Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler

Pure dog turds. Order was wrong twice. Then I tasted it and have had better burgers at elementary school cafeterias. Straight unflavored meat and a big pile of cold cheese, topped with a half gallon of the mayo that I asked be left off. The onion rings had zero flavor. The milkshake was pretty good, I will give them that. With the Garage, Five guys, Freddie’s, and even Wendy’s within a couple miles I don’t know how they stay in business.

I always drove by this place and wondered about it, but never actually went until last week. YUM!!! Really good burgers with great flavor, not cheap tasting like the other fast food places. Their onion rings were delicious. The breading kind of fell apart off the onion, but I pretty much expect that when they’re hand-​breaded! And they weren’t greasy at all which I love. Their sweet tea was good and I was surprised to see a lemon AND orange wedge in it.
Now, it is pricey, but you get what you pay for! I will be back. :)

$ 30 for 2 single patty burgers, small cheese fry, small onion rings, and 2 drinks.
The burger patties had reasonable taste, but weren’t very warm. The grated cheese, which I believe was Velveeta, was cold so it effectively cooled the meat down. That may be fine for some, but I prefer a hot hamburger with melting/​melted cheese.
The onion rings were good and are usually so, along with the pies being probably the best choices on the menu.
The cheese fries were alright for the first 2 minutes we had them. The grated Velveeta (?) turned almost to a sheet of plastic akin to those cheap sandwich slices of American cheese back in the 1980’s. Just unappetizing altogether.
The service was a bit tardy, but friendly.
I’d never been to the southside location before, so I hope the others I’d visited at different points over the years are a little better. I doubt I’ll ever go back given the bounty of amazing burger places in the metro. I hate to say it, but I feel like the times have just passed this once-​great place on by…

Fries taste like raw potatoes. Expensive – $ 10 for the cheapest burger, small fries, and medium drink. Staff is not friendly. Perhaps all of these reasons are why the place was deserted on a Saturday afternoon.

Today was my first, and last, visit to Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler. I have been looking for a good burger in Norman and based on other Unilocal reviews I was excited to try Johnnie’s. My boyfriend and I visited today and were thoroughly disappointed. First of all, the girl running the register did not show good customer service skills. As far as her knowledge of health standards go, I believe they are non-​existent. She handled our cash and then immediately went to start bagging other orders. She walked right past the sink with the big sign saying Employees MUST Wash Hands and started bagging up food. She first bagged an order for the drive-​thru and I was hoping someone else would bag our order seeing as she did not wash her hands. But we were not so lucky.
I was also very disappointed by what they are selling as a Small coke cup. My boyfriend got a small coke and was given a cup with no label on it, and it looked like a water cup. I asked the girl if this was actually the Small and she said Yes. I told her sorry to bother her about it but it looked like a water cup to me. She told me that this was also the water cup. Who uses water cups as a Small coke cup as well? I posted a picture to the picture section to show how small the cup really was. It is about the size of a kids cup at any normal place. And we paid $ 1.40 for it, more expensive than a large coke at McD’s!
Alas, the reason I was there was for the food so I just put all of this to the side and opened my burger. I ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce tomato pickle and mustard. The condiments on the burger were good. Pickles and tomato tasted fresh, mustard was in good amount, but none of this could make up for the cheese. On their website they boast hand-​grated cheese so I was very surprised with the plastic looking clump that was on my burger. Kraft shredded cheese looks fresher than this stuff looked. Pic posted to the picture page for a visual. It didn’t taste any better than it looked. None of it melted to the burger, it just stayed in this gross clump.
For a side I ordered onion rings because I love onion rings. The onion rings were a good size but the breading was not good at all. It was very bland-​tasting. I ate about three of the rings before I just couldn’t take any more. Not to mention that they don’t have any special sauce for the onion rings. Almost every place I order onion rings from provides a sauce for them. Johnnie’s has ranch but only for an extra cost. They should really think about providing a sauce that comes with the onion rings.
My boyfriend ordered the double burger. He was not impressed, says it was bland.
All in all, we will not be returning. The search continues for a great burger in Norman.

