Few fast food brands are as good as Wendy’s. Not only does the chain have one of the most expansive menus of the big nationwide brands — offering everything from burgers to chicken sandwiches to milkshakes, chili, baked potatoes, nuggets, dressed fries, and a breakfast menu that puts McDonald’s to shame — but they actually manage to be good at most everything they do. I’m not sure you can say that about any other fast food brand out there.
Wendy’s is one of the few places you can eat at multiple times a week without getting bored. The burgers and chicken sandwiches are so good that I actually have a mini-crisis every time I find myself in the drive-thru. Should I order a Spicy Asiago Chicken sandwich? Grab a Dave’s Single? Or just say f*ck it and go for the Baconator?
In truth, it doesn’t matter where I land because I know whatever I end up with, it’s going to be good (Baconator with a side of Spicy Nuggets — best of both worlds). But what on Wendy’s giant menu rises above the rest? To find out we consulted the masses! And by the masses we mean, Ranker.com, where any old dork can up or down-vote their favorite menu items. Did the masses get it right?
We have a lot of thoughts about it so let’s jump in and talk about the top 10 Wendy’s menu items according to the masses.
10. Vanilla Frosty
Our Thoughts:
We have to admit that we miss the vanilla Frosty! The flavor was temporary discontinued this summer when Wendy’s rolled out the strawberry Frosty and currently Wendy’s is serving a holiday-themed peppermint flavor, which is keeping vanilla off the menu. While we love Wendy’s trying something new and expanding their flavor options, distance makes the heart grow fonder and we miss the simple pleasure that is a vanilla-based shake.
Having said that, the Vanilla Frosty shouldn’t even be in the top 10.
The Frosty is a fine invention, it’s like drinking soft-serve ice cream, but there are so many fast food chains out there that do milkshakes better. Five Guys, Dairy Queen, In N Out, Shake Shack, even Jack in the Box, the vanilla Frosty lacks a serious depth of flavor. Sure, it pairs perfectly with a side of fries for dipping, but Wendy’s has so many better food options that deserve a spot in the top ten — like the chili, or the baked potatoes, or the breakfast-only potato wedges.
The Bottom Line:
The vanilla Frosty, as delicious as it is, is entirely non-essential.
9. Homestyle Chicken Sandwich
Our Thoughts:
Before Popeyes launched its chicken sandwich in 2019, Wendy’s was in the running for having the best fast food chicken sandwich on the market. In 2022, the game has changed and as good as the Homestyle Chicken Sandwich is, it feels a little boring. This is a classic chicken sando build, breaded chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and pickles on a toasted bun. It’s delicious, offering the perfect combination of tender chicken and an earthy pickle tang but almost every other chicken sandwich on Wendy’s menu is better than this. The masses got this one wrong, it doesn’t deserve to be in the top 10.
Right now you can get yourself an Italian Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich, which features the same homestyle chicken filet topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and fried mozzarella on a garlic knot bun. It’s an explosion of garlic-forward, herbal, creamy, and salty flavors. If that isn’t your thing, you can also reach for a Pretzel Bacon Pub Chicken Sandwich, which is topped with honey mustard, fried onions, and muenster cheese on a pretzel bun. Both options have a more exciting journey of flavors for your tastebuds to experience.
Every other chicken sandwich on the menu is more interesting and flavorful than the classic Homestyle Chicken Sandwich.
The Bottom Line:
A fine sandwich but far from Wendy’s best chicken sandwich. Like the Vanilla Frosty, it doesn’t deserve to be in anybody’s top 10.
8. Dave’s Single
Our Thoughts:
The Dave’s Single is quite simply one of the best fast food burgers, period. Wendy’s uses fresh ground beef and the difference is palpable, the burgers here are juicy and savory, with a soft tender mouthfeel that places like Carl’s Jr., McDonald’s, and Burger King just can’t compete with. Wendy’s is right up there with In-N-Out, Shake Shack, and Five Guys so we think the Dave’s Single is ranked way too low by the masses. Granted, it’s not the most exciting thing you can order at Wendy’s, but it’s so good it at least deserves to be in the top five.
