Five Guys Menu Items You Should Never Order
Since 1986, Five Guys has been a family-owned business dedicated to making the most delicious fast food for their burger-loving customers. The restaurant was founded by Jerry Murrell, whose mother always told him that if he could make a good burger, he'd never have to worry about making money again. And she was right. Today, the burger chain which launched in Arlington, Virginia, has close to 1,500 locations around the world and is widely known for its hand-cut fries and hand-formed burger patties made with 100 percent pure ground beef.
But although there are lots of delicious items on the menu that you will definitely want to sink your teeth into, there are other things that you should never try to order at a Five Guys restaurant. From a plain burger patty to some of the more creative items on the menu, there are just some things on the Five Guys menu that are much better left alone.
Don't order more than the Little Fries at Five Guys
The folks at Five Guys take their fries seriously. The fast-food franchise stands out from the rest of their competition by opting for fresh, hand-cut fries sourced almost exclusively from Idaho. And their dedication to making the perfect batch of fries has paid off. Five Guys is equally renowned for their burgers and their delicious fries. The Los Angeles Times Food section ranked Five Guys Number 1 on its official fast food french fry ranking.
And they have no problem generously sharing all of that crispy fried goodness with their customers. As Taste of Home noted, Five Guys workers are instructed to load their customers up with fries on every order. Once they fill up your cup with fries based on the size of your order, Five Guys employees dump an extra pile of fries on top which causes a delicious avalanche of deep-fried goodness in your bag. As a result, the customer is left with plenty of fries to share with a friend. As Chad Murrell, son of Five Guys founder, Jerry Murrell told Food Republic "We always give an extra scoop. I say load 'em up and make sure they get their money's worth."
If you're dining with a large group, you may want to size up. But if it's just you — or even you and one other person — don't order anything larger than a Little Fries. It may sound a bit wimpy, but it's more than enough for two people.
Skip the Bacon Cheeseburger at Five Guys if you plan to eat anything else that day
Don't order a Bacon Cheeseburger at Five Guys, unless you don't plan on eating anything else for the rest of the day. Besides the fact that the two beef patties topped with a pair of bacon strips is a massive pile of meat, the Bacon Cheeseburger is loaded with calories, fat, and sodium and is a burger that Cheat Sheet has named as one of the Unhealthiest Fast Food Burgers in America.
According to Healthline, the average woman should consume 2,000 calories per day, while the average man should consume 2,500 calories per day to maintain weight. And the American Heart Association suggests that adults should limit their sodium intake to no more than 2,300 mg per day. But just one Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger can put you pretty close to the limit. The burger contains 1060 calories, 62 grams of fat, and 1,310 milligrams of sodium, which is over half of the recommended daily calorie allowance for a woman, and nearly half for a man. And all this is before you even add toppings — which, we assure you, can quickly make that number get a lot bigger.
If you plan on dessert, fries... or really anything other than water for the rest of the day, skip this monster burger from Five Guys.
Five Guys will put meat in your milkshake, but it's just plain gross
For a diehard bacon lover, there are very few things that aren't made instantly better by adding the salty, smoky flavor of bacon. The powers that be at Five Guys agree (maybe a little too much), and think milkshakes are among those things that bacon can breathe life into. Crumbled applewood smoked bacon is one of the 10 toppings you can choose to have blended into your creamy treat at no additional charge. But before you rush out to order one, think about what you're really asking for.
Although the idea of a bacon-infused milkshake may sound like a delicious dessert, the reality of a mouthful of meat melting in your milkshake on a warm summer day is far less appealing. A Her Campus contributor thought adding bacon to a milkshake was a good idea in theory, but found the presence of bacon bits inside of her drink didn't live up to her initial expectations, She described the crunch of the bacon bits as "off-putting." We would have to agree.
Bacon on your burger? Yes. Bacon in your milkshake? Please don't.
Never order your fries plain at Five Guys
If you've ever experienced an order of Five Guys fries, you already know how amazingly yummy they are. But don't order then plain — Five Guys actually has a way to make them even better. If you're looking to spice things up (literally), try an order of the Cajun Fries instead. The fries take the flavor of the classic hand-cut Five Guys french fry recipe up a notch by adding Cajun seasoning to the salt and pepper that is used on the original.
The additional spices are sure to turn your plain fries into a delicious flavor party for your mouth. But if you'd rather take things slow, you can order your fries with the Cajun seasoning on the side. And as Wide Open Eats suggests, there's even another way to switch up those tasty fries. Try ordering your fries extra well done for an added crunch.
In case you were worried, the folks at Five Guys are just as generous with the Cajun Fries as they are with the original flavor, so you don't have to worry about missing out on the extra scoop of fries in your bag.
Don't order a Five Guys cheese veggie sandwich
Vegetarian options are usually pretty few and far between on a fast food burger joint's menu. But Five Guys knows that not all of their customers are looking for a grilled slab of beef, and offer three meat-free sandwiches on their menu — the Veggie Sandwich, the Cheese Veggie Sandwich, and the Grilled Cheese.
But although Five Guys has more than one meatless option, some of them don't even come close to stacking up to their meaty counterparts. In fact, an August 2018 post in Time Out Miami ranked the Cheese Veggie Sandwich as the worst item on the Five Guys menu, and described the texture of the sandwich as a "gloppy cheese tarpit." Yum.
For a better meat-free sandwich option, go with the Grilled Cheese instead. The simple sandwich consists of a slice of American cheese between a bun that has been turned inside out. Like the Five Guys burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches can be customized with your choice from the toppings menu at no extra charge.
