Tom + Chee – Lancaster

Only found this place because we missed a turn, but I’m glad we found it! The staff was friendly and helpful in explaining their menu. After ordering we got our drinks, found a table and waited for our food to be brought out to us. My husband ordered the «hot & spicy» sandwich and a cup of blue cheese chili. He said the sandwich was good (and definitely spicy!) but raved about the chili. I got the «the classic» donut sandwich and added bacon with a cup of regular tomato soup. That sandwich was a dream — perfect balance of salty and sweet. Soup was good, but I’ll skip it next time. Fun atmosphere and seems family friendly — we’ll be back!

Speedy and friendly service. Food was unique and hot. Owner was very attentive and even cleaned up the table for me. Definitely will be coming back.

Loved it! I had the turkey and pesto on pumpernickel. Perfect amount of meat and cheese. Perfect crisp to the toast. Love the «dipper» size soup — just the right amount for the sandwich. We had the creamy tomato and basil — loaded with flavor! I actually can’t wait to come back to try other things on the menu.

I wish I could give them a better rating. Their food is really good. The problem is that they’re pricey and the portion sizes are too small. And they charge extra for most of the toppings that you add to your grilled cheese sandwich.

We live right around the corner from Tom and Chee. We decided to give this a try as a brunch place after a night of going out on the town! We have been here before, but for lunch or dinner. I love breakfast and thought it would be fun to give the doughnut grilled cheese a whirl!
I ordered one of their special doughnut grilled cheeses. They were running a special called the Barnstormer Blueberry Doughnut. The grilled cheese featured a glazed doughnut with a blueberry compote whipped with Mascarpone cheese and a slice of smoked Gouda. This doughnut was such a balance of sweet and savory. The Gouda added the savory bit that is in every grilled cheese while the other ingredients added a sweet feature. I would definitely recommend taking a risk and trying once of the doughnut grilled cheese concoctions. Though if you are not into taking the risk, there are grilled cheeses for every personality!
The restaurant is extremely clean and the service is nice. Each customer orders at the register and is given a number. Your meal is then brought to your table. It was a great experience and definitely a family friendly place.

I was disappointed in the menu options at this restaurant. I had assumed there would be some gourmet grilled cheeses on their menu but there were not. If you are looking for a place where you can fee your arteries clogging as you bite into a sandwich this place is for you.

I was so excited to come here. I heard about this on TV and thought it was a great idea for a restaurant. Overall I would definitely come back!
Pro: I had the hot and spicy with their creamy tomato basil soup. Loved the sandwich– it was full of spice! Loved it. I also had the blueberry blue which is their grilled cheese donut! That was amazing! It was blueberry compote with mascarpone! So delicious!
Con: the soup was nothing special, wish it had more flavor.
Overall, clean place, nice people, great location and great food! Would come again!

This place has to be my all time favorite comfort food place in Lancaster. I’ve been there multiple times in the last few months, and I’ve never had anything that wasn’t exceptionally delicious. The staff is so friendly and helpful with navigating the menu, which can be a little daunting at first due to the amazing variety. The soups are fantastic as well, and I know that they offer vegan options too.
I can’t say enough good about this place! Oh, and try the Italian specialty grilled cheese — it’s my favorite.

Decided to give this place another shot. I told the cashier about our last experience (no cheese on our sandwiches and no onion on my beef n chedder) and he was surprised. Knowing this he personally checked my order before bringing it out.
With that being said the sandwich was good and made perfectly… but…for the price $ 6.95 — there is no chips, or even a courtesy pickle. I would say the prices are comparable to Panera’s or Isaacs but at those restaurants you get chips and a pickle and leave feeling satisfied. My spouse ordered a ham/​cheese with a side of mac and cheese — most expensive mac n cheese he ever had at $ 5! So even with a sandwich and a side he left hungry also.
I also tried the smore dessert and it came highly recommended. Again for $ 5.95 it is a bit pricy.
Both times I dined here I spent what I left was a lot for a little and left hungry.

