Fritzs Railroad Restaurant

My kids will remember this forever. The food and service is so-​so, but the experience is worth it for kids! Hold your ear away from th ordering phone or it will will blow your ear drum!

Concept is fun, but when I looked up to watch our food being delivered by train, it was hard not to notice the dirty ceiling tiles. Food was pretty gross too. I was being generous with 1 star.

I was hesitant after reading multiple awful reviews, but my visit to Fritz was decent. It’s definitely a kid-​oriented place, so I wouldn’t have come without the niece and nephews tagging along. First, the place is really loud. Even before every table filling up, the noise from the trains overhead and general table chatter was insane. Second, this isn’t a full service restaurant. Think sitting down at McDonald’s with better ambiance. The food was decent. Again, very simple fast food, so don’t expect gourmet burgers. My cheeseburger was pretty tasty, just slightly over salted. The hot dogs are served on hamburger buns which really confused the kids. Be prepared if those are in your order. The onion rings and fried mushrooms were great, however! The kids enjoyed our visit, but without them, I wouldn’t come back.

During a recent trip to Kansas City my family and I spent a morning and afternoon at Crown Center. We visited both Kaleidoscope and LEGOLAND before heading toward Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant for lunch. We nearly headed somewhere else after finding a line snaking through turnstiles full of people already waiting for a table. Though after watching the line for a minute we realized that the line moved pretty quickly.
Fritz’s biggest draw is the overhead train cars that deliver you food to your table. Young children are fascinated by this as every passing train could potentially drop their cheeseburger or grilled cheese right in front of them.
Orders are placed through a phone at your table. Drinks are delivered soon after by the wait staff. I wonder if at one time drinks used to come via train but after watching the food buckets dangling from the automated elevator system, I don’t think that would be a good idea at all.
The menu is limited to burgers with a very wide variety of toppings, a handful of other sandwiches, hot dogs, and a couple of salads. Sandwiches do not come with sides. We sampled the BLT ($ 4.49), grilled ham and cheese ($ 4.99), and a couple of kids meals that included fries and a drink ($ 5.99). My wife and I also split an order of fring (fries with two onion rings, $ 3.19).
Overall the sandwiches were good, though seemed to be overpriced for what they are and without a side included. I think the best part of the meal were the onion rings, so maybe skip the fries (especially if your kids will have some extra anyway with their kids meals). I wouldn’t come here without kids, but for a young family it is worth a stop.

The train theme is cute and kept my kid smiling the whole time. The burgers are great and a good size. Very filling. Although the fries are pretty plain and lack salt. Or anything. I gave 4 stars not because of that but because of cleanliness. Everything looks like it needs a good cleaning or needs to be wiped down. The floors had stuff all over. Kinda gross. If they salt their fries and clean the joint I’d give 5 stars.

Fritz’s is great. Our grade school boys love it! Good burgers. Great fried mushrooms. Slightly pricey, but that train delivery system expensive and needs lots of maintenance IMHO. And the rent down there must Astronomical! Given that it is not much higher, comes out very reasonable. Closes a little early, but everything in crown center does.

I give one star because 0 is unavailable. Food sucks. Service is worse. Phone blew out my ear drum.

Makes McDonald’s look like a gourmet burger joint.
Let me start by saying the train theme was a big hit with my 2 and 4 yr old girls. That is the only reason I’m giving 2 stars. They loved the train delivered food system and all the train bells and whistles.
We had been to Crown Center several times before and had heard Fritz’s was a great place to take the kids. Every time before this it was a 20 – 30 person line out front so we held off. Today there was no line so we decided to give it a shot. We were sat right away and the first thing my wife noticed was how dirty the walls and floor were.
The other notable thing was how unfriendly the staff was which is curious because all they do is seat you and bring your drinks. You order through a phone at the table and you pay as you leave. So the server customer interactions are limited.
Now the food. The kids got chicken nuggets and fries. The nuggets looked like they were re-​fried or fried in oil that had not been filtered or changed in a week. My kids love nuggets but each of them had one and said they didn’t like it. The fries were edible and the onion rings although greasy were ok. The fruit and salad looked like something you get at a gas station, prepackaged. I ordered a double bbq burger that was awful. I have an iron gut and this thing put it to the test. The patties were super thin and unseasoned with a single pickle on a soggy bun. The strawberry milkshake was the only thing at the table that had flavor.
To sum it up it is a great place to take the kids for fries and a milkshake and enjoy the novelty of the train ambiance. Just don’t order any real food or expect good service.

The only thing impressive about this place was the prices, litterally that was is. Customer service sucked when I showed up, it was about 5 and I stood in line for about 10 minuets with my boyfriend before I was greeted VERY RUDELY and seated. The lady was nice enough to explain how it worked before rushing off. We ordered. We didn’t receive our food for almost 45 minuets, the trains malfunctioned twice while we were there, we didn’t see a single worker doing ANYTHING but standing at the counter talking. I heard «finally our foods here» way to many times to be pleased. When we finally got our food, it wasn’t made correctly, was half cold and the fries were almost uneatable. As we were leaving to pay they were highly rude and had even asked us to wait so they could keep talking. I’m sorry but my boyfriend had been so excited to eat there and by the time we left he was so pissed and upset about the buisness it nearly ruined his night. I don’t think this is a good place to bring hungry children, it takes way to long to get your food and everyone is super rude, it’s almost impossible to get any help if your food is wrong and more.

