Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Like having a ‘thick’ version of a big mac and being triple the price. My other half would give this a much higher rating but for the burger competition that B’ham has to offer, I wouldn’t be going back again. Generous fries portion but again for the price, its about right.

As someone from Arlington, Virginia, where the very first Five Guys opened, I could not resist visiting this one.
This is quite a popular place — the food ordering line moves rather quickly — as in most Five Guys, the food is prepared after you order it, so there will be waiting.
I was curious to see if cooking techniques, using British potatoes or British beef would change up the flavor.
Nope, the bacon cheeseburger has crispy bacon (this really surprised me). The fries were the same wonderful crispy outside and tender inside. Good to see that malt vinegar was available.

I’d been dying to try five guys since FOREVER and finally had the opportunity to on new years day.
Unfortunately I think I’d built it up so much to be something amazing, so when I finally got to eat here, it didn’t meet my expectations (it looks like NOWHERE will compare to Burger Bros. in Brighton!)
The service was great, I like that you can put as many toppings as you like on your burger. The fries were delicious, and I really enjoyed them. The burger patty itself just wasn’t that great, and it was swimming in oil. I’d go as far to say that the patty was on a par with a McDonalds burger for me!
Oh Five Guys, I just wish things could have been different.

I LOVE Five guys, I was upset that this one was so small and we couldn’t sit and eat in. Everything is made fresh and waiting to get our food was cramped but it is worth it!
Being visitors to Birmingham we left the shopping centre and went to our hotel so the food did get cold in that time, but it was still really good. I have a veggie with cheese, small chips and drink and it is a very sufficient meal. I would suggest sharing chips if you are with a friend because they do the cup and then an extra small tray goes on top in the bag.
Main issue: No seating — just go at a time you know it will be quiet because then you can sample all of the different flavours of drinks, I mean you pay enough when you are there to do that and sit and enjoy your food.
Price for veggie with cheese, chips and drink was £9.75, it is steep so its not something I treat myself to a lot.

Amazing burgers, you can choose a base burger and then add whatever toppings you like available. Prices are expensive — around 7 pound a burger or more, but drinks have free refills with a large selection of soft drinks (sodas)

To much fan fayre Five Guys have opened their latest restaurant in the bullring in the unit vacated by Del Villagio. From humble beginnings in 1986 Arlington, Virginia, where the Murrell brothers founded their first burger joint, their brand has attracted a worldwide cult following and now counts over 1,000 locations globally.
Given the hype we guessed it would be busy. We were a bit surprised though that on arrival we were greeted not just by a busy chatty restaurant, but with the discarded paraphernalia from previous diners over almost every surface, and an upbeat playlist at an ear-​bleeding volume 11.
It’s not a table service venue like Handmade Burger Company or a mixture like Gourmet Burger Kitchen, here it’s all about queuing. On our visit it was a good 10 minutes to get to order. The choices are plentiful. The claim is you can have your Five Guys burger in any of 250,000 combinations. Think Subway. Choose a burger, cheese burger, bacon burger, or a hot dog, then choose your size and toppings. You’re handed your empty cup for your drink and an order number before you head to your next queue for the food itself.
We waited just under 20 minutes for our food to be cooked, so that’s a 30 minute stood-​up wait in total. The food is cooked to order in front of you in a very open kitchen, so every mistake is there for you to see. The staff were working absolutely flat out, I hope that as they get their eye in they will all speed up.
Whilst you wait for your food, it’s a good idea to send an advance party to the Coca-​Cola freestyle machines. Promising over 100 flavour combinations there should be something to keep everyone happy. Alternatively you could help yourself to some free peanuts whilst you wait. You’ll find them located around the restaurant, placed in open boxes on top of the overflowing bins — none for me, thanks.
Having survived the 250,000 food combination and 100 drink flavour decisions and the 20 minute rubbish-​flavoured-​peanut wait we opened our carefully handed over brown paper bag, a Five Guys «trade mark», expecting to be blown away. The reality was we were totally disappointed with the mess that greeted us.
A big thing is made of the «amazing Five Guys fries». Well, if you like very salty soggy fries chucked on top of your wrapped burgers then you’re in for a treat. If not, then like us yours will end up joining the peanuts at the bins.
The burgers themselves were very tasty. You get two hand formed patties with lots of toppings, all wrapped in silver foil. Whilst this helps to keep your burger warm, I do wonder if this creates its own problems with a disappointing soggy bun to go with your nicely cooked burger. We found them very messy to eat, it’s not somewhere to go for a quick business lunch.
Price wise it’s a little above the likes of GBK — around £7 for a burger, £4 for a regular fries and £2 a soft drink. Our simple 2 burger, 2 fries and 2 soft drink meal came to £26.50. I think that’s high for what is in effect a fast food joint with lots of queuing, dirty uncleared tables, and overflowing bins.
Will we be rushing back? No. I’d rather go to GBK, Handmade Burger or track down Meatshack at Digbeth Diner on a Friday night.
Utterly disappointing.

