Went here this past Sunday around 1230pm or so before we headed for some shopping at Dillards so we wouldn't be hangry. There were quite a few cars in both drive-thru lines but DAMN, the line moved quickly. In and out with our delicious food in under 5 minutes. Highy reccomend this Cookout! read more

First time here... We have 3 growing boys so the price for the food was perfect for us. Was the food amazing? No, not really but it was ok. I'd rather eat this than McD's any day. The location can be better. It's a very busy street and a small drive in. If you miss it, keep driving because it will take you a while to flip around and get there. The service was SUPER fast! The food was salty but maybe it's a Southern thing. Most food tastes salty here in The South. Overall, it's a good enough cheap meal. read more

Chances of getting the order correct are slim. Ten trips over the last 2 years... 2 of those times the order was correct.

Wow, how disappointed was I to pay so much for so little! The only reason I gave this place 2 stars instead of 1 was because the pink lemonade was good and the young lady at the window was sweet. I paid 10cents for a slice of tomato on my burger!! Asked for mayo, they must have forgotten, and paid 40cents for half slice of cheese and 70cents for a piece of bacon broken in half!! To beat it all, I got a total of SEVEN onion rings, 6 of which were small as Burger Kings!! However, I'm thankful.....thankful I was so disappointed that I won't go back for a very long time....until I forget this experience and try again. read more

I pulled up to the drive through board and the speaker is so bad I can't understand what the person is saying. She was speaking rapidly and not in sync with the microphone. She's halfway through the sentence before the microphone cut in and you can only hear the last 2-3 words of each sentence. The burger rolls tasted like they've been sitting out all day. They were dry and almost crunchy. Onion rings and hush puppies were both under cooked and greasy. This is not a place you'll want to visit when they're busy. read more

I heard good things about this restaurant and tried it not the best cheeseburgers or fries. They need to make better hamburger buns. The only thing I like about this place is the milkshakes. At one location the cashier looked like a zombie and had poor people skills. Also they got my order wrong. read more

THE TRAY!!! HOLY FUCK*** SHIT!!! Cookout is a gift to mankind that I'm not sure we deserve. I cried profusely throughout my entire meal - tears of joy. I was just so humbled to be eating such a beautiful, touching meal. I've never gotten a shake there but HOLY nut sauce do they have a lot of delicious sounding options! I tried a bite of a snicker one once and fell to my knees. It's absolutely beyond life-changing Shit they give you in those styrofoam frays! read more

My husband and I live near Cookout, and it is most certainly convenient AND better quality than other fast food chains that don't even serve real meat. However, we never receive our food exactly as we have ordered it. For example, my husband and I ordered two milkshakes; chocolate peanut butter fudge and M&M. I received a banana peanut butter fudge shake, and my husband received an oreo shake. Completely wrong. Not even close to being correct. I understand it is a very high paced, high stress job. There are most certainly room for errors in this kind of setting, but it isn't rocket science. Even high school graduates are over qualified. The only reason I go back is a last ditch effort for something to eat when cooking isn't an option. The food is carelessly prepped, squished, and tossed in the bag. If the industry refuses to hire and compensate quality people, then maybe an increase in employees who only have to do one half of a job would yield at least efficient results. Just my opinion, but what do I know? I just manage a restaurant while being a full time medical student... read more

Nearly every single time I go here they fuck something up. Their shitty microphones are too loud outside and too quiet inside to be effective and sure enough I end up throwing out more than I eat because a simple order is foregone to the most important aspect of fast food: communication. Let's be honest, you can't leave the parking lot without checking your order and no body wants to drive back thru that calamity for a mistake on their part nor park because your car is immediately blocked in, won't be going back unless I have the time to walk up and ensure I got what I paid for. read more

Good burger, good fries, good hush puppies. Hit the spot, and under $5.

This place completely trips me out. I visit Wilmington once or twice a year, and I am not on the same schedule as Wilmingtonians. I need something to be open past 9pm. Cookout is open late. Second is I need a place that only has a kids menu. Cookout is that place. It's also dirt cheap. Food quality is about what you'd get throwing some frozen patties or dogs on the grill, but it's fast food, and it's called Cookout, so totally what I'd expect. Anyhow, not exactly fine dining, but a pretty cool place for the late nighter who wants it fast. read more

I now understand the hype about cookout. It's only like 5 bucks for a burger and two sides (and only another dollar for a milkshake!). Sides include a wrap, corndog, cole slaw, fries, or onion rings. There are tons of milkshake flavors. I actually stopped in at like 1am, and there was a line all the way to the road. The line took maybe 10 minutes to move, so pretty quick. It is not the best burger I've ever had, but it is awesome for the price. Milkshake was yummy as well, but very sweet, finished it in three sittings. read more

Delicious burgers, cheap, good fries, cheerwine. YUM!

