From exclusive items to portion sizes, we wanted to find all the differences between cheeseburgers in the US and the UK. This is "Food Wars."
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00:00We've been comparing fast food cheeseburger chains from the US and UK for years.
00:04Today we're ranking cheeseburgers from all the biggest chains to see which is
00:07the best in terms of taste and value. Every cheeseburger is from a chain we
00:11featured on Food Wars. We're trying classics you can find in both countries
00:14as well as a few exclusives to the US and UK. Let's do it. Let's start off by
00:19comparing the standard burgers in both countries. In front of me we have
00:23McDonald's. These are 100% pure beef patties and American cheese. In contrast
00:27to the US cheeseburgers the UK versions have cheddar cheese as well as 100%
00:31British and Irish beef. These classics we're reviewing are of course the
00:34cheeseburger, the double cheeseburger, the Big Mac and the quarter pounder. Here we
00:38have the cheeseburger, the double cheeseburger, the Big Mac and the quarter
00:42pounder with cheese. Now of course gonna be giving you the price and we're gonna
00:46be giving you the weight but we feel to find the best deal or best bang for your
00:51buck will determine every burger's cost per 100 grams. In order to do that
00:57we gotta scale. Look at this little guy. I could demolish this. 103 grams. Get that on the cow and if
01:05you wanted the double cheeseburger. Please look at this sliding out here guys. I mean
01:08they made this in a hurry. It is 145 grams. 197.
01:16No stone left unturned.
01:20Quarter pounder with cheese.
01:24And of course the quarter pounder.
01:30But which one tastes the best? I know they're kind of fundamentally all the same ingredients but
01:34I think ratios can play a big factor in the overall enjoyment of a food. Let's see how they do.
01:40It's the burger that launched a thousand chips. It's a great burger. The double cheeseburger.
01:45It is better. It is better than the regular cheeseburger.
01:48The iconic Big Mac. They've gone a bit crazy with the lettuce on this one, has to be said.
01:54Trying to bite from the less lettuce-y side. They've rejigged the recipe in the UK recently.
02:00Still kind of jury out on that one. Not sure if I prefer or not. But an iconic burger.
02:06Quarter pounder with cheese. I mean this out of all of them to me seems like the cheeseburger.
02:11It looks like the Big Mac is the best value, being the lowest price for a cost per 100 grams.
02:20Second is the double cheeseburger. So thrifty-wise I think I'm still going to learn to charge my boy
02:25the Big Mac because even with the quarter pounder cheese, not the best value even though cheeseburger
02:29wise the best taste. But we are talking, you know, 78 cents here. But those numbers matter.
02:34So the order we went through them in is actually the same order as the cost per 100 grams,
02:38starting with the cheapest and ending with the most expensive.
02:42In 2023, McDonald's did 53.1 billion dollars in sales. Make it the number one fast food chain
02:49in the US by that metric. Despite recent reports of the brand losing revenue.
02:54In the UK in 2022, McDonald's turned over a very respectable 1.6 billion pounds. However,
02:59partly due to rising menu prices over the past couple of years, the chain is seeing a dip in customers.
03:04On to Burger King. They boast 100% beef patties, flame grilled and, once again, American cheese.
03:10In both countries you can get the standard cheeseburger, but their Whopper, it's a big sandwich,
03:15it is the most sold item at Burger King. In the US they sell about 2.1 billion of these every year.
03:22That's an average of 275 every single hour.
03:26Burger King isn't as popular when it comes to fast food here in the UK.
03:29It ranks 7th in number of locations, coming behind McDonald's, KFC and places like Greggs.
03:34If Greggs did a burger, it would be game over.
03:36Once again, they use British and Irish beef. The site doesn't specify which cheese they're using.
03:40To me, just on an eye test, it looks a little bit more on the plasticky side,
03:44which leads me to think maybe it's an American cheese rather than just a straight cheddar.
03:48Time to weigh them. The cheeseburger?
03:50Let's weigh the big boy, the Whopper.
04:00Again, the smaller burger represents better value per 100 grams.
04:03I just feel like this is unofficially for children.
04:05I think it'd be really weird if an adult was like,
04:07oh, one cheeseburger, please.
04:09How's it taste?
04:11You know, I think this is the first time in this show
04:13I've had McDonald's and Burger King right next to each other.
04:16And that is a noticeable difference, the flame grilled.
04:19And maybe it is better.
04:21And of course, the Whopper.
04:22If I'm being honest, I have a couple of problems with the Whopper.
