The Varsity

Always out of chocolate shake at this location, though always proudly displayed on sign. Can anyone spell I n v e n t o r y c o n t r o l?

Good hot dogs but wayyyyyy too slow. The attitude of the staff is that they could care less

If my food could make an expression, it would be one of reserved but deep sadness. Soggy mess.

This is the 2^nd time I’ve tried them, and was hugely disappointed both time. My onion rings were raw… yes, frozen and raw, and my dog was ice cold, not to mention tasteless… never again

There were lines at every other food choice on the concourse but not here. A little voice told me there might be a reason why there was no line but I unwisely ignored that voice. My biscuit was ok once I got it, but this place was very disorganized — resulting in an unacceptably long wait for orders to be filled.
As far as biscuits go, mine was marginal. Certainly not worth the wait. Next time I’ll pick a place with a longer line…

After being in line for five minutes I finally get up to order, then someone behind me of a different race walks up to the counter and the ladies behind the counter ignores me, looks through me like I was not even there and proceeds to take that persons order, ridiculous, total racism at this place.

Okay, I’m a Georgia Tech graduate, so I know the real Varsity very well. While this walk-​up certainly lacks the ambience of the real V, I am happy to report the food is SPOT ON, right down to the F.O. (That’s a frosted orange drink that tastes like orange sorbet, or a dreamcicle, or chewable children’s aspirin, depending upon whom you ask.)
If you’ve not been here before, I highly recommend the standard: chili dog, onion rings, F.O. I suggest only mustard and lots of onions for that dog, too.

If you thought fast food employees didn’t like their jobs, it’s even worse at an airport.
The server gave the biggest stank face while we were ordering and when I asked if we could do half chili, half claw dogs with the eight pack, she gave me a look as if I had asked her to give me all the money the cash register.
The pace of life behind the counter was half that of the airport, with everyone taking their grand time putting orders together, completely ignoring the fact that some people might have flights to catch.
The food itself was okay. We only tried it because Varsity is apparently an Atlantean household name, and we had to do our first trip there right. I’d skip it next time though, or at least treat yourself to the drive up service at the real thing downtown.

What a waste of money. I tried a chili dog just to see if it was what it use to be years ago. The hot dogs are small, the chili is bland and the bun was hard.
There are better choices on Concourse C for food.

This review is only for the breakfast sandwich.
It was delicious. I got the sausage, cheese, egg biscuit and I loved it.
It was a little greasy. It was messy. It was so much better than a McDonald’s breakfast sandwich.
No wait. Service was great. Cashier was nice.
I agree that I would visit the downtown location; food is probably better and the atmosphere is to be experienced, but for breakfast in the ATL, I will go back.

What’ll ya have, what’ll ya have?
Skip the airport location and seek out the original.
The young lady behind the counter did NOT ask me, «What’ll ya have?» She was very unemotional during our whole transaction.
There was actually a line of people waiting. Not to order their food, but to get one of those famous chili dogs. Slow and apathetic leaves a bad taste in your mouth. My wait clocked in at 7 minutes because they could not fry onion rings and french fries at the same time. What?
The dogs were made up first and sat in the box waiting for the minimal amount of fried circles. I counted only 5 onion rings in my combo box. Only mustard comes on the chili dogs but during my long, painful wait, I realized that the picture could easily be mistaken for cheese. Reinforced by a non-​English speaker trying to order a chili dog. He couldn’t understand her and she could not be bothered to repeat her questions so she skipped on.
The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

If you want to try this place because Food Network featured this place, then maybe go to the original location. Hopefully the food will be better.
Ordered #2 and it came with chili dog and chili burger + fries. The chili dog is so-​so but the burger was below that. Super greasy and sad looking fries.

