The Burger Wars: Red Robin v. Five Guys v. In-N-Out

I love hamburgers, and at some point in my life I must have received some sort of immunity against documentaries that reveal the disgusting elements of fast food – the shows simply have no affect on me.

In Virginia I had my first Red Robin burger. Whoever thought of putting an egg on a burger is a genius (although I did have an Outback Burger in England with so many toppings – including an egg – that you couldn’t wrap your mouth around it). I love Red Robin.

I had my first Five Guys after I ran the Tough Mudder last November: the unprecedented state of tired and hungry that I had reached meant that those burgers will always hold a special place in my heart.

Then, westward bound, and the further we went, the greater the concentration of In-N-Out burger joints. Eating one of their burgers was on Maile’s to-do list, and in San Francisco we finally got to try one.

People are passionate about their burgers. Today we’re going to settle it once and for all.

Who makes the best burger?

1. The Meat

Red Robin: Perfect size, thick and juicy.
Five Guys: Not sure if the burger itself can taste any better (once again: think “just ran 12 miles”)
In-N-Out: A few rungs above McDonalds?

Winner: Five Guys (1)

2. The Bun

Red Robin: Standard sesame seed. Above average.
Five Guys: Can’t remember it. Not a good sign.
In-N-Out: Slightly toasted.

Winner: In-N-Out (1). Marshmallows, sesames, croutons: everything’s better toasted.

3. The Fixins

Red Robin: Egg and just about anything else you could ever want
Five Guys: Can’t remember it (beginning to think my lack of memory has to do with my physical state at the time)
In-N-Out: According to the menu (more on that later), not too many options

Winner: Red Robin (1)

4. The Fries

Red Robin: Gloriously thick potato fries, AND they supply that Cajun-y spice.
Five Guys: That whole memory thing.
In-N-Out: Not impressed.

Winner: Red Robin (2)

5. The Drink

Red Robin: Amazing chocolate shake.
Five Guys: Amazing…Dr. Pepper?
In-N-Out: I didn’t get their milkshake. Their loss.

Winner: Red Robin (3)

6. The Name

Red Robin: A bird. And their mascot terrified my children when they were younger.
Five Guys: It takes five guys to make one burger? Weird.
In-N-Out: Serious digestive connotations.

Winner: Red Robin (4). Scared children sit still.

7. Price

Red Robin: Have to take out a small loan to feed a family of six ($50 – $70). Usually a date-night location for us, as opposed to a family destination.
Five Guys: I don’t remember. And I think we paid for my cousin. Can’t remember.
In-N-Out: Incredibly cheap prices. Great value for money.

Winner: In-N-Out (2)

8. Environment

Red Robin: A huge picture of Einstein sticking out his tongue, along with their bird mascot, scared my children. Admittedly, they’re sensitive. Also: very comfortable chairs.
Five Guys: Not that comfortable.
In-N-Out: So full we couldn’t get a seat at first. Standard fast-food plastic seats.

Winner: Red Robin (5). My kids are older now.

9. Service

Red Robin: Average
Five Guys: Average
In-N-Out: Incredible

Winner: In-N-Out (3)

10. Cult Following

Red Robin: People love the restaurant. They love the burgers. Some of them even love the bird.
Five Guys: Passionate following who will beat you up if you don’t like their burgers. Their fan base has sort of a gangster feel.
In-N-Out: People literally swore at me when I said we might not get an In-N-Out burger during our western loop. Others implored, begged even, that we go there.

Winner: Five Guys (2)

11. Miscellaneous:

Red Robin: Fun setting, very kid friendly.
Five Guys: Plain and simple. I kind of like that.
In-N-Out: They have secret items THAT AREN’T EVEN ON THE MENU!

Winner: In-N-Out (4)

Well, there you have it. Red Robin (5), In-N-Out (4), and Five Guys (2). But we can settle this in the comments. Cast your vote. Of the three, which do you prefer?

45 Replies to “The Burger Wars: Red Robin v. Five Guys v. In-N-Out”

    1. What he said ^

      Shawn, I don’t think you’ve given Five Guys a fair shake. I think you need to try again when you’re less emotionally and physically exhausted. Five Guys fries, for example, are so good that they are the only fries I have EVER eaten that did not require some type of condiment embellishment. That’s huge!! I crave Five Guys more than is mentally and physically healthy, and I love Red Robin’s Bonzai Burger so much it’s the only burger I’ll order there, just to put it in perspective.

  1. Red Robin all the way. 5 Guys makes you pay twice, if you know what I mean. In-and-Out is good, but so are lots of places.

    The Royal Red Robin burger has cow, pig and chicken products. When you can eat an entire farm in one sitting, you win. End of discussion.

