James Coney Island

Part of the James Coney Island experience is the long line. This location has done away with that and as a result the quality has gone way down. The only plus side is the awesome new ice machine that spits out tubular, chewable ice. Note to the JCI proprietors, go back to your original scheme with the trays and lines.

I visited this place for dessert with friends after having dinner nearby. It was a poor choice. This is my first visit to James Coney Island, and I think I will never go back again. I got the frostbite with oreo, and it tasted weird. The color was also yellowish, which was not appealing to me at all. The oreo was not mixed properly. My friends also had the ice cream, and they also did not enjoy it. The place was relatively empty, and it’s a no-​brainer why.
If you are looking for dessert in ice cream/​soft-​serve here — just try the small cone first to see if you like since it’s only 50 cents.

Long time JCI fan, heard the 92 year celebration deal on radio for Thurs only. Twenty minute wait for food, unsteamed bun, barely warm hot dog, large chopped onions vs minced, little chili topping. With this brief description, Houstonians will clearly understand the 1star review. Hard to root for a 93 year after the FAIL yesterday.

Went here on 8−17−15,I liked it. Im from Detroit the home of coney dogs not quite as good as back home. However, a very good place unique menu items. I had a New York and Chicago style hot dog, no French fries. Was very good cooked real good service was good. Thumbs up!

Where to start? Never been to a JCI before, didn’t even know it was a hot dog place until a friend to me.
Well… They’re a hot dog place, alright. Except really boring, over boiled, bland dogs on soggy Wonder Bread rolls. We had 4 types, and the minimal spicing and veggies barely made a difference.
Ate in at 4: PM, and we were the only customers.
Pro: the place is quiet and clean.
Con: the hot dogs at Costco are better.

This location is HORRIBLE! They gave me old ice cream and a stale cone. When I took it inside the worker already knew why I was coming in. She asked me before I could say anything, oh ur ice cream… U want ur money back? If I could do a negative star I totally would

I know that they just remodeled inside and outside, but there was something nostalgic about how things looked before. They had retro signage and an open kitchen that reminded you of days where short order cooks worked over griddles and you could watch your order being made as you waited.
We walked in and were disappointed to see that the kitchen was closed off and now it is replaced with a tiled wall and two registers. It looked more like a greasy spoon before but we thought it was cozier than what looked like a front desk to just about any other place of business.
Two wall mounted electronic menus had many options for fancier hot dogs that I normally have a taste for and the «original» menu section feels like it got smaller. We ordered hot dogs and corn dogs off of the original menu and what we got for the hot dogs were tiny and probably boiled hot dogs on buns that were easily microwaved. The relish came in one tiny plastic packet. I honestly think that we could have made better hotdogs out on our own patio BBQ with sandwich bread.
The place was clean and the staff was extremely nice and helpful. Unfortunately, they put too much money trying to change the look of the place when they would have been better served improving upon their main staple, hot dogs. Then again, they are hoping to be called JCI now, instead of James Coney Island Hotdogs, so perhaps their focus is not so much on «hot dogs» after all? Too bad, we had liked this place on our prior visit but this visit will probably be the one that we remember the most.

The portion of Reg Fries is really a Kiddie portion, shamefully SMALL.
Same old taste as I remember as a kid going Downtown on Saturdays to JCI.

Not a good value at all! I’ve eaten at James coney island for 40yrs and I must say the quality of food is not the same and the price is absolutely ridiculous! If you want to get your hot dog fix I suggest doing it when the coneys are .92 cents because that’s about all they’re worth!

I think that this iconic chain of excellent restaurants is pretty soon going to go out of business.
The new décor is good, the service is pretty decent … I. e they did not mess up the order, the place is spotlessly clean and the food tasted good too… But I think that the food is too overpriced for these portions… The other reviewer said the hot dogs had too small dogs inside… I agree… It has to be the smallest one I have ever eaten… And it’s priced 2.29 for the original… That’s a tiny tiny sausage man… You people got to have audacity to put it in such a bigger bun…
I also had the tamale plate, 6.99 for three tamales and the only good thing about it was the chilli… Portions were again extremely small for the price.
I anyhow think I would have been more satisfied at McDonalds … Portions wise.
There were less than 5 people in the restaurant when I visited.

Wow, what a disappointment! My husband and I wanted to get a hot dog for the 4^th of July. Since we haven’t yet moved into our new place, we don’t have our grill yet and needed to rely on someone else’s hot dog. Big mistake. While the inside of the restaurant was very nice and clean and the prices were awesome, none of those factors would ever bring me back here.
I should also note that I didn’t expect the best hot dog, but I did expect that a place that specializes in hot dogs would at least give me something palatable.
We ordered:
**Original Coney
** 2 Plain Coneys
** New York
** Large Fries
When the food came, there was what looked like a radioactive jelly on one of our dogs. It was the «relish.» It was so beyond unappetizing that we removed it from the hot dogs and stared at it trying to figure out how the bright green blob we saw could ever be considered a relish. We also looked at our «large» order of fries (i realize now I should have counted how many fries there actually were on our plate, but there were probably 10 soggy fries) and when we saw it was such a small order, we asked a server there and her response was «I don’t know what the large fry looks like»…OK.
Now, let’s talk about the actual hot dogs. They were disgusting. Flat out. Putting a hot dog in a microwave tastes better than what we were served. They were clearly just boiled and really just not tasty or good in any way.
I get it, this place is so cheap, who cares, right? Fair point, but my God, I think it actually takes skill to make such a bad hot dog.
So, if you’re looking for a cheap hot dog because you don’t have your grill yet, save the trip and microwave your own.