For anyone from CA, it's the closest thing to In-N-Out burger. I was pleasantly surprised to see a place in the south with fresh food, albeit fast food . Burgers were freshly cooked, as well as the onion rings and fries. Can't beat the taste of food that's been just cooked. read more

"huge" sized cheddar style burger hush puppies caramel cheesecake milkshake cajun french fries effn amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing. cant stress that enough. foot hot dog, eh. it was my first time there. its a drive-thru, you order, pay, your food is almost instantly handed to you. you're like...hmm i coulda went to mc d's? then you dig in, and you're like HOLY SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET JESUS! The food tastes like it just was cooked fresh right then, and not under a lamp of some sort. I guess from the cars I see going through there constantly they're never ahead to have stuff sit around long haha. anyway, order what i ordered, and you'll be the happiest person..EVER. I am. read more

I'll start off by saying that I am not an unbiased reviewer. During my freshman year of college, I joined a "bring Cookout to Wilmington!" Facebook page. I also drove a group of 7 in a Ford Focus (alternating who rode trunk) to Benson NC, 2 hours away, to introduce some northerners to Cookout. I went to high school in Raleigh, and absolutely love the quality and value of Cookout as well as the late-night drunk culture. I could use this space to rave about Cookout, but think it would be better served to educate potential cult-followers. Basically, what you want to do is order a "Cookout Tray." What that consists of is an Entree, 2 sides and a drink (or shake for +$1!) NEVER get a burger tray, the "big double" (doubleburger) is no extra cost on a tray. IF you get a burger, you have the option of adding fancy toppings. A1-style if you're crazy for steak sauce, "Cheddar style" for fresh bacon, sauteed onions and melted cheddar cheese. WARNING: Guaranteed to burn your mouth, no matter what you do. One benefit of the Wilmington Cookout is the Chicken quesadilla. Not all Cookouts have Quesadillas, but if you order one (2 come in entree form, 1 as a side) make sure you order them "Extra Sauce". Or with a side of queso, because they've been screwing folks on xtra sauce lately. If you order a cheddardog/cheesedog or whatever the hell those things are; be warned, there is no hotdog. It's just cheese, slaw, chili, whatever other toppings on bread. Yeah, I don't get it either. The shakes are amazing. Cookout is a phenomenal deal in fast food, I would not be surprised if the Tray increases to over $5 each in the near future. Drunk college kids puke in the parking lot every drinking night, Cookout is open until 4? 5AM? One hell of a scene late at night. The wait can be long, but is well worth it. Hope this helps, enjoy! read more

This is absolutely the worst and slowest service ever. I've been here a million times and it is always so slow and I rarely get exactly what I ask for. If you have an order with any specialized orders, no matter what time, expect either a long wait, or just don't expect to get what you ordered. No matter what time of day, expect to wait AT LEAST 20 minutes for this drive thru. I don't eat meat so i order a quesadilla with just cheese and cheese sauce no meat, and 1/5 times actually get a quesadilla with no meat, after specifying that twice. I only still come here because it's the only cookout in Wilmington relatively close to UNCW and their food (if made to order) is typically good. read more

It was just okay. Nothing special. The burger was kinda dry and the bacon was not crispy! The onion rings could use more flavor!

This location is the very first Cook Out I tried and I have to say they have made me a lifelong fan! So much delicious food for so little.

I am proud to be an American cause this food is such flames it's borderline wrong. I've never had a bad meal at cookout ever in my life. I go there A lot. Bruh. If you don't stop sleeping on Cajun fries I swear. Ask for extra quesadilla sauce and you will not be disappointed. I'm getting worked up just thinking about this shit.Damn. I'm gonna go get me some right now. If you don't like this place it's really your loss. read more

Great Burger did i mention Great Burger this place is it. Open late and is always yummy goodness. Love the Shakes. This is a must stop price is great food it crazy good. read more

I rarely eat fast food and try to avoid it but from time to time I find comfort in indulging. Unfortunately i had the most devastating experience tonight when I ordered through the drive thru a cheese quesadilla and fries only to begin eating and discover my cheese quesadilla had chicken in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Having been vegetarian for 3+ years I immediately started to cry. I understand that some people wont be able to see the problem with this because not all people share my views as far as the ethics of eating animals are concerned but I was EXTREMELY disturbed to say the very least. Im sure this was merely a mistake and unintentional but it undoubtedly ruined my appetite for fast food and cook out especially. read more

It's ok, nothing on the menu keeps me coming back. Maybe its a personal preference, but I hate getting my burger smashed in wrapped aluminum foil. read more

I tried this place when they came to town and i'm hooked. You get a good burger,fast and cheap.