An excellent burger with excellent service! The Cajun chips aren’t for the faint hearted but they sure do taste good! I was overwhelmed by the many drinks but stuck to an old favourite! The idea of choosing burger toppings was a stroke of genius and I took the opportunity to sample them all!
What a day, what a burger!

This place is almost always very busy! And by busy I mean rammed. Although considering how busy it is, you do get your food (prepared fresh to order) pretty quickly.
Although once you have your food chances are you’re going to have to queue up again to get your drink from the dispenser machine. As lovely as the novelty of diet cherry vanilla coke is (and that’s one of the more normal options of many off-​menu drinks you can have here) having to queue again to get it once you’ve paid is annoying. (Especially as you’ll be lucky to find a seat after that at lunchtime).
Is it worth the hype? Yes, if you want something way ahead of a McDonalds. No if you were thinking it was in the same league as handmade burger co, or a pub chain burger at somewhere like a nicholsons.
Price wise this place falls in the latter category, with a burger fries and drink guaranteed to cost you over a tenner, larger options heading for even more. Therefore to me, this place isn’t really worth it. For that price I’ll skip the stress and queues and head for somewhere my food is delivered to the table.

I’m old enough to remember McDonald’s and «fast food» being a fuss when branches opened around Birmingham and the Five Guy’s fuss is pretty similar to that.
Regular fries means a bag full of fries and a Little burger is actually a regular burger.
My friend and I had a regular fries between us which was more than enough.
It’s not posh and but our food was ready in less than 10 minutes and free drinks refills kept us busy until then.
It’s a bit of a crush while you wait for food as the toilets, drinks dispenser and condiments bar are all right by the food collection point and it looses a star for that.
Great if you want to treat yourself to a naughty burger or hotdog.

Been here a few times, the burgers are pretty delicious. Service is fast and staff are trained well. My only problem is that the food is very greasy and a fast food burger, fries and drink costs £13! Really? Restaurant prices for fast food!

I couldn’t wait for this to open in Birmingham. Ever since I was absorbed in to the Five Guys hype in Central London, I have longed for the day for Five and his Guys to arrive in my fair city. You don’t pay over the odds, you pay for the experience and a good quality burger.
There’s nothing like polishing off a juicy burger after a bad day, and considering I’m sitting in here right now writing this, I feel no guilt!

So after weeks of pictures of this place on my friends Instagram pages, I finally got round to going to five guys and getting my own burger fix.
From what my friends had told me the burgers were epic and I would love it… they wasn’t wrong!
You don’t expect much when you go into a fast food joint but this is def high end fast food. All the staff were friendly (even tho I went in 20 mins before closing on a Sunday night.)
You have a large range to pick from all the fillings/​toppings are free and the drinks are refills which is a nice plus. The fries could feed a family with the portions they give you! Yes it’s a little pricey for a burger meal but you def get your money’s worth, but once you tuck into the burger you know you have spent your money wisely.
The range of drinks you can choose from blows your mind aswell you can’t help but mix and match haha.
Overall a lovely place and def worth popping in for a bite to eat while your shopping or just need a burger fix when your having a hangover day.
Just alittle edit to my review I totally forgot to add it at the time if you suffer from a peanut allergy this isn’t going to be the place for you to try, because the fries are cooked in peanut oil and there’s huge bags of peanuts as you walk into the restaurant.

