Sunday 9 October 2011

5 Guys Burgers ~ Kanata ON

Day 2 of my Birthday Gluttony Weekend. 
Friday, 1pm.
Kanata Ontario


Since I am back in the Ottawa region relatively frequently, I try and keep an eye on the food scene. I had heard about the coming of the American chain Five Guys during the summer, and, well its open. Not in Ottawa, but just outside in Kanata (there are more coming to Ottawa soon though).


I walked in and was amazed at the machine that is 5 Guys. First, long line-up, but it moved quickly (I overheard a cashier say it was out the door at noon). Realistically, there are only a few things on the menu, and there is a rapid assembly line with lots of staff all hustling.

I ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger, with a regular Cajun style fry and a drink. I was a little shocked when there were no combos (I've just gotten so used to this at fast food) and my total came to $14.99.


You are given a number while you wait. And while you wait, help yourself to some peanuts. That's right, peanuts for free. And don't forget that the fries are cooked in peanut oil too. And free refills on Coke (self service fountain machine).


Here is my order of fries. This is the smallest size fry they have. Lets come back to that though. You can get them regular or Cajun style. I went with Cajun which meant a ton of seasoning. This was good for the first few fries, but became overwhelming salty after a couple. They did have ketchup, as well as malt vinegar for dipping.

So going back to the fries, the above being the smallest size, but realistically that is a big cup of fries. And that wasn't it.


Here is the bag with all the other fries that were on top of the burger and fry cup. Very generous portion.


Onto the burger. This is a tall one. Apparently a regular hamburger is a double patty. I should have just gone with the Little burger.


Here's the burger breakdown. One correction is the pickles are above the tomato and there is onion in there too. What isn't there is bacon. I got more than halfway through and realized there was no bacon. I thought I must not have ordered it. But when I was done I looked at my bill and I had indeed ordered bacon. Oh well.


The good: simple tasty burger. Meat has nice meaty flavour. Cheese is processed but its good that way. Lots of toppings to choose from and you can have it your way.

The bad: low structural integrity. This burger fell apart easily. It was sloppy. Pilled high but flip flops on itself.

So would I go back? Yes. Here's what I would do differently: Little Bacon Cheeseburger, regular fries, more peanuts. Maybe even trying their hot dog. It was nice to have a change in the chain burger world. But they are not going to topple the competition after the novelty wears off.


Five Guys Burgers
5517 Hazeldean Road, Kanata ON

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The bacon cheese hot dog is my go-to when I'm at Five Guys. The burgers are ok, nothing you haven't had before. To me their fries are easy to pass up. I'm probably in the minority, but outside of the hot dog, Five Guys is forgettable.

Lord of the Wings said...

@Anonymous - That seems the way to go. I feel like its the novelty and something new that has create a hype. Glad to know it isn't just me.

Teena in Toronto said...

That's a good looking burger!

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Chris said...

We have those here in Knoxville but my son told me their burgers were just so-so, not even close to ours. And $15 for burger and fries? Holy smokes! That is expensive.

954 Burger Boi said...

I didn't think Five Guys lived up to the amzing hype people place on them. I think people are too easily impressed. Check out my Five Guys review! http://www.954burgerboi.com/2011/09/five-guys-burgers-and-fries-tamarac-fl.html

Lord of the Wings said...

@Teena - Happy T-Day to you too!

@Chris - I'd have your homemade ones over fast food burgers any day! And ya, it was mighty pricey.

@954 Burger Boi - I agree - not bad, but not amazing either.