Five Guys Secret Menu 2026 — Quick Facts
- Secret Builds
- 10 · ordered by recipe
- Double Grilled Cheese
- ~$16+ · 2 grilled cheese + patty
- Patty Melt
- $11.27–$12.47 · now official
- Presidential
- Cheeseburger + lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, mustard
- Cheapest Hack
- Free · All the Way, extra scoop
- Lightest Build
- Bowl ~450 cal · bunless
- Free Peanuts
- In-store bins · while you wait
- Base Menu
- Five Guys menu prices
- Founded
- 1986 Arlington, Virginia
Five Guys has no official secret menu — and barely needs one, because the 15 free toppings already build 250,000 combinations. What regulars call the secret menu is a set of fan builds assembled from standard ingredients, ordered by recipe rather than by name, because the names are not in the register. Ten builds and eight ordering hacks follow, with estimated calories computed from Five Guys’ own component figures and labeled as estimates.
For the base prices behind every build below, see the full Five Guys menu with prices; for the calories behind the estimates, see the Five Guys nutrition guide. And for the deal that isn’t one — there is no promo-code program — see the coupons guide.
Secret Builds
Order these by recipe: name the parts, not the fan name, and the crew will build it. Prices are the base items’ store-level ranges; upcharges for extra patties, cheese or bacon vary by store.
| Build | Recipe | Price | Est. Calories | How to order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double Grilled Cheeseburger | Two grilled cheese sandwiches as the bun, one burger patty (or more) inside, toppings of your choice | 2 grilled cheese + patty upcharge | ~1,240 | The flagship secret build. Ask for two grilled cheeses and a bunless patty; the crew assembles it, or you do it yourself at the table. |
| Patty Melt (graduated) | Grilled cheese sandwich with a beef patty and grilled onions inside | $11.27–$12.47 | 790 | The rare secret build that went official: it now sits on the sandwich board. Order it by name, or as a grilled cheese plus a patty and grilled onions. |
| Presidential Burger | Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños and mustard | $14.63–$15.59 | ~995 | Barack Obama’s 2009 order. Specify the toppings — the crew may not know the name, but the recipe is just a cheeseburger with four toppings. |
| Grilled Cheese Dog | Grilled cheese sandwich with a halved hot dog slid inside | Grilled cheese + dog upcharge | ~740 | Order a grilled cheese and a plain dog, then combine. The dog’s split-grilled halves sit neatly in the melted cheese. |
| BLT Cheeseburger | BLT with a beef patty and melted cheese added | BLT + patty upcharge | ~970 | Six strips of bacon, tomato, mayo, lettuce, plus a patty and cheese. The heaviest sandwich on this page before toppings. |
| Nacho-Style Fries | Fries covered in melted cheese, plus bacon and/or jalapeños if you like | Fries + cheese upcharge | ~1,050 | Ask for cheese on your fries at the counter; some stores charge around 50 cents for the cheese, others do it free — it varies, so ask first. |
| Breaking Windy City Dog | Kosher-style dog with pickles, tomatoes, relish, green peppers, mustard, hot sauce and a Cajun sprinkle | $9.35–$10.79 | ~555 | A Chicago-style dog with a Cajun twist, dreamed up by chef Justin Warner. Ask for the Cajun seasoning on the side so you can sprinkle it yourself. |
| Little Bacon Cheeseburger Bowl | Bunless Little bacon cheeseburger with pickles, grilled onions, green peppers, mayo, mustard and/or hot sauce — no ketchup | $12.83–$14.63 | ~450 | The low-carb play: dropping the bun takes the Little bacon cheeseburger from 690 to about 450 calories. Skip the ketchup; it is the carb cost. |
| Steak Frites | Bunless hamburger with A.1. sauce, served with fries on the side | $13.31–$14.15 + fries | ~600 + fries | The bistro hack, also from Justin Warner: a bunless patty with steak sauce and a pile of fries, eaten with a fork. Salt and pepper to taste. |
| Animal Style-Inspired Burger & Fries | Cheeseburger with extra cheese, grilled onions, tomato, pickles and a mayo-ketchup-relish mix; fries with cheese and grilled onions | Cheeseburger + fries | ~1,150 + fries | In-N-Out’s Animal Style rebuilt from Five Guys parts. Asking the crew to grill mustard into the patty has reportedly failed — mix the sauce yourself. |
Free Upgrades & Asks
These cost nothing at most stores, and they are the difference between a good Five Guys order and a great one.
| Hack | What it is | Cost | How to order |
|---|---|---|---|
| All the Way | Every one of the 15 free toppings on your burger or dog | Free | Say “All the Way” and the crew loads the board. |
| Well-Done Fries | Fries cooked longer for extra crispness | Free | Ask for well-done or extra-crispy fries at the counter. |
| Extra Scoop | An extra scoop of fries tipped into every bag | Free | Automatic — the cup is not the portion. Split a Large between two people. |
| Lettuce Wrap / Bunless | Any burger or dog served without the bun, in a lettuce wrap or a bowl | Free | Ask for bunless or a lettuce wrap; the allergy-aware crew handles this routinely. |
| Free Peanuts | In-shell peanuts to snack on while you wait | Free | In-store bins at every location. Not a menu item — just help yourself. |
| Malt Vinegar & Fry Sauce | Malt vinegar on the tables; fry sauce on request | Free | Vinegar is on every table; ask at the counter for fry sauce. |
| Freestyle Sodas | Custom soda blends from Coca-Cola Freestyle machines | Drink price | Only at stores with Freestyle machines — Diet Coke raspberry, ginger ale fruit punch vanilla, and the like. |
| Veggie BLT | BLT with the bacon held, grilled mushrooms and jalapeños added, cheese optional | BLT price | The vegetarian BLT hack: mushrooms stand in for the bacon’s texture, jalapeños for its bite. |
What Five Guys Itself Says
Five Guys has never published a secret menu, and its own line is that the toppings board already covers it: the chain says there are more than 250,000 ways to order a burger. That is why the builds above work — every one is standard ingredients, and the crew is used to building to order. The one build that outgrew the secret menu is the Patty Melt, now printed on the sandwich board.
