ottawa foodies

Dropped by the Trainyards location for lunch and got a Little Bacon Cheeseburger (all the way, no mushrooms, with relish), regular fries, and a regular fountain drink, which cost $15.40. Thought that the burger was excellent, with fresh ingredients, nice bun, and good patty. They doubled the serving of heavily seasoned fries, so you’ll never leave this place hungry if you get a combo. Service was good, but I found the restaurant ambiance to be harsh: spartan interior with glaring lighting and uncomfortable seats; bad, loud music; as well as air conditioning that made it feel like it was 10 °C (there was seating outside, but all of the tables were already taken during my visit). Also, I wish fast food restaurants would stop using plastic ketchup/condiment containers, as well as foil sandwich wrappers, and replace them with paper versions. Most of these places don’t have recycling bins for customers’ waste, while the few recycling bins that do exist are usually ignored by the clientele and filled with regular waste instead.

For the Kanata location:

Five Guys is as American you can get without waving their flags. Friendly, unpretentious, generous but bland and gratuitously unhealthy... it even had country music and larger than average patrons. It IS an American chain so what can one expect?

The best thing about this location was the service. The staff working there during my visit were extremely friendly and cheerful. I really appreciate that, however the first sentence of this paragraph could sum up this entire review.

Second best thing was that the price was pretty acceptable for the portion and quality of food we got. If you are a hungry hungry human this might be the place to go.

My friend and I ordered two cheeseburgers and one cup of fries. We got an extra cup of fries that I didn't need or want but I won't complain about that.

Problems:

+ It's quite a wait for food if there is more than one person ahead of you (we were behind two people). For a minimalistic burger and fry place that has such a limited, linear menu I'd expect more efficiency at dinnertime. We were going to see a movie after this meal but it took so long to get two burgers that we had to reconsider.

+ I hated the atmosphere. It was so loud in the furthest corner of the restaurant that I couldn't converse with my friend, and that negative was compounded because the wait was so long. On top of the noise of the open kitchen they were blaring a country music station. Since the surfaces in the restaurant are all barren and hard the sound doesn't get absorbed for a long time.

+ The overall flavor of the food was sub-par compared to similar restaurants in Ottawa. I would much rather a burger at Dick's in Merivale, Vera's in Bells Corners, and even Denny's before the food at Five Guys. In actuality the reason that we decided to try Five Guys in Kanata was because Vera's was closed by the time we decided to eat out.

+ Fries were gritty. Ever had sand in your mouth? I felt that distinct crunch of dirt in my teeth that comes from improperly washed potatoes. Big turn off. I didn't want any more fries after that. Flavor of the fries was not my favorite either, however (minus the dirt) they were still better than most fries I've had lately. I would have eaten them!

+ My friend wanted poutine, and they inexplicably don't make it. In a restaurant like this, in Canada, when you make those types of "chip truck" fries you honestly should be making poutine whether you are an American-based chain or not. They are missing out on money here. The gravy might even drown out the dirt they leave on those unwashed potatoes.

+ Our burgers were both doubles. I had no idea that it was going to be a double nor did I want or need that much food. If that's stated on the menu I didn't notice it.

+ It's not worth an extra dollar for a slice of processed cheese! Rip off. Mine wasn't even melted, in fact it was cold. Not appealing.

+ My burger patties were all cut up so the burger promptly fell apart when I picked it up. I had the hardest time keeping the burger together and ended up having to wrap it back up just to get it in my mouth. That was not pleasant as the aluminum foil they use has this dirty oily smell to it when it's right up in your face.

+ Using the aluminum foil, and giving paper bags (which immediately get soaked in grease) to eat-ins is kind of wasteful in my opinion.

When someone says "this place has the best _____ in Ottawa" I'm immediately skeptical. Has the person been to a lot of restaurants of the same type? In this case are they comparing Five Guys to places like Wendy's, A&W, and Harvey's, which are restaurants of another class? If you frequent fast food joints, you might find Five Guys tastes better. Or you might not, if you prefer sugary-sweet processed burgers. Personally, I'd probably choose A&W over this place.

Not even close to the best in Ottawa. In my opinion Five Guys is mediocre and could improve.

