Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Covent Garden: REVIEW.
Firstly, Just take a few minutes to take in what you can see above…
Ok, Ready?… good. When I heard that Five Guys were opening a UK branch I was so excited to try it. If you haven't seen this, and subsequently this please go and watch it and then return. Anyway… so Five Guys.. We decided to go on a Friday lunchtime, initially we thought we'd have to queue for quite a while, being that it was lunchtime, and a Friday, and 27 degrees, but actually it was surprisingly 'fast' which is how I like my 'fast food'.
I won't go into too much detail about the restaurant because I don't think it's relevant, it has a busy atmosphere, lots of staff, lots of customers. You can eat in or take away etc it's a nice place and the layout is nice but it's not the kind of place you go to for the atmosphere. You go for the burger, and the one I had yesterday quite frankly could have been handed to me by a tramp in the street and I would have devoured every inch of it the same way.
I decided to go for a bacon cheeseburger, with lettuce, mayo, and grilled onions. I also had a side of 'light' fries, but more on those later.
The burger comes with two patties as standard, or you can order a version with just one. All the ingredients are prepared fresh the same day, the burgers, salad even the fries are hand cut in the morning. They even have a board telling you where 'today's potatoes' are from. Apparently, they don't have fridges, because everything is so fresh and they do not need to keep anything long enough that it needs to be refrigerated. I can't confirm whether that is actually true but it was written on the wall so? Either way, I'm impressed.
The burger was amazing. I literally can't fault it in any way. The meat was juicy and tender, the toppings actually stayed in the bun. I was so impressed with how well it kept its form, like literally, nothing spilled over the edges and it didn't fall apart as you were eating. I don't know how they do it. The combination of toppings was perfect for me and you get to mix and match so you can pretty much have it however you want for no extra cost. Talking of which... Was it worth the £8+ price tag? I'd have to say I'm still undecided on that one, it was amazing but £8 amazing? I don't know. That's pricey for a burger. Even in London, that's expensive. But it was a damn good burger. From the toasted bun to the crispy bacon. Everything just worked for me.
Now I want to discuss the fries... I have to say these were a letdown. Don't get me wrong they had a nice flavor but they just didn't 'bite back'. They just weren't crispy enough for my liking. The portion was huge even for their smallest and if I'd have known I would have gotten some to share rather than had my own portion. Depending on your viewpoint having big portions may not seem like a bad thing, you get your money's worth but at the same time if half of them are just going to go to waste I'd rather just not bother. I wouldn't get fries if I went again because they didn't really do anything for me.
I did however love the drinks machine (as sad as that sounds). You basically got a choice of about 50 flavours, from regular to diet/zero of all kinds like coke, Fanta, sprite etc, and then a choice of different flavors Inc lime, fruit punch, vanilla... And loads more. I liked having such a variety. So thumbs up on that one.
Here's how I rate it:-
The burger: 8/10
The fries: 4/10
Overall I'd say it's definitely worth a visit, as for whether I'd go again? For the burger, yes. If Patty & Bun were closed... But it is still worth the initial visit and like I said... The burger is really good. I just think for a fast food joint it's a little overpriced.
Anyone else been to Five Guys yet?
As always,
Thank you for reading.
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