  2. Are you kidding about Red Robin being on this list?! In-N-Out is my vote all the way. You didn’t try your burger animal style? What was the point? They even have animal style fries! Oh…it’s making me hungry and it’s only 7:04 a.m..

  3. In-and-Out. We don’t have them in Oregon, and every time we fly to California, that is LITERALLY our first stop after getting a rental car. Seriously…we look up the closest one on our iPhones.

  4. ONLY BEEN TO RED ROBIN, AND DON’T REMEMBER IF I HAD A HAMBURGER. NEVER EVEN SEEN ROAD SIGN FOR THE OTHER TWO …….. BUT THERE ARE SOME OF US WHO HAVE NEVER TO CALIFORNIA. I HAVE AN EMAIL FRIEND IN PORTLAND, OREGON. I WILL ASK HER.

  5. Of the three, we only have Red Robin in Amarillo. And we like it just fine (especially on the weekly kids-eat-free nights, which apparently you’ve missed and should warrant an extra point). But I will always bypass Red Robin for a home-owned burger place called Blue Sky. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about your burger fetish, because I would have taken you there in a second and your burger life would have been changed. Your loss. Come back.

  6. I have had (and worn out) two In-N-Out t-shirts, but never had one of their burgers. Five Guys easily crush Red Robin…as least here in Central PA.

  7. Five Guys fries are AMAZING and I like their burgers too, which is saying something for me. Since I only had In N Out while we lived in CA, I have fond memories, so that is a close second. I’m not a huge fan of Red Robin for some reason. My top favorite is Weldon Casa Burgers. We’ll treat you when you come back to PA! =)

  8. Though we’ve enjoyed burgers at all 3 establishments, I just spent two weeks in the States with Josh pleading to go to Five Guys for breakfast. lunch, and dinner. Obviously the health conscious thing is lost on him as well. :)

    1. I didn’t know you guys were in the States! I would have gladly delivered a few Red Robin burgers, if we had been in the area :)

  9. I still haven’t tried Five Guys but Red Robin easily beats In-N-Out. I remember being so excited to finally try In-N-Out because of their rabid following but, oh, the letdown. I didn’t understand the fuss. Red Robin has never, ever disappointed me.

  10. I’ve never had a burger at Red Robin and have never even seen a In-N-Out, but Five Guys has awesome burgers and deserves more credit than you’ve given them.

  11. I agree wholeheartedly with your conclusion. However, I’m not sure that these establishments can be fairly grouped together. Red Robin is really a “sit down” restaurant. You’re waited on and are expected to tip a server. It’s not fast food and no on considers it to be. Five Guys and In-N-Out are both fast food and really could not be considered otherwise.

    If we’re just talking fast food, In-N-Out has it, hands down. I firmly believe that people who say Five Guys is better than In-N-Out have honestly never had In-N-Out. That’s the only reasonable explanation.

    With that said, it makes it even more ridiculous that there are those arguing that Five Guys is better than Red Robin. They’re not even in the same conversation. Stop it. You’re embarrassing yourselves.

    Great topic, Shawn. As a terribly boring man who pretty much never gets anything other than a burger when he goes out to eat, I appreciated this post!

    1. Exactly what I was thinking-the establishments are ENTIRELY different. For drive through, inexpensive, fast food the In and Out burger animal style is hard to beat.
      Back when we lived in CO, we frequented a Red Robin a fair bit and their burgers were decent for a chain restaurant, but our fam opts for a grass fed burger at home filled up with blue cheese if we need a burger fix.

  12. There are times when I CRAVE a Red Robin Bonzai Burger. The burgers themselves are not as good as Five Guys or In-N-Out but that sauce & grilled pineapple w/ cheese, oh my!

    1. THAT BURGER WITH PINEAPPLE SOUNDS GREAT, WILL HAVE TO TRY IT, BUT HERE AT HOME FIRST. I’VE NEVER HAD CAJUN FRIES, BUT WOULD SURE LOVE TO TRY THEM, AS I TRULY LOVE CAJUN FOOD. AND SHAWN, SOMEONE SAID THAT YOU PICKED A GOOD TOPIC, AND I MUST AGREE. I’VE NOT HAD THIS MANY COMMENTS TO READ BEFORE. SOMEHOW, THIS WOULD BE ‘BEST SELLER’ MATERIAL TO MIX WITH YOUR WONDERFUL WAY WITH WORDS. I SHARED YOUR ‘TRIP’ DOWN THE MOUNTAIN WITH MY DAUGHTER AND SHE MAILED ME BACK, QUOTE. ‘WHEW, I WAS SCARED’!’ AND LIKE ME, SHE HAS ALWAYS BEEN READING A BOOK. BY THE WAY, YOU DID NOT LET ME KNOW WHAT AN E-BOOK IS. I’D LOVE TO BUY YOURS, BUT DON’T KNOW IF I COULD READ IT OR NOT.. I DON’T HAVE A KINDLE, AND I AM NOT VERY COMPUTER LITERATE.