I just got a Johnnie’s House Special burger with a 6 oz cup of Johnnie’s special sauce. The cost $ 6.37 cents. What I got was a beef patty the size of a single-​patty burger on the MacDonald’s dollar menu. I got I tiny beef patty and two dry buns and a 6 oz cup of the «amazing» sauce. My advice: If you get ripped off by this place, save the sauce and buy 6 one dollar burgers at Micky D’s. At least you will get some of your money back. What a ripp-​off!!!

The Johnnies sauce is addictive. Literally. I cannot eat a burgers (here or elsewhere) without the Johnnies sauce, I buy the jars of it! The pattys are well, pattys. The cheese fries are to die for (In my opinion, but I love velvetta and I’m pretty sure that’s what they use on the burgers and fries). Overall, I love this place. The service is fast too.

I love this Norman location with its easy-​in and out drive through and car hop service. I’m weird about eating alone and was in a rush leaving the Norman campus, so I pulled into the car hop bay and ordered the turkey cranberry sandwich. Yes, they have more than burgers and fries! My order arrived in about 3 minutes, I was shocked how quick it was. For about $ 10, I got a sandwich, homemade potato chips and a medium tea. The sandwich had enough turkey on it for about 4 people! The chips were a little over-​seasoned and I didn’t eat very many, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Overall, a great value, a quick stop, and a relatively healthy option.

Whenever I am craving a quick burger, Johnnie’s is one of my go-​tos. For one, their charbroiled burgers rock. Even more importantly, their freshly cut and cooked french fries and potato chips rock. Their onion rings rock, too, but they are quite rich, so rock carefully.
Because my family is boring, we pretty much stick with our favorites. Of course, their cheeseburger is delicious, my husband’s favorite is the cheese Theta (cheese, pickles, Johnnie’s sauce), and when I don’t get all plain Jane with the cheeseburger, I love the Caesar (lettuce/​salad mix drenched in Caesar dressing).
A couple things to remember: their burgers are charbroiled, so if that’s a problem, I think you’re a problem, but you should probably just not go eat there. Also, their cheese is shredded, not in a square. That doesn’t bother me, but it might account for the cheese complaints I have seen on here. In general, the food isn’t that greasy to me, but it probably just depends on what you get, like the aforementioned onion rings.
I’m usually swinging through the drive-​thru, but I have been inside and from what I remember it was clean. The staff is always nice and I have never had an order messed up. Prices are standard for a slightly swankier, local fast food joint. So basically you get a solid red meat fix, a solid starch fix, and no hassle. See why I’m a fan?

I stopped in with my girlfriend last night and ordered the #8 with Johnnie sauce. The burger itself was OK, not as tasty as I’d hoped, and $ 6 is a bit steep for a single burger at a fast food joint. The Johnnie’s sauce ruined it completely, though. Imagine marinara sauce made with a bunch of tomato purée and salt and no other spices.

The burgers were mediocre, one person compared them mildly to Carl’s Jr. however that is a severe disservice to Carl’s Jr. A Carl’s Jr. burger can actually be enjoyable.
Another person gave Johnnies one star and talked about their cheese and I agree 100%! Their cheese is some waxy/​plasticky substance that I didn’t recognize as cheese at first (actually I STILL don’t). I’m not a fan of American cheese but they have to have the cheapest farce of a «cheese» I’ve ever had the displeasure of introducing (I reserve the word ‘eat’ for items recognizable as food btw) into my body.
Sometimes you feel a bit guilty about eating fast food, this place made me question my sanity and decision making ability. The overall burger is as middle of the road as it gets but the cheese… you get the point, I digress.

I have tried to like Johnny’s for years, but I just do not. The shredded cheese that isn’t melted at all on the burger is just gross. They put way too much sauce/​mayo on the burger and you end up scrapping most of it off. I have family who loves this place and it is where we always meet for lunch and every time I say I am going to have an open mind and every time I am disgusted. There are far better burger joints to go to.