04:25Firstly, tomatoes come as standard on a Whopper.
04:28I don't think tomatoes, particularly fast food, cheap tomatoes,
04:32really have a place on a burger.
04:33Also, there's something about the Whopper.
04:34They always just go wild with the mayo.
04:36If you love the Whopper, I'm not coming for you personally.
04:39It's just not for me.
04:40I dog on Burger King a lot on this show.
04:42I really do.
04:43I've always been like, oh, Burger King.
04:44But man, it's a tasty sandwich.
04:47A little expensive though.
04:48But I'm certain this is not the most expensive burger we'll be reviewing today.
04:54There's one coming up later that may or may not involve five gentlemen.
04:59More on that later.
05:00And on to Wendy's.
05:01These are all ground beef patties with American cheese again.
05:05Here we have the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, the Dave's Single, and the Baconator.
05:09Now, don't sleep on Wendy's.
05:10They did $12.3 billion in sales in 2023.
05:14And they're ranked the fifth biggest restaurant chain in America.
05:17And the second biggest burger one.
05:19Correct.
05:20They beat out Burger King.
05:21Wendy's came to the UK a while ago, but closed all its restaurants in 2001.
05:25But it returned 20 years later, with its first location being in Reading.
05:28I had to drive there for the first Food Wars episode and bring back lots of cold food.
05:32Not the best.
05:33When we ordered today, we couldn't see the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger on the menu.
05:36So instead, we just have the Dave's Single and the Baconator.
05:39Let's give Dave a try.
05:42It's a really good burger.
05:44The bun at Wendy's, I actually really like.
05:47Almost elastic, kind of like potato roll.
05:50Which I think holds up quite well as well.
05:52Because it's quite a saucy burger.
05:53Buttered the buns.
05:54But it's holding firm, which is impressive.
05:56And of course, the Wendy's Baconator.
05:58Probably what they're most known for.
06:00This thing is thick.
06:01It's a double beef patty.
06:02Quite a lot of bacon.
06:03I'd be interested in seeing Joe's reaction to this.
06:05And this is...
06:06I mean, this is just so...
06:10What are we doing, guys?
06:12There's no vegetables on this, right?
06:14Of course there's not.
06:16Veggies? What?
06:18This is a great burger.
06:18I know that already, but let's confirm.
06:23So I really like that as a bite.
06:25Like, that was a really nice bite.
06:27I feel if I was eating this whole thing, right?
06:29That bite of big, hell yeah.
06:31That's what I'm talking about.
06:32And then I would get to, like, here and be like,
06:35oh no, what have I done?
06:37I think I've made a horrible mistake.
06:39This is something you eat at your lunch break,
06:42and then you get back to your desk and you're like,
06:44I'm not doing anything for the rest of the day.
06:46I'm gonna...
06:47I'm just gonna look...
06:48The kind of you're doing this, like, around 3 p.m.
06:51That is a sleeping pill right there.
06:53A delicious one, but...
06:55I'm wondering, would it just be more cost-effective?
06:57Would it be more to have two of these instead of one of these?
07:00I don't think so, because you'd be spending...
07:03Wait, what is the price of...
07:04Wait!
07:04Yeah, it is cheaper.
07:05It might, it is cheaper.
07:06Yeah, because it'd be like close to like $9.
07:09So yeah, if you want...
07:10I mean, if you want meat and bacon and also...
07:12I mean, get it without the vegetables.
07:14It probably seems like it could be better just to get two of these and one of these.
07:16How do you like that?
07:18We're all learning stuff today.
07:20Jollibee, which is voted by USA Today as the best fast food fried chicken.
07:25I love you, Jollibee, but no, you are not.
07:27Jollibee also has cheeseburgers, including this one, the Cheesy Yum Burger.
07:31Now, according to Jollibee.com, this very cheeseburger in my hands would cost $4.99.
07:39And yet, when we went to the Jollibee to get it this morning, they charge us $6.09.
07:44$6.09?
07:46Website says one thing, going in person says another.
07:49I don't know what you think you're doing, Jollibee.
07:51We're going by what we paid.
07:53So for $6.09, come on, for this, what are you doing, guys?
07:57This burger weighs 132 grams.
08:02Yeah, it's a lot.
08:04It's $4.061 per...
08:06That's ridiculous.
08:08Now, this isn't the most expensive one for 100 grams.
08:11And again, they're online, spreading this $4.99 business.
08:17$6.09 we paid for this.