I wanted to re-​review. My first trip, I didn’t rate very well bc I was a bit thrown by the price. I ordered the Armagoetta my first trip, and apparently Tom+Chee got it quite right bc I found myself craving it 4 months later. Also, the owner or manager sent me a very nice message after my poor review, and I appreciated that. Very friendly staff and clean restaurant. I also ordered their donut special of a PB&J…consisting of the grilled donut, peanut butter mascarpone and blueberry compote. It was delicious. The peanut butter was silky and not overwhelmingly tasting of peanut. Very happy I gave another chance.

Not your mama’s grill cheese!
Traveling for work, wanted to try something new, found the Unilocal reviews and figured why not.
I ordered the hot + spicy with a bowl of blue cheese chili, while my traveling companion ordered the flying pig with the same blue cheese chili.
We passed on the donut infused cheese diabetes deserts, trying to save my myself from dropping dead before I leave of heart failure.
Everything was amazing!!!
The hot + spicy should come with a warning, you should have a fire truck on stand-​by.
Will definitely return again when I visit the area.

I have been waiting to eat at Tom & Chee since I saw it on Shark Tank. The sandwich was absolutely amazing, which was the Crunchy Garlic Chicken sandwich. The S’mores Donut was out of this world delicious.
The staff was very helpful upon walking in the door. The restaurant was very clean.
All thumbs up from me.

Tom+Chee is a restaurant with a very simple concept that yields alluring combinations.
Certainly you’ve had a burger at Five Guys, a burrito at Chipotle, and even a noodle bowl at Noodles and Company. BK has its Whopper, McDonald’s their Big Mac, but Tom+Chee has only a childhood favorite: the grilled cheese. And that’s all they need…
Now think back to your younger years. How did you used to make your grilled cheese? Did you use American, Cheddar, Mozzarella? Ever try and spruce up your lunch by adding bacon, onions, or even a tomato? Surely you’ve paired it with tomato soup! Its no surprise, Tom+Chee has done it all.
The menu consists of a wide variety of in-​store recipes such as the Hot+Spicy and Swiss+Shroom. Of those I’ve tried I can attest that however the sandwich is described on the menu is how it will taste in your mouth. Don’t like what’s listed? Make your own! Pick your bread, cheese (s), meat (s) and veg, whatever toppers suit you best, Tom+Chee accommodates all their customers palette for palette. Still not convinced? How about a doughnut grilled cheese? Perfect for dessert, but also great for a sweet-tooth’s lunch,
Overall, Tom+Chee is a great spot for lunch with an affordable range of soups and sandwiches, a menu so vast that even when you find your favorites I encourage you to sample on, and a fun atmosphere that welcomes families to have a nice time out.

Love this place! The flying pig grilled cheese is my favorite. I have tried most of the soups and love them all. I can assure you that the grilled cheeses are in fact grilled not pressed. You can sit at the bar and watch them make your grilled cheese.
The layout is a bit strange but over a decent meal and great service!

The food certainly didn’t live up to the enticement of the menu board. What looked great came out as, well, your garden variety grilled sandwich. When I think grilled cheese, I think grilled… cheese. Thick slices of cheese oozing from between 2 great slices of bread.
What I got was 2 verrry thin slices of pepper jack cheese that were bordering on imperceptible against the other ingredients. The bread was okay, but seemed panini press-​toasted, and certainly not griddled. The pepperoni on it featured 3, limp, thin pieces of the cheapest food service pepperoni you can find, placed on each half of the sandwich. Again, you couldn’t discern that there was pepperoni until I actually opened the sandwich to look. The hot cherry peppers were pretty great on it, but no other aspect of the sandwich could get past the flavor of those. It was mediocre, at best.
My companion had the standard grilled cheese. It drew the same reaction, albeit the main difference that it was two pieces of unimpressive, white bread that was crispy dry and either toasted or pressed. The cheese was not noticeable as the, supposedly, star ingredient.
And the soup… we each had the creamy basil tomato. We both ate only about half of the very small, $ 3.00 cup of soup. Why? We both looked at each other and agreed it tasted like Campbell’s Tomato Soup… cut with Prego Spaghetti sauce.
When a staffer was going around asking how people’s food was, I wasn’t sure if I should be honest or just pleasantly move on. Luckily, when she got to our table, we got a different question than the other’s. «How are you tonight?» got me off the hook from saying, «The food here is mediocre and we won’t be coming back.».
And, no, we won’t be back. This chain’s addition to the burgeoning fast food scene in Lancaster is a swing and a miss.

