8 Ways Culver's Outshines Five Guys And Shake Shack

In ranking all the American burger chains, Culver's, Shack Shack, and Five Guys all finish near the top. Each chain justifies itself as more fast casual than fast food in terms of not just having a more premium burger, but a higher level of quality across all menu options. But when comparing the three of them directly against one another, we have talk about the way Culver's does it different across a variety of key categories.

Obviously some of this is going to come down to personal preference. If you are absolutely in love with the burgers at Five Guys, nothing else we say here is going to change your mind that you should prefer Culver's instead. Likewise, if you're a Shake Shake regular — especially one who doesn't have a Culver's in your area — you've likely already scoffed at the premise of this piece. Then again, you're still here and reading. 

But if you either undecided on where you stand, or fall into one of the two aforementioned categories and are open to having your mind changed, we think you'll come away from this article agreeing with us that Culver's at least overtakes Five Guys and Shake Shack in all of these categories.

Five Guys doesn't pretend to be anything other than a place to get burgers, hot dogs, fries, and shakes. There's nothing wrong with keeping things simple, but it doesn't change the fact that fries are literally the only side that Five Guys offers. Shake Shack, on the other hand, strives to offer a more varied dining experience, but still only has fries and onion rings as permanent side options. You can also get cheese and bacon on your fries, for what it's worth, but it still pales in comparison to what Culver's offers.

Culver's is among the few fast food places with so many sides that we were able to do a double-digit ranking of them. So the chain easily outclasses Five Guys and Shake Shack in this category. The star of the show are Culver's excellent Wisconsin Cheese Curds, and that alone would be enough to say Culver's has the best sides of the three chains. But things don't stop there, as Culver's also has onion rings, pretzel bites, chili cheese fries, coleslaw, steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, and a side salad to choose from. That's more things than Five Guys has on its entire menu. 

Not all fast food chains offer seafood, and even when they do, it's usually just the one obligatory breaded fish fillet. Five Guys has never bothered with seafood, and Shake Shack has the occasional limited time seafood offering but doesn't have anything on its permanent menu. Well, Culver's not only has seafood, but is actually picky about its fish to ensure that you're getting a premium product. All that to say, it's definitely more than just your basic token fish fillet. In fact, Culver's has an entire seafood section on its menu.

There is indeed a fish sandwich at Culver's, but it's a North Atlantic Cod Sandwich that is already impressive on its own but is elevated by Culver's own special tartar sauce that is befitting of a higher quality of fish sandwich. Those looking for a more substantial, restaurant-caliber meal — another thing Culver's excels at, which we'll expand on in a bit — can order a North Atlantic Cod Dinner that features breaded fillets that are different than the breaded patty that comes on the sandwich, and comes with two sides, a dinner roll, and even a real lemon slice. If cod isn't your thing, you can also get a butterfly jumbo shrimp dinner that is considered by some to be the most underrated item on Culver's entire menu.

In our ranking of the most overpriced fast food chains, both Shake Shack and Five Guys had the dishonor of being included. Not on that list: Culver's. That right there should tell you that you're going to get the most for your money at Culver's versus the other two. We aren't telling you anything you don't already know to say that Five Guys' prices have gotten way out of hand, with the absolute cheapest burger on the menu — the Little Hamburger — coming in at over $9 at some locations. Shake Shack at least has a much better price range and several cheaper burgers on offer, but a common complaint is how easy it is for a meal to push beyond $20.

On the other hand, internet commentators have actually made specific note of how relatively affordable Culver's is, with some even feeling like the prices have actually come down from what they remember. That last bit is entirely anecdotal, but what's important to note is that Culver's is the only chain of the three that has online chatter praising the prices rather than complaining about them. And with Culver's having so many more menu options anyway, there is a lot more things than Five Guys or Shake Shack that can be purchased a la carte for anyone who is in the mood for a specific type of side or snack, beyond just a small order of fries. 

Culver's prides itself on having a sense of Midwestern hospitality, trying to bring that friendly, small town feel to each location and each customer interaction. Five Guys doesn't have bad customer service by any means, but by design it's a no-frills experience where you place your order, go to the other end, and pick up your order when it's ready. Shake Shack is a tiny bit "warmer" than that, but it's still a pretty typical fast food type of experience — which isn't a bad thing, but it simply pales in comparison to what Culver's offers.

