Cook-Out

Local place that seems to want to offer a bit of everything, so rather than having to pick or choose one item, you can mix and match as if you are at a backyard cookout. The quality of the food was your standard greasy, fried, glory — but it hit the spot. Pretty easy on the wallet, too.

Manager and service is terrible their tray was cracked and lost a milkshake but you still have to pay for it anyway they need to go to a customer service school and apologize for mistakes

Always excellent service and great food! Cookout never disappoints! Even if there are a lot of people in line, the line moves relatively fast and you get your food quickly. The food is always made to order and fresh and hot. The fries are amazing and I am not really a fry person. Also their burgers are incredible. Very affordable prices also.

Stopped for lunch after flying to Roanoke. Excellent burger fries slaw and banana fudge shake. Very quick and inexpensive. Will definitely be back.

I have been here twice, on my son’s insistence. First off, I’m vegetarian so it’s terrible for me. The only thing I can have us fries, which are passable, and milkshakes, which are overly sweet and, i presume, flavored with artificial flavored syrup. The variety of milkshakes is great (40 + I think) but they’re sickeningly sweet. My family complains about the food; chicken tenders are premade, burgers are subpar, hush puppies are greasy. And the place plays nothing but God rock. Not recommended.

I was pretty impressed the first few times I’ve gone there. The foods always been good but last time gave me and my girlfriend the runs and cramps. She was much sicker than I was and she was in lots of pain. Not going back there.

Whenever a place gets a lot of negative reviews, I get morbidly curious and have to go try it out myself. After eating at Cookout, my biggest advice is to adjust your expectations. They aren’t trying to be Five Guys, but rather Wendy’s with class. And they’re cheaper than Wendy’s. I got a burger, two sides and a milkshake for 7 bucks. The milkshake was awesome, the fries were good, and the burger was… meh. A few little touches would help, such as buns that don’t appear to be from generic 12-​packs at Sam’s Club. I’d put it above McDonald’s and Burger King but below Wendy’s or Hardee’s.

My first time @ this place! Came here late @ night! Initially good impression if this place!

Cookout where have you been all my life. I’m from ri but have found this place on my trip to the south. It is the best fast food joint I have ever been too. These bad reviewers are out of control

I have come here twice and both times the food was not up to par. I guess i must’ve gotten spoiled by McDonald’s and all the fast food places that serve their hamburgers in a box. When i ordered a cheeseburger it had velveeta cheese on it which i absolutely DESPISE, and limp greasy fries with no salt, all this was wrapped in aluminum foil and was hopelessly squashed to a pulp. Nope not going back. (Well maybe to get a shake) They, at least, are yummy

Poor service, food quality, and drive through. Not much has changed since the opening, sadly. The only things really worth ordering here are the shakes (which are great). Otherwise, avoid at all costs.

Awesome as usual. Lightning fast and exactly what I expected. I’m not a pushover when it comes to getting my custom order correct.

The food here is horrible but the shakes are mah-ve-lush…Seriously — get food at McD’s next door, or Taco Bell or Wendy’s across the street, or Sonic around the corner, and just come here for the shakes. All those places have better food, but none of them have those shakes. Those wonderful, amazing shakes in every flavor under the sun.
I have tried the food enough to know I’ll not eat here again. Granted, I have not had the chicken strips but I have had the BBQ (vinegar based, small, not fulfilling and kind of bland), the Quesadillas (the chicken far better than the beef, but don’t misunderstand me, not good) and the hamburgers. I have NO idea what they make these hamburgers out of. They are gristly, grainy, tasteless and have a weird mouthfeel. They are to be avoided. Fries, onion rings, hushpuppies all ok. The Corndog is the best thing on the menu. Really, they can do that weirdly. BLT is just that but on a hamburger bun and so, kinda weird.
BUT the shakes. Great day. Fantastic. I’ve been working through the list (which is fun) and by far the best one is the Banana Berry. I’ve also had the Peanut Butter Fudge (yum!), vanilla, heath bar, M&M, mint chocolate chip — the ones with «things» in them are too thick to drink with a straw, so if you are driving get one that is blended. They are out of the world and worth going to just for one. Keep $ 3 in your car for when you are close by because they are wonderful.

The menu features burgers, hot dogs, chicken, BBQ and a few other items. Most of the sandwiches and hot dogs can be topped with different ingredients or «styles.» So if you order something «Cook-​Out Style,» it comes with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. The menu also includes a ridiculous selection of milkshakes — I think they serve something like 60 different flavor combinations. In authentic North Carolina fashion, they even serve Cheerwine!
If you are visiting a Cook-​Out for the first time, I’d suggest getting the combo tray with a big double burger, hush puppies, coleslaw, and a peanut butter oreo milkshake. It’s probably about 7,000 calories but so good and so cheap.

