Five Guys — Restaurant in Ontario

I'll begin with my thoughts on Five Guys as a franchise. What do people think of when they think of french fries? If you were asked that question, you'd probably have your own pick. There's McDonald's fries, an industrialized product that managed to outdo every other item on McDonald's menu to symbolize the entire brand. There's Costco's, a kind of fry that ticks every box in what I personally want from fries. There's McCain's, a household brand that's everywhere and prepared to varying success across the country. There's also various others - some more obscure like the triple cooked fries, some derivatives of fries such as curly/cajun fries, waffle fries, so on, so forth. It's safe to say that very few people would vote the Five Guys fries as what they want from fries. This is fine - people don't go to Five Guys for the fries, and they offer free peanuts in bulk containers. Which brings us to a different conversation - What do people think of when they think of your classic hamburger? This question is only more divisive than the previous question, not less. Everything from toppings to method to the cut of meat had long been fair game in evaluating a burger. Would it be the McDonald's burger, a cultural export that took the vanguard of ending the Cold War - as well as the globalization that came after? Would it be a diner burger, the kind that comes on a ceramic plate, a tradition that existed long before fast food franchising was even thought of? Would it be a burger that you made yourself, on the grill or in the pan, as you filled your house (or just the entire neighbourhood) with smells that made everyone else either very hungry or very envious? Again, there is no right answer. What I can say is that the burger that Five Guys make will rightfully be some people's answers. It's a version of the burger that's so easy to like, with its well melted cheese, copious and well chosen toppings, and a taste that backs it all up. It's clearly trying to be the best burger that it can be, and it has a price to match for the effort. This makes every single one of its shortcomings fair game. Once you get past everything that makes the five guys burger unique, it becomes easy to compare it to other burgers. For a classic American Diner Hamburger, it lacks a brioche bun - dairy queen has a great take on this with their number 2 burger (the double cheese burger), for a lesser price and with infinitely better fries if you elect for them. Burger king, and every grill on the planet, offers more smoke to the burger (some Burger King joints are better than others at this), and a good Wendy's can get damn close to just about everything in a Five Guy's burger - again, for about two-thirds the price. All of this, all these comparisons, are only fair game because the Five Guys burger is trying to be the best every-day burger in North America (and by extension, the world), and is charging a price to match. Yet as soon as you put away these comparisons, what you're left with is still an amazing burger. Just don't let the hype train hit you too hard.

For this location in specific, in case you'd already known about Five Guys from elsewhere: The burger tastes sweeter than other locations (as in, you think there's added sugar in this thing). The pickles taste pretty strong. There's other things like "it doesn't drip as you bite into it and the cheese can still hold itself together", but that's personal preference. The big thing is still that sweetness as you bite into it. It's not off-putting, just different from other Five Guys. One of those things that's liable to change at any time from supply, personnel and so forth, which is why nobody writes reviews...

I am tempering this because this restaurant is recently opened.

The general speed of service was acceptable considering it was opening weekend. Problems being worked out and everyone generally still learning. Everyone attending this early on would expect this issue. No worries there.

The food while it appeared overcooked was not, the taste was exactly as you would expect a 5 Guys to be, greasy and good. Great stuff. The usual overload of fries was present, and they are tasty.

Why 2 stars? I watched the fryer operator knock the fry scoop from the expediting station to the floor. No big deal until he picked the scoop up and put it back on the fry holding station and didn't tell the expediter (person packing the food), whose back was turned during the entire incident.

The expediter then proceeded to use the scoop in the fresh fries. I spoke up at that point, and what ensued next was a litany of mistakes. The employees proceeded to everything wrong. Dumped all the scooped fries back into the contaminated holding tray. Fine. They then dumped all the fries, correctly, in the trash. They then washed the scoop, but not the bin. Dumped fresh fries in the contaminated side thereby tainting all those fries. They were stopped again and explained what they had done. They dumped all the fries they had scooped in the bad side again. And took all the tools used and washed them again. Note they dint dump the fries in the trash. When the next load of fries was ready from the fryer, they dumped on top of the bad fries. The employees were stopped again and this time they took everything apart and washed it all this time. At which time order was restored and the line could now start moving again.

This entire delay could have been avoided by the fryer operator simply taking the scoop he knocked onto the floor, into the back and having it washed. This is a question of poorly understood food handling processes. Will I go back? Yes. I expect that lessons have been learned and service...

Rating is actually 3.5 stars but they don't accept 1/2. There is a difference between American Five Guys, and Canadian Five Guys. Flavour of the burger has been maintained and that is extremely important. Tried London location last year and Windsor location tonight. Here are my issues. The meat on our burgers were overcooked. You can't have a juicy overcooked burger. U.S. cooks them well and are still juicy. Americans seem quite generous no matter what size fry you order. There was nothing "extra" in the bag. To me, that has been a Five Guys trademark of sorts. Plus, the CRTC must have expanded into food and beverage because in America - I'm allowed to have a multitude of drink options. Not here..... you're stuck with the 6 or 8 fountain pop choices. Strawberry Cream Soda is a terrific option to have - just sayn'! I ordered all the way for toppings on my burger. Sadly, this was the cleanest Five Guys wrapper I have ever finished with. Usually, my hands are all goopy when I'm done. And at this particular chain, I like that! I will say that the patty itself did seem a little bit thicker. It is a new location so the wait time was extended by a bit, but that was expected. Won't be my last time there I'm sure, but definitely room for improvement. On the contrary to other reviews, there is competition in the Windsor burger scene. Five Guys is a unique product, and for the price (Can $) - there are other options where my money can go and the bar is at a high level. Step up to the...