08:19Jollibee, what are you doing?
08:20You're not moving enough fried chicken?
08:21You're not trying to rip people off?
08:22I don't like that.
08:31Whoa, this is terrible.
08:32This tastes really weird, too.
08:35You know what this tastes like?
08:36It tastes like...
08:38It tastes like meatloaf.
08:39Okay, Jollibee.
08:42You're doing fantastic on chicken.
08:44And might I recommend you stay with chicken?
08:47First, we wanted to point out that with our Jollibee burger,
08:49they not only put it in a box, but also wrapped it.
08:52So it's like playing past the parcel.
08:59Here's a single Jollibee classic burger from the UK.
09:01On the site, it just describes it as a beef burger topped with cheese,
09:04but doesn't specify the origins of the beef or the cheese.
09:07Jollibee burger wing.
09:13That's £2.57 per 100 grams.
09:16Not the cheapest for a single burger.
09:19Give it a go.
09:19I'm really not getting much beef flavor from that.
09:27I'd say that's my main criticism, considering it is a beef burger.
09:30Not getting much beef.
09:31But all the other elements, and I guess to an extent the beef as well,
09:35are working well together in harmony.
09:37I really like that. That's a really good burger.
09:42Now I'd like to talk to you about cheese.
09:45So far, it has been either American or cheddar cheese on these burgers.
09:50USA is an American, and the UK has been using primarily cheddar.
09:55American cheese tends to be the go-to cheese for cheeseburgers in the US,
09:59because of its milder flavor, which pairs best with the flavor of the burger,
10:03when cheddar cheese can be a bit stronger.
10:06Now, it could also be a logistical issue.
10:08If you've ever purchased sliced cheddar,
10:10you may have noticed that it breaks easier in cold or room temperatures.
10:14Yes, I'm pulling it for effect, but you know what I mean.
10:16Especially the good stuff, it really breaks up.
10:18See, it just easily falls apart.
10:21So it's probably harder to have in large quantities
10:25and be moving around in a kitchen.
10:26Unlike American, this guy right here,
10:29I mean, it comes in this in close inspection.
10:34They're both pretty floppy, right?
10:36Let's do like a stress test.
10:37Which one's gonna break first?
10:38Oh, which one's gonna break first?
10:40Which one breaks first?
10:42See?
10:42Because that's how you make a cheeseburger.
10:45This one just says, uh, mild and creamy cheesy singles.
10:49Which sounds like a dating app profile.
10:52Sounds like something for your hinge profile.
10:54Here we have an English version of American cheese,
10:57which I think from my experience looks pretty faithful.
10:59It's got that real rubberiness to it.
11:03Not that rubbery, clearly.
11:05I actually made some American style cheese from scratch
11:07as part of a fast food chemistry episode.
11:09And one thing that we realized is if you throw this at a wall,
11:12it should stick.
11:15For old time's sake.
11:19It should stick.
11:21Told you.
11:22And of course, the cheddar.
11:25Embarrassing.
11:28Now we have Five Guys.
11:29Look at this thing.
11:30Oh, my.
11:33Eugh!
11:34Weak.
11:36All right.
11:39Now, Five Guys famous for serving a higher-priced cheeseburger
11:43compared to the other chains.
11:44You've seen the memes.
11:46$15.
11:48More than $15, actually, this burger.
11:50I mean, it's big.
11:50It's definitely the heaviest one.
11:51It's a hefty burger.
11:53Unless I could put two more burgers on top of this.
11:55$15, no.
11:56Too expensive.
11:57All right.
11:58And the weight of this is 320 grams.
12:01Yo!
12:02That's a thick boy right there, ladies and gentlemen.
12:04That is a lot of beef and cheese.
12:08We've done Five Guys on this show, obviously.
12:11And I think I was a little harsh on them.
12:12I just wasn't that impressed with the burgers.
12:15Okay, look, let's take a bite.
12:16Let's see what we got here.
12:29Is that cooked?
12:30I don't recall sending one of my burger medium rare.
12:33I swear to God, if you guys give me diarrhea,
12:37that's the end of it.
12:39It feels like, as the price goes up,
12:42the value per 100 grams goes down.
12:46Are we noticing that?
12:48Hmm.
12:49If any eggheads in the audience want to crunch the numbers,
12:52I'm thinking that it might be better to get, like,
12:55two or three of the smaller burgers
12:56compared to one of the bigger ones.
12:58You might be getting a better deal.
13:00Someone else do that math.