Ok so I like a burger, and as this place has recently opened up in the Bullring I thought I’d give it a go. (I have in the past been left disappointed by Mock US type outlets)
I’ve visited a 5 guys in Prescott, Arizona before in my pre-​yelp days so I was keen to see how it had migrated over.
On entry, it looks like a regular fast food joint, you could be forgiven for thinking they are critically overstaffed as the kitchen is literally stuffed with staff in their bright red shirts. A stark contrast to a McDonalds for example which usually has 2 or 3 depressed looking students haphazardly throwing a burger together.
Well unlike a McDonalds all of these guys looked incredible busy and enthusiastic and happy!
The way this place works is pretty simple, You go in, order your choice of burger then add as many toppings to it as you like.
Now that sounds very attractive until however you realise that the ‘toppings’ are basically salad and sauce — (not cheese, bacon etc…)
Now I’m what you crazy Brits call «A salad dodger», I just don’t like it, at all. Therefore the opportunity to add as much Tomato, Lettuce, pickle, mayo, mustard etc… just isn’t attractive to me. If however you love a fully loaded burger then you will love it.
So for a guy like me this place is pretty expensive (Bacon Cheese Burger £8.75), I appreciate this is my own fault for not liking the other stuff. The burger I have to admit was real good!
I’m a big fan of the drinks dispensers, they claim there are over a hundred flavour combination (at £2.50 I’m unlikely to ever find out) However, Raspberry Coke is very nice! It is refillable but that involves running the gauntlet of trying to get to the machine.
They location of the dispensers is little poorly thought out as it seems to create a bit of a bottle neck in that area of the store.
So how does it measure up? Overall its pretty good, it is expensive, (more than in US but not massively) and for what its worth, they are overpriced in the US too!
For the kind of prices in this place I think I would prefer to go to Handmade Burger Co as at lease the environment is nicer to sit in, 5 guys is a little like a mess hall.
Worth going for the experience and to play with the Coke machine but wouldn’t make it a regular place.

Five Guys. FIVE GUYS. Perfect for that fatty, juicy full on burger taste. I’ve been here a few times now and even the small burger is a piece of work to eat. I am left sometimes craving the taste of this place. The skin-​on fries are absolutely delicious. The free refill drink machine is a blessing (please try all the coke flavours they are amazing — cherry AND vanilla in one!) The fact that the normal toppings are all free when you order is useful though as the price (fries, burger and a drink is about £11) is a little bit heavy compared to say, mcdonalds but hey… would you wanna go there when there is a Five Guys round the corner?

The only thing I found more shocking than the prices in five guys was the fact I ended up enjoying it so much. I’ve been to one in New York, years ago, and didn’t remember particularly loving it and I was regretting my decision to try Birmingham’s new branch when the burgers turned out to be over £8 WITHOUT FRIES. Then it turned out the so-​called little burger, priced at about £5.65 I think (for a cheeseburger), is actually the normal burger (one patty as opposed to two) and the fries which are £2 something are big enough for 1 — 2, which turned out to be true. So it’s not totally horrible value for money although over £5 for lunch is against my policy, over £8 needs to be seriously justified.
One good thing about Five Guys is that toppings are all free extras, and there is nothing to stop you, for example, getting mayo, BBQ, tomato and mustard sauces. And grilled onions. And tomato. Maybe next time I will add jalapenos. Who knows. The possibilities are endless.
The burger itself isn’t the most tasty or impressive meat you will ever have but it does the job.
I would recommend the spicy cajun fries if you like seasoning. They were a bit soggy but I liked them.
Staff were very nice. Not a beautiful place to sit in but its US diner style is quite fun and distinctive.
Anyway, it massively hit the spot and as it’s on my route from bus to station doubtless I shall be here again.

I’ve been to the London one before it opened in Bullring. I loved their food and was glad they opened in Birmingham.
I just have to say last time I had cheese burger I had food poisoning and became more of chicken person. I hardly go for beef. When my friend told me to try Five Guys when was in London, I fell inlove with cheese burger again. I love how they don’t have freezers, so you know meat is fresh. Peanut Oil used for fries. And have to say best fries I’ve had in a long time. The portions are big for a small, and burger itself is big. Two patties and add as many toppings as you want.
Their burgers are amazing, wrapped up in foil and by the time you unwrap the bun is moist and soaked all the grilled onions and other toppings you added. Juicy and patty cooked just right. A range of carbonated drinks from the machine that I had never tried before.
I tried their hot dog and it’s just as good. Though I have to say it was a little salty but I didn’t mind it. I always try different toppings each time and find the right burger for me.
Interior is minimalistic. White, red and black paint job. I love going in grab a take away end of the day and go home. Fries are still fresh by the time I get home. Now I’m back to being a cheese burger fan.