So good and delicious. So much more than soup and grilled cheese. Amazing donuts and a fun twist on grilled cheese concept. Me and my daughter love it.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup! What a great idea for a restaurant!
In reality, not actually so great. Food was delivered directly to my table my a nice man. I got the hippy sandwich and creamy tomato bisque. It was pretty good, maybe a little over priced. I also hated the layout of this place. And the chairs reminded me of what I sat on in kindergarten.
Meh.

I’ll say at the top that I really enjoyed the food I ate at Tom + Chee.
However, between my grilled cheese sandwich (about $ 7), a dipping bowl of tomato soup ($ 1.50, if I remember right), and a fountain drink (another approx. $ 2), I suddenly found myself with an over-​$ 10 meal.
While I’m not necessarily opposed to $ 10+ with food and drink, I am opposed when I can eat everything and still feel hungry. I wasn’t death-​tummy-​growl hungry when I walked in, either. I was just nicely hungry. And by the time I finished my food I still felt nicely hungry. And that is not how I want to feel after spending $ 10.
The basic problem is that you get exactly what you expect. Two slices of bread with cheese and stuff in between. Grilled. And it’s good. But it’s not a lot of food.
Maybe there should be a premium price for a gourmet-​style grilled cheese? But seems like there should also be an expected quantity that matches up with the price.
At least my grilled cheese had meats and pickles and stuff on it. My sister got the donut grilled cheese (about $ 6): regular-​sized donut, cheese, bananas. No meat, still pricey.
As-​is, Tom + Chee would not be a place I’d go to again for a meal. Even though the food is good, I’d rather go somewhere where I’m not going to walk out $ 10 lighter and still hungry.

What a cool, unique place! Lancaster continues to grow in popularity and culture and it tastes amazing!
Tom + Chee is a great play on the classic Tomato and Cheese we’ve undoubtably all experienced as children. The menu is robust with twists on all types of cheeses and additions to the cheese sandwich. They even go as far as giving the option of just a small ‘dipping’ add on of tomato soup if you don’t want a whole cup or bowl.
There are a few variations of the standard tomato soup they have available, and probably two dozen varieties of cheese sandwiches. A favorite of my friend is their offering of the grilled cheese dessert donut; essentially, a donut cut in half, filled with dessert treats and cheese, then grilled.
They have a soda machine for you to get drinks and the kitchen is in a nice, open area where you could see them make your food. The seating is a little awkward, with a big portion of the location having bar-​style seating and tables in the middle. I would say it’s not really meant for large groups. Although, they do offer a few tables outside for nice days.

It was very full upon arrival and the people were friendly for a «fast food» type place. The food is super unique.
You order at the front and are given a number.
They have menus you can write in so my wife and kids picked out what they wanted and circled it. This is the perfect way to order, in my opinion, especially to be kind to those behind you in line.
We were impressed when they brought out a sandwich that was «burnt» (in their opinion) and told us they were going to replace it. Very cool.
I think they could improve by giving their staff training similar to what Chick Fil a does. The two kids that brought our food out didnt know what we ordered or what they even were. They also were not friendly. The «grown up» was very friendly though.
The food also didn’t all come out at the same time.
So, all in all, I feel like for what it is (a fast food place) it was really good. But, they’re going for a «specialty» edge, so I feel like they need to be a little better with the customer service.