13:01I don't want to.
13:02In the UK, Five Guys says its beef is prime,
13:04120-day grain-fed meat from Scotland.
13:07They also say their beef has an 80-20 lean-to-fat ratio.
13:17They came to £3.77 per 100 grams.
13:20I'm really surprised by that.
13:21I feel like Five Guys is a famously quite expensive burger chain.
13:24If you go in and buy a burger, fries, and a drink,
13:26I'm often expecting to pay somewhere from, like, £20 to £25,
13:28which for fast food for one person is a lot of money.
13:31Obviously, Five Guys is highly customizable.
13:33There are a lot of different options.
13:34I ordered this one all the way.
13:36That's kind of their standard toppings combination.
13:41Given how moist a lot of these toppings are,
13:44plus all the sauces,
13:46it's quite a wet burger, I would say.
13:49In my mind, when I think of Five Guys,
13:50I think of the patties as being quite thin,
13:52but they're actually not.
13:53It's a double burger by standard.
13:55But compared to, like, a McDonald's burger,
13:56these are thicker than a standard double cheeseburger patty would be.
13:59Do I think it's worth the price that you're paying?
14:01I have to wait and find out.
14:03What about Shake Shack?
14:05They use Angus beef, which is the first time it's shown up in the U.S. in this episode.
14:09They also use a potato bun and appears to be American cheese.
14:12First up is the Shake Shack cheeseburger.
14:15Boop.
14:15And the Shackburger,
14:18looks to be about the same but a bit smaller, is 172 grams.
14:24All right, so pretty similar.
14:28See how they taste.
14:31This is definitely more of, like, a smash patty.
14:33It's crispier and thinner.
14:35I like this one.
14:39Surprisingly, a lot more flavor in the beef.
14:43Juicy in with the cheese.
14:45Maybe because it's Angus beef, it definitely has a more unique flavor.
14:48I don't mean that, like, it's spiced differently.
14:50It just feels like a better quality of beef.
14:51Here in the UK, our Shake Shack burgers are made from 100%
14:54all-natural Aberdeen Angus beef.
14:56That's in Scotland.
14:58Weird, like, tire marks on them.
15:01A little tiny motorbike has run over our burgers.
15:04Angus actually refers to the type of cow that this meat has come from,
15:07the Aberdeen Angus cow.
15:09The Angus label on beef has kind of become associated with being a higher quality standard of beef.
15:13But this might be more of an advertising trick rather than a guaranteed indicator of quality.
15:18Beef quality actually has more to do with the grade of the beef
15:20rather than which type of cow it's from.
15:22You could have a low-quality Angus cow, but you could also have a very high-quality Angus cow.
15:26If you were a cow, Harry, what quality would you be?
15:29I'm prime beef.
15:30I'm all-natural.
15:31I'm grass-fed.
15:34Look at this marbling.
15:35Come on.
15:35Shake Shack cheeseburger.
15:37The cheeseburger is £5.91 per 100 grams.
15:43And the Shaq burger?
15:45That's £5.78 per 100 grams.
15:48So per 100 grams, these are both some expensive burgers.
15:51The Shaq burger being slightly better value when compared to just the standard cheeseburger.
15:55One thing I like about Shake Shack is the simplicity.
15:58Although I will say, when it's that simple, hard to justify such a high price maybe?
16:03It's tough because on one hand, I love the simplicity of it.
16:08Just the bun, meat, cheese.
16:10Simple as a burger you can get.
16:12The beef itself also, really high quality.
16:15Really nice, rich flavor to it.
16:17And the way that they kind of smash the patties at Shake Shack.
16:19To charge that much money for this.
16:22Because it's not big either.
16:23It's not a big burger.
16:24And it is good, but I'm not convinced.
16:26Let's see how that compares to the Shaq burger.
16:28That's much more like it.
16:30I actually don't even mind the inclusion of tomato that much on this one.
16:33It's a better quality tomato, so it's got more texture to it.
16:36A bit more bite.
16:37And actually adds some flavor.
16:38I do love their rolls as well.
16:40It's that kind of potato roll again, so it's a bit more, I guess, like malleable.
16:43You can push it nice and flat, but it does hold its own.
16:45For the price, is it worth it?
16:48Here are a few exclusive burgers from each of the chains you can't get in the UK.
16:53Starting down here, we have from McDonald's.
16:56The quarter pounder with cheese with bacon.
16:58Yeah, I know.
16:59You can get a quarter pounder with cheese.