Our only major gripe with this burger build is the lettuce. Wendy’s has the worst lettuce in all of fast food — they simply throw a single leaf of romaine in their sandwiches, complete with a thick watery spine that dilutes some of the meaty flavor of this burger. The only thing better than a Dave’s Single is a Dave’s Double which is literally just more of the same thing.
The Bottom Line:
Criminally underrated, Wendy’s Dave’s Single is one of fast food’s best cheeseburgers.
7. Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger
Our Thoughts:
I think the masses are on drugs. Don’t get me wrong, the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger is a steal, for just $1.99 you get a delicious cheeseburger that is topped with crunchy and smokey bacon. Nothing to hate there, but don’t mistake value for flavor, while Wendy’s Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger is cheap, it’s nowhere near as good as the simpler Dave’s Single. Wendy’s doesn’t use the same quarter-pound ground beef patty used on the flagship burger, instead this is a thinner cut and it’s not nearly as flavorful as its beefier counterpart. Gone is that salty savory meaty flavor, and in its place is a meat that is more texture than flavor.
The bacon does a lot of heavy lifting here, but it doesn’t compare to a dish where bacon is the centerpiece, such as the Baconator. At the end of the day, the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger just tastes like a less flavorful rendition of two separate dishes that Wendy’s does much better. Skip this one if money isn’t a cocnern, it’s not worth the savings.
The Bottom Line:
Somehow less than the sum of its parts.
6. Dave’s Double
Our Thoughts:
This one feels like it’s ranked a bit low, but the Dave’s Double is indeed a better experience than its single counterpart. What makes the Double better is the extra dose of meat, it results in a much beefier bite with a better bun to meat ratio. The extra layer of cheese doesn’t hurt either. The bun is merely a delivery system here, the dominating flavor is mouthwateringly savory and decadent and results in one of the most satisfying meals in all of fast food. The Dave’s Double is so substantial that you don’t even need a side order of fries to make this a meal, the burger is more than enough to keep you full and fed no matter how big your appetite is.
If you do grab an order of fries with your Double, we strongly suggest you place a layer into the burger itself, it’ll add this buttery salty component to the burger that makes it all the more delicious.
The Bottom Line:
In the top five of fast food double cheeseburgers, it deserves to be ranked higher.
5. Natural Cut Fries
Our Thoughts:
Wendy’s fries… are fine. They get the job done, they aren’t divisive like In-N-Out fries, and they aren’t universally beloved like McDonald’s fries, they are sufficiently mid-tier, so they don’t belong in Wendy’s top 10. I don’t know what’s wrong with the masses, but these fries just aren’t that great. They’re crispy, sure, but they’re also incredibly over-salted, which leads me to believe Wendy’s is trying to hide something. They also don’t taste very good once they cool down a bit turning into salty-soaked greasy sponges by the end of your meal.
For that reason, we suggest you eat these fries first, or simultaneously with your main course. Don’t save them for the end of your meal.
The Bottom Line:
Wendy’s fries are fine, they’re not gross but they aren’t good enough to land in anyone’s top 10 Wendy’s menu items. Order a side of nuggets instead.
4. Crispy Chicken Nuggets
Our Thoughts:
I’ve spent the last few entries criticizing the masses for missing the mark but the Crispy Chicken Nuggets at the fourth feels spot on. I say this knowing full well that Wendy’s also has Spicy Nuggets and while I love those, the non-spicy version is better. Unlike the Spicy nuggets, the Crispy nuggets are tender, almost juicy, while the Spicy version trades in a softer more pleasing mouthfeel for heat. The Spicy nuggets come across as way drier, with a hard breading that is so crispy it can actually irritate the roof of your mouth.
The Crispy version doesn’t have any of those problems, and once dipped in sauce provides enough flavor that you won’t miss the lack of heat. Good on the masses for recognizing greatness here.
The Bottom Line:
Instinct will tell you that the Spicy nuggets are better, but order these side by side the next time you have a chance. You’ll be surprised to find that the Crispy Nuggets are much juicier.
