Let’s be real, nothing sparks more debate among fast-food fans than which chain has the best fries. You either love them or they leave you disappointed, staring at a soggy handful of regret. Some chains have perfected the art, while others seem content serving you what tastes like cardboard sticks. Here’s the thing about fries: they’re deceptively simple yet maddeningly difficult to get right.
They can make or break your entire meal experience. A recent study conducted by Seating Masters analyzed over 40,000 Yelp reviews mentioning fries across 21 major fast-food chains, with In-N-Out topping the list with an average rating of 3.86 out of 5 based on 7,595 reviews, though the California-based chain’s fresh-cut fries prepared in-store daily garnered the highest praise. The rankings might surprise you, especially when you see where some beloved chains actually land.
Burger King: Thick but Tragically Undercooked
Burger King’s fries are unfortunately extremely underseasoned and definitely need a big sprinkle of salt to make them worth the calories, with the inside being so thick and potatoey that the whole textural balance is off. These fries look promising when they arrive, but one bite reveals a disappointing truth. The cut is too thick, almost resembling steak fries, except they’re not cooked long enough to actually cook through properly.
In a surprising result, McDonald’s ranked last with a 1.91 rating from 1,381 reviews, while Burger King ranked second to last with a 1.92 average from 623 reviews, reinforcing ongoing criticism of its fries despite repeated recipe overhauls. Unlike McDonald’s which has remained relatively true to its fry recipe, Burger King has been tinkering with its fry recipe for years, rolling out a fry coated in a potato-based batter in 1998 and launching a thicker fry in 2011 with less sodium and a new coating designed to help them stay hot. Despite all these attempts at improvement, they still haven’t quite figured it out.
Shake Shack: Ruined by Rancid Oil
Here’s where it gets controversial. Shake Shack has the foundation for excellent fries with their crinkle-cut shape and crispy texture. The problem? Every single batch of Shake Shack fries tastes like rancid cooking grease, whether it’s the soybean oil itself that they use in the fryers or their cooking technique.
Some taste tests have actually ranked Shake Shack favorably. Shake Shack claimed second place with a 3.7 average from 17,018 reviews across 45 locations for its crinkle-cut fries. Still, that greasy, almost stale oil taste is enough to knock them down several pegs. The smell emanates from the store itself, which honestly tells you everything you need to know about freshness.
In-N-Out: Fresh Cut Doesn’t Mean Best
In-N-Out’s fries are divisive to put it mildly, with the chain famously cutting them fresh using Kennebec potatoes which is laudable, but their aversion to frying them twice or blanching them ahead of time ensures they turn into stale, room-temp matchsticks in mere minutes. For a chain that’s practically worshipped for its burgers, the fries remain a massive disappointment.
You can order them Animal-Style to improve them exponentially with cheese, grilled onions, and sauce. The caliber of a fry should stand on its own, not slathered in sauce. The commitment to fresh ingredients is admirable, but when your fries inspire articles about how to order them so they don’t totally suck, there’s a fundamental problem with the recipe itself.
Arby’s Curly Fries: Spiraled Perfection
Unlike any of the other prolific fast-food brands, Arby’s made the wise decision long ago to go curly, seasoning the spirals with a tasty blend of onion powder, cornmeal, garlic powder, baking soda, and other spices, resulting in a shape, texture, and seasoning unlike anything else in a drive-thru and earning them a reputation as some of the most popular fast-food fries of all time with fans on Reddit calling them the best fries ever. The spiral shape creates varying textures throughout each fry, with some parts extra-crispy and others maintaining perfect potato softness.
Notably, Arby’s curly fries helped secure its eighth-place finish with a 2.89 average rating. The battered coating protects the moisture inside while providing excellent crispiness that lasts. These aren’t just fries; they’re an experience, fun to eat and consistently flavorful without needing any condiments.
McDonald’s: The Undisputed Champion
McDonald’s remains the favorite by a certain margin, with a CivicScience survey in 2023 showing the McDonald’s crispy, salty, shoestring fries to be the top choice. There’s simply no denying the legendary status of these golden sticks. CivicScience surveys have ranked McDonald’s fries among the favorites.
There are a lot of reasons that McDonald’s fries are just so darn delicious, from the consistency to the seasonings, oil flavors, fats, and the fact that they’re almost always served fresh. The texture is perfect: crispy exterior with a fluffy, potato-y interior. with the pro tip being to ask for them fresh as the three-minute wait is absolutely worth it. When they’re hot and properly salted, no other fast-food fry comes close to matching that addictive combination of salt, crunch, and potato flavor that keeps you reaching back into the bag.
Did you expect McDonald’s to remain king after all these years? What’s your take on this fry hierarchy?