It is no coincidence that Cook Out is a Southern chain. The burgers are big, greasy and cheap. Those are three things we love in Dixie, and Cook Out delivers on all counts. While the burgers won’t make anyone forget Five Guys (or the always «coming soon» Steak ‘n’ Shake), they aren’t dry and crumbly. I got mine steak style, which includes grilled onions and A1 sauce, and it was surprisingly tasty. The onion rings were no more heinous than fast food onion rings generally are, but nothing to write home about. I had a Cheerwine, that NC favorite, that just added to the experience.
The burger was better than my experience with the vaunted Burger in the Square (which was dry and crumbly, and a huge disappointment), and I’d be more inclined to go to Cook Out than any of the national chains. Wendy’s lost me when they went to those flavorless red onions and weird-​tasting pickles.
Service was fast, and my order was correct even though the place was pumping on a Saturday afternoon with lines to the door inside and lines around the building at the drive-​through. The interior was neat and clean, but let’s see how long that lasts.
To be fair, I didn’t try any of the other menu items, such as the milkshakes that everyone seemed to be ordering or the pulled pork sandwich that gets raves in other reviews of the place. I’d like to give their hot dogs a go, since a good hot dog seems to elude most fast food places (Sonic excluded).

Blah. Food is awful and not what we were expecting. Most items tasted microwaved. The lines are long because it is new, but I doubt it will be the case very soon. Very very bland.
They even have the audacity to call certain items «Cajun» because they add Texas Pete to them. An Oxymoron created by real morons. We will NEVER go back.

Meh. I’m going to start off in what might turn out to be a drunken rant… seeing as how I’m pretty drunk. And even though I’m pretty trashed, I could still not bring myself to give this place any greater than 3 stars.
I got a cookout style burger and while the thought of coleslaw and chili sound awesome, I really didn’t taste it. All I tasted was a crappy burger. The burger was just not very good. You top a crappy burger with toppings and it will still be a crappy burger. However, I do like that I can get a side of chicken tenders to accompany my burger. The chicken tenders were not bad. Not as good as say Hardees or Popeyes but decent for late night food. The best part of the meal was the «fancy shake». If you like your milkshakes super thick, this is your place. It was almost like ice cream. Good luck sucking it through the straw… {insert immature sexual innuendo joke here}.
Service not bad. However, I can see this place getting overrun on a Friday or Saturday night. Drive through was 10 cars deep one night I wanted to come here.
Bottom line: I would only come here for the shakes. If you want something quick and cheap (that’s what she said), then come here. Otherwise, go to Waffle House and get some hash browns. And I’m going to pass out now.

Our first visit to Cookout did not disappoint. The Value for the food is excellent. We each got the big double Tray. I had it with the Bacon Cheese add on (Bacon, Grilled Onions and Cheese) and my husband had the Cookout style with (Grilled Onion, Slaw, Chili and Mustard). We both enjoyed the burgers though I would not order it that way again. My Bacon was a little under done and the Cheese was liquid Nacho and I am not a fan of that kind of cheese. My husband really liked the chili and both Burgers had plenty of the onions. The burgers also had a smokey flavor. I noticed mine seemed a little salty.
The sides were all tasty. We had fries, onion rings, hush puppies and the «steak» quesadilla. All were good. The quesadilla appeared to be chopped burger but was still good though my daughter decided it was too spicy for her, I did not taste spicy really.
We did not have a shake this visit but will likely try one in the future as my husband is eager to try a fhot dog with Chili.
The line moved quickly and the food was prepared fast and was hot. Give it a try!

An absolutely sub-​par experience. Its like an interpretation of an American restaurant by someone who has never stepped inside one after a far too long telephone game.
The menus are too small to read while waiting in line and you’re not actually able to see the menus when you’re standing in front of the register to order.
The food is unsatisfactory, my burger was essentially burnt, not charbroiled as claimed, dry and tasteless. As for the sides I ordered, the onion rings were cold, and the side of chili was not a hearty dish of beef and beans and vegetables and instead a small container of hot dog chili which I could only eat by pouring it on my burger.
I did not try one of the milkshakes, so lets hope they at least have one saving grace.
They did have Cheerwine on tap at the fountain which I found novel, at the very least.
Also the music playing overhead just sucked and the decorations was just a mishmash of Virginia sports teams, which just seems to be another one of those misunderstandings that they must have stuff on the wall but having rival teams’ memorabilia right next to each other makes no sense. If the food wasn’t so bad I probably wouldn’t have noticed any of this though.