Five Guys owner explained why their food is so expensive following viral ‘out of control’ receipt

The founder of Five Guys previously explained why meals at the fast food restaurant are a little more on the pricer side, after a customer's receipt went viral for its 'out of control' pricing.

It's fair to say that a burger and chips purchased from Five Guys isn't the cheapest on offer when looking for a bite to eat on the high street, with one customer even going viral after revealing that a meal for one set him back $24.10 (£18.97).

Which is a long way away from being able to get change from £10 when purchasing a meal from a fast food place.

The burger chain hasn't always been pricy, with a 2011 receipt revealing that a burger has nearly doubled in price... Which certainly isn't what you want to hear in today's cost of living crisis.

So, how does Five Guys come up with the pricing for their menu?

The Five Guys receipt which went viral for its total cost (X/@‌WallStreetSilv)

Why is Five Guys so expensive?

According to founder Jerry Murrell, the company doesn't pluck the prices out of thin air, but instead bases them off of the cost of production.

"We raise our prices to reflect whatever our food costs are," he previously said, adding: "So, if the mayonnaise guy triples his price, we pay triple for the mayonnaise.

"And then we'll increase the price of our product."

Which is fair enough.

Meanwhile, UK Chief Executive John Eckbert, explained that prices are justified as customers have already proven they're happy to pay that amount.

"We’re really careful about tripping some psychological barrier in pricing," he explained to the Standard.

"It’s not at all clear what these are. We’ve looked at it whatever way you slice it, but we haven’t found a threshold that makes us say ‘beyond this, you have a problem’."

He continued: "However, we do ask customers what feels like too much and we really try to tune into what that feedback is."

The bigwigs at Five Guys have explained the reason why prices are the way they are (Getty Images)

Is Five Guys good value for money?

While a burger from Five Guys may be on the 'premium' side, that doesn't mean there aren't some bonuses to eating there.

The chain is known to offer 15 extra toppings on their burgers for no extra price, this includes mushrooms, peppers, pickles and a variety of sauces.

Which means you can get a good deal on a custom burger when most places would be charging you several extra pounds per item.

There's also the fact that Five Guys feel the need to dish up half of the fryer into a bag when you order a small portion of chips, with Chad Murrell saying he tells employees to make sure customers are getting their money's worth.

"I won't name names, but other restaurants just don't give a satisfying amount of fries," he told Food Republic.

"We always give an extra scoop. I say load 'em up and make sure they get their money's worth."