Unwritten Rules To Know Before Visiting In-N-Out

Loyal In-N-Out patrons tend to have a go-to order. They know what they want after trial and error and visiting dozens, if not hundreds, of times; they'll even wait in a line for a new local restaurant near them for 14 hours just to get a bite to eat. But what if you've never visited before? You might be feeling overwhelmed by what everyone says, attempting to figure out what to order, and generally feeling out of the loop. 

We'll give you a handful of insights on some unwritten rules you should know before you head to In-N-Out for the first time. These will shine a light onto what to expect and how to make the most of your experience, particularly if you don't have one locally and you're trying to ensure the best results during your first (and potentially only) visit. After all, sometimes people travel a long way to visit the fast food restaurant. But whether it's a one-time trip or you plan to become a future regular, consider these hidden rules.

There's a lot that you can order besides the very limited menu that you see in the store: burger, cheeseburger, Double Double, fries, and various drinks. For example, you could order a grilled cheese to mix things up. You can customize a lot of your order, too. A standard hamburger comes with a toasted bun, a hamburger patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, and the signature spread. Still, you can remove anything or add more if you want (for a cost, depending on what you get). 

So, you could get a hamburger with three patties, no lettuce, and extra tomato, or any other customizations you want. If you don't want to think about it and concoct your own creations, it may be best to consult the In-N-Out secret menu to get a base for what exists out there beyond the written menu. Some things you can order by their secret menu name, like a Flying Dutchman (which actually has ties to racing — something we learned from the company president's book), but other things may need to be ordered separately, such as roadkill fries. Once you learn the off-menu options, you'll open yourself to a world of new meals.

Since the chain uses fresh ingredients, such as real cheese and freshly sliced tomatoes, your best bet is to eat the food immediately. Burgers can get soggy, fries can get stale, so there's no need to wait. If you order anything with cheese, like a cheeseburger, grilled cheese, or Animal Style fries, you should not wait to eat it. The cheese begins to firm up almost immediately (not all at once, but it's a ticking clock of freshness). 

If you wait five minutes to eat the grilled cheese, it turns into a cheese sandwich with formerly toasted bread. Fries are best eaten hot; otherwise, they cool and simply don't taste as good. Out of all the foods, the fries and burgers fare the worst once cold. The fries are hard and tasteless, while the burger bun (of a hamburger, cheeseburger, or Double Double) gets soggy from the spread, tomato, and lettuce. Your best bet is to dine in for the freshest experience.

You can go to In-N-Out at 3 p.m. on a weekday, and it'll still be busy. It always seems to have a steady number of customers, both inside and in the drive-thru line. But it's especially hectic on weekday evenings when people are getting dinner, as well as weekends for lunch and dinner or late at night. During peak times, you can expect a much longer wait in both areas. It's the go-to spot for a late-night or early-morning (aka 1 a.m.) bite to eat. 

For example, the San Diego location opens at 10:30 daily and closes at 1 a.m. most days — 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. That means you can expect a longer line on Fridays and Saturdays since people might seek munchies after a late night hanging with friends or coming home from work. The only time you might see fewer people is right at the 10:30 a.m. opening, since people might not be seeking a burger for brunch, but never say never. Some do exactly that to avoid lines and save time. So you can certainly do the same on your premier visit.

The drive-thru might be 20 cars long, but inside might be only five people or fewer — this is just a theoretical number, though. Do yourself a favor and peer into the windows as you get close. If you don't mind waiting or plan to leave right away, go ahead and wait in the drive-thru; otherwise, it is considerably shorter indoors on the average visit. If it's your first time visiting, though, you should definitely sit inside. It feels nostalgic and retro without being old and dirty. 

Eating inside is part of the experience, so it's worth parking the car to go in if you have the time. You can people-watch, and most importantly, you can see what other people order. However, there are many reasons people get their food to go, whether they prefer to eat in a quieter environment or they need to take a phone call. So, it boils down to personal preference if you want to stay or go. If you go with the drive-thru route, though, the employees will ask you if you're eating it in your car; this results in a different packaging that makes it easier to eat.

Maybe you're having such a good time that you missed your number, or perhaps it's just so loud that you couldn't even hear it. Your number is your order, and it goes quickly. Sometimes, you can't hear them call it out, and they aren't necessarily keeping track of your order either. We've had multiple times when we didn't hear it or when they went out of order; this usually happens when an order is larger. So if you feel like they skipped your order, they might have. Your best bet is to hang around the pickup area, where you'll see many people doing the same thing. 

If you're there with friends or family, have someone snag a table or place to eat, and then someone else can wait for the order. If you miss your order, don't fear, they'll announce it on the speaker. And if you have any issues, you can go up to the employee who's doling out the food. One time, they forgot to make our shakes, so we had to go up and ask. They'll always make sure you get exactly what you want.

Plenty of the In-N-Out foods get messy, so you'll need a game plan to stay clean, and that starts with napkins. Animal Style fries have melted cheese and lots of spread, which is essentially like dumping liquidy condiments over your fries. It'd probably be best to eat with a fork anyway, but if not, you'll need quite a lot of napkins to clean your hands. Burgers of all sorts start to leak juices from the fresh ingredients combined with the spread, occasionally dripping off your hand and down your arm. 

