From McDonald's to Taco Bell, many fast-food customers have voiced complaints about rising prices throughout 2024. However, a recent study reveals that diners consider a burger chain renowned for its high-quality beef and milkshakes to be the most "overpriced" of them all.
The online language tutoring platform Preply conducted an analysis of nearly 60,000 Google reviews from over 10,000 restaurants across the top 50 U.S. cities. The goal? To determine which restaurants customers deem the most overpriced and the most fairly priced.
Preply identified the most overpriced restaurants by analyzing Google reviews for keywords like "overpriced," "pricey," "expensive," and "rip-off." Among the thousands of local and chain eateries included in the study, Shake Shack stood out as the restaurant chain receiving the most complaints about overpriced food.
The Preply study comes on the heels of two recent price increases at Shake Shack. The fast-casual burger chain implemented a 3% price hike in mid-March to address "food and wage inflationary pressures," as announced by CFO Katie Fogerty during a spring earnings call. In October, Shake Shack raised prices again by 1.5% to offset inflation but indicated plans to roll back some of those increases in early 2025.
The chain did not respond to requests for comment regarding the Preply study results.
Following Shake Shack, Five Guys—often criticized for its "out of control" prices—and Sugar Factory ranked second and third for overpriced food complaints among chain restaurants. Local eateries topping the list for the most complaints overall included Horn Barbecue in Oakland, Calif.; Ocean 27 in Virginia Beach, Va.; and Docks on the Harbor in Baltimore, Md.
"All too often, restaurants charge a premium for dishes that don't always deliver," the Preply study noted. "From overpriced basic burgers and tiny portion sizes to cocktails priced like they're made out of gold, nothing is worse than paying a high price tag for a low-quality outcome."
On the flip side, Preply also highlighted the most fairly priced restaurants in the U.S., based on positive reviews about price and value. These include Tasty Pizza in Omaha, Neb.; MOMO Sushi in Minneapolis; and Red Mountain Cafe in Mesa, Ariz.