So me and a few friends sat at a table, the restaurant was really cool and seeing the trains bring people their food was fun to watch. We all were going to pay separately for our meals and then order desert after. (We didn’t want our ice cream to melt) This would mean a total of 8 orders. We placed our orders over the phone at the table. The guy who took some of our orders was a manager. (I know because I saw him put on the headset when I called and he took off the headset when I finished ordering) The manager was a little hard to hear, but we got our orders in. There was a lady who answered the phone for a few of our orders. She was easy to understand.
So everyone has placed their orders and everyone got their food, and it was great! We then started to place our orders for desert over the phone. On our last order, (the 8^th) the manager picked up and said «This is like your 8^th order from your table alone. We have other guests to get to. YOU NEED TO FINISH UP!» I did understand that we were placing a lot of orders but you NEVER talk to a customer who is buying something from you like that especially a manager. I work in the food business and I would have gotten in trouble for saying anything close to what he said. I then apologized (which I shouldn’t have to) and said this will be our last order.
So everyone has their order in and everyone got their desert except for my friend who ordered a Brownie Sundae. He asked a waiter about it and she said that she will get him it. She never came back. We asked another waiter about it. Again this guy said he would figure it out, he never came back. My friend just figured that since he never recieved the desert that he wouldn’t have to pay for it so we got up to pay. We all paid for our meals and desserts. But when my friend told the cashier about what happened with the Sundae she said she has to get a manager… (the guy who told us to stop placing orders and finish up) The manager said that he made the Sundae and said that my friend would have to pay for it. So we argued for a bit on why we would have to pay for something we never got. The manager insisted that we recieved the Sundae and that we have to pay for it. A man that was in line to pay heard us arguing and he told the manager that he recieved a Sundae that a waitress gave to him even though he never ordered it. The manager then said «well then this problem is between you guys». IT’S YOUR GUY’S FAULT! YOU GAVE THE DESERT TO THE WRONG PERSON! I have never been treated this was before at a restaurant. The manager really doesn’t care about his guests at all.
I work at Chick-​fil-​A so I am used to high customer service standards and I don’t expect every restaurant to have the same standards, but the way we were treated was unacceptable!

We had heard about Fritzs over the years, and thought we’d give it a try. It was a Friday night at Crown Center, so there was fairly long line outside the restaurant, but it moved reasonably fast.
Fast-​forward about 15 minutes, and we were sitting at a table. This really is a great place to take kids! The best part about our visit — the ABSOLUTELY best part — was a little girl, maybe about ten, who was absolutely thrilled to watch the trains go by delivering the food. Each time a train would go by, there was absolutely excitement and joy on her face — she was so excited! Really a pleasure for this grandpa to watch.
The delivery system is fascinating. Developed by the original owner of the original restaurant to overcome labor shortages back in the day, the trains are indeed a major attraction of the place. To those who haven’t been there, the restaurant is train-​themed. Two tracks run above the tables: one around the perimeter of the restaurant, and one that serves the center «island» of tables. Each train runs at a constant speed on the track, with a basket of food suspended below it. When it passes the correct «elevator,» a small paddle drops to push the basket off the train and onto the elevator. The elevator then lowers the basket to the table to be retrieved by the customer. Again, it really is entertaining all by itself. Each time the kitchen sends out an order, a train whistle sounds.
The restaurant is done in the style of a train, complete with tired-​looking fluorescent lighting. Through one window, there’s another model train going by.
The burgers were weren’t bad, but a bit like a ’73 Pinto: old-​style, greasy, hard-​to-​handle, and with the risk of leaving you broken down by the side of the road. My order was mildly messed up: no barbecue sauce, and they DID include pickles, although I asked them to hold them. The fries were classics from my youth: crinkle fries, and the onion rings were the same old-​fashioned style (not necessarily the best, but they did bring back memories).
The staff brought by the drinks — no free refills. They were just there to deliver the goods and move on. They minimize their people contact. Drop the drinks and run; clean the table and run.
One last word of warning: you order through telephones, another nice touch, but mine was blasting — when they picked up, I couldn’t jerk it away from my ear fast enough. So start with the phone about an inch from your ear, just to be safe.
So, to sum up: is it good? Sure, it’s pretty good as cheap fast food. The entertainment value is VERY good, especially for kids. Will I go back? Sure, especially when niece or grand kids are in town.

This was the perfect stop after an evening of Christmas lights and ice skating at crown center! The food was pretty good (for fast food) to my surprise, although I do wish they offered refills on drinks. It was very fun to eat at a place that kept our 4 year old entertained the ENTIRE time!