It doesn't help that the napkins, while somewhat large, are very thin. You still need a few napkins, no matter the size. Unquestionably, you should ask for some if you're taking it to go, in case you don't have any where you're going (unless you're going home and know you have napkins or paper towels). If you dine in, then you can simply grab napkins at your leisure near the ketchup and chili peppers.

The fries at In-N-Out bring a lot of controversy, just because many people don't seem to like them.  There are even Reddit threads dedicated to ranting about them and asking others how to make them taste better. However, if it's your first visit, you should test them out; at least that way, you can say you tried them. Plus, you can find various customization options if you don't want to eat them as is. You could get them cooked longer so they're well-done and crispy, or ask for them to be lightly cooked instead for a softer consistency. 

Animal Style fries are a popular order, but nobody tells you to get them well done, so they can hold up under all the moisture of the spread. This is a great way to offer some longevity to the fries, or else they quickly turn to mush. You could also get cheese added on top (cheese fries), add chopped chili peppers, or grilled onions. 

The inside of every In-N-Out doesn't look identical, so tables and seats may vary. While most are somewhat similar, they still have some unique qualities, and some might be totally different. If you're coming in with a specific layout in mind based on something you saw online or in random photos, you might want to reset your expectations. You could look up the photos on Google or Yelp ahead of time if you know which location you're going to. Some might be especially small with a narrow, confined ordering area, while others might be completely open. 

You might spot locations with plenty of stools facing the window, while others don't have that feature at all. Some have red stools, others are grey. You get the idea. The layout doesn't really affect the average experience; focus on finding a seat, if you can. Sometimes you don't get much say in where you eat since it might be totally packed. Parking lots, of course, will vary too.

If you order a soda, the In-N-Out employee will merely hand you one of the soda fountain cups, so it's up to you to fill it however you want. You can get your standalone soda or create a mixture to come up with your own secret menu drink. If you need ideas, you can try Dr Pepper with a splash of pink lemonade; multiple people claim this is a delicious combination. Or you could do the same with Barq's root beer and a smidge of lemonade. 

For something creamy with a barely there citrus note, try half root beer with half 7UP. Half pink lemonade with half root beer, though, is like candy in a cup if you want something ultra-sweet. Someone even says pink lemonade paired with Coca-Cola tastes like cherry Coke. Whichever option you go with, drink your soda while you're there, and then top it off right before you leave to enjoy some on the road.

At In-N-Out, you can locate ketchup and chili peppers at the self-serve station next to the napkins, so you can add some to your burger, fries, or whatever you wish. Pump ketchup into the little paper cup or add a few of the tiny chilis in the cup to take to your table. Take a bite from a chili and pour out any residual liquid onto your burger for a spicy burst. 

You can also ask the staff for the spread, which they will give you in packet form. Grab some of those to pour over your fries, or add them to one corner of the fry container so you can dip them as you would with ranch or other condiments. For a different route entirely, you can mustard-fry your burger for a tangy mustard element. There aren't a lot of options, to be honest, but it's still helpful to know during your trip.

Plenty of fast food restaurants have bacon burgers or ranch cups to dip your fries in. Or perhaps they even have a bacon ranch burger mashup to hit on both notes. In-N-Out is known for its limited menu, so don't even bother asking for either of those items. Someone even started a petition for the eatery to serve ranch because they wanted it so badly (it obviously did not take off). Well, hate to break it to you, but it's unlikely to happen simply because it would impact the speed and efficiency expected in the restaurant. 

Bacon is greasy and hard to clean, so that's out. In-N-Out has had its spread recipe since 1948; imagine the amount of recipe development and time needed to craft its own ranch recipe — that's out, too. Plus, In-N-Out is also known for its traditions and long-standing history; randomly introducing ranch doesn't fit the model. And no, it doesn't have barbecue sauce, hot sauce, avocados, Pepsi, or Fanta either.

An onion is just an onion, right? Wrong. Not at In-N-Out, the fast food joint where you can get any number of onion options for your burgers or fries. The ones you should know for your premier visit are raw, chopped, grilled, and whole grilled. Raw onions are those round slices, and this is what you'll get in your average order without customization; it's the go-to standard onion at the fast food eatery. If they ask if you want onions on your burger, this is the "raw" version that they mean.

If you ask for chopped, though, then this is essentially diced onion, similar to how you get them at McDonald's. Grilled onion is cooked chopped onion, which you'll see on things like Animal Style fries or burgers. And lastly, whole grilled is the circular slices, but grilled. So, yeah, you can have fun with it based on the size and shape, or whether you want them cooked or not. If you like onions, then this level of customization is a true dream. Alternatively, if you despise onions, you might change your mind.

If you feel even more overwhelmed after reading all of this, then take a breather. It's not that serious. Stick with a classic like a Double Double and simply get the regular fries and call it a day. You don't have to heavily research to find something of interest. Many of the burgers and customizations are variations on the same theme, anyway. There are only so many ingredients: signature spread, patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and bun. 

No matter what, you're still getting the same burger patty base; just have fun with it and order something to your liking. You don't have to know any lingo either. If you want something lower-carb, you can ask for your Double Double served without a bun. It's technically called Protein Style, but they'll clearly know what you mean. You don't have to know every nook and cranny of the menu to find something tasty. Enjoy the experience!