though there is one in the Ballard area of Seattle. I’ve been there a couple times, and in Honolulu, just the best!!
Andrew’s right – the in and out burgers use american cheese which is a form of processed cheese!
@Linda – Oh you should give it a try and yes you’re right on all that cheese stuff! this is an easy one to take off your restaurant list!
@Andrew – You’re a burger guy huh? You’re absolutely right and thank you for correcting me on the American cheese thing. I’ll edit my post. The In-N-Out cheese is better quality than the Five Guys cheese though. The In-N-Out one you can taste cheddar, whereas the one at Five Guys actually tastes like Kraft singles.
I give them 4-4.5/6 based on establishment, value, freshness, but I can totally see where you’re coming from with your 3.5. If I was more of a burger girl I would probably rate it the same, but you’re definitely more burger experienced than me lol… I haven’t even tried Fatburger yet.
Thank you for The Counter recommendation! From your comment, I can tell you’re passionate about burgers so I know I can trust you! Thanks Andrew!
LOL I love the beginning of this piece Mijune! haha I’ve been meaning to check this place out — sounds yummy! I do really love my In-N-Out burgers though!
Mijune – I love 5 guys! I used to be a huge fan of In & Out till I had 5 guys. Now I am quite torn between them. 5 guys costs quite a bit more though and way messier to eat but the toppings… yummmm
Saschie – you have to try 5 guys at least once. One can go overboard w the toppings. But I find it better than In & Out but all my friends prefer In & Out. so you won’t know till you try it!
Been going to Five Guys for awhile now… (when I say “going”, I mean rarely– it’s a treat). I LOVE IT. The burgers are defo the best fast food burger I’ve ever had (even better than Vera’s)… and the crispy, soft and salty fries– to die for. I would give it a 6/6 for sure. I’m also really depressed I am reading this right before bed- so hungry now!!!
I’d knew you’d like 5 Guys. But that’s all I’m gonna say. :p
@Saschie – lol it was risky, but I couldn’t hold it in!! It was too easy!! Thank you!! Yeah I personally think In-N-Out gives you more bang for your buck. Both are good though!
@Edda – EXACTLY!!! I think when I consider the cost then I chose In-N-Out… I like their cheese better and their onions better.. but I like the patties better at Five Guys. I also think Five Guys is just regular BBQ toppings, so it wasn’t that special for me… but I still liked it for sure!
@Erin – lol sorry!! Really you’d give it a perfect score?! Glad to hear you’re so passionate about it 🙂 I do think it’s very good, but I also think it’s a “make at home” burger a bit no? Well regardless I’m glad that I blogged about something close to your heart 🙂
@Sherman – LOL I think you’ve said enough on Twitter!!!
@mijune & @sherman – i read some very riske conversation last night – 5 guys and lots of references to in and out lol
I’d defo give it a 6/6 for what it is… fast food done right! 🙂
@Linda – all him! ALWAYS all him!!
@Erin – fair enough 🙂
I’m behind the wagon on all the new burger joints in town (5 Guys, Romer’s) but FWIW I’ve done Vera (there’s a joke there, right ?), Splitz, FatBurger, Moderne, etc.
I’ll say Crave (Main St) has an awesome burger (w. fries) for only $11. Organic beef too.
As far as burger joints south of the line, Bob’s Burger & Brew is a good bet. Closest ones are in Blaine and Lynden, a couple in B-ham, and others strewn throughout Whatcom County:
http://www.bobsburgersandbrew.com/content/menu/burgers.asp
Anyone feel like a real 50’s drive-thru experience should check out Dick’s Drive-In (5 in King County). I like the one in Wallingford, just west of Northgate Mall. Cheap prices, greasy simply burgers, fries, shakes, etc. None of this new fangled expensive crap, LOL:
http://www.dicksdrivein.com/menu
How’s *that* for cheap ?!?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Dick%27s_Drive-In_Wallingford_at_night_03_-_colormapped.jpg