Sunday 4 May 2014

Five Guys Burgers, Trafford Centre Manchester

I remember reading that, for years, Pepsi’s mission statement was a succinct “Beat Coke”. Despite this, Coke continues as the dominant force in global soda sales.

In the US, fast food foes such as Burger King, Wendy’s, Sonic Drive-In, Jack in the Box and Five Guys have done little to defeat McDonald’s in the ‘burgers wars’.


Mounting an offensive in London and now Manchester, Five Guys are trying to win over English customers with their promise of “fresh, juicy burgers”.

Now, having eaten at Five Guys, it’s clear to me that they do indeed have a superior product to their golden gated rivals – yet not good enough for me to return to either.


The ‘hand formed’ patties on my “Bacon Cheeseburger” were certainly a slight improvement on McDonald’s thin, grey looking things. Similarly the signature “sat on bun” “fresh baked bun” was marginally better than Ronald’s sesame seeded rolls.


You can choose as many ‘free toppings’ as you want – I opted for lettuce, grilled onions, pickles, mustard and ketchup (other toppings are available including: jalapeños, mayo, tomato, relish and BBQ sauce).

The idea of choosing your own toppings is great – if only it worked – my burger came without bacon and lacked the requested mustard. Check out the twitter account for @_youhadonejob.


On my “Hot Dog”, I opted for grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, mustard and ketchup. Thankfully, they managed to get the toppings right on this one but not their definition of ‘grilled’ – my mushrooms were slimy and tasted tinned and as though they had been sautéed.


The skin on “Fries” I liked. Apparently, they cook them in peanut oil and these were made from potatoes from none other than Kroes Farm in Dronten, Holland – I don’t know why I’m telling you this information but they made a point of telling me so I’m passing it on.


In conclusion, I thought Five Guys better than McDonald’s but I’d much rather eat in one of Manchester’s independent burger joints like Almost Famous or Solita.




4 comments:

  1. Sod the zeitgeist, McDonald's hamburger and fries is a delicious dip into the waters of true Americana. The Big Mac, the Quarter Pounder and the Chicken nugget may leave many cold, but the Golden Arches hamburger and fries is a retro classic, it shouldn't be dismissed with a medium rare shrug of the shoulders. Go on Mr Hoss, review Maccy D's. Would you agree sir that at least their fries deserve a Michelin star?

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    Replies
    1. Haha! I'll admit to the occasional sausage and egg McMuffin for breakfast ;-)

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  2. I'm waiting on In-N-Out coming to Manchester. It's the only US fast food joint where the food is worth eating.

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  3. Love your blog!!! I couldn't find an about section to read about the person behind the blog!! I really love writing about restaurant and food amongst other luxe things! There are some posts you might like on my blog! These burgers look fab. I wish in and out burger would come to the UK though like the person above as we didn't get chance to try it in LA and it was regretful as everyone raves about them! Thanks Amanda http://thisluxlife.com/2014/05/18/oh-its-such-a-perfect-day-im-glad-i-spent-it-with-you/

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