3. Baconator
Our Thoughts:
The Baconator is definitely a top three Wendy’s menu item but I kind of feel like it deserves the number one spot. We’ll need to do a full Wendy’s ranking to determine this (which I plan to do soon) but the Baconator is fast food’s greatest bacon cheeseburger, and it deserves a bit more credit than this bronze medal placement.
The Baconator is simple, it features a double layer of beef, bacon, and cheese, with some mayo on the bun. That’s it, no watery lettuce or tomato to distract you, just a meat bomb of beefy, smokey, and salty flavors that tastes so dangerously decadent, it can make you break out into a sweat while you eat it.
That’s right, the Baconator gives you meat sweats — in the best way possible. It’s near impossible to eat this massive meat bomb without slipping into a food coma after. It combines two of Wendy’s greatest contributions to fast food: fresh unfrozen beef and fast food’s greatest bacon into a single perfect sandwich.
The Bottom Line:
It deserves the number one spot. If you’ve never been to Wendy’s, start with the Baconator, you’ll be an instant fan guaranteed.
2. Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Our Thoughts:
Wendy’s offers three variations of its chicken patty: homestyle, spicy, and grilled, and the spicy iteration is the best so we feel like this sandwich landing in second place is well deserved. It has a tastebud tantalizing mix of cayenne and black pepper with a thick audible crunch and tender white meat inside. Next to burgers, what Wendy’s does best is chicken sandwiches, but as I mentioned in the entry for the Homestyle Chicken Sandwich, there are much better iterations of this sandwich on the menu.
Forget the Pretzel Pub and Italian Mozzarella iterations of this sandwich though, let’s talk about the Asiago Ranch Chicken Club. The Spicy Asiago Ranch Club is a simple improvement over the Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Instead of a simple lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo combination, you get the added addition of nutty asiago cheese, a few strips of bacon, and creamy and tangy ranch in place of the mayo. Sure, you lose the pickles, but I’ll gladly replace some sour tang with the unbeatable combination of ranch and bacon.
The sandwich ends up tasting more than simply spicy, it’s smokey, creamy, nutty, and salty with a pleasing audible crunch between bites that is as wonderfully addicting as it is delicious.
The Bottom Line:
Wendy’s truly makes an amazing Spicy chicken sandwich, and with a few tweaks and substitutions, you can take a good sandwich and turn it into a delicious one that is competitive with what Chick-fil-A and Popeyes have to offer.
1. Chocolate Frosty
Our Thoughts:
Now, this is just offensive. In no world should the Frosty be ranked this highly — for what it is, it’s seriously lacking. A great milkshake is creamy, sweet and luxurious in its thickness, the Frosty has the thickness down and… that’s it. The sweetness here is almost overwhelming, instead of tasting nuanced and complex like good chocolate, it just tastes candy sweet. Like a Hershey bar liquified and frozen. Don’t get me wrong, every once in a while particularly on a hot day, I’ll order a Frosty and it’s a wonderful snacking experience, but on those days I crave a good milkshake. There isn’t a chance in hell you’ll find me at a Wendy’s.
This is the major difference between our extensive menu rankings and what’s going on at Ranker. At Ranker you’re getting an audience that maybe hasn’t tasted the food they’re voting on recently. Maybe they’re going by memory, maybe nostalgia is at play here, I’m not sure, but if the masses think this is the best menu item at Wendy’s, hell even the tenth best menu item, they’ve simply got it wrong.
The Bottom Line:
Don’t let the masses fool you, the Frosty is a sub-par dessert and far from the best menu item at Wendy’s.
The Big Takeaway:
The masses may have gotten the placement of certain menu items wrong, but our big takeaway from Ranker’s ranked list is that it doesn’t reflect the variety of what Wendy’s menu has to offer. The salads, the baked potatoes, the breakfast menu, the chili, they are all delicious options worth exploring. To do that, you’ll have to ignore the masses.
Find your nearest Wendy’s here.
