The Best and Worst Fries of 2025

We started the mission to shine the spotlight on fries on April 2025. It has been quite a journey so far and now that the year is ending, we want to look back on both the good and bad of all the fries we have reviewed so far. We will go over the top and bottom three on our rankings leaderboard, to see which fries actually dominated (and which fries didn’t) over the past year. Using the end of year as a checkpoint, for these top and bottom three, we will be re-reviewing them next year to see if things change. But as of today, here are the winners (and losers).

Worst Fries of 2025 ▸ 3rd: Lotteria Seasoned Fries

In 3rd place is Lotteria Seasoned Fries from Korea, with a score of 3.2. The seasoning actually worked against the score, being served like instant-ramen flavor packs. You are expected to pour the seasoning in your bag and shake to coat the fries. The texture was the smallest amount of crunch with no crisp and mushy insides. Also, the actual seasoning, while smelling great, didn't really add much flavor. The fries itself were greatly disappointing, but the seasoning added salt to the wound.

Worst Fries of 2025 ▸ 2nd (tie): In-N-Out Burger Fries

Next up is In-N-Out, with a disappointing score of 3.0. The dryness of the skin and the floppy texture was horrible, and the bland flavor was also unacceptable, not to mention the flop of the fries due to minimal stuffing. Even though they go somewhat well with the juicy burgers, it’s not going to save them from disgrace. The carton was not great either. There was not enough effort put into the fries or attention given, so you have a juicy delicious burger with flimsy, bland, and deflated potatoes.

Worst Fries of 2025 ▸ 2nd (tie): McDonald's Japan

Fries at McDonald’s Japan, with a score of 3.0, is as horrible as In-N-Out. The texture is floppy due to a hollow inside, and they can barely stay straight even without the weight of the ketchup. There was barely any salt, even though Japan is abundant with soy sauce. Also, the shape is small and skinny, making the standard carton look large. There's not much to say other than that these fries were a huge letdown. Though Japan has many so many great foods like sushi and yakiniku, their fries did not meet the expectations.

Worst Fries of 2025 ▸ 1st: Jollibee

And Lastly, we have the fries from Jollibee, with an outrageously low score of 2.8. We do not believe fries can get worse than this. Though they have a jolly smiling bee as their logo, they have genuinely sad fries. No crisp, floppy, cold, and flavorless with no salt, with the only possible positive being a bit of crunch on some fries. We don’t think we’ve ever given a score of one for any category on any reviews but Jolliebee managed to receive 1 out of 10 for flavors. The only thing worse than these fries is a raw potato cut up and served in a kitchen towel.

Moving on to the top our stack, these are those that bested most of the others in the leaderboard with strengths in certain categories but also being a great all-rounder. They all have very high scores and have seldom found an equal match. Each one commands respect and is worthy of the podium.

Best Fries of 2025 ▸ 3rd (tie): Sonic

Starting us off, we have Sonic, with a score of 6.8, achieved through a solid balance between taste, texture and shape. Their crispy caverns of ridges, nicely salted and steamy hot, create a wonderful balance. They could have only improved in the areas of presentation and experience, as the fries themselves were good, but they didn’t elevate other parts of Sonic’s menu in both taste and visuals. Still, these groovy fries were impressive.

Best Fries of 2025 ▸ 3rd (tie): The Cheesecake Factory

Sharing the 3rd place podium is The Cheesecake Factory, also scoring a 6.8. They excel at being an all-rounder in every single field. The Cheesecake Factory is typically not a fast-food chain we would include in the rankings but our principles of repeatable, mass-serving fries still holds true. And as a sit-down restaurant, their fries were surprisingly great. The only blemish was the experience, where the speed of serving was too slow. Regardless, these were amazing fries.

Best Fries of 2025 ▸ 2nd: Johnny Rockets

In 2nd place, we have one of our first reviewed fries, Johnny Rockets with a score of 7.0. Having a supreme texture compared to other fries due to its very soft innard while sustaining a crispy and crunchy exterior, already is miles ahead of most of the competition. Pair that with a seasoning of a blend of salt, pepper, paprika, and some sweetness, these fries leap ahead all other fries. The only area they didn't score well was in the presentation department. But we really are nit picking here. Johnny Rockets has fries that are special in so many ways.

Best Fries of 2025 ▸ 1st: Five Guys

And finally, the top fries (so far) in The Fries Blog 2025 rankings is Five Guys with a score of 8.2. They crush their competition with their score of a perfect 10 for texture. Yes, we do not believe texture of fried potatoes can be better than this. They keep the fire blazing by having a nice salty flavor with peanut oil based frying, while maintaining a long shape, longer than your hand for almost every stick. Their innovative presentation in a tall cup also enables great containment while easy carrying, and another bagful in the brown bag for customer love. Lastly, their overall contribution to a meal is what puts this fry in the top spot of any fry we have reviewed, perfectly complementing their burgers but also standing tall on their own. In our quest for The Fries Blog this year, Five Guys is the best fries we have reviewed.

Our Mission Continues in 2026

The Fries Blog has always reviewed each fries with respect and curiosity, meticulously standardizing the methodology and trying to achieve an objective comparison and scoring. And we are proud to have delivered over 30 fries reviews to you in 2025. As we think about next year, we also want to apply some of the learnings we have had.

• We need to recalibrate the benchmark using McDonald's each year We have realized that even McDonald's is not consistent and our tasting standards have also evolved. We do not think that McDonald's today may score the same 6.0 as we have given it in 2025.
  

• Restaurants keep innovating with their fries We have seen presentation methods change, special limited edition seasoning appear, and various attempts made by the creative minds of fast-food chains. This means that there will be new contenders in 2026 and we welcome their attempt.
  

• Many fast-food chains are regional We have heard great things about Checkers & Rally's, White Castle, and other regional chains that are simply not available on the West Coast. This just means we need to travel more next year!

Subscribe to our blog and we shall see you in 2026!