Bad News About Five Guys

I stumbled across an article that stated that Five Guys was one of the unhealthiest fast food chains. Well, I already knew the food wasn't healthy, but I did not expect to read it is the unhealthiest. That article prompted me to google. Time after time Five Guys appeared at the top of the list.... unhealthiest burgers... unhealthiest fries.... I would have to see this unwelcome news in print just when the price became more reasonable with the 12.99 combo. Darn..... I guess I will use this information to help me hold out for larger bonuses.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

More About Five Guys Mystery Shopping

Depends on what you are comparing. The fries are going to be more unhealthy because the quantity alone is so much more than the competition. Also the peanut oil is certainly not healthy. The size of the meat patties is also much larger than most of the competitors. I'm not arguing that it's healthy, but with the portion size of 5g, it certainly looks way worse than it is. Get a regular cheeseburger (2 patties) and split it with someone and it's probably not worse than a double cheeseburger from somewhere else. Also split the fries and it's probably comparable to other places.

I like In N Out, but their patties are much smaller than the 5g patty, so you cannot compare a double double cheeseburger from in n out to 5g double patty. It's just not a fair comparison.

This particular review breaks down In N Out, 5g, and shake shack with pretty specific details

[www.seriouseats.com]

Yes of course. They are not comparing serving sizes. They were comparing what is served when you order. An order a little fries and little burger is the unhealthiest.

The amount of grease on the bag alone proves this theory. I only shop 5G when heavily bonused. My husband and I share the meal and pitch quite a few of the fries. I eat 3 or 4.

Do people who eat burgers and fries think about their health?|

Asking for a friend...

Have synthesizers, will travel...

Tell your friend that I am sure many people who eat burgers and fries do. Bringing awareness to portion sizes and ingredients is a great first step.

@CoolMusic wrote:

Do people who eat burgers and fries think about their health?|

Asking for a friend...

No big news. Greasy meat, a fries bag soaked with grease and over salted not healthy never suspected of being good for anyone.

I haven't picked up a shop with them in over a year. My minimum fee is $16. There has not been one at that price in over a year in my area.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

@OldmanJames wrote:

No big news. Greasy meat, a fries bag soaked with grease and over salted not healthy never suspected of being good for anyone.

Add to that a Diet Coke and it’s like a Mentos eruption in your stomach.

What bugs me is you can’t mention what you really think about it not being a good value, or one of the best restaurants compared to others. If it’s not, you have a lot of explaining to do. I can make a better burger and even fries at home for $3, so why pay close to $20 and end up with a Joey Chestnut liver on top of it?

We did one of these today, not the usual place near home. We're in a different state. It's been a couple of months since I've had a meal at 5G...I could swear they've reduced the size of the burger. it used to fit perfectly within the bun....today, opened the bun since the burger was hard to find.
Reimbursement did not fully cover little burger, little fries, little fountain soda.
meh, unimpressed.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2025 10:54PM by BarefootBliss.

@BarefootBliss - Did you say: "Where's the beef?"

I'm not afraid of unhealthy stuff but would never pay the amount of money this meal costs so the few times a year I get it reimbursed with additional profit is not really worth worrying about. On those days, I eat every single fry and take the grease soaked burger home for later. Yum.

@BarefootBliss wrote:

We did one of these today, not the usual place near home. We're in a different state. It's been a couple of months since I've had a meal at 5G...I could swear they've reduced the size of the burger. it used to fit perfectly within the bun....today, opened the bun since the burger was hard to find.
Reimbursement did not fully cover little burger, little fries, little fountain soda.
meh, unimpressed.

I went recently. Minimum everything was covered but there wasn't room left for any upgrades. Even wanting cheese would max the reimbursement and start to nibble at the shop pay.

@sestrahelena wrote:

On those days, I eat every single fry

Man that is a lot of fries! I did a Five Guys after reading the article. When the server gave me my order she told me I gave you a lot of extra fries. My immediate thought was, damn... she's trying to kill me, but I smiled and said thank you. Really, I have often wondered why..... why do they give so many fries. It is so unnecessary. They should consider changing their business model and eliminate all the "extra" fries. They would save millions on salt alone!

With the meal yesterday, it was definitely fewer fries and a smaller burger...
not complaining so much about the quality - but if I were paying out of my own pocket ugh. never $18 for little burger, little fries, little fountain soda....for $20 we can go to our local indie restaurant and have a nice chicken, pasta or fish dish...prepared to order, not just heated for us lol.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2025 12:49AM by BarefootBliss.

What do you mean by "not just heated?" oooo this hurts, I don't want to defend 5Guys. The burgers are cooked fresh. And the fries are cooked twice, on purpose. They aren't just heated up. The fries are cooked at a lower temperature, around 350 degrees until they are cooked through. Then they are drained, and cooled, ON PURPOSE. When you order them, they are cooked in much hotter oil to make them crispy on the outside. They are cooked the same way fries are cooked in Europe, crisp on the outside, tender on the inside. Frying them a second time in hotter oil also makes them retain less oil from cooking, so they aren't wimpy or soggy.

I don't make fries at home because I can't stand soggy wimpy fries. And heating oil over 400 degrees in my kitchen scares me, especially here in this raggedy little house with no ventilation in the kitchen. But I have an air fryer coming, I got a very good deal on an Instant Pot Air Fryer, one of the ones reccommended by America's Test Kitchen. First thing I'm going to do is make fried okra, it's so hard to find good crispy fried okra here, I don't understand why, this is the part of the country where fried okra originated, you'd think they could get it right..

Dont believe everything you read.

I agree they cook them there....it was a bad comparison. I am thinking of all the other places I plan to skip now that prices have soared.
I have actually had some experiences at 5G, just not lately.
It's a good thing they're shopped. Each location has their own issues.

Well I did a 5 Guys shop today, and I tipped a small amount to make the total an even $18. The shop reimburses $17.25, so that's not so bad to have a good meal for .75 cents (the shop was bonused to a total fee of $35 in addition to the reimbursement). BUT here is the bad part: I hadn't done one in such a long time and though I did look over the guidelines before going, I missed something pretty important in that they have a new requirement to upload the grill receipt attached to the bag in addition to the regular receipt. Well I threw it away. The shop wouldn't progress unless I uploaded 2 receipts, so I had to take two photos of my register receipt and upload that. I am not sure my shop is going to be accepted, and upon going back through the guidelines after leaving, I see that the guidelines state that the show may be rejected if the grill receipt is not uploaded to the report. ARGGGH. I have been shopping for nearly 25 years and every once in awhile I screw up, too.

Thanks for the heads up! I have one tomorrow, and it’s been awhile since I read the instructions.

You're welcome! I lucked out. Ive been nervously checking abd they approved my shop, thankfully. I won't be making that mistake again!

@jgenad wrote:

Thanks for the heads up! I have one tomorrow, and it’s been awhile since I read the instructions.

That's no surprise. The veggie bowl is my go to.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

There's a whole other thread on that grill receipt.

I didnt see it unfortunately,
but at least they accepted my shop.

@sestrahelena wrote:

There's a whole other thread on that grill receipt.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Bad News About Five Guys

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine