17 April 2015

Burger, Fries and Diet Orange Coke - Review (@FiveGuysUK) [By @Cinabar]


The Five Guys in Birmingham is fairly new. It is my nearest branch of Five Guys but as I don’t go to Birmingham that often it is still pretty far away. I have seen it before but have to admit to wandering past, confused by its expensive sounding prices. I don’t mind spending £10+ on a burger and chips meal, but one thats served in a paper bag and foil wrapper just didn’t sound reasonable to me.
One of the people who works with my mum tried out this Five Guys and came back raving about quality of the food and the “crazy drinks machine” and I knew I had to try it out. She had me at crazy drinks machine if I’m honest. Apparently there are over one hundred drinks to choose from!


The restaurant is nicely themed, with plenty of fun quotes on the windows adding to the atmosphere. There were plenty of seats spread out on two levels, including several booths. We found a table even on a busy lunch time, but I think we may have been lucky as the place was packed just thirty minuted later. It isn’t waitress service, so I went over to the till to place our orders, which feels very fast food like despite the highish prices. I went for a burger and chips with a soft drink from the crazy dispenser. My mum went for a hot dog chips and soft drink. The lady at the till suggested we share a chips but I went for separate ones as I couldn’t judge the amount we’d get. The menu is very customisable at Five Guys, with a good selection of additional items at no extra cost. I liked that idea, but as it was a first try I stuck to the safe cheese, lettuce, tomato and ketchup for my taste test.


I was given a couple of paper cups and an order number and went round the corner to wait for my food. First thing I noticed was there was far more than Five Guys sorting out the food, there was a small army, and it was fun to watch them work as they were tightly working in unison. While I was waiting I decided to fill the drinks cups and see what all the fuss was about. There are two machines in the branch and as one was free I had a little time to play, I was testing options then pressing cancel before selecting just to see what I could get. I choose Diet Orange Coke, because I’ve never had it before but I know that I like Lime Coke. My mum went for a Raspberry Lemonade.


Once I’d sorted that out it wasn’t long before my order number was called and I was given a paper bag. This is probably the most disappointing part, nothing says non-premium like a brown paper bag. I headed back to the table and had a look at the goodies within. The hot dog and burger came wrapped in foil, and there was a chip mountain in the bag. There were two small cups of chips, but the extras in the bottom of the bag were very generous. We couldn’t finish them!


As I unwrapped my burger I munched on a chip and was taken aback. The chip was perfectly cooked, and pre-salted. The texture was almost crispy on the outside and wonderfully fluffy inside. They are cooked with the skins on which meant they had a full potato flavour too, and were very impressive.
The burger was up next and again, it was spot on. The beef was full flavoured and juicy. It is one of the nicest burgers I’ve eaten, I just wasn’t expecting such quality. The salad was crispy and the bread soft and fresh, it may look like fast food, but it certainly tastes better than a lot of restaurant burgers I’ve eaten! Now onto the Orange Coke, it was fab, I was smiling as I drank it. The sweet citrus tones were prefect with the base flavour. Of course next time I’m having something different, probably the Raspberry Coke. Frankly I’ve got a hundred combinations to work through, and I’m thinking of putting a spread sheet together… err, too far?
Anyway my mum loved her hot dog with ketchup, mustard and onions and said she was very impressed with the place. In conclusion the meal was worth every penny, and I seriously can’t wait to go back.
By Cinabar

9 comments:

Something to look forward to said...

This place sounds fab! And definitely do a spreadsheet! I probably shouldn't admit it but I have one for my snack stash so I can keep track of when things are due to go out of date and how many calories are in each thing so I can plan my treats ;)

cinabar said...

I have lost some snacks because they've gone passed their best-before and I hadn't realised, so I'm tempted to do a spread sheet for them too.
Spectre labels all his the tops of his beer bottles with stickers with their dates on to ensure he drinks them in order :-D

Matt Walton said...

Coke Zero with Raspberry is good. And so is this article: http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/10/soda-we-try-all-100-flavors-from-the-coke-freestyle-machine.html

Anonymous said...

one thing about five guys is that no freezers are allowed on the premises so all their food is 100% fresh :)
the coke machine is also "free refills" so you can try as many as your bladder will allow ;)

cinabar said...


Love that article on Serious Eats, I just couldn't believe the choices! I will take your advice about the Coke Zero with Raspberry, sound ace!

cinabar said...

I didn't realise that all the beef was fresh, that is a nice touch. I think bladder wise its one drink per meal, the cups are large!! Even if you don't have to fully fill them each time I guess :-D

Anonymous said...

i can't say how many drinks i tried :o
needless to say i know where their toilets are, i also heard they now do chilli fries (which wasn't an option when i was last there)

Anonymous said...

i was in the burger king leicester square and they have the same drinks machine there too
unfortunately you have to wait for the 100+ foreign students in front of you to figure out how to work the machine then proceed to try each combination :(

some pizza huts have a pepsi variant machine but nowhere near the same kind of choice (refitted harvesters too)

eripmav said...

Don't forget that these guys cook in peanut oil, well worth pointing out to readers.