17:00Have to throw some bacon on there.
17:03Not a menu exclusive though, so here in the US, it is.
17:09A 194 grams.
17:12Also, you can get this in a single and double options.
17:16It's too much meat.
17:16There's too much cheese.
17:17McDonald's bacon's good.
17:23I don't know what they're doing with their bacon, but it's looking really good.
17:26This is the triple cheeseburger from McDonald's, which actually is a UK exclusive.
17:29They don't have this on the menu in the US.
17:31That always surprised me because I thought they were the indulgent country, but hey, here we are.
17:35So when it comes to price, this actually is a tiny bit cheaper when compared to the double cheeseburger,
17:39which surprises me.
17:41I do think my assertion from before is holding true.
17:44I think it's a delicate ratio that they perfected McDonald's with a lot of their burgers.
17:49Adding another burger just slightly topples that house of cards.
17:53Like I say, I was surprised to learn this is cheaper per pound when compared to the double,
17:57but for me right now, I think I'm probably paying that extra 4p per 100 grams.
18:02For a BK exclusive, I went with a very American choice, the Texas Double Whopper.
18:09Yee-haw, baby.
18:11Look at the size of this thing.
18:13Of course it's got cheese.
18:14Two patties.
18:15I don't know what's on here.
18:16Bacon, definitely.
18:18I mean, come on.
18:18Oh, before I bite into it.
18:21This bad boy weighs 370 grams.
18:24Look at the size of this thing.
18:26Look at this.
18:27I'm supposed to eat this whole thing?
18:29Come on.
18:30Everything's bigger in Texas.
18:31Ugh.
18:32That's the best value so far.
18:34No.
18:35If our calculations are correct, this might be one of the best values you're getting.
18:40For 1029, 370 grams.
18:42278 per 100 grams.
18:45Wow.
18:46But what about the taste?
18:49Whoa.
18:53That's actually really good.
18:54Have we not covered this before?
18:56Wow.
18:57Burger King with the value.
19:00Take note, McDonald's.
19:01Take note, Wendy's.
19:03Here's a Burger King exclusive from the UK,
19:05the Barbecue Steakhouse Angus with smoked cheddar cheese.
19:08I love smoked cheese, so this could be a problem.
19:11Burger King in the UK kind of does like a rotating range of specials,
19:14often with one of these Steakhouse Angus burgers.
19:16That's kind of the fancier option on the menu.
19:18Before I even try this, I'm going to say it.
19:21American cheese is better on burgers.
19:23We should probably realize this more as a country,
19:25and I think start embracing that side more because it melts so well,
19:29doesn't split, doesn't overpower the meat, everything else that's in the burger.
19:33I'm just going to say I'm sorry, guys.
19:37I think one issue I have with this, as well as other chains that try and do
19:41kind of like gourmet burgers on their fast food menus, is if I want a gourmet burger,
19:46especially when I'm paying almost £10 for it,
19:49I think I'm probably just going to go to an actual restaurant and get my food.
19:53Wendy's in the US has plenty of exclusives, but as I've hinted to before in this video,
19:59I want to try something different.
20:00This right here is the smaller cheeseburger they have in the menu,
20:05the Junior Cheeseburger.
20:07Now, yes, exclusive to the US, but it is smaller,
20:10and I'm wondering if the move for value is a lot of the smaller guys.
20:17So first of all, we're going to weigh it.
20:18It's a Junior Cheeseburger at Wendy's, 112 grams.
20:25That's a pretty good deal, right? That's lower than most, isn't it?
20:30285.
20:31Now, is that a better deal if you've got two of these versus one Whopper with cheese?
20:38I don't know.
20:42No.
20:43Too boring.
20:45No, thanks.
20:46We sadly have no Wendy's exclusive cheeseburgers here in the UK.
20:50Now, Shake Shack, their menu features exclusive items at specific locations,
20:55so it'd be possible to even showcase what they have here in LA that you can't get in the UK
21:00or even other parts of the country.
21:01So I went ahead and got this one, which is the Avocado Bacon Burger.
21:05It's 209 grams.
21:06Oh, and I think it's a higher price because the avocado, right?
21:14It's expensive.
21:16The fruit that made millennials renting forever.
21:19Right there.
21:20I hope it was worth it.
21:28This is really good though.
21:30Very generous.
21:31Very fresh.
21:32LA baby.
21:34At a Shake Shack in London,
21:36you can get a Schackmeister burger.
