Photo: Five GuysPatty Melt
The best-kept secret on the menu, even though it is printed right there. The sesame bun is turned inside out and grilled, so the soft crumb goes crisp and golden like buttered bread in a diner melt, with a patty and melted cheese inside. It is greasier and far more satisfying than it looks. Grilled onions are not optional.
The story
The patty melt is older than most of the chains selling it, and it is usually traced to Tiny Naylor’s coffee shops in Los Angeles in the 1940s, where a burger was folded into a grilled cheese sandwich with onions on rye. It has lived on diner menus ever since as a sandwich rather than a burger, which is exactly how Five Guys treats it: the sesame bun is turned inside out and griddled in butter so it behaves like toast.
What’s inside
- beef patty
- American-style cheese
- inside-out grilled sesame seed bun
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Patty Melt yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef and cheese
Smash Burgers - Shares beef and cheese
Arby’s Roast Beef - Shares beef and cheese
Sloppy Joe Smash Burgers - Shares beef and cheese
Best Hamburger Ever
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Patty Melt.- Culver's · beef and cheese
SignatureButterBurger Cheese - Freshness Burger · beef and cheese
SignatureClassic Cheese Burger - Bobby's Burgers · beef and cheese
SignatureCrunchburger - Q Burger · beef and cheese
SignatureClassic Beef & Cheese Burger (經典牛肉起士堡)
More from Five Guys
About Five Guys
Five Guys started in 1986 in Arlington, Virginia, when Jerry Murrell and his sons opened a carry-out burger joint with a deliberately tiny menu. The idea never changed: beef that is never frozen, patties cooked well done on a flat grill, fries cut from whole potatoes, and a box of peanuts to eat while you wait.
Around 2,000 restaurants across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Not affiliated with Five Guys. Trademarks belong to their owners. The photo is credited under it and is used to illustrate this menu item; it comes down on request.