    2. Yup! That’s the Bonzai Burger – the only burger I EVER order there. My friend once ridiculed me into trying something different. To this day, I regret a missed Bonzai opportunity that day… ; )

  13. I’m thinking on the same lines as Kevin in his comment — you’re comparing a sit-down restaurant to fast food, and you can even split Five Guys and In-n-Out into ‘fast take-out’ vs. drive-thru. Comparing these three might be similar to saying “which one gives you the best movie watching experience, a drive-in, a regular theater or 3D Imax?” Those that like the drive-in like it because of the atmosphere, the nostalgia aspect and probably the price. Will 3D Imax give you a more intense movie watching experience? Sure, but you’re also paying two to three times as much as the drive in.

    If you want to do proper comparisons, compare In-n-Out to other drive thru burger places – McD’s, Carl’s, Burger King. On that basis, In-n-Out far outdoes their competition.

    By the way, your lack of memory due to the timing of when you ate at Five Guys really did them a disservice. On the fries, I’d rank Five Guys fries pretty close to Red Robins, especially the Cajun fries. And as for the Fixins, Five Guys ought to win hands down, because you can add anything of a list of about 30 ingredients without adding anything to the price — sauteed mushrooms and onions, varieties of peppers, sauces. There’s a slight differential for cheese and bacon, but everything else is in the base price. Yes, Red Robin has an egg burger, but that wasn’t even their own idea — they have a contest annually where people can submit recipes, and the egg burger was submitted by someone a few years ago.

    The bottom line for me is the bang for the buck. If I want the best burger for $5-$7 per person, I’m going to In-n-Out; if I want to spend $7-$9 per person, I’m going to Five Guys. If I’m willing to spend $12-$15 per person (plus tip), then yeah, I might go to Red Robin. Does Red Robin have the best burger? For that price, they better!

  14. having had all of these, i’m going rogue and throwing them all under the bus for Burgerville. it’s a Northwest chain. better than all of them.

    but…if i had to choose, i’d go with Five Guys. fries and all.

    i will give it to Red Robin for drinks though.

    Burgerville still wins it all…

  15. I agree with Dan and Kevin that they are hard to compare. It really all depends on what you want, such as a nice sit-down dinner or some quick grub before the movies.

    But, I’ve got to stick up for Red Robin. I’ve never had In-N-Out so I can’t say much on that front. Five Guys I’ve had once and while I remember it being quite delicious (by far topping a Mickey D’s or a BK, the service was great too), Red Robin is the one that I gasp and drool over whenever anyone suggests it. My reason: they have it all. The burgers are amazing, fries are superb and they have a great variety of tasty drinks.

    Red Robin also has a great atmosphere. It’s nice enough for adults while still being kid and teen friendly. I’m pretty sure they even hired a comedian/magician guy once to individually entertain the tables. It was quite hilarious.

    My only complaint would be the price. As much as I love Red Robin, I rarely go there with my student budget. My way around this is to cook similar style food at home. My family has gone Bonzai burger crazy this summer and we’re pretty darn good at making our own. They may not equal Red Robin’s level of goodness, but throw some steak fries in the oven and you can get pretty close.

    1. Oh and Red Robin has gluten free buns…which for people who are allergic (there is a growing number), it’s pretty cool.

  16. I have all 3 different burgers and for me, In and Out is the best in my opinion.

  17. So, if I want perfection, I need to grab an In-N-Out burger, a Bonzai at Red Robin, and fries from Five Guys. I’ll replace Red Robin’s burger with the one from In-N-Out and voila!

  18. Red Robin is the winner in my book. Five Guys usually make me feel like garbage within a few minutes of finishing my meal even though it’s delicious.

    Also, can you even mention the words “Red Robin…” without someone chiming in with “Yummmmm” – fantastic marketing on their part.

  19. This may sound conceited, but I have never had a burger that compared to the ones I make at home…with the possible exception of Home Team BBQ on Sullivan’s Island, SC. Of course that was after a 16 mile run, and it was topped with a fried egg, so like your 5Guys experience, it might be an unfair comparison.

    I have never had In-N-Out Burger, so I can’t comment on it, but I have to choose 5Guys over Red Robbin strictly based on the awesomeness of their fries.

    Truth be told, I’d drive past all three of these places to get an “Aretha Franklin” hot dog and a basket of sweet potato fries from Perfectly Franks ( http://pfranksandmore.com/Home.html ).

Comments are closed.