21:37The Schackmeister is a cheeseburger with some Shaq sauce and some crispy
21:41ale-marinated shallots.
21:43In the UK, we say shallots.
21:44I know you guys say shallots.
21:46That's wrong.
21:47Don't do that.
21:47Per 100 grams, this is our most expensive burger of the day.
21:50£6.21.
21:52It's a good burger.
21:54I do like the crispy shallots.
21:55They're not quite crispy anymore, but still have a really nice flavor to them.
21:59Bit of sweetness, bit of saltiness.
22:02But beyond that,
22:03they really haven't added much to just the standard cheeseburger from a Shake Shack.
22:09And for that price, I just struggle to see how that's worth saying.
22:14Last but not least, down here at the end, we have an exclusive Jollibee burger,
22:18the Aloha burger.
22:20As it implies, this is a burger with pineapple.
22:23And it's also leaking.
22:25See that right there?
22:29Is this two patties of beef?
22:32And pineapple?
22:33And bacon?
22:35Just like in Hawaii, right?
22:38Well, the Aloha burger at Jollibee in the U.S. weighs 240 grams.
22:46What?
22:46Oh my God.
22:48It's not a great deal either.
22:50You know, I kind of like the idea of having pineapple and bacon in a burger.
22:54Let's get a bite.
22:55The beef tastes weird.
23:00I'll go for another bite.
23:01Then finally, in the UK at Jollibee, we have a Jolli burger deluxe on the menu.
23:05What does deluxe mean?
23:06I hear you cry.
23:07Well, as often seems to be the case on fast food menus, lettuce and tomato.
23:12Let's give it a try.
23:12Yeah, I'm not sure if adding lettuce and tomato to a burger does make it deluxe.
23:20Jollibee aren't the only place that does this.
23:21I feel like there's other culprits in the UK and the U.S. that do that.
23:24If anything, I feel like adding bad tomatoes and kind of slightly sad lettuce to a burger
23:29can actually make it worse.
23:31Kind of the opposite of deluxe.
23:32You're making it cheap, sad, other thesaurus things.
23:35Let's rank by price cheeseburgers from lowest price to highest price.
23:41Of course, just about every one of the fast food cheeseburgers straight up.
23:46Junior cheeseburgers wherever down here.
23:48Wendy's Junior Cheeseburger is the cheapest one.
23:52So maybe just get three of those instead of one of these or whatever.
23:56Moving back way up, you see they start to get a little more premium over here.
23:58Still McDonald's.
23:59I mean, these are bigger sandwiches.
24:01They're lower priced than the rest of these.
24:04Shake Shack literally right in the middle.
24:07Yeah, I mean, this is kind of making a lot of sense as far as price.
24:09Of course, the Five Guys burger coming in all the way down here,
24:14I think it is almost over $2 more than the second most expensive,
24:18the Shake Shack avocado bacon burger.
24:20You're definitely paying a lot more for Five Guys versus just about everything else.
24:26Nothing about this surprises me too much.
24:28You know, Shake Shack right in the middle,
24:29I thought it was going to be more on the expensive side.
24:32But it looks like a lot of these burgers are more expensive than Shake Shack,
24:35which is a surprise. But I've not mentioned before,
24:38these are all California prices.
24:40So maybe the prices in your part of the country differ,
24:43but this is what we got here in Southern California.
24:46Even though this to me makes about as much sense as I thought it would be,
24:50a few surprises, I'm going to say McDonald's,
24:53a lot cheaper than these other guys.
24:54Everyone's talking about fast food's too expensive.
24:57Just saying.
24:58So here are all of the UK cheeseburgers ranked in terms of price.
25:01Not per 100 gram cost, just overall price.
25:04We've got McDonald's filling out most of the lower end.
25:07Jollibee somewhere in the middle.
25:08Burger King somewhere in the mid to high ground.
25:11And then it's really just Shake Shack, Wendy's and Five Guys right at the end.
25:15I'm a little bit surprised because honestly, at a glance,
25:18I don't think any of these stand out as massively cheap looking
25:22or particularly expensive looking.
25:24It's pretty obvious that the higher up you go,
25:25you do start to get bigger burgers for your money,
25:27with Shake Shack I think being the exceptions there.
25:30Donald's buns used to look a bit cheaper.
25:31They weren't quite as glossy and shiny.
25:33But like I said, they changed their recipe at the start of 2024.
25:36And now they look a bit shinier, a little bit more visually impressive.
