Cook Out — Restaurant in Winston-Salem

Today, we had our very first “Cook Out” experience, and we’re glad we finally gave it a try. Wanting to support something local, we headed to the Kesterville Road location in Winston-Salem after hearing so many North Carolinians call it a must-visit institution. It absolutely lived up to the hype.

The Food: Let me start by saying — in over 50+ years of eating fast food, this was some of the hottest, freshest food I’ve ever received at a drive-thru. We ordered three Tray Meals and were impressed by both the quality and quantity. • Spicy Chicken Sandwich Tray: I got this with onion rings and fried okra. The sandwich was a thin, breaded cutlet — crispy, juicy, and well-seasoned, though not overly spicy. The bun was soft and fresh, and the lettuce, tomato, and mayo rounded it out nicely. The onion rings were great, and the fried okra stole the show — perfectly cooked! My son noted that most fast food okra is undercooked and slimy inside, but Cook Out nails it. • BBQ Grilled Chicken Sandwich Tray: My son’s pick — and honestly, the best of the bunch. The smoky BBQ flavor came through in every bite of the grilled chicken. His sides were onion rings and white cheddar cheese bites, which were hot, crunchy, and packed with cheesy goodness. • Double Burger Tray: We also tried the classic double burger with fries and a BBQ chicken quesadilla. The burger tasted like it came off a backyard grill — juicy, flavorful, and nostalgic. The quesadilla was a surprise hit: hot, stuffed with chicken and BBQ sauce, and very satisfying.

The Price: For three full Tray Meals with drinks, we paid just $29 — and left completely stuffed. That kind of value is hard to beat.

Service & Atmosphere: This location is drive-thru only, with dual lanes for faster service. The staff were friendly, fast, and cheerful — a big plus that added to the positive experience.

Final Thoughts: We didn’t get to try one of Cook Out’s famous shakes this time, but the options looked endless and tempting — and we noticed several people in the parking lot enjoying them.

Overall, if you’re visiting or live in North Carolina and haven’t been to Cook Out, make it a priority. It’s fast food done right — hot, flavorful, affordable, and served...

Attended this cook out 5 times in the past month... FIRST visit: me and a buddy ordered quesodillas, got home and they were empty tortillas SECOND visit: ordered my usual burger tray and milkshake to keep things safe.they got both my sides wrong and my burger had mayonnaise on it (not asked for) THIRD visit: once again ordered my usual burger tray. This time I checked before leaving the parking lot. Especially after my previous visits. Burger had three extra ingredients and missing 2 out of three of the ingredients I had asked to be on it. Went to the window, they made me a new one. Got it back and it was still wrong, third burger and they finally got it right. FOURTH: ordered my usual burger tray, as always. Growing up eating from this exact cook out I was a little irritated but not ready to give up on cookout... the milkshake that came with my tray was an oreo milkshake and had a single, fully structured oreo at the bottom. The burger had no cheese and after ordering double fries they gave me onion rings and nuggets, I took it back and had them fix it... they fixed it on the first try this time at least. FIFTH VISIT: went with some friends ordered the usual again... I told myself that if they got it wrong I'd never come back. Optimistically hoping for the better outcome of course... well they didn't season my fries after asking them to AND they left the sauce off my burger... I could also taste VERY distinctly, peanut butter in my oreo milkshake.(taste of peanut butter isn't bad except for the fact tha someone in the car had a peanut allergy) CONCLUSION: there's been an obvious shift in management or a shift in general care. I'm calling into corporate first thing Monday but just thought I'd let other know that if you'd like to waste your time and money waiting NOT in a long line but for your order to be corrected then cookout is the place to go, if you're looking for quality customer service of employees who won't give you an attitude when you ask how they're doing or just simply answering their questions.... I'd suggest taking your...

I honestly am disappointed in the customer service I received here. I have never had a problem with this place before. I have worked in the restaurant industry for the past 4 years so I know how it is but this was ridiculous. Me and my friend come here one night and we had already waited about 10 minutes for the cars in front of us to be able to move forward because the line was moving so slowly. We get to the speaker to give out our order and I am talking loudly enough but the employee very disrespectfully let me know she couldn't hear me. Ok I shook it off and just spoke even louder. Once we finally reach the window we literally and I mean literally waited OVER 10 MINUTES before we got the 2 employees who were just standing at the window to pay attention to us and we asked what was taking so long and mind you we did not say this rudely at all even though we were frustrated. The employee says "I am just waiting on them to hand me your food." Ok? You can walk over and figure out what's going on and see if they need help because you have a very long line to take care of. Apparently she couldn't do that. So 30 seconds later she opens up the window and hands us our food as if it had been sitting there. Typically all the other times I've gone through a drive-through they would either tell me to move forward and they would bring the food or open the window and apologize for the wait and explain what's taking so long.. well here that did not happen. Then we quickly check the order and as we are doing so she asks "is there a problem?" my friend just said "no we are just checking the food" when really we just wanted to look at her and say "we just waited 15 minutes for our food, your damn right we are checking it before we leave". I never give bad reviews to anywhere but we were so disrespected I couldn't believe it. No explanation, no apology and an attitude. I'm sorry lady but you would be curious and frustrated as well. I know sometimes customers will exaggerate on their reviewed but this is 100% truthful and exactly...