Five Guys Burgers and Fries

I love Five Guys. We’ve first met in California and had some amazing moments together. Then it was time for me to go home, the distance got between us and I thought it was over… so you can imagine my excitement when I found out there was one in Glasgow!
Although it is much more pricey here than in the US, I’m happy to say that the quality of the food is the same. Without a doubt, they make the best fast food burgers I’ve ever had.
But importantly, fast food is the key word here. If you’re looking for a gourmet burger with some special sauce and surprising new combination of tastes, Five Guys isn’t the place. If you’re craving that burger with slice of pear in the middle perfectly complemented by blue cheese, by all means, keep looking. But if you just want a proper, «dirty», classic beef burger made to perfection brought to you in no time, look no further! I promise you won’t regret.
P. s. don’t let them fool you, their «small» burgers aren’t really that small.
P. P. S. their drink machine is amazing, offering more varieties of soda than you can probably think of

I went last Friday for a take away burger, and it was awesome!
Super tasty, with so many free toppings you can add, and I love their fries.
Small size for burger and fries is not small, is quite big!
I want to come back but stay sit in!

This is where I go if I want a big dirty burger. A melty juicy beefy slice of American nostalgia for my mouth.
This place is a big deal in New York City, and they’ve got all the reviews and awards plastered around they’re restraints to prove it.
It’s a fast food place so don’t be expecting any market sides, kale chips or vegan options.
Always perfection. Especially when you go ‘all the way’
Open until midnight until 12am too!
Pretty decent value for money however it is much cheaper in the USA at £3.25 instead of £5.50. However, It’s still significantly cheaper than its competitors in the area.

Great place for a decent burger or hot dog.
The quality is between McDonalds and gourmet, a great selection of toppings (I love pickles) and all are free/​included in the price.
I don’t drink soft drinks, but am assured that the free refill drinks are great fun to select on the machines.
the only problem is that the quieter it is, the longer you wait for your food and the busier it is the more likely they will miss something off your order (missing the bacon off a bacon cheeseburger isn’t fun to discover when you are on a train)
all in all a decent meal for an ok price.

Really surprised by this place. I’ve l heard mixed reviews and my views are mixed. Not the nicest looking place but it’s clean and bright. The food was reasonably priced and service quick.
However the food was frustrating. The burger was nicely charred and flavoursome, but the bun was terrible and the cheese was very artificial tasting. The other accompaniments were plain. Fries were fine but far too heavily salted. It quickly became unpleasant to eat so much salt. Also the cups used to serve were inadequate so although full, most of the fries in my small portion were stuck in the bottom of the paper bag.
Glasgow has become a bit burger crazy recently and there are several alternative restaurants only steps away. It’s not the worst but it is disappointing and there are far better options nearby.

My first Five Guys experience was good but it’s no competition for Glasgow’s best burger restaurants. It’s basically an upgraded version of McDonalds/​Burger King, the food is made quickly and it tastes better than its fast food equivalents. I had a Cheeseburger and chose some free toppings from the menu, grilled onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard. I also order the Little Fries which were more than enough for one person. The fries were excellent, really crisp and tasty. The burger was ok but not as tasty as my favourite burger joint Bread Meats Bread. One of the biggest downsides of Five Guys is how expensive it is. You can get a classic cheeseburger or a 2X2 Cali buger for £6.50 at BMB but you pay £8 for the equivalent here. I could see myself going back here if it was less expensive but for now my Five Guys curiousity has been fulfilled!

I’m a pretty die-​hard Five Guys fan, having been visiting various branches in the states for years but even I struggle to defend the prices they have set in the UK. However, I am happy to pay for quality meat, cooked fresh to order, not frozen, so I can’t really complain too much about that. It is, compared to USA, a massive hike in price, but then the overheads that Five Guys are facing in the UK are also much higher than their locations in the States, so that is what we are really paying for.
That out of the way, the food quality is excellent and the choice is ideal — not too many options, or meal deals, or any of that gubbins — just burgers and fries. Paying £2.50 for fizzy pop may gall you slightly, but the Coca Cola Freestyle machine gives you loads of options and it’s free refills, so you can stay all afternoon and try them all, if you’re so inclined. The service in the St Vincent St branch has always been cheery and efficient (Silverburn less so — take note, mgmt, that you should probably send them to America for some pointers).
The one thing that I would also agree with from the other recent reviews — DUDE, TURN THE MUSIC DOWN. I cannot understand why it’s so loud, it makes the whole experience like eating your lunch in the middle of a discothèque. Sitting downstairs is slightly better though, but then you have to go back upstairs for drinks refills. I am genuinely puzzled by this — they don’t do it in America and the other branches aren’t quite so ear-​splitting, but St Vincent Street — it’s like they are trying to deafen you. The staff must have banging headaches every night when they go home,
The toilets are clean, by the way. Always a novelty in a burger joint.