25:39I think broadly in terms of price, the things I've learned today are that
25:42Five Guys is on paper as expensive as people think it is.
25:45But I was shocked by Wendy's.
25:47Wendy's is really high up on the scale, particularly that Baconator,
25:50a really expensive burger if you look at it.
25:51This is probably not the most accurate way to show you what's the best value because of sizes.
25:58So instead, let's take a look at the ranking for price per 100 grams.
26:03So here it is, the breakdown of the best value per 100 grams down here.
26:08Lowest cost per 100 grams, getting the best deal over here.
26:12Not so great.
26:13Is this all Shake Shack?
26:17It's all the Shake Shacks.
26:18Oh, Shake Shack.
26:20And the worst value is this avocado one that, I mean,
26:22it's probably only available at the Shake Shack near the studio.
26:26So no worries if you can't get it.
26:29But yeah, Shake Shack, too expensive for what we're getting.
26:34Also, of course, Five Guys got the Baconator over here.
26:38I guess I'm not too surprised by this still.
26:40I mean, Big Macs down there.
26:44Great value for that sandwich, even though, you know, prices have gone up still
26:47compared to everybody else.
26:50Overall, I guess I'm not too surprised.
26:51It's like all the burgers around here are between three to four dollars per 100 grams.
26:56Over here, between four and five.
26:57And then these guys over here, too expensive.
27:00Too expensive over here.
27:01No thanks.
27:04Yeah, I guess I'm actually surprised how much the Jollibee burgers are.
27:08Both these guys.
27:10Considering they taste weird, how bad they taste.
27:15Here are the burgers in the UK ranked by value per 100 grams.
27:18There's actually been quite a lot of movement.
27:20Notable changes include the triple cheeseburger being slightly better value
27:24than the double cheeseburger from McDonald's.
27:26The Whopper actually representing really good value for money.
27:28We've seen all three of the Shake Shack burgers slide to the very end.
27:31So in terms of cost per 100 grams, these are very expensive burgers.
27:35Five Guys was number one if you just looked at pure price.
27:37But if you look at it in terms of how much burger you're getting for your money,
27:40it's actually dropped well below all the Shake Shack burgers as well as the Wendy's Baconator.
27:44Pleasantly surprised by the Big Mac's positioning, actually.
27:46It's a big burger, but still not costing you very much.
27:49In terms of a fast food rivalry, we've got the Big Mac coming in
27:52slightly cheaper per 100 grams when compared to the Whopper.
27:55I have to say as well, given the tweaks that McDonald's made to their bun,
27:57it actually kind of looks slightly more premium as well compared to the Whopper.
28:01All in all, quite a few surprises there. I'm impressed.
28:03We've talked a lot about value here, but we don't just eat with our heads and our wallets.
28:07We also eat with our taste buds and our hearts.
28:09I'm going to have a quick thing to come up with some of my top burgers from today.
28:12Yes, we've gone over how much they cost.
28:14And yes, we've gone over what is the best value per 100 grams.
28:18But I eat with my heart.
28:21And these today are my favorite tasting ones.
28:23All that information has, you know, helped with the decision.
28:27But overall, these are the ones I like the best.
28:30Starting down here was the Shake Shack Shack Burger.
28:33Great flavor.
28:35I like how it's the smash burger patty, which is really good.
28:39Not thrilled about the price.
28:41So, eh, loses points to that.
28:42But overall, tasty burger.
28:44Same as you, Joe. My number eight spot goes to Shake Shack.
28:48This is the Shack Burger, which of the three that I tried today, I think was my favorite.
28:52Then I got the Whopper.
28:53Yeah, you saw it earlier.
28:54I'm surprised.
28:55This actually, this flame-grilled.
28:58The flame-grilled flavor.
29:00Actually, it does it for me.
29:02Number seven, we got the Whopper.
29:03I did want to include one from Burger King on here.
29:05And I think of the ones I've tried today, the Whopper was the clear winner.
29:07I do love the flame-grilled effect that you get on those Whoppers from Burger King.
29:11And it's something that I think a lot of the other chains could learn from.
29:14Move of the ranking here.
29:15Sorry, I'm a California boy.
29:18So, you know, I got to have my avocado.
29:20Avocado and bacon at Shake Shack.
29:22It is the worst valued one.
29:24But, ooh.
29:28It all tastes really good.
29:29Number six goes to the Wendy's Baconator.
29:32Another one that loses points because of just how expensive it is pound for pound.
29:35But it is a very good burger.