Never fails ALWAYS have issues at this location. We order a good amount from this location as we work down the street. I’m upset that jci took away the mini corn dogs. The place itself is very clean, every time I go in I swear I stepped into a bottle of bleach. Miguel the manager is very customer service oriented, he promptly fixes the situation and even if he can’t he corrects it the next time.

My husband came here and speed is NOT their forté. Their serving line is under 2 AC vents so if you don’t get called immediately, your food gets cold fast. The girl behind the serving counter (not the cashier) seemed to not know what she was doing… just would keep wandering between putting food down, pick it back up and take it to the back for whatever reason. She did this with both our orders. For a plain hotdog, a Frito pie and 2 drinks, it took about 8 minutes to finally get our food… and we were standing there.

So I went back through the
Drive thru. Told me to pull up to the parking lot after I paid. After 15 minutes I called the store because I could not get out with a 2 year old in car. They forgot my order they said, «because they were busy». Finally brought out order. Forgot drinks and chili and cheese on fries that were paid for. Whole ordeal took 35 minutes for a drive thru order. Good grief!

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a Frito pie and it was greasy without flavor. I won’t return again.

There are times when the staff goes out of their way for you and really impresses you. This is not of one of those. The family of three ordering in front of us tied up ordering for over fifteen minutes with three clerks at three computers at times. I asked the team supervisor why they hadn’t used one of the registers for us and she said it was business and she didn’t want to do it. Well poor service must be normal business. No apoplogy for a 15 minute wait. No promise to to use a spare register for other customers. She and her coworkers didn’t seem trained in how to use the registers. My girlfriend and I walked out and ate somewhere else. That too is
business.

I only recently started coming back to JCI and I have got to say, I am pretty dang impressed! They have totally revamped it while keeping the classic vibe. To be honest, it’s actually better than I remember it being when I was a kid. I usually get their Empire or NY dog (I can’t remember which it is) that has grilled onions, sauerkraut, and mustard. Can’t beat that! I’ve come here a few times now and even brought my friends, who have all been very surprised and impressed. Keep doing your thing JCI!

I have a standing lunch date with a group of six friends every Tuesday. We decided to go to James Coney Island due to the convenience of its location for all of us. At first, the restaurant was fantastic. The prices were right, the staff were prompt, and the food was good for the money. Then they made some changes. Large televisions were added, and the front of house was remodeled to look sleek and professional rather than like the food line at a local penitentiary. And I miss the State Funded décor for two reasons.
The first is that with the changes to their entire sales structure I have yet to have received an order that wasn’t wrong. Just this afternoon we took our lunch to go to enjoy a nice picnic outside. The order was brought out on trays, and we had to tell two employees six times that we wanted it to go before they understood we needed bags. Then, when we got to our final location, we had a box of hot dogs and chili cheese fries that we hadn’t ordered. My guess is someone is missing their lunch.
The second reason is the lack of a gentleman named Tony. This fella was in charge of the floor before the changes. He worked harder than any man I’ve ever met, was affable, professional, and generally nice. He was prompt and courteous, and constantly checked in on customers to make sure they were enjoying their meals and didn’t need anything else. I never got a wrong order from him, and when it did happen at other tables you could rest easy knowing that Tony was the hero we needed. After months of his absence I’m fairly certain he no longer works there.
Ongoing problems between the kitchen and the table, and the distinct lack of Tony, mean we will be finding another restaurant to go to. Hot dogs are not complicated, and they most certainly shouldn’t be a hassle. I hope that they do well, and smooth outthe new rough edges progress has made, but I doubt I’ll be back to see if they have figured it out.
Vaya con Dios, Tony. You were the best.

Not bad, not bad at all. I was raised in Chicago, so I have pretty high expectations for hot dogs (*ahem* Portillo’s) and this place was decent. We tried a Chicago dog and Texas dog (aka chili cheese dog). It’s no Portillo’s but if I get a hot dog craving this will hit the spot. Service was good. The floor staff was very attentive with refills and clearing trays too.

Whoooaaa when did James Coney became all fancy smancy?!
I guess this gourmet series just started… which I find pretty cool how a fast food chain can carry limited edition gourmets.
I missed out on Haven’s dog… but I got a chance to try the Kata Robata’s dog… good till July 31^st!
It was ok to me. I think the curry was a little too strong for my tasting to balance out the other flavors. The dog reminds me of Katsu Curry plate from Genjis.
The staff was awesome, friendly.
We also tried the JCI version of the Vietnamese Banh mi. you’re better off not trying it. The meat was so salty, the soggy bread was not French bread.
I can’t wait to see whats the speciality in August!
Chef Hori’s Kata-​Ro-​Dog-​a:
a panko-​crusted, deep-​fried Hebrew National all-​beef dog nestled in a grilled Slow Dough Bread Co. bun and topped with soft-​scrambled eggs, Japanese curry sauce, pickled cucumbers, pickled red onions, Yuzu Kosho QP Mayo and micro greens. It is priced at $ 6.29 and will be available at all locations for the month of July.