I’m an American and I need to disclose that as I’m biased towards this top notch American burger joint! If you are looking for a quick tasty burger then look no further. The space is clean, quick and has friendly staff that welcome you. For every burger you get a two patties and all the toppings you could desire so for 8£ it ends up being quite a steal. The Cajun fries are also the perfect compliment to the burgers. Don’t miss out on their Coke machine which boasts of numerous drink options for you to try out. Five guys is not some upscale place but if you are looking for a good tasty burger than look no further.
Also for people going low carb– try the lettuce burger.

It’s one of the Big Daddy’s on Burger Corner (which is basically St Vincent St circa 2014). Although there are a lot of burger places in this vicinity, do it. By «do it» I mean go and chow down.
It’s a no frills, dressed down kind of affair, and the menu has as minimal fuss as possible. Everything’s bright white, from the tiles to the floor. It seems to be going for a 21^st century diner thing. From the offset it can seem there are few options, but you can add or subtract fillings from basic burgers. There are veggie and vegan options, although they are more scarce. I’m a meat eater so this didn’t particularly affect me, but I like having the option to eat vegetables once in a while at least, and I can imagine this might be the Five Guys franchise downfall.
As far as the (meaty) burger goes, it was absolutely amazing. Packed full of fresh veg, bursting with sauce and packed nicely into tin foil… God, it was good. God, I am hungry thinking about it. The drinks machine was wow. Free refills so I tried various bizarre drinks that I’m sure are more readily available in the USA than here. I’m not gonna lie, I tried a Coke that was diabolical, but like the true champ I am I drank it and went back for some tried and tested Vanilla. The drinks machine has about 20 options so it becomes a good conversation piece if you’re here for a first date.
The reviews emblazoned on the walls speak for themselves. Five Guys is a great addition to Glasgow — fast food, but fresh. Smashes the stereotypes of a burger place and is quite unique in its bare approach. The food is amazing and the staff are there to help you avoid confusion. I like the fact that the kitchen area is open plan so you can see your food being prepared. I’ll be back.

Due to all the hype over the whole Five Guys!
The first time I went I enjoyed it I ordered a hot dog with cheese, onions and peppers. I enjoyed the hot dog and the bag full of fries which was great!
The best thing about this place is a the drinks machine where you can mix and make your own flavours.
The second time visiting I have a burger and I was put off as it was really greasy so I didn’t really enjoy it which is a shame. Of course the drinks machine was still good!

Five Guys, more like Five Whys!
Why does a burger, chips and fries meal cost in the region of £15?
Why does the burger have zero flavour?
Why is the cheese like actual, luminous yellow plastic?
Why does the bread taste defrosted and with a soggy, stodgy consistency?
Why are the chips oily and completely overcooked?
These are the questions that perhaps will never get answered and these are my main Five Whys. For these reason I cannot possible recommend this new chain which has recently hit our shores in Scotland.
If you like your regular Micky D’s and BK, well, I think you will be disappointed with Five Guys. Not only are the burgers NOT as good, expect to pay TRIPLE the price. I also got the horrible depressed /​guilty /​sick feeling after I finished eating my meal. Never a good sign, as this is usually reserved for when I’ve had a dirty greasy meal from one of the aforementioned big burger chains.
I’m actually having trouble finding anything positive to say about this place, apart from the fact the staff were nice. Hmmmm, my brain is now begging to hurt trying to thinking of more positives, so I’m going to stop typing now… and have a wee lay down.
Remember folks, there are LOADS of independent, PROPER burger places in Glasgow that do some great food. I’d give this the wide berth if I were you!