Been to this place a few times and really not much to say except it's excellent every time I come. However, I never got around to leave a review until now. What changed? Well I happened to be driving past this locale yesterday and had stopped by a Mickey D's (Yeah there I said it) a little while earlier to grab a frozen treat. In my haste I totally forgot to grab a spoon so I shamelessly went through the drive through here and inquired if they might be kind enough to donate me one of their plastic wrapped utensils. The lady at the window happily obliged. And for that and for the many other nights of fast food satiety, you have my 5 star blessings. read more

The milkshake was delicious; worth the $6 bucks independently. The burger is average as are the fries and hush puppies but overall certainly a great value. Would not want to eat here often; I would have to go thru the drive through via fork lift but as a monthly treat; worth the money easily! read more

cajun chicken wrap is to die for, don't even like coleslaw and theirs is always amazing and have a hard time finding good barbecue and found it here. burgers are always a safe fall back here too read more

Just terrible. Even for the price! Cold fries and my burger was burnt. Way to ruin my lunch.

Drove by a dozen or more times, first stop tonight, likely to stop again even though they left out the onion rings from our order...in less than 30-seconds they filled the order quickly and w/o question. Wife loved her cherry cobbler shake! ONLY COMPLAINT: I am an 'Old Schooler' and like to have my change counted back to me. The window person just plopped my change into my hand like...got orders to fill no time to spare, count it yourself. Suggest management teach the young workers how to count change back to customers and give one more reason people like stopping by. Other than that...after consuming our purchase I know why they ALWAYS have customers lined up to get a quick/good burger. read more

Good burger, but I don't like getting cheated. I ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onion, order of fries, diet coke. Total $8.15. I looked at the receipt $0.35 for slaw, charged for large fries and a large drink. I never asked for large anything or slaw. When I questioned the kid at the window he said he was told to charge people for large if they didn't ask for small. Really? I asked for the manager. He apologized. Offered to give me my money back. Overcharged by over $1.50 for one burger...that can add up. I suggest you check your receipt. read more

I have had cookout twice, and it was practically orgasmic. Of course, I was belligerently drunk the first time and an ungodly degree of hungover the second time, so my assessment was likely inaccurate. Cookout is basically greasy, nasty, unhealthy food that is cheap, convenient, and fast and stays open super-late...So naturally, in a college town, it's the bees-knees. In summary... Can you get a better burger in Wilmington? Definitely. Do you question whether Cookout passes health-code standards? Constantly. Are you going to burn the shit out of your mouth with the cheddar burger? Without a doubt. But do you care about any of that when you're drunk at 2AM or hungover at 2PM? Hell no. Cookout is the most delicious thing in the entire freaking world. Case closed. read more

Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting....never get your order right, and if I wanted a dried out Nasty burger that gave me cramps all night long I would go to Mc Donald's. Don't waste your time, it's cheap yeah but you get what you pay for. And certainly not polite service, they are all arrogant young brats who when u ask them for napkins or ketchup it's like they're paying for it themselves. read more

I am studying for my finals. I went to cookout about 3:30 am, December 8, ordered a half-pound western-style burger WITHOUT cheese, and some cajun fries. I got my food and drove to UNCW Campus. I went to the library to study, ate my fries first, then opened my burger. It had extra cheese. I am lactose intolerant. I took my burger back, and got there at 4 (when they were closing). I had lost my receipt, but the burger was obviously theirs. They refused to give me a refund, claiming there was no way of knowing that they had served it (they are the only restaurant open and serving burgers in Wilmington, NC at that time of morning). I left the burger with them, and told them they had lost a customer. I also noticed that, while this is the age of racial equality and tolerance, there was not a single person of any ethnic minority working there. I'm not saying that has anything to do with how I was treated, or their hiring practices, or who they would prefer as their customers, but its definitely interesting to note. read more

Best burgers on a budget in Wilmington. Quesadilla was ok. Hot dogs and chicken were good too. I will be returning frequently.

Oh man, writing this kinda makes me sad. Graduated from UNCW recently. This was essentially my grocery store. I probably ate here approaching 100 times in 3 years. Service was always quick and the food was always great...Did get food poisoning from a burger once that I purchased at an off hour, minus one star. I now only order non-meat products at the weird times of the night. But I still continue to eat there, if that tells you how good/cheap it is. Go Seahawks! read more

Unlike other fast food burgers, Cookout has a backyard grill flavor, very good. Nice atmosphere for fast food. Recommend.

Went to Cookout with my son for milkshakes. I'd never been there before, but he suggested we go. It was a Fri night around 9:00 and they were very busy. The milkshakes were really thick and very tasty, and inexpensive. And there wasn't much of a wait. I don't know about anything else, but I highly recommend Cookout for their milkshakes. read more

I use to like this place. However the last time I went they got my entire order wrong with charging me for ingredients I did not ask for. When I went back for them to fix it they would not even offer to refund me the $2 extra. So today I decided to try again. They only gave me one drink and then when I told them I needed my other drink the girl leaned over to look in my car to make sure I was not hiding it. Then she gave me the smaller size than what I paid for. I said oh I guess I can't get the size I paid for and she just giggled. I think today was my last try. read more

it's cookout, how could you hate on cookout? sure it's busy like all the time but it's good cheap food and god their milkshakes are bomb.

Cheap and delish. BBQ tray with fries hits the spot. Pick a cheeseburger/ chicken sandwich and two side with a drink for under 5 dollars!