Pretty much a steep downhill from the ones in OKC. I ordered a #8 today. It came with shredded VELVEETA CHEESE in place of cheddar! One bite was all I could handle. Maybe the Johnnies crew is into Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper, but at $ 6 a pop, I want the real deal, not something that has to call itself «cheese product» by law.
GAG.

i went to highschool right around the corner from the johnnies on britton and still make the drive to eat there occasionally. it was hard to beat. so when they opened a johnnies express in norman not far from where i lived i was pumped. its good, but it just isnt the same as the old britton location. the food and feeling just doesnt quite translate. nonetheless i still go here for my johnnies fix. always go with either the grilled cheese, or the #8 with theta on the side. root beer to wash it down. onion rings are solid, but have never been a huge fan of johnnies french fries. i do make an exception for the chilli cheese fries from time to time though… heart attack in a sack, but dang good!
the breakfast isnt too bad at all either if youre so inclined.

We stop here every time we’re through Oklahoma. Grew up coming with my grandparents and love even the Express keeps it the same. Fries and onion rings are stellar. Burgers are delicious. Get a #3!

I’ve eaten here twice now. First time I had the sliders, which were damn good. Second time I went for the big burger with bacon. It was not as good. The mean patty tasted like the same one they use at Carl’s. That’s not a bad thing. Their special sauce is BBQ sauce and not so special. I had a side of their homemade chips with ranch. They were probably homemade that morning. They were not fresh. Other restaurants who serve homemade potato chips make them when you order them. Johnnie’s just put an extra layer of seasoning salt on them and threw them in the boat. It’s clean and the staff was friendly enough. I’d go there again, but I wouldn’t drive out of my way.

So I had Johnnie’s via delivery through 858-​togo but never realized what I was missing out on until my fiancé and I hit up this small homey feeling restaurant this afternoon.
We received the best customer service, hot food, and the #1 thing I judge any restaurant on: amazing sweet tea!!! For taste preferences they have lemons AND orange wedges for your beverages, an offer unique foods and generous portions!
My fiancé and I will be returning. Next on the Johnnie’s to try list: grilled PB&J? Yes please!!!

My son asked several times to stop in to Johnnies so we finally did. The place is very clean, including the bathrooms. This always makes me happy. The ordering process was fine and the menu diverse enough for a little place. My son ordered a burger and fries. The burger was fine but the fries were terrific as they were hot and home style. I had a french dip that was not remarkable. Instead of toasting the bread to make it a little crusty, they heated it in way that made it sort of doughy. The meat was not very flavorful and it had a lunch meat sort of flair. My husband’s burger was good though he would have appreciated the cheese to be melted.
It appears to be a family owned business and they are really great at customer service. I hope they tweek a few things so we will return for future visits.
Their ice tea is brewed AND they provide lemon and orange slices… EXCELLENT

Highly overrated.
I’ve been to Johnnie’s a great many times, including multiple special events in which my family booked their private dining room. This place is essentially a Carl’s Jr. with more comfortable seating.
Likes: The food has some flavor, which is always a huge plus. They do have a decent private dining room with a low price tag. The onion rings are okay.
Dislikes: Food is greasy as hell and WAY overrated. The burgers have tiny patties compared to places like Interurban and Red Robin, and the options kinda suck. You also pay the same amount for a smaller burger. The service is often fairly poor as well, and the seating is regularly dirty.
Seriously, I’d rather eat at Carl’s Jr. and save $ 3 – 4 than eat at Johnnie’s. It’s nowhere near the same universe as some of the better sit down burger joints.

I had read somewhere that this place makes a mean burger. I went to the drive up and the menu there wasn’t the same as I saw online. I ordered a number 9 with some cheese fries and it was alright. Perhaps you need to dine in for the full menu?
The food is full of vitamin grease. When I was finished eating I felt dirty. I’ll give it another shot again in the future but I wasn’t that impressed. If I was hungry for a burger other places would come to mind before this one.