29:36Like I say, I think this one really pushes the limits of how much meat you can have in a burger
29:40and still have it be an enjoyable mouthful.
29:43But it just about pulls it off by the skin of its teeth.
29:45It's really tasty.
29:46It's meaty.
29:47That bacon, I think, is great.
29:48Probably the best bacon I've had on, like, a UK fast food menu.
29:51So, they're doing a lot of things right.
29:54I got the Big Mac, come on.
29:55The Big Mac.
29:56Always love it.
29:57Always delicious.
29:59And now I know it's got great value, too.
30:01Good on you, Big Mac.
30:02Bit of a surprise package maybe in the middle there.
30:04The Jollibee Single Burger I actually really enjoyed.
30:06I stand by what I said about it maybe not being quite meaty enough.
30:09I think if you made that a double, it might remedy that problem.
30:12It's just a good burger.
30:13Dave's Single over the Big Mac?
30:15Yeah, I'd say so.
30:16I'm talking to his cheeseburgers here.
30:18The Wendy's, it's got this unique flavor to it that I really like.
30:21It's juicy.
30:23Yeah.
30:25Coming in at number four for me, the McDonald's Quarter Pounder.
30:28We all know how a Quarter Pounder tastes.
30:29It's just a great burger.
30:30It's well executed.
30:31Compared to a lot of the other McDonald's options,
30:33you get that thick patty, which has a bit more juice to it,
30:36a bit more bite.
30:37You get the onions in there, the ketchup, and it all just works.
30:39It's another one of those burgers that I think McDonald's
30:41has perfected the formula of over the course of many years.
30:44Got another number three.
30:45Sorry, Harry.
30:46I know this is your favorite, but the double cheeseburger.
30:51It really is the optimal balance of cheese and beef.
30:55And cheeseburger, yeah, it's really good.
30:56But if I was going to get a cheeseburger at McDonald's,
30:58I'd get my number two.
30:59I'd probably go with Quarter Pounder with cheese.
31:00I mean, just come on.
31:04I've kind of surprised myself with this one, to be honest.
31:06These days, I don't eat much Five Guys, partly because of this preconception I have
31:09about how expensive it is.
31:11It is an expensive burger if you just look purely at the cost.
31:13But having learned today that pound for pound,
31:16it's not actually that bad compared to some of the other fast food options,
31:19I actually kind of like it a little bit more than I did coming into today.
31:22I feel like with McDonald's in general and with the Big Mac,
31:25they've kind of really refined the amounts of things that go onto each burger.
31:29They've got those guns with the sauce, for example,
31:31really precise, controlled measurements of sauce,
31:33a certain amount of onions.
31:35Whereas with the lettuce, it's still the Wild West.
31:37They're just chucking as much as they want on there.
31:38And my favorite, apparently, of both taste and value,
31:43the Texas Double Whopper.
31:45I had no idea.
31:46To be honest, I don't know if I would ever get this
31:50because it's just so gigantic.
31:51I mean, we just get the sandwich and nothing else is dripping,
31:54but the flavor in this thing, oh, man.
31:59I'm going by taste, too.
32:00I know that's weird to say, like, it's my favorite,
32:02but also, like, I wouldn't order it.
32:04It's so big.
32:06I can't eat that much.
32:07Call it bias, call it bad taste, call it whatever you want.
32:10But for me, my number one burger, pound for pound,
32:13is still the McDonald's Double Cheeseburger.
32:15I was surprised and honestly a little disappointed to learn
32:18that the value isn't quite as good compared to the Triple Cheeseburger.
32:20However, honestly, for me, I think it's still worth paying
32:22that extra little bit per 100 grams
32:24to achieve what they've achieved here,
32:26which, for me, is pretty much the ideal cheeseburger ratio.
32:29Every mouthful is meaty, it's cheesy, it's saucy,
32:32it's bready, it's tangy with those pickles and onions.
32:35It's just a wonderful burger.
32:36It was consistently at the best end for value
32:38and for flavor as well.
32:39So, yeah, all in all, that's still my number one.
32:41Hey, Joe from Food Wars.
32:42Thanks for watching.
32:43If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe.
32:46We have a new Food Wars episode every Sunday
32:49here on this channel, Insider Food.
32:50Or is it Food Insider?
32:51I forget.
32:52If there's any topics or things you'd like to see
32:56Harry and I compare on the show,
32:57go ahead and comment below.
32:59We will look at it and maybe we'll do it.
33:01And maybe we won't.