Nobody is going here because it’s the best burger in town. This is purely about the novelty of having a train drive your food to the table. We initially stopped in about 10:45 am on a weekday. It was pretty empty so we browsed around for about 15 – 20 min before returning. Not long after we were seated, this place was packed.
Coming from someone who generally avoids fast food, this wasn’t nearly as bad as I would have imagined given the reviews. I thought it was comparable to Steak n Shake other than the kids’ chicken nuggets. Those looked exactly like McDonald’s version with less flavor.
It seemed like it took the food longer to arrive than i would have expected but like I said, they got slammed right after we arrived.
All in all, it was a cool experience that virtually any kid would love.

A solid three stars is fair for Fritz’s. You attend for the train food delivery setup — not the actual food. The food was pretty average today — ordered three double decker cheeseburgers & two kids grilled cheeses. Shared 3 orders of fries (nothing special) and 2 onion rings (pretty good). We will be back.

I can’t tell you if the food was good or not because we didn’t even get through the order. I talked to the manager but was completely dismissed with a smooth over apology telling me even if there’s silence I should still order.
I called in from the phone on the table and when she finally picked up she said «can I take your order» I started and she cut me off and told me to hold on, when she came back on I asked if she was ready, she said «yes so I started to order again she said I have that and that while cutting me off then told me to hold on again! When she came back on she says «will that be all? «No I have more I replied. Silence followed for 30 seconds or better, I said are you there? She replied is that all??? I proceeded to tell her she was extremely rude and we were leaving. My daughter was so excited to eat here… What a terrible experience.

Talk about a kiddie must do! Mine has been begging me to go back daily since we came for his birthday last week.
Big R is a good deal: $ 8.99 for 2 cheeseburgers, fries, drink and 2 onion rings.
Son loved his super soft bun plain cheeseburger ($ 3.08)
Garden salad was large ($ 4.59) enough to share! I’m pleased there are decent salads here– granted simple and straightforward, but I’ll take it since it was all fresh (green lettuce– no wilt cut marks and the carrots weren’t dried out.)
Butterscotch birthday sundae was really generous portion.

Great Train Delivery Gimmick! We brought 4 kids of various ages from 2 to 14 here and it was a fun, family friendly time for the kids and the grown ups as well.
For those that complained about the food — it isn’t «terrible», but it’s certainly not a fancy steak house burger. You get what you come for — trains, train noise, train hats, and average thin-​patty burgers with tons of fries, and happy, loud kids.
I «was» dissapointed that there were no free soda refills, though, so that one is for the suggestion box, but overall the kids were very happy, and that makes the adults happy.

Obviously you must try Fritz’s at least once or thrice in your life. If you have children (very small, unsuspecting children who do not recognize a greasy smear) then by all means take them! Just get here early for lunch on the weekend. And by early, I do mean by 10:45 to 11:15 am at the latest. Anything after that and you will be unpleasantly met by a long winding line of tired looking adults and impatient children wrapping around the restaurants exterior.
The food. It’s fried stuff. Like fried burgers, fried chicken fingers, French fries. And there are hot dogs and grilled cheese. Burgers are paper thin, usually either very dry or very greasy. Hit or miss.
The gimmick that kids love of course is that you order your meals from a telephone on your table (a phone I might add, that you should clearly wipe down with a GermX wipe before you use it – don’t say I didn’t warn you!) and then your food arrives in a train car that’s dropped down to your table. The trains have become a tad jerky over the years since our tray of food came about half an inch from plunging to it’s food death the last time we were there. But still, the kids go wild.
One time I found a hair on my burger wrapper. Umm. Hmm. It was wrapped and placed in the tray and sent on it’s way in the train car. How could it be that nobody saw this sitting plainly on top of the wrapper? Bleh. The servers are mostly quiet and I think basically the cooks because you don’t really get too much service.
I know that Fritz’s is a Kansas City institution so I hate to be a downer so I’m giving it 2 stars purely for the kid value entertainment and definitely not for the greasy grub.
Tip! Don’t forget your GermX wipes!

It is what it is. A place for kids and kids at heart who love trains.
Yes the kitsch is abundant with the trains delivering the food and paper conductor hats to wear. I wore a hat during my visit. I heard my friend order our food on the phone. She warned me the orders rarely come out correct. Yep. Our drink order was wrong and the food too. The only thing I corrected was my drink. If I’m actually going to drink a real Coke then it better have cherry in it too!
The hot dog I ordered was supposed to have mustard and relish but I received a kids order which is plain. Ok. It’s also served on a hamburger bun which was odd but again ok. The large order of fries ended up 2 small fries. Again ok. The food overall is plain and meh. But I don’t think I’m the target audience.
The place was packed when we left with a huge line out the door. I get why it’s popular with the under 10 crowd. You call in the order on the tableside phone and it arrives by train. But for the paying adult, the prices are high and the portions are small. The kids have a screaming good time and honestly do they care about the food? Not really. They care about which train (they’re named) will deliver the food. So 3 stars to Fritz’s for delivering happiness to all the tables!

this is a fun restaurant. You can find the same quality of food at winstead’s, but winstead’s won’t deliver your food via train. Great place for kids and adults alike. There is a train system that delivers your food, hot.
Sorry, drinks and salads are hand delivered for safety issues.