I tried an off-menu grilled cheese with a burger patty at Five Guys, and it was better than I expected

• I tried adding a beef patty to the grilled cheese at Five Guys after seeing the item on TikTok.
• The item ended up costing the same as a single-patty cheeseburger, but it didn't taste the same.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries has a relatively simple menu compared to its fast-food restaurant competitors. But there are customer-made lists of not-so-secret menu items for anyone who wants to stray from a traditional burger or hot dog.

The secret menus include tips for ordering cheese fries, loaded hot dogs, and a patty melt, which is a grilled cheese with a hamburger patty inside.

In a previous interview with Insider, then-employee Maezion Henix said he was always confused when a customer would come in and ask for the off-menu item. He asked, "Why not just get a cheeseburger?"

I'll admit, I was also skeptical at first. So after seeing multiple videos of the patty melt on TikTok, I decided to try it out for myself.

When I arrived at my local New York City location, I walked up to place my order and asked for the patty melt by that name. The team member working the register wasn't sure what I meant, so I clarified by asking for a grilled cheese with a patty inside. I could tell from her slightly puzzled look that they don't get this off-menu order very often.

She rang me up for both items - $5.39 for the grilled cheese and $3 for the extra patty - and it all came out to $8.39. The "little," single-patty cheeseburger at the same Five Guys costs $8.49. At just a 10-cent difference, I would hardly call the patty melt the cheaper option.

But after taking my first bite, I realized it doesn't matter that it's basically the same price - it's a fairly different eating experience.

For starters, I really enjoyed the texture of the griddled bun as opposed to the more pillowy bread I'm used to biting into. It's the exact same bun, but for the grilled cheese, they turn it inside out and the charred sides wind up being the first impression for your taste buds.

I found the one downside to this bun technique is that the sandwich ends up being a bit more greasy than normal. I didn't mind it, but you should expect to have more oily hands when you're done with the patty melt than you would with the burger.

This order has two slices of cheese instead of the standard single slice-per-patty that I usually see at the chain. There is cheese on both sides of the beef patty, making it a gooey mess of deliciousness on the first bite.

After testing it out for myself, I can see why so many people order this instead of a cheeseburger. You can add just as many toppings as you would on the regular sandwich, and it definitely fills a different type of craving than the namesake sandwich does.

So, if you're an appreciator of grilled cheese, and love the Five Guys burger, it's worth giving the patty melt a try the next time you find yourself at the restaurant.