IW
Ian Williams
Aug 27, 2026
Five Guys in Wandsworth has apparently encountered a staffing crisis of an unusually mathematical nature: there were only four guys there.
A perfectly respectable burger establishment with one rather glaring administrative problem: when I visited, there were only four guys.
I appreciate that Five Guys is not necessarily a legally binding promise, and that personnel numbers may fluctuate. Nevertheless, if I walk into a place called Five Guys and discover that one of the guys is conspicuously absent, I feel entitled to ask questions. Was Guy No. 5 on his lunch break? Had he transferred to Wimbledon? Was he stuck in traffic on the South Circular? Or had he simply gone off in search of a career with better numeracy?
The food, fortunately, remains considerably more reliable than the headcount. The Wandsworth branch offers the usual Five Guys extravaganza of customisable burgers, hand-cut fries and enough topping combinations to make the United Nations look underrepresented.
But the missing fifth guy did get me thinking about another great burger mystery.
If Donald Trump is so keen on burgers, why does he eat McDonald's rather than Five Guys?
This is particularly puzzling because Five Guys is, in many respects, the more obvious presidential burger. It is American, excessive, customisable and comes with a frankly heroic quantity of fries. In other words, it would seem almost purpose-built for the presidential palate.
Perhaps the problem is the ordering system. At McDonald's, you can apparently tell the world exactly what you want simply by pointing at a picture. At Five Guys, you are confronted with approximately 250,000 possible topping combinations.
One can imagine the presidential exchange:
“Cheeseburger.”
“Certainly, sir. Any toppings?”
“Cheeseburger.”
“Yes, but would you like onions, grilled onions, mushrooms, jalapeños, relish, mustard, BBQ sauce—”
“CHEESEBURGER!”
And so McDonald's wins again.
Still, I enjoyed Five Guys Wandsworth. The burger was good, the fries were plentiful and the service was perfectly pleasant. My only real complaint is that the establishment should either recruit another guy or change the name.
Four Guys would be honest.
Five Guys, Usually would be realistic.
Five Guys, Subject to Staff Availability would be legally watertight.
But I suppose Five Guys sounds better.
Four stars — one for each guy actually present.