Culver's just does a better job of bringing more of that fast casual vibe that gets closer to a restaurant. When you dine in, you still have to go to a counter to order, but then you sit at the table and wait for them to bring you your food. Sometimes workers will clear the trash you're finished with while you're still eating, and you'll even find instances of them asking if you need anything and providing simple services like refilling your drink, getting you napkins, or making right something that was wrong with your order. Especially given the aforementioned detail that it's an overall cheaper experience, it makes it all the more impressive the level of service offered at Culver's. 

Not to keep belaboring this point, but Five Guys just wants to sell you burgers, hot dogs, fries, and shakes. If you are interested in trying to eat something on the healthier side, you probably aren't going to Five Guys in the first place. Shake Shack is much better in this department, offering not only a veggie burger but the option to get several of its sandwiches wrapped in lettuce instead of being on a bun. But Shake Shack stops short of letting you get actual salads, of which Culver's has an entire section of its menu devoted to — on top of the aforementioned side salad option.

As also previously discussed, Culver's has side options like apple sauce and steamed broccoli for those who want to offset that ButterBurger with something a bit more healthy than fries or cheese curds. A medium order of fries from Culver's adds 350 calories to your meal, which isn't an insignificant amount. So the option to instead have a side salad at 50 calories, apple sauce at 50 calories, or steamed broccoli at 40 calories versus just fries and onion rings gives Culver's a huge advantage over Five Guys and Shake Shack for calorie counters. And, again, you always have the option to order those things by themselves if you find yourself at Culver's but really want to just keep things as light as possible. 

We won't say the thing about Five Guys again, don't worry. As for Shake Shack, it earns its fast casual status not just because of the quality of its burgers but because it offers decidedly non-fast food options like a Portobello mushroom burger, an avocado bacon chicken sandwich, those lettuce-wrapped sandwich options, and a variety of frozen custard shakes, scoops, and floats.

Even so, Culver's wins out here once again. It not only has just as many fancier-than-fast food sandwiches, and its own impressive lineup of desserts, but it takes things even further into almost-restaurant territory. For one, Culver's has chili — but so does Wendy's, so that alone isn't especially unique. But Culver's also has a variety of soups that rotate by the day and vary by location but can include chicken noodle, potato with bacon, stuffed green pepper, tomato Florentine, and more.

Plus, just the sandwich options go well beyond what Five Guys or Shake Shack offers, with a beef pot roast sandwich, a pork loin, and a grilled Rueben, not to mention that cod sandwich. It's far more than just chicken, burgers, and variations of those two.  

Five Guys has pretty decent shakes, and they are actual milkshakes as opposed to frozen custard like at Shake Shack and Culver's. If that aspect is pivotal for you, then you'll likely break with us on this entire entry. But in comparing Culver's frozen custard and Shake Shack's frozen custard, Culver's takes that win pretty definitively.

Other than various limited time flavors, Shake Shack's shakes come in a fairly limited selection of permanent flavors and varieties. Apart from shakes, the only other option is to get scoops of just chocolate or vanilla frozen custard. Culver's, on the other hand, is a wonderland of flavors and options, and is peerless when it comes to mix-in choices. Plus there are two kinds of sundaes, and a root beer float made with Culver's own delicious in-house root beer.

And of course, there is one of Culver's defining features: its rotating custard flavor of the day. It's an unwritten rule that you should always check the day's flavor to see if you want to try it as the base for your custard treat of choice. The chain claims that they are continually coming up with new flavors and combinations, and says there have been "dozens" so far. 

Everyone has their own idea as to what constitutes the best burger seasoning blend, so we saved this one for last as it is far more subjective than any other area we've covered thus far. We can't definitively claim whether Five Guys, Shake Shack, or Culver's has the best-testing, most well-seasoned burger of the three for every individual customer. That is ultimately up to you. But what we can offer are some facts about how each chain seasons its burgers, and why we feel Culver's does it best.

Five Guys' own FAQ page admits that it doesn't season its burgers at all, proclaiming that its beef is flavorful enough without it. Shake Shack and Culver's both stick with the tried and true combination of salt and pepper and nothing else. And both season the meat just as its being pressed into the grill. But for whatever reason, we just feel Culver's burgers come out tasting the best, with Shake Shack's pushing of its Shack Sauce seeming to indicate slightly less confidence in how the burger tastes without it. Culver's doesn't have a special "sauce" it hinges its burgers on, instead letting the traditional burger toppings be your guide to a delicious and perfectly-seasoned patty.