Went with the boys for boys night out (between Star Wars Episode IV and VI). We shared an order of large fries, and there were plenty. The fries were really good this time. I had the cheese burger with all the regular toppings -shrooms. I thought it tasted fabulous. My sons like it simple, single patty buger with lettuce/bacon for son #1, single patty with ketchup for son #2. Both filled up on fries, so there was half of son #1 burger, and almost all of son #2. I tried the bacon/lettuce burger - dry, not tasty, disappointing. The next day I tried #2, with some mayo, and burger reheated - not as bad, not great. This got me thinking - to properly judge the burger, have it straight up. To properly enjoy a burger, load it up. That said I really enjoyed my loaded cheese burger, and the condiments make up for less than perfect patty. I wonder how many of the local burger joint could stand up to a naked taste test?

Really wish they would go easy with the salt on the fries.Thought the Barrhaven location was the spot to go but they really killed the fries with salt last night. They were crispy but so much salt they were not edible had to through them out.

I really enjoy Five Guys. My boyfriend raved about it when they first started showing up in Ottawa. You definitely have to be hungry to eat here!

The folks were super friendly, explained the menu and helped us make our choices. It is nice to be able to pick all your toppings. Although the burgers aren't the prettiest things in the world, there was a couple of things that I really enjoy.

There is A LOT of food. They FILL your fry bag up as full as it goes! So many fries! It is cute that they tell you where the potatoes are from as well :)
I like how you can see the kitchen. There are not many 'fast food' places you can go where you can see them make your burger and fries. Again, I know it's not pretty, but the transparency is refreshing.

While we waited, I snacked on the peanuts! haha. Nice touch. Took a couple home in a container as well.

Go in expecting the Harvey's fast food experience, and unless you are feeding a horde, _do not_ order the large fry! haha

HINTONBURGER was brilliant when they just opened. Recent reports suggests the shine is somewhat dulled ( altho my last trip there just before they relocated was as good as any) but at the time they were nailing the burger craving in O-town way harder than anyone else in the game (and i don't care what anyone says, their hand dipped pogos are deep fried nirvana).

Per upthread, MANHATTAN is chronically underrated.

As for FIVE GUYS, i enjoyed the burger and fries that i had there, and i will go back, but on a city wide scale there are other places i would go for a burger, especially if i feel like sitting down and eating at the restaurant. I have nothing bad to say about the food or service, but i have found other burgers i like more.

I don't get it why is Hintonburger the measuring stick for burgers? Hintonburger has small burgers with that sweet BBQsauce that takes,on a good night 20minutes to make and really are not that tasty average IMO.

Hey K Meyer - You want Local? Check out Manhattans! and yeah, you can totally customize your burger as you see fit. A friend of mine joined me the other day, he just had 5 guys the day before - Manhattans was the winner.

"What I think is interesting is that all the comparisons are made to other fast food places like Wendy's on quality and burger places like the Works on price. Well, these guys are in their own league, better than fast food and cheaper than the Works." -Quoted from Tree Pug

I couldn't agree more. I think people's expectations are a bit high for these places.

Not the best burger in town (although I'd easily give it top 5 or 6), but hands down best valued burger in town.
It's easy to criticize places like this, but as far as fundamentals go, Five Guy's is doing it right.

Burgers are freshly cooked to order, fries are consistently fresh and well seasoned (and you always get extra fries literally thrown on top of the order). Toppings are varied without being pretentious. I will agree the cheese sucks, but so does every other fast food cheese.

Harvey's is comparable if you like those fine, smooth-textured patties (like it's been double or triple ground) with all the pink filler, with toppings that haven't changed in 20 years (Moving mustard from bowls to squeeze-bottles doesn't count, and I actually like it less), tiny portions of fries which have slowly gone from fresh cut, chalet style, to pressed and over salted frozen, fast-food standbys. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Harvey's (and to a lesser extant, Wendy's) when I do go, I just think Five Guy's is better for the price.

The only reason I go to Hintonburger is to support local, but fact is, every negative thing said about the five guy's burger can double for hintonburger (at least from my experiences at the new location).

If you're looking for a solid burger and fry combo, Five Guy's will deliver. Just try to remember it's a fast food joint with disinterested teen-age employees and a regional manager; not a local upstart with a chef-owner and a team of trained, future cooks and servers.

If you're an avid foodie looking to have an epiphany through a burger and fries combo for under $10, you should know better than to be at a chain/franchise, whether people recommend it or not.

"Exquisite", "Delicious", "Heaven". All words that alleged food critics from places as diverse as Tampa, New York, and Lethbridge have apparently used to describe the food at Five Guys. The descriptions roll around the ceiling, one after another and certainly get you excited about what they promise... if you've never been. I can't think of three words that less represent the bog standard fast food these places serve.

