Picture a good burger: two fresh, ground meat patties between melted cheese, fresh lettuce, just the right amount of tomato. Throw in some hand-cut chips, if you like. How long would you queue for it?

Hold your answer in your mind. Does it change for a weekday? What about 37C heat? What if you were told, in no uncertain terms, that you would not receive that burger due to insurmountable issues of supply and demand, no matter how far you advanced in the line?

The In-N-Out pop-up at Dead Ringer restaurant in Surry Hills, Sydney, sold out of burgers at 11.30am – half an hour before it opened. The queue, snaking from Bourke Street down Church Lane and around the block again by 12:30pm, began to form before 6am.

What up to 800 people were waiting for at the In-N-Out pop-up at Dead Ringer restaurant in Surry Hills. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian

Previous pop-ups of the cult American fast-food chain in Sydney have been met with a similar reception, although according to reports there are no plans for a permanent presence in Australia. Up to 800 people were estimated to have tried their luck on Wednesday for only “300 to 500” of the signature burgers.

A tired-looking man wearing an In-N-Out T-shirt and a name badge was doing periodic laps of the line to break the bad news: if you didn’t have a wristband, you were not getting a burger. Latecomers joining the tail end on Little Bourke Street were told they were out of luck.



So why were people continuing to queue anyway?

“I have no idea,” said a man who gave his name as Rob.

One woman, Jacinth, hugged the sliver of shade cast by a fence at the halfway point of the queue, one hand on an empty pram. “My child is running around over there,” she said, gesturing vaguely towards the horizon.



She had been in line for more than 90 minutes, despite not having a wristband. “They have to give us something. I’ll do this,” she said, miming begging. “Please.”

She had never eaten an In-N-Out burger before, but hoped it would rival those offered by Shake Shack, which she had enjoyed.

A customer looks pleased after finally getting her burger. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian

Those with wristbands seemed content to wait, secure in the knowledge that over yonder, on that horizon, there was a burger with their name on it. One man who’d been sent a photo of the menu by a friend from inside the restaurant read it aloud excitedly. A hamburger was $3 and a cheeseburger $4. In-N-Out’s signature double-double (double meat, double cheese) was $5; a meal was $2 extra.

Denver and John, who had been waiting since 9.30am, described the product in such glowing terms and with such specificity they were asked if they were actors employed to beef up the queue, which they denied.

“You try a burger, and it just tastes real,” said Denver. “The meat – you can taste meat. You know when you go to a gourmet burger place, and they make real stuff?”

It was pointed out there were plenty of such places in the immediate vicinity.

“But you don’t get that Animal Sauce on top,” said John.

“That’s a special thing,” agreed Denver.

The two of them had gone to another pop-up In-N-Out last year, but narrowly missed out. “We were traumatised,” said Denver, half-joking, but not completely. He’d taken the day off work – annual leave.

According to local lore, having a wristband meant you could leave the queue and come back later to claim your burger. “Well, they said you can,” said John. “But I don’t think people do, because ... ” He trailed off, the possibility of losing his spot in the line too awful to say out loud.

Patrons at the In-N-Out pop-up at Dead Ringer restaurant in Surry Hills. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian

But are the burgers really, truly worth the wait?

“The burgers are really popular in America – I just wanted to try it,” explained a young woman wearing a wide-brimmed felt hat. She had queued for two-and-a-half hours to get to where she was now, at the front of the line.



Then the red velvet rope was lifted as she was mid-sentence, and she ascended the stairs without a backwards look.