Do believe the hype — these are fast food burgers done right. Tasty beef patties, you choose the toppings, so if you don’t like dill pickles/​tomato/​lettuce/​whatever, it’s not going to be there, don’t sweat it!
The burgers are tasty, wrapped in tinfoil somehow works even though I thought that was weird. The fries are nice and crispy. And you totally want to have a good play with the soda machine — raspberry cola ftw!
I’m undecided on the price — it kind of felt like a lot of money, but that was before I ate it, and I honestly think those burgers are worth every penny!
Walk, don’t run to Five Guys now.
Urgh — now I’m actually gutted that I’m not near Five Guys right now. Gutted and hungry

I know it’s a burger joint, but there are at least standards on a greasy snack van…
I tried 5Guys for the very first time last week and it was defo a shock to the system
The queue took forever that by the time I got to the till I could have eaten the servers hat.
She took my order as slow as can be and plodded around behind the till
The wait for food was actually pretty quick so can’t really complain about that.
The idea that you can watch the guys on the grill is a pretty cool idea, I will give them that. The place looks funky and I’m sure the little teeny boppers love it for Facebook and Instagram pics
I got my double burger and fries and went over to the infamous «every fizzy drink you could ever want» machine and played it safe with my all time fave — Lemmon Fanta., oh yeah. The excitement was building now!
Got myself a seat, opened the bag, unwrapped the burger and what was facing me was £14.50 worth of disappointment
The fries were burnt but still soggy (how they managed this I will never know) and the burger had an inch of grease under it …
I was on my lunch break from work so hadnt the time to wait in the queue again and then wait for fresh food so I thought I would choke it down, I mean I had a huge cup of Lemmon Fanta to wash it all down :) yummers!
Oh wait, what’s that?! It tasted of just soda water?! No! Nooooo!!! Not the Lemmon Fanta :(
And the two young guys sat at the table next to me apparently had the same issue with whatever they had gotten, and one produced a trusty bottle of IrnBru from a bag
I ate one chip and half my burger, I went back to work with a belly full of grease and felt sick
All in all — I would have been better off going to McDonalds for a Big Mac
Won’t be back

If there hadn’t been such a hype about this place I’d probably have given it 3 stars. It was OK, but I think it thinks it’s better than it is.
The hype has died down, there was nobody to greet me at the door, so I was just another punter wanting a burger.
I ordered a cheeseburger with fried onions and ketchup, cajun fries and a drink.
Whilst waiting on my order being made up I wandered over to the drinks machine and pondered which carbonated syrup based drink to have and ended up with a Vanilla Diet Coke. The machine is a nice quirk but a bit of a queue maker when there are a few people hummming and hawwwwing over where to try Grape Fanta, or just choose Irn Bru.
10 minutes or so later my order was ready and I headed up stairs to get a seat.
The space is underwhelming, bland design with a weird notion that posting glowing comments and rave reviews from the past are going to make an impact — why would I care what someone in Tuscon, Arizona thought about Five Guys back in 2000, I’ve already bought my food and sat down. Most odd.
I sat down and took a slurp of my drink and confirmed it was a vanilla-​ey tasting coke type drink.
I opened the brown bag to find the silver foiled wrapped burger covered in cajun dust. Given the point of the foil is to stop the burger making a mess, it sort of defeated the purpose. I’ll happily admit I’ve got a bit of a ‘thing’ for this kind of sloppy mess when it’s not needed but I dusted it off and set it aside.
A few cajun fries then and they were ok, nice fluffy fries but as ever the dry cajun mix, whilst it had a nice heat, was quickly caught on the back of my throat. Hmmmm.
On to the burger then.
Two patties with a nicely melted slab of processed cheese, the onions were lightly fried but I’d have liked them to have some colour to them, and the bun was a little soft and almost moist, like it had been defrosted in a bag maybe?
It was tasty enough but nothing special, certainly nothing I wouldn’t get at another fast food joint and the bun gave up pretty fast.
So far so underwhelming, add in the fact this was around £14 and I fail to see what the fuss is about. A few gimmicks do not a wonderful experience make.
So, Five Guys done. I doubt I’ll be back, especially considering there are two other options so close by, and two more superior options less than 5 mins walk away.