How to Order Without Annoying Anyone
Three rules. First, order by recipe: “a grilled cheese with a patty and grilled onions” beats “the Patty Melt” at a store where the name means nothing. Second, expect to assemble some builds yourself — the double grilled cheeseburger sometimes arrives as parts. Third, ask about upcharges before you commit: extra patties, cheese on fries and bacon additions are priced per store, and the only bad surprise is an assumed price. For the prices behind the bases, see the full menu.
Five Guys Allergen Information
Secret builds inherit the base items’ allergens: buns carry wheat, soy, egg and milk; cheese adds milk; fries are cooked in refined peanut oil; and everything is made in kitchens handling all nine major allergens. The bunless bowl is the friendliest build for wheat avoidance, and the lettuce wrap is the friendliest for cutting carbs — but neither is a certified allergen-free preparation. The full chart is in the nutrition guide.
Five Guys Hours & Where to Order
Secret builds are available all day at any store — there is no separate secret-menu window. Most stores run 10:00 or 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM; the builds work identically at lunch and at close, though a tired crew at close may assemble the double grilled cheeseburger as parts for you to stack. Delivery apps work too, but write the recipe in the special-instructions box — the fan names are not in the app.
What People Say
The secret builds have been covered by Mashed, Food Republic, Cheapism and the chain’s own fan press for a decade, and the consensus is consistent: the double grilled cheeseburger is the one to try once, the Patty Melt is the one to order weekly (which is presumably why it graduated), and the bowl is the one fitness-minded regulars actually live on. The Animal Style build borrows from In-N-Out’s secret menu, which works the same way — fan recipes, not register items. No per-reviewer star breakdown with verified reviewer names was available for a slider, so reviews here are prose aggregates: the Arlington home stores rate 4.5–4.6 stars, with service and allergy-aware ordering the praised themes.
Five Guys Secret Menu Facts
1. The double grilled cheeseburger is the oldest documented Five Guys secret build, covered by Mashed and Food Republic years before most chains had secret menus.
2. The Patty Melt is the only build here that became official — it now lists on the sandwich board at $11.27–$12.47 and 790 calories.
3. The Presidential Burger is a real order: Barack Obama ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños and mustard at Five Guys in 2009.
4. The Breaking Windy City Dog and Steak Frites both come from chef Justin Warner’s Five Guys hacks.
5. Five Guys itself says there are 250,000+ ways to order — the secret menu is just the famous subset.
6. Extra patties cost extra, by an amount that varies by store; older reports put it near $2, but no current national figure is published.
7. Cheese on fries is the only hack with a price that flips by store: some charge around 50 cents, some do it free.
8. The Little bacon cheeseburger bowl drops about 240 calories by skipping the bun — 690 down to roughly 450.
9. Nacho-style fries are not on any printed menu; they depend on the store agreeing to melt cheese over your fries.
10. The Veggie BLT is the meat-free build: hold the bacon, add grilled mushrooms and jalapeños, cheese optional.
11. Freestyle machines are the only route to custom sodas — and only at stores that have them.
12. The Animal Style-inspired build cannot fully copy In-N-Out: grilling mustard into the patty has reportedly been refused.
13. Shake hacks are unlimited too: peanut butter, bacon, chocolate and crushed free peanuts make the extra-chunky protein shake.
14. Ordering by recipe, not by name, is the single rule that makes every build on this page work.
15. The secret menu works on delivery apps if you write the recipe in the special-instructions box.
Five Guys Secret Menu Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a real Five Guys secret menu?
No official one. Every build here is standard ingredients ordered by recipe, which is why they all work — and why the fan names are not in the register.
Can I order the Patty Melt by name?
Yes now — it graduated to the official sandwich board. The other builds still need the recipe spelled out.
How much does a double grilled cheeseburger cost?
Two grilled cheese sandwiches plus a patty upcharge that varies by store — roughly $16–$21 from the August 2026 ranges, before toppings.
What is the healthiest secret build?
The Little bacon cheeseburger bowl at roughly 450 calories, bunless with pickles, grilled onions, green peppers and mustard instead of ketchup — the full numbers are in the nutrition guide.
Do secret builds work on delivery apps?
Yes, if you write the recipe in the special-instructions box. The fan names are not menu items in the app.
The Bottom Line
Five Guys’ secret menu is really a toppings board with a fan club: order by recipe, expect an upcharge on the extra parts, and start with the Patty Melt — it is official now for a reason. The double grilled cheeseburger is the once-in-a-while event; the bowl is the everyday play. And if the crew looks blank at a fan name, that is normal: the recipe is the order.
Five Guys and all menu item names are trademarks of Five Guys Enterprises, LLC. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Five Guys — secret builds are fan-documented customizations, not official menu items, and prices vary by restaurant.
