I went to a FIve Guys for the first time last week. Much nicer than McDonalds plus free refills

So I went to The Trafford Centre this evening and a Five Guys has opened there, so I decided to give it a try. Overall.. OK but nothing special. The burger - I went for a pretty straight burger - was OK, better than a big mac but nothing unusual. You got to choose your dressing and salad bits which was nice, but your choices are just a burger, a hot dog or a grilled cheese sandwich. No chicken, no veggie option other than cheese as far as I can see. The burger came wrapped in foil like a burrito, which was a bad idea - it made the burger 'sweat' before I got around to unwrapping it. The fries were very good, actual sliced potato rather than extruded fried mash and even though I ordered a 'little' one I got plenty of them. The free refills is a nice idea but I don't drink sugary drinks so I had to pay two quid for a bottle of water. Cheers Five Guys! Or not. However it also 12 quid for a burger, fries and a bottle of water...

Pluses : Decent burger, excellent and abundant fries. The napkins appear to be made of cobwebs.
Minuses : Foil wrapping burgers is a bad idea, drinks other than sugary are expensive, not much choice.

Overall : I think they're falling between two stools. If you want a cheap meal, there are plenty of places that will sell you something for a fiver. If you want a quality burger in the TC, The Gourmet Burger Co are about two minutes walk away which does much better burgers, better choice and a better environment for like a quid or two more for the equivalent meal. if you have a McDs and a Five Guys and nothing else, I'd go for the latter. If you have pretty much anything else, I think you'll find a better option. In the Trafford Centre there are about a dozen cheaper places, about a dozen places to get marginally better food for the same money and a few really good places for roughly a fiver or so more a head.

Caveat : I rarely buy fast food burgers. I occaisonally buy them in pubs and etc.

Jon

12 quid? You are talking a fairly decent restaurant meal with waitress service over here. That was always McDonald's (and other American fast food chains) problem over here, their prices have always bordered on "real" restaurant prices and many people used to go and get a proper (or pub meal) for what they would pay at McDonald's.

Five Guys give free water if you just ask for a cup.
Plus, deep fried bacon (which they'll put extra on for free)

McDonald's to introduce table service at 400 UK restaurants | Business | The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... estaurants

It's a good idea because the queues can be massive and very off-putting, especially for groups or families.

Our local does a roaring trade these days.

Ours is usually nearly empty. At most I've seen it about half full, so table service would be a waste of money for them - well, if the meal isn't ready to serve, they do bring it to your table.

That said, burgers are way down on the list of fast food in Germany. Döner Kebap and Currwurst are the two most popular dishes by far, followed by pizza ISTR.

The problem is, McDonald's had a reputation of being too expensive. They are now more competitive, but for a "menu" you used to be able to get a "proper" meal in a restaurant. I haven't been to McD's since probably 2011. If I eat a burger at all (2 or 3 times a year), then it will be from Johnn'y Pantry.

There was another article somewhere online that stated that McD's in America was getting a surge in sales because they've extended breakfast meals to throughout the whole day. Probably much more inportant than table service.

I went to McD's last week for the first time in almost a year. I was near the city centre and had to return to the same spot an hour later. It would take me half an hour just to get home, and I was hungry. Went to McD's and stayed in the carpark. The drive-thru service was a complete let down. Ordered a fillet meal with no tartare (never do if i'm eating in the car). Guy who took my order confirmed no tartare (it came up on the display), and the girl who handed me my order also said "fillet meal with no tartare". Even the box had a sticker proclaiming to be made to order.

Except it had tartare sauce.

MaccyD is making itself slower and slower, so when the main point of it is fast food, they are loosing it. I've seen waiting 10-15 min for an order that ended up being wrong.


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The problem for McDonalds isn't their competitors but the fact that all they sell is insubstantial crap.

TBH I've probably only had a McDonalds less than 10 times in my entire life - usually in the early hours of the morning coming back from a gig, when a mixture of hunger, alcohol and general tiredness makes it seem like a good idea. I'm a tiny little person with a matching appetite, but the McDonalds burger is gone within 4 bites and all I'm left still feeling hungry with just some sickly sweet fried strings claiming to be "fries". Luckily at this time in the morning the service is so slow (it's not even vaguely fast food) that by the time I get to be served, I've usually come to my senses and decide I can wait another couple of hours until I get home.

Besides I live in Nottingham. If I want a burger I can always go to Annies Burger Shack.

This.
Not that I live in Nottingham, but I'd rather spend the extra few quid on something good.
Locally, we have 3-4 locally owned burger places doing some damn fine work.
So good, 2 of them were voted in the top 10 burger places (according to Trip Advisor) in the UK.

Hmmmm Annie's </Homer>

I used to go fairly regularly on Friday afternoons when it was at the Navigation but I moved jobs and Annie's moved premises. I've been to the new place a couple of times mind you and the bar downstairs is pretty good too.

I've noticed a few other gourmet/handmade burger places popping up in Nottingham too but haven't been to any.

For a quick fix I don't mind McDonald's. I actually like the taste of the sauce on the Big Tasty burger but I don't think anyone goes there with the expectation of an amazing eating experience. It is what it is. In terms of fast food I prefer a Whopper from Burger King. I've never been to Five Guys either but I have read their calories, particularly the fries, are racking up the big numbers!

I wouldn't eat burgers on any kind of regular or frequent basis so calories shouldn't be an issue. A meal at Nandos might well mean I don't eat (nor feel the need to eat) anything for the whole day.

As for McD's, it's 24/7. Unlike places like Five Guys and Nandos. It's quite easy to pop in and know what you're getting no matter where you are or what time of day it is.

The only time I go to McD is for a breakfast if I have a site meeting 1st thing and there is do good greasy spoon nearby