Some days, a milkshake just hits. As we leave behind the chilly months of winter and spring, careening fast into the heat of summer, those days are most likely going to be happening more often. While you can always make your own milkshakes, there are plenty of fast-casual dining and fast food restaurants that have a whole array of sweet treats already made for you. Five Guys in particular is known for its mix-ins, i.e., other ingredients that you can ask a worker to toss into your milkshake to make new and exciting flavors, all for the same cost. We tasted and ranked the internet’s favorite Five Guys milkshake mix-in combos, and at the end of the day, our least favorite was kind of surprising: the chocolate strawberry shake.
Let’s get this out of the way: You can’t really lose with the flavor combos we tried out, and that’s the case for the chocolate strawberry milkshake, too. It just lost in the face of other, way more intense and delicious combos.
The base of every shake is vanilla, so you’re getting a pretty classic trio of flavors in this one. However, unlike traditional Neapolitan ice cream, where each flavor provides a unique tasting experience and you can mix them together to your preference, they’re all blended together in a milkshake, and that’s its undoing. Every flavor becomes a little lackluster, indistinguishable beyond slight notes of fruit or chocolate. It’s not bad, but it’s definitely not the best.
Is the chocolate strawberry milkshake worth your time and money?
Five Guys ranges in price depending on where you live, with shakes costing $8 or more in some big city locations like Seattle. That’s already a pretty penny to drop for a 16-ounce shake. Since you can add in as many mix-ins as you want without the cost going up alongside it, you’ll get the most bang for your buck by adding in more than one or two ingredients, or aiming for some of the pricier add-ins. Though the chocolate strawberry shake isn’t bad, we think it’s simple, pretty lackluster taste-wise, and overall not worth the price tag.
Instead, you can grab strawberries, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream to make your own version at home for less money per serving. You can get velvety smooth milkshakes every time by letting your ice cream thaw a bit before blending it for an even more decadent experience. If your heart is set on a Five Guys milkshake, though, there are other options. The best custom Five Guys milkshake is a major win for bacon lovers, combining peanut butter, banana, and bacon like Elvis Presley’s favorite sandwich. With 12 different mix-ins available, you’re sure to find a combo that’s a match made in heaven.