I’ll admit, I’m sat here on a slightly burst, yet impeccably comfortable couch. My shoes are off, and my nippin’ feet remind me that I’ve just come in from a day of wandering around Glasgow, making purchases all over our fair city.
Yet, my brain has turned to Five Guys in a quandary.
Is it 2 stars, or 3 stars? I hate, hate, HATE to be negative. I really do. So, on that train of thought, I’ll say nice things, then get the negativity out of the way, and finish on something nice.
The space itself is bright, warm, welcoming and very, very «American Diner» ish. It feels different to most of the burger joints in Scotland I’ve been in. Bright white, Bright red and bare wood are the order of the day. It’s stylish, minimalist and efficient. I dig it.
The staff? The staff are superb. «Have yourself a great day, big chap» implored the smiley dude that served me today; orders are fairly sped through the assembly process, and called out with gusto and seeming pride.
I like the lo-​fi packaging — burgers wrapped tightly in silver foil to keep the heat in, fries in a cup, and everything in the quintessential brown paper bag. All fits the theme of the restaurant perfectly.
OK… bad things.
It’s too dear. It’s WAY too dear for what it is. I got a standard cheesburger (that is admittedly 2 patties) a small cajun fries and a refillable soda and it cost me £14,50. That’s FOURTEEN POUNDS AND FIFTY PENCE. That’s just too dear for this level of burger.
Remember, you’re sitting in (a very nicely designed) fast food joint. The 2 burger patties put together weren’t as filling as a single burger from other establishments. The Cajun fries? They were fine. Nothing special. I eventually left a handful as they were kinda bland, to be honest.
The burger itself, again, was fine. Nothing special. I’d been regaled with tales of the legendary Five Guys food by friends in London and the States. Being brutally honest, if you’d given me this blind, and told me it was a Burger King, I probably wouldn’t have questioned it.
Again, if it was a bit cheaper, I’d have been fine with it. At the price point the food is pitched at, I expect better. Glasgow, the place where burgers live now apparently, has much better, for the same price, or even cheaper.
As I said, I like to end on a positive — and the juice machines! Oh my sweet lord, the glorious glorious refillable soda cups. Over 100 combos (says the machine, and I believe it) and all refillable. I had a coke with lime, and a vanilla sprite. Incredible! This machine would inspire me to come back, JUST to get a drink. I probably will.
As for the stars? If I was a bad, bad man — this would be a 2 star. I like to be upbeat, so we’ll say a 2 and a half star, being generous and rounded up to a three. I wanted to like it, I really really did. If I’m being brutally honest, Wannaburger in Edinburgh does this sort of thing better, cheaper and tastier…
I’m sorry, Five Guys. Please let me back in for some more vanilla Sprite…

The burgers here are really really good. The chips are really really good. The free peanuts are really really good. The unlimited drinks are really really good. The only thing stopping this place getting a full five stars is the price. It’s just too dear for a fast food joint, even if it is the best of its kind. The prices are actually higher in pounds than they are in dollars in the states (£5.50 here,$ 5 in the USA for the same burger). There is no need for this.
Sort out the pricing and I’ll be back…

I was a bit apprehensive about Five Guys but on a recent sale shopping trip decided to give it a go. The guy outside giving out leaflets/​menus was spouting the places virtues over the other burger places nearby, and I did think his heckling with some passers by (and in fact using some bad language) was a little off.
That being said, we joined the line which was almost out the door, but thankfully moved pretty quickly.
With a fairly limited menu you can customise your burger how you like — cheese, pickles, sauces, mushrooms, fried onions — have your pick. Theres only beef on the menu and a few veggie options included the veggie sandwich which I went for with pickles and sauce whilst my co– diner (my wee mum) went for the little cheeseburger and fries. After placing your order at the counter you get a slip and then scuttle off to the side to wait for your meal to arrive.
My mum waited for the food whilst I joined the line for the drinks at the highly impressive drinks machine, which lets you select from a range of popular softies and some more unusual imports. Usually finding caffeine free offerings is a hard call, but not here where I was able to indulge in as much Diet Coke Caffeine free as I wanted and even had a choice of flavours including Vanilla, Cherry and Orange. The orange was delicious; really sweet and I was tempted to go back for more to take home in my bottomless drinks cup.
By this time our food was ready and arrived in a classy brown bag complete with greasy stains. Wrapped in tinfoil we found some seats downstairs (of which theres a fair number). At this point things got messy. My veggie sandwich was packed full of veggies — onions, lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, pickles and sauce in a soft bun. I wasn’t expecting much but the combination was really tasty although a little messy to eat. The little cheeseburger went down well with my mum who proclaimed it one of the juiciest burgers shes had.
A few downsides, are its not particularly cheap and the line to the drinks machine is way too long which clogs up the restaurant (a few more drinks machines would help with this)
On the whole I don’t think I’ll rush back, but for a quick lunch its really tasty and one of the best fast food options.

