22/02/2025
Of course I recommend Five Guys, but be warned, it’s at a cost.
Situated opposite Hollywood bowl in kingswood is the unmistakable red and white Five Guys. An American fast food institution which I’ve come to know and love like a cozy warm blanket on a frosty day. It’s been quite some time since I last had one. So as I pulled up to the drive through I was feeling quite giddy with excitement.
Before I give you my take on it though, first let me give you a little history lesson on Five guys. They were founded in 1986 in Arlington, Virginia. Their unique idea was for the customer to choose as many ingredients they could stuff into a burger, giving a staggering 250,000 combinations. This alongside their hand cut ‘boardwalk style’ or Cajun fries cooked in 100% peanut oil was a recipe for success. 30 years later they have 1,700 restaurants around the world. 1,701 now.
Now back to my experience. As I pulled up to the drive through, I was greeting by a friendly member of staff stood by the menu with a tablet ready to take my order. I went for the bacon cheese burger. All burgers come as a double pattie as standard. There isn’t an option for a single on the menu. From the 15 choices of toppings I went for lettuce, tomato, pickles and BBQ sauce. Total - £10.95. Cajun fries Total - £5.95 and a medium Fanta. Total - £4.25
Total meal price with vat - £20.95.
The drive through was jam packed but I’m glad to report that my order to collection time only took around 5 to 10 minutes tops. It was brought out to me by an extremely friendly member of staff who had a massive smile on her face. At this point I did too. It was eating time!!
Immediately my car was filled with the most amazing aroma of Cajun seasoning and meaty goodness. I have to get parked up and fast.
When opening the bag the first thing that struck me was the shear volume of fries. Be warned, even the hungriest of people will struggle to finish it all. There’s at least two potions worth of fries by any normal metric. God knows how much you get if you order a large.
The skin on fries, although on the small side in terms of cut length, didn’t detract from how nice they were. The Cajun seasoning had just the right amount of kick, and they had a decent texture to them. As far as fast food fries go , I’d say they’re one of the best. Needless to say I couldn’t finish them all though.
As for the main event, the burger is quite frankly on another level in my opinion, this is on the top of the pile with Wendy’s a close second. The Patties were flawlessly cooked, juicy and lightly seasoned giving a full meaty flavour. This was then complemented by the two strips of crispy smoked bacon to give it a nice crunch with every mouthful. The toppings are as you’d expect, working all together seamlessly to give you that classic burger taste. Every mouthful from start to finish was absolutely banging. I know I’ve said it before but I was in burger heaven once again.
Now food aside I have to bring up the elephant in the room. It has to be said that this is an expensive fast food meal by any standards. It’s more expensive than Wendy’s burgers which is considered by most as pricey. For some this will be a deal breaker and I get that. There are other downsides too like a lack of a kids menu. But, I think the real question everyone should ask themselves is does the quality and the quantity justify the price, and in my opinion it does. Why else would I keep going back? Let me put it another way, I’m never thinking about the cost when I’m eating the meal. Ultimately it’s up to each of you to decide for yourself. Hopefully this review will give you the confidence to part with your hard earned cash and like me, you’ll keep going back again and again. Let me know what you think.