My flight was delayed so I decided to mosey on over to The Varsity and check them out. I have heard of this place, but never been. Well, I wasn’t missing anything spectacular. I was in the mood for a good hamburger with all the fixings except cheese and bacon. The server was impatient as she was getting annoyed because I wanted to look at the menu before placing my order. I asked the server about the burger I wanted and she was very rude
Anyhow once I got my food, the french fries were drenched in grease and the burger was the size of my palm. The burger tasted like it was from day shift… nothing special… I won’t be back

Ralph! Had the hot dog chili breakfast sandwich. Hot dog was old and chili was cold. Not sure if this was the cause but had a complete system purge 8 hours later. Both ends. Horrible. When I opened my eyes I saw hot dog chunks floating.
This is a hot dog place. They should have grilled up a fresh dog rather than fishing one out of recycle. Chili is usually not for breakfast is the lesson here.
Run Away!

Two stars due to history and name. Onion rings not terrible but got five rather small ones in an order on the side.
Combos are pretty expensive and no prices for ordering ala carte so caveat emptor.
Grabbed a naked dog for the plane due to others looking very messy.
I think this place is best not in an airport. Just my two cents.
Most likely grab my CFA Sammie next time here.

My original plan for my 3 hour ATL lay over was to venture to Paschals because it had been one of the best places to eat per an article I read. However, The Varsity was conveniently located close to the gate of our connecting flight. Also, The Varsity being an Atlanta institution I was like «uhh, The Varsity it is!» I order the combo that consisted of the chili dog and burger with onion rings. I even upgraded to the meal with a pie and that orange drink. I know these are airport prices, but shockingly my total came $ 15 and some change. Uhh, whatever but I should of been a little careful on the cost of all of this. Lol. Anyway, I was anxious to try this considering their reputation in Atlanta. They even have a picture of the Atlanta skyline with Chick Fil A and The Varsity being majors in Atlanta. Unfortunately, I know why Chick Fil A is nation wide and The Varsity is not. I don’t get the craze, the onion rings were decent but greasy as most places. The Hotdog and Burger honestly tasted like food from AmPm. They were out of peach pie so I had the apple which was like apple sauce in a fried pastry. The orange drink was just like a cream sickle in a frosty drink. I know this place is a novelty, but the food wasn’t even good. Sorry to offend those Atlanta natives, but maybe the original location is a much more pleasant experience than the airport one. I know if I go to Atlanta I will probably pay them a visit since I’m a foodie.

The place is a pathetic place for an airport. Lazy workers making the food and undercooking the food. The chili burger my fiancé ordered was a joke. It was basically a kids meal hamburger with a spoon full of chilli. We told the cashier the fries were undercooked and one of the cooks from the back yelled «shut up» no problem. Will do. Left the food on the counter.
Never again.

After six years of visiting ATL I finally stopped by for a burger at the famous Varsity.
Yes, it’s a stop in the airport but the food should be the same quality as the famous locations, right? Gosh, I hope not.
I went for a double cheeseburger and it was completely flavorless and had many hard pieces in it, so bad that I only ate half of it because I was so hungry. I’m very disappointed in this experience and not sure I would give them another chance unless I was visiting a location with friends for the «experience.»
So I’m writing this review still hungry, so bummed.

I ate here several times and always going for their famous hot dog/​chili dog. Today I decided to try their Bacon cheese burger and regretted.
Burger:
meat was super dry tasted like cardboard, bun was soggy, Simply the worst burger I ever ate.
Fries:
The french fries looked like they were going to be delicious, with that hand-​cut look and peanut oil-​fried appearance. However, once you take a bite, you realize they are soggy and limp, greasy and taste nothing like they appear.
Probably will not eat burger here again

I really enjoyed the vibe and uniqueness of the original Varsity years ago. Not sure that the food left much of an impression, it’s just something you do when in Atlanta.
The Atlanta airport location proves you can’t go home again. Of course there is no vibe or mystique at a location like this, nor did I expect it. It’s no surprise that the food is over priced (airport has to get their cut + rent) with two chili dogs, onion rings, and medium drink for $ 11 with tax.
The surprise is that I’ve had better chili dogs at 7 – 11. The only plus here was the bun is properly steamed. The hot dog is standard size — three bites and you’re done, and tasteless. The chili is nothing special, and the good looking onion rings cold from the start. Hey, the Coke was good as expected in their own hometown.
So Varsity is nothing more than an outfit getting by on their name only, which for a guy that loves me some chili dogs is sad. Not much magic required to make this most basic of food special, Varsity couldn’t care less.