Please don't order a plain burger at Five Guys
At Five Guys, you'll never have to worry about sacrificing the flavor of your burger in order to save money. Most restaurants will ask their customers to shell out a little extra cash for additional toppings. But Five Guys customers can choose from a menu of 15 toppings including onions, grilled mushrooms, and hot sauce that they can add to their plain burger patty at no extra charge. Toppings like cheese and bacon are also available for an additional cost.
But don't worry, it will take you a long time to try every possible combination of flavors. According to The Daily Meal, there are over 250,000 different ways to order a burger at Five Guys. You can create a favorite go-to combo and stick with it, or try mixing things up and try out a new selection of toppings on every visit.
With so many ways to dress up your burger, you'll never have a reason to order a naked patty again. So why would you walk up to the counter order a plain burger? If that's your thing, McDonald's is much cheaper (and you won't get weird looks from the staff).
Don't try to take the Five Guys peanuts to go
One thing that makes Five Guys stand out from most of their burger-making counterparts are the free containers of roasted shelled peanuts placed around the store. And even if you don't necessarily consider yourself a peanut lover, it's easy to find yourself mindlessly munching on the salty snacks while you wait.
You may love snacking on the peanuts at your local Five Guys Restaurant, but no matter how much you enjoy those salty snacks, don't even think about trying to take any of them with you to eat at home. The complimentary baskets of roasted peanuts are definitely for the taking and are meant to be enjoyed by customers. But peanuts are one of the few items on the menu that can only be consumed inside the restaurant.
According to the Five Guys website, they ask that peanuts not leave the restaurant to avoid the risk of someone who is allergic unknowingly coming into contact with them. If you have a peanut craving to satisfy, do it at your table — not on the sidewalk outside.
Don't order a Five Guys hot dog with cheese
Chicagoans and New Yorkers may not be able to agree on the best toppings to add to their hot dogs. As Delish mentioned, New York-style dogs are commonly topped with spicy mustard, and onions or sauerkraut. On the other hand, a typical Chicago-style hot dog is usually topped with relish, onion, tomatoes, and pickles.
But what the two hot dog-loving cities can agree on is that a slice of Kraft American Cheese doesn't do a whole lot to make their hot dogs taste better. In fact, it hides the taste of the meat — which is kind of the point of the meal, anyway. Purists would argue that it's not even real cheese, but pasteurized prepared cheese product because it contains preservatives.
Because the slice adds over 100 mg of sodium to the regular Kosher Hot Dog on the Five Guys menu, it may be better to leave it off of your dog altogether. And as The Washington Post noted, a 2-ounce serving of Kraft American Cheese contains more than double the amount of sodium than the same size serving of the most common varieties of cheese including mozzarella, cheddar, and Colby. You're better off holding the cheese and loading up on veggie toppings instead.
Five Guys is not the place for barbecue sauce
It can be pretty tough to find a burger joint that doesn't include ketchup, barbecue sauce, and mustard among its common condiments. But A1 sauce is a less than common sauce option that could make you fall in love with your Five Guys burger all over again, and should definitely be ordered in place or barbecue sauce. The sauce, which is part of the Kraft family of products was made with steaks in mind. A1 sauce is a savory flavor combination of tomatoes, oranges, garlic, and other spices that is designed to lock in the moisture of the meat and add a powerful burst of flavor in the process.
But if the promise of a tender, juicy burger with delicious flavor isn't enough to make you want to switch your sauce, there are some nutritional benefits of swapping your barbecue sauce for A1 as well. In fact, a simple one tablespoon serving will save you 34 calories, 8 grams of sugar, and 120 mg of sodium in the process.
Don't order your Five Guys burger medium rare
When you order a burger at Five Guys, there are lots of ways you can make it your own. You can order your patty with or without a bun. And you can choose from toppings like grilled mushrooms, pickles, and peppers to create yourself a delicious grilled masterpiece. But one thing you can't customize is how your burger is cooked.
You can forget about trying to order your burger cooked rare, medium, or anything in between. According to Eat This, Not That, all of Five Guys' burgers are cooked well done to ensure food safety for their customers. According to the USDA, raw or undercooked ground beef can contain dangerous bacteria, and suggests cooking hamburgers and other foods made with ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce risks.
Although some burger lovers will frown at the idea of being forced to eat their burgers well done, they should appreciate Five Guys' efforts to save them from foodborne illnesses. Don't waste your time asking for a bloody burger — it's not going to happen.
Don't order anything at Five Guys if you have a peanut allergy
The food at Five Guys may be delicious, but for people with peanut allergies, the restaurant can be a dangerous place. Don't think you can just walk in and avoid anything containing peanuts — nothing inside of Five Guys is safe.
The fries, which the LA Times food section ranked as number 1 for taste, are cooked in 100 percent peanut oil. Every flavor of Five Guys milkshakes contains (or may contain) peanut products. And not to mention the fact that containers filled with peanuts are located around the store for customers to snack on while they're waiting for their food to be prepared — meaning everything has the potential to be contaminated.
Considering that incidences of peanut allergies have more than tripled since the late 1990s, you may be wondering why the burger chain would choose to cook with peanut oil in a time when allergies are so prevalent. The company defended its use of peanut oil on Twitter, as a way to seal in the flavor of the fries. As an added bonus, peanut oil contains no trans fats or preservatives, and leaves a "melt-in-your-mouth buttery taste," as Chad Murrell, son of Five Guys founder, Jerry Murrell told Food Republic.
If you have an allergy to peanuts, don't order anything off the Five Guys menu.