Five Guys Burgers and Fries Oxford Circus — Restaurant in London

Extremely Disappointed – Rigid Thinking and Poor Leadership I’ve been a loyal customer of this fast food chain for years and have always appreciated the option to tailor my order, particularly swapping the top seeded bun for a bottom one, as I dislike the taste of sesame seeds. It’s a small, harmless request that I’ve made many times before without issue. On this occasion, after placing and paying for a £31 order, I made the same simple request. The manager, Julian, refused outright, stating it was against company policy and that it would leave them with an “odd bun.” Frankly, I find this difficult to believe, considering how routinely this has been done for me in the past at other 5 Guy restaurants, as well as this branch without question. It beggars belief that someone in a managerial role would respond with such short-sighted and rigid thinking. Rather than showing discretion or applying even a basic level of common sense, Julian defaulted to an inflexible and frankly nonsensical stance. The refusal felt less about policy and more about an unwillingness to apply any kind of situational judgment. Instead of acting like a decision-maker, the manager hid behind a supposed rule choosing to lose a £31 sale, alienate a returning customer, and invite a negative review over a minor bun adjustment that could’ve been resolved in seconds. This kind of robotic and petty response defies the very idea of customer service and demonstrates a serious lack of leadership. For a company that claims to “tailor the perfect burger for you,” this experience did the exact opposite. Deeply disappointing, and I won’t be rushing back.

[Updated Review – Response from Five Guys UK Support]

Following my disappointing experience at the Oxford Circus store where a simple request to swap the top seeded bun (which I dislike) with a bottom bun was flatly refused I raised the issue with Five Guys’ UK Support Office. Here's their full response:

"We're the contact for Five Guys at the UK Support Office, and this is the highest you can escalate a complaint. We will not be moving forward with your feedback. As mentioned, stores may offer this as a gesture of goodwill but it is not standard. Moreover, in cases of allergies we cannot be liable for such accommodations which may result in sesame seeds still being present on the bottom bun. Apologies for any inconvenience."

A frankly astonishing stone walling response from Customer Support. To be clear: this was not an allergy-related request. It was a simple, harmless preference one that has been granted numerous times before. The issue here isn’t just the refusal itself, but the manager’s complete lack of discretion, and now, the dismissive tone from customer support.

If Five Guys truly believes it’s acceptable to alienate loyal customers over half a bun, then double down with “we will not be moving forward with your feedback,” it says a great deal about how little they value customer service.

When a company shows zero flexibility, accountability, or interest in improving, it reflects far more poorly on them than on any one employee. Deeply disappointing, start to finish.

This reply is more than dismissive it’s a clear display of the company’s true attitude: rigid, indifferent, and entirely uninterested in retaining loyal customers. And over what? A bottom burger bun.

I used to enjoy Five Guys. The burgers might be decent, but the attitude behind it is anything but. This experience both in store and now at the so-called "highest level" of support has completely changed my opinion. I for sure would not continue supporting a brand that shows such blatant disregard and this level of contempt for its customers.

It turns out the real Five Guys are: Petty Policy, Inflexibility, Indifference, Dismissiveness, and...

4/01/25

Me and my mates came in for some scran and the first thing we do is look around for a spare table as it is quite busy. The first empty table we see is covered in a lot of shyte that did not get cleaned up for a while. It was an immediate no as it was close to a mountain of rubbish. We then quickly spot another table and we manage to claim that one, but it was clear it hadn’t been sprayed down for a while. There was a lot of crumbs and whatnot left on the table everywhere which was annoying and off putting.

Anyway, we order our food which was nice and easy. The guy at the till was nice enough. All I ordered was some regular fries and a peanut butter milkshake with whipped cream. My order of fries are ready within two minutes which was nice. Now this is the worst part of the experience. We were waiting 10 minutes for our drinks. This was because nobody was paying attention to the milkshake station. Admittedly, I’m a very impatient person and this really took me over the edge. As working in fast food myself, I know about the general idea of how it all works. It was clear that there was a lack of staff as there was not one person for each station as the bloody milkshake station was neglected for a while until some guy from a different station noticed there was a small group of people gathering for their milkshakes. Now, when he starts making the milkshake naturally I’m watching him. I understand people crack under pressure, but I kid you not, I could of made that shyte quicker with a blindfold on, and bearing in mind, I’ve never made a five guys milkshake in my life. He was going painfully slow. It was making my blood boil. I was already fuming from having to wait so long!!!! After what seemed like a millennium, we finally got our milkshakes.

We all sat down and I start eating my chips. I noticed only on the top the chips had their special seasoning which I’m a sucker for so that was very disappointing. I had to fill that void of flavour with extra salt and pepper. Other than that, I enjoyed them with my ketchup. I drank my milkshake and it was nice and sweet, but tasted slightly of lower standard than I’m used to which was also annoying considering how long it took to make!!!!!

I needed to go to the toilet and so I ventured inside. They were sort of clean. Clean enough not to be disgusted, considering it’s London.

Anywho, whoever that man was making my peanut butter milkshake with cream on top for order number 10 from around 4.55pm on Saturday the 4th of January 2025, consider...

I recently visited Five Guys, and I must say that my experience left much to be desired. While I had high hopes for this popular fast food joint, I couldn't help but feel disappointed on several fronts.

First and foremost, the value for money at Five Guys is questionable. One would expect a fast food restaurant to offer a reasonably priced meal, but that was not the case here. The prices were quite steep, £40 for a burger, 2 large fries and 3 soft drinks!, especially when you consider that it is a fast food joint. The quality of the food was decent, but the cost didn't match what I received. I could have got similar at my local independent burger joint for less.

What truly baffled me, however, was the slow service. For a fast food establishment, I anticipated quick and efficient service. Unfortunately, my visit was marred by long wait time receiving my food. The staff seemed overwhelmed, and the whole process felt disorganized and inefficient. This aspect of the experience was highly disappointing.

Additionally, the cleanliness of the restaurant left much to be desired. It's essential for any dining establishment, fast food or otherwise, to maintain a clean and sanitary environment. During my visit, I noticed that the dining area was quite dirty, and the tables were not adequately cleaned and there was spilt drinks of floor which made them quite slippery This lack of cleanliness significantly detracted from the overall dining experience.

In conclusion, my visit to Five Guys was less than satisfactory. The low value for money, slow service, and the restaurant's cleanliness issues made me question whether it's worth returning. While the food quality was decent, these significant drawbacks left me with a less than stellar impression of this...