Five Guys was the new hot thing in Ottawa a couple months ago and, being as leery as I am of hot things (mostly of the crowds hot things attract), I managed to stay away until I was dragged to the Trainyards today.

Place was packed for the lunch hour, filled with excited chatter from apparent devotees, uncomfortably crowded with people eyeing the inexplicably small space for a free table. Nice short menu, with a friendly cashier to instruct us on the basics. I went with the bacon hamburger, my wife with the little cheeseburger and we shared a large order of chips. Didn't have to wait in the table queue for too long before one opened up and my wife snagged it while I happily munched on the welcome peanuts at the pick-up counter. Waited the requisite 10 minutes or whatever it was, a wait that contributes to the impression that you're going to get something worth your time, an impression that grows as you read all the glowing reviews from hipster bibles like TimeOut.

The end result was disappointing. I've had enough ho-hum experiences with over-hyped yankee franchises to know that this wasn't going to be a life-altering experience. Nonetheless, the crowd and all the talk had me thinking there might be something to it, but the food just left me confused. Two thin patties, juicy but pretty flavourless. Amazingly tasteless grilled mushrooms. Thank God for ketchup and mustard. Fries were not as good as the not particularly good New York Fries version, they're of the same lacklustre french fry genus.

And there's really not much more to say about that. The food is really just second-rate fast food. For the life of me, I can't understand the excitement this place generated among perfectly reasonable Ottawa eaters. Canada has a better version of this place already, it's called Harvey's. And for the price you might as well go to Hintonburger. I'm more and more of the opinion that the next big thing from across the border is usually just the trust old thing we overlook.

went today to see what all the talk was about.....just ordered the burger so can't comment on the fries.....

took the burger home and opened it up....surprised at two patties, didn't realize when i ordered it....i liked the bun, and the mushrooms and onions however the patties i didn't care for....i was pretty shocked they weren't being cooked on a grill (open flame) - i found it really greasy, like mcdonald's but worse and the patties didn't have seasoning.

i think there are alot better burgers (the butchery, hintonburger, baja burger to name a few), maybe my expectations were too high but i can't shake the grease thing.

i love my burgers crisped on the outside and med rare on the inside and i just don't find you can do that without the open flame.

This is a super juicy burger with quite a bit of flavour. In comparison to the Ottawa food scene, it reminded me most of the Baja Burger Shack product, albeit with way more toppings. The patties were similar -- soft and almost falling apart.

I opted for the full-size (two patty) burger with bacon. I consider cheese to be something that improves a bad burger but does nothing for a good one, and I was giving Five Guys the benefit of the doubt on my first visit. ;-) This thing was as tall as it was wide and I struggled to get my mouth around it. It was sitting in a puddle of juices, meaning eating it was a bit of a chore. Personally, I'd rather throw this thing on a plate and attack it with knife and fork! Definitely not something you can eat in your car, and arguably not even something that should be eaten in public. Hahaha!

Coincidentally, the subset of toppings I had pre-selected based on the online menu exactly matched those included in the "Everything" or "All the Way" options: Mayo, Lettuce, Pickles, Tomatoes, Grilled Onions, Grilled Mushrooms, Ketchup, and Mustard. There are other toppings, but these ones work a fair bit of magic together.

This is a good, juicy burger. It's in the same league as Ottawa's champions: Hintonburger, Vera's Burger Shack, and Baja Burger Shack. I'm tempted to place it second after Hintonburger, but should probably try both products again before making that claim. ASAP! ;-)

I want to love 5 Guys burgers and fries. But I'm not 100% there yet.

The burgers are descent and have a bit of char on the outside, the toppings are great and the fires are just like chip truck fries, but probably could use a bit more time in the fryer as they tend to be a bot too potato-y and thick on the inside. Also the fries are expensive ($3.29), but they do give you extra in the bag.

The cheese on the other hand, sucks!

Don't order anything with the cheese. It's bland and processed and although I'm not the biggest fan of Harvey's their cheddar slices are a mile ahead compared to 5 guys. Another problem is they put the cheese on right after it leaves the grill, so it's only partially melted. Mine was cold and firm on the edges and it really detracted from the whole thing. So stick to the regular burger.

Ours were great -- entire family loved them. Sort of a cross between New York Fries fries, and chip wagon fries. If those are your sorts of fries, you will enjoy Five Guys'.