This Popular Chain Makes The Best Grilled Cheese We've Tried

When you crave classic comfort food, there's nothing better than biting into a gooey, crispy, perfectly prepared grilled cheese. They're relatively easy to make but arguably difficult to perfect. If you don't want to make one yourself, several chain restaurants offer grilled cheese on the menu. To help you pick one, we've ranked six chain restaurant grilled cheeses, and the one that came out on top is Shake Shack's.

To come up with the winner, our tester considered aspects of the grilled cheese such as the meltiness of the cheese and the bread type, as well as the texture and flavor. The tester found the Shake Shack grilled cheese — which consists of melted American cheese inside a grilled potato bun — to be "bold, flavorful, and delicious." Further, the bun was perfectly toasty and plenty buttery. In other words, it's the kind of sandwich that makes you ask: What makes restaurant grilled cheeses so irresistible? (Spoiler: There are a lot of factors, but it's mostly the ingredients.) The only downside to the Shake Shack grilled cheese was that the tester found it to be a bit small, at least in comparison to the others on the list — but, hey, no one is stopping you from ordering two.

While some Shake Shack fans on Reddit agree that the grilled cheese is delicious — one user even called it "glorious" — others find it too pricey at $5.49. One person commented that you can save money by making a grilled cheese at home, while another pointed out that it's about double the price of a grilled cheese at In-N-Out. It's worth noting that In-N-Out's grilled cheese wasn't included in our tester's review. Even though Shake Shack's grilled cheese is more expensive, our reviewer said it tasted "rich and high-end." With that in mind, maybe just under six bucks isn't too bad. 

To make up for the relatively small size of Shake Shack's grilled cheese, you can always include add-ons — Shake Shack offers bacon, tomato, or avocado. The bacon and avocado cost an extra $1.99 each, making the sandwich even more expensive, although now that it's more filling, the trade-off may be worth it. Regardless, it will still be cheaper than the nearly $12 Panera grilled cheese at the bottom of our ranking. The tomato add-on is free at Shake Shack, so if you combine it with the avocado or bacon, you'll have an even more satisfying sandwich. 

It's also a good idea to add a side of Shake Shack's special sauce, which can make everything better. If you forget to order it, whip up a copycat Shack sauce with just a few ingredients you may already have and keep it on hand for all your future grilled cheese delights.