Five Guys Fries Review: They May Have 5 Guys, But Do They Have 5-Star Fries?

Five Guys, with only about 1,700 locations, is known for their customizable fresh beef burgers, juicy hot dogs and thick milkshakes. But what really excites us is that their fries are double cooked in peanut oil! Five Guys absolutely differentiates from the standard fast-food chains by going premium and everything is about twice the price of McDonald's. Sure you get those wonderfully roasted peanuts for free as you order. But are they worth the price? And does peanut oil make a difference? Let's find out.

Five Guys in Foster City, CA. The sack of peanuts is an essential part of the brand.

Texture (10/10)

The texture of the fries is perfect. Just look at the picture. On the outside, the fries are gold (literally) and super crispy even with the full-length potato skin. When you bite into it, you get a satisfying baritone crunch that is delightful both to your mouth and ears. The inside is soft and wholesome, and the perfect thickness gives it heft and no flopping is ever observed. You can confidently dip them into ketchup without the worry of losing its essence. Never has this blog reviewed fries with better texture, nor can we imagine of one. For the first time ever, we proudly bestow these fries a score of 10 for their texture.

Just look at them. Golden and crispy. You can't Photoshop better.

The full-length potato skin is part of the crisp. The thickness is a perfect balance of crisp and the soft inside.

Flavor (7/10)

Supporting the texture, the flavor of these fries is awesome. There is a good amount of salt and the peanut oil gives it a slightly savory tint. The level of saltiness may be tad bit too strong but when combined with the thick-cut innards, they strike a great balance. Truly, fries don't get much better than this. However, due to the rich oil crisp, the flavor can dull your senses a bit. If there was a bit of seasoning like Johnny Rockets, it may have been a perfect score.

Shape (8/10)

Although Five Guys may not have the most special shape, staying truthful to its natural beauty of hand-cut potatoes actually makes it feel more premium and fresher. The sticks are thick, bumpy and coarse with many of them proudly wearing the skin. Thus the edges of the fries are not "clean", but we like it that way. One special thing to note was the length. We don't know where they found such tall potatoes but many of the sticks were longer than my 7 year old sister's hand.

Look at the length!

Presentation (7/10)

Unlike the standard cartons, Five Guys serves their fries in a thick tall paper cup. We think this is ingenious as it can hold those tall sticks vertically. And the volume of the cup is much larger than the largest McDonald's carton. However, what is also interesting is they dump another load of fries in the paper bag after they carefully placed the full cup of fries. This results in a messy display of golden goodness packed in the brown bag. Yes, the presentation is not pretty but my god you get a lot of fries. It is quite a scene to lay out the "mess" by tearing the side of the paper bag. Not pretty, but absolutely distinguished.

Fries served in a rigid paper cup. And another portion in the brown paper bag.

Experience (9/10)

As mentioned earlier, Five Guys is not cheap. The large fries which we ordered came in at over $8, about double the price of your typical fast-food chain. However, we all believe that every penny of the price is worth it. The quantity you get pretty much justifies the price (we think it is double that of McDonald's) but then you get perhaps one of the best fries in the world. The entire experience is simply joyful whether you are crunching through a crispy stick of wonder, dipping them in ketchup, or when you discover a whole another portion when you look into the paper bag container. Oh, not to mention their pairing with the juicy fresh burgers. We do not believe a fries experience can get much better than this.

Texture	10
Flavor	7
Shape	8
Presentation	7
Experience	9
Overall	8.2 / 10

Conclusion

With crispy and well flavored fries, unique container, and satisfying quantity, Five Guys is so far the best fries that we have reviewed, and we are confident that it will take something truly special to be better. Love and passion cannot be felt in most fast-food restaurants, and they simply cannot produce such quality fries, no matter the price point. Five Guys achieves the seemingly impossible - the perfect fries, complete with potato skins, savory and crunch, solid with heft yet not overwhelmingly mushy. Yes, there could've been a bit more seasoning, and we can nitpick on the messy presentation. But we simply loved every bite. We salute Five Guys for creating one of the best fries in the world!

The peanuts are well roasted and quite tasty! And yes, unlimited.