There isn’t much that will get you out of a grey day feeling like a huge, tasty and cholesterol filled Burger. And that’s what Five Guys delivers.
Roll back to October last year and I was in London with the Unilocal guys figuring out what to eat. As you can imagine, London has attracted many of the American burger bar chains, so you’re pretty spoiled for choice in the Cap City. On our last day in London, we decided to grab an unhealthy lunch to keep us fuelled on our trips home. On recommendation, we tried Shake Shack, but I had also wanted to try 5 Guys (having heard several of my colleagues raving about their wares).
This is why I was pleasantly surprised to hear that we were getting our own branch of 5 Guys in Birmingham. Being based in the Bullring means I was a little wary about how busy it would be of a lunch time, but at around 12:30 (when I had scheduled lunch with Elite Unilocaler Libby D.) it was pretty empty. The building is pretty massive and filled with booth and table style seating. It’s decorated in white and red and has a proper «taste of the States» feel to it. The playlist is pretty good too! Everything from The Verve to Foo Fighters with plenty of «Long distance American Driving Music» chucked in for good measure.
After perusing the «not so big it’s confusing, but lots of choice available» menu, I opted to go for a cheeseburger whilst Libby went for a hamburger. Now, the nice gimmick of Five Guys is that you can have as many of the free toppings as you like (which, to be honest, makes the £8 price tag for a cheeseburger a little more bearable). Of course, I had to go «All the way» and try a burger with ALL of the toppings. We also went for a side of fries (Cajun for me and Five Guys Fries for Lib) and a couple of refillable sodas.
Once you have placed your order and paid, you join a second queue which looks into the kitchen. The production line style kitchen is a joy to watch! With about 8 fryers, huge burger grills and watching everything be constructed; it’s pretty impressive. I could tell when mine was being made as it barely fit into the foil they package in! Every burger has 2 patties as standard and you can opt to go bunless if you want to avoid the additional carbs.
We received our order within a couple of minutes of paying and grabbed a booth to enjoy our lunch. My burger was a treat! Loaded with gherkins, cheese, onions, mushrooms and the obligatory tomato and lettuce; it was a total beast. The fries were pretty good too, although a little salty for my liking and just thrown in the bag rather than being served in a receptacle.
The soda machine is an experience in itself! All sodas are refillable and there are 127 different types of fizzy drink to choose from! I went for grape Fanta (which I had never seen before) and Libby opted for vanilla cherry Coke. There are also complimentary monkey nuts of offer (if you have the smallest amount of room after your ridiculous burger).
I was definitely impressed. The price for mine and Libby’s meals was £24, which was quite steep for burger, fries and soda, however I wasn’t then hungry again until around 10pm. I would definitely recommend a visit if you have a hankering for unhealthy, but I don’t think it will be –too– regular an experience for me.

Lunch with Vicky O seemed liked the perfect chance to try the latest addition to the Bullrings food lineup. Five Guys is an American chain that opened it’s first restaurant in the UK last year.
So firstly, there is loads of seating; upstairs, downstairs and outside. Even during a busy lunchtime we were able to get a table quickly and without much hassle. It’s nicely laid out, although some signs would be nice as we weren’t sure where the queue started. We were served quickly and didn’t have to wait to long for food.
I loved the open kitchen, you can see all the food being prepared in front of you. The kitchen staff also seemed in good spirits singing along to the music while working. For some reason that made me happy to eat there. The music is also awesome, lots of Nirvana, Foo Fighters and Kiss which I loved.
Now, the important part; the food! There is so much choice! Pick a burger or a hot dog and then pick your toppings. Toppings are all free, have as much or as little as you like. Or you can go «all in» and have everything. There are also sandwiches and veggie options.
I went with a standard hamburger with pickles. The pickles were crunchy and not soggy. The bun was warm and not too chewy. The meat was really, really good. It didn’t taste like the cardboard offerings in some fast food places. You could tell it was actually meat. Well cooked and tasty.
The fries are cooked in peanut oil with the skin on and again they were really good. Slightly too salty but crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle.
For drinks, you can either go for free refill soft drinks or a limited selection of beer. The free refills come from one of those coca-​cola vending machines with over a 100 choices. I am now a convert to vanilla cherry coke (my next visit will have raspberry coke).
Overall, I was impressed but it is expensive. At £24 for 2 people, it was way more than a standard fast food lunch but the quality is better than a standard fast food lunch.
My top tip: if you want to avoid the queue you can order online and pick up your food from the restaurant.