Five years ago I’d have been a lot more excited about Five Guys opening in Glasgow — at last, one of the famous US chains coming in to show us how it was done. Now, things are different. Glasgow is officially past peak burger, So my enthusiasm for all things burger has taken a knock; the local burger places are doing a pretty good job, and having been to some of the chains in the US I don’t hold them in the same mythical status that I used to. With this in mind, Five Guys is going to have to work hard to make me feel excited, and I hate to say it was all a bit average.
For a start, the layout of the restaurant doesn’t really make sense. You start off in a queue to place your order, and if you order a soft drink you’re given a cup, and you have to go to a dispensing machine to get your drink yourself. You then have a dilemma: get your drink first and risk missing your burger come off the pass, or get your burger and then wait ages to get your drink. I did the former, and then proceeded to miss my order coming out — they put it on a warmer for you, but you end up getting shouted at for the minute or so they give you to collect it.
The drinks dispenser is cool, but it’s also a bit of a logjam. On the good side you have a massive choice of drinks to choose from, on the downside there is only two of them, so the queue can be pretty big, and the location of them means that it gets in the way of everyone else, so the whole place seems a little crowded and chaotic. To top it off, the music isn’t really background music, so the overall dining experience isn’t exactly quiet.
As for the food, it’s ok without being particularly exciting. The burger menu is pretty small, and you get a choice of single and double patties. You also get a choice of toppings, but I just went for a set choice you can pick (I’d prefer this to be honest, I’d rather they worked out what went best together and just went with that). I had a bacon cheeseburger and it, yeah, it’s better than McDonalds and Burger King, but that’s about it.
Overall, there wasn’t really anything that stuck out, and it ends up having a generic burger taste rather than a mix of great individual flavours. The party was ok, but didn’t really taste of much, but the sauces were pretty good. The bacon was interesting: little crispy pieces that add a nice crunchy texture to the burger. In terms of comparisons, it’s definitely better than the main US chains here, but most of the independent shops are definitely better. The closest comparitor to what I ate was the durty burger at Bloc+, and it blows this out the water to be honest, to the extent that I really don’t see me coming back here in a hurry. Definitely worth a shot once, but not worth repeat visits.

One patty or two? Extra toppings? I’ll go with every kind of sauce you have! Welcomed at the door by a super excited member of the five guys team then you are straight in to the queue with out even noticing. A small menu up on the wall gives all the choices you need. Build your own burger. I went for the cheeseburger with All the way (at this point the girl taking our order thinks I know what I’m doing) all the way means all the toppings however there are additional topping you can add. BBQ and green peppers were my additions.
Ok so you are all ordered up and waiting for the food. The burger makers on show you can watch your burger being built. All looking so happy to be working the odd YEH COM’ON, KEEP THOSE BURGER COMING was heard! Now if you go for the 1000 plus drink you are in for a real treat. Any soda flavor you could think of. You want Fanta? Ok Zero, Full Fat or Still? Then would you like cherry, strawberry, lemon — you get the jist.
Now the burgers were nice all the toppings and sauce made it really juicy however the patties were no difference to the ones in McD’s ! The burger was tastier than Macca’s however the burger patty was very processed which I fully expected. Coming in at £25 for 2 burgers 1 fries and 1 drink. Great concept and worth a visit but over priced.

I admit that my score in parts comes because I have very fond associations with Five Guys. I was so excited when I saw the one in London that I made my flatmate go back to it with me (even though she couldn’t eat anything there) and have been anxiously waiting for the one in Glasgow for months.
The idea is pretty simple. You deciding if you want 1 or 2 patties, no bacon or bacon, and cheese or no cheese. After that all of the toppings are included. I’m a big fan of this sort of burger. They’re just a little greasy without being drippy. The fries are in rather large containers and I enjoy both the plain and the cajun.
The soda machine is amusing. How? They let you add flavours to any basic soda. You get to do things like raspberry Sprite or vanilla Dr. Pepper.
You also get free peanuts, an amusing plus.
Today there were people both in the queue and near the soda fountains trying to help people. I’m assuming this is only because it’s new and I don’t know how long they’ll continue it. Even after being to several locations, I was surprised to hear that once you get bacon or cheese on a burger you can get extra added on for free.
The only thing that tends to stop me from really loving the place is I feel the prices are a bit high for what is essentially fast food. I already knew this, but it does take away the one star.