Original Tommy’s

I probably won’t eat here again. I’ve never had Tommys before, but it’s close to my house so I gave it a shot.
I ordered a #1 double cheeseburger meal and a plain cheeseburger for my son. It was $ 8.20 for the combo which is reasonable in my opinion. The cheeseburger was $ 3-​something which was a bit much.
The fries were sub par and the first thought I had was «freezer burn» so I guess they’re not freshly cut. Yuck. I asked for ranch and the cashier said they don’t have ranch. 2 Itty bitty patties, a sliver tomato, 5 pickles and a splat of chili that looked like baby diareah and soggied the bun. I ate a few bites and gave it to my dog.
My son hated his burger and I took a bite of it since I was still starving after feeding my dog my dinner. The bread was sooooo stale I choked and their cheese was super processed, like the oil and water orange colored squares.

Very unfriendly customer associate. Asking something that you might expect with your order is not welcomed there. Just order the burger and get out attitude !!! I can just buy that place and have some other customer friendly and HEALTHY business out there… it is my neighborhood and I also want some health related product business out there !! Don’t worry about the burger too much guys. You must be better of with goooood chicken salad !!! Correct?

There’s something magical about Tommy’s. It’s a once in q while place for me. A couple times a year I’m crazing it and it hits the spot perfectly when you need 2000 calories real quick with a magical chili pickle mustard bliss.

What happened to this location? I honestly have had nothing but good experiences and fresh food here for years. I had read some of the other reviews but I hadn’t experience it. Today ran by early for a double chili cheeseburger (Hey, I’m on vacation, all bets off — no rules). Bun was so stale that it was hard and chewy even drowning in chili. It was inedible. The meat was so dry it had a jerky like texture. And have they now made their patties even tinier? It’s like three pieces of construction paper… and today the same consistency. Baker’s has those tiny patties, and I always knew that Tommy’s were small, but now they look even smaller than Baker’s…main difference is Baker’s never gave me a bun that was left over from night shift. One bad experience and I go from 5 stars to 1 star? Yes… that burger caused me emotional damage. I love burgers. So much. That burger was the worst burger I’ve eaten (well half of) in ten years at least. I remember driving through the south and I got a Hardy’s Famous or whatever they call it there… it was swimming in sauces and fell apart in my hands… that was horrible. Take that California license plate!!! (I think they eat like that there though) This was horrible too… major disappointment from a place I used to really like.

I have heard such good things about Tommy’s and pass it frequently thinking to go. On a friend’s suggestion to go, upon changing original dinner plans, I was really excited to see what the hype was about.
–The prices are very decent.
–The menu is small and simple– nice and orderly. Nothing too overwhelming, which is common in many burger chains these days.
–The drink size is generous: stick to a medium cup– it’s a general size large at other places, and you have the ability to refill.
–The atmosphere is small and typical.
–Lastly, the food was extremely subpar:
I order the caliente burger, which sounded appealing (I had to ask the cashier what it was since descriptions aren’t posted): pepper jack cheese, peperoncini, and pickled onions (weirdly vinegary in taste) on a single patty burger. I asked for the chili on the side, which I am so grateful for, because as it sat there while I ate my burger, the chili and oil separated so badly that it was visibly evident how unhealthy it was and how unhealthy you’d feel after consuming it.
All in all, the food was not memorable or worthy for a return visit or second try. I’m glad to have tried the place at least, to know that as I drive past it, there’s no need to apply my brakes.

Now, Iv’e grown up eating at Tommy’s (Especially the Original-Rampart/L.A.) It seems every time I come to this one there is some attitude while you look at the menu from the tall portly guy cooking and the cashier. the buns seemed to be over cooked causing them to be burned. I will not go to this one again!

Pretty terrible! Food was one of the worst things I’ve ever had.
You know all those jokes about Taco Bell and untimely bathroom visits? Tommy’s is that ten fold.
I will not be coming back here… For the sake of my taste buds and my colon.
If you want similar food but at a higher quality, go next door to wienerschnitzle. Yes. You read that right. Even they have better food. And a pretty decent dessert menu to compliment.

We stopped here after an event we had near by. We ordered chili cheese fries and a burger. The wrapping was terrible it was to go they gave us no napkins and the chili and cheese was stuck to the yellow paper they shoved our food into! The chili was bland and the fries were soaked with oil. Poor service and poor quality food.

Poor customer service but love the chili cheese burger and chili cheese fries.

Real Deal –Original Tommy’s — I Love The Chili Cheese Fries! — If you don’t see the Shack take it Back is there Motto– and this place has the shack on the sign-​Drive thru, very nice service. I will be back next time I have that Tommy’s chili cheese fries crave: D

I am so disappointed in myself for eating this. I hadn’t been to tommys in years but I found out there was one by my job. I decided to go one day since I thought a chocolate shake sounded good and so did a chili cheese burger. However, I came to this one and found out that they do not serve shakes here. I do not know how they would not serve their best item (in my opinion) at their locations. Apparently, the shakes are only sold in the LA area. I should have left after finding that out but decided to still eat here. First of all, this place is empty and that should have been a sign. The chili cheese burger was not good at all and not how I remembered it. The chili tasted pretty gross and was really greasy. I now feel bad for eating this. I will not be back.

Been here twice both times service is great the dining room is clean and the burgers are awesome!

I love Tommy’s, but I am glad, it is not where I live. I have been to most of the Tommy’s out there. This one is very clean and everyone is very nice.
I usually get a chili cheeseburger with everything and a chili cheese hot dog with everything. I always get peperoncinis.
Wife gets the chili cheese fries.
Only thing on the menu is burgers, fries, hot dogs, and tamales.
If you don’t know, you just don’t know.

Flashback… all the way back to the late ’80’s and early ’90’s: I could, and often did, eat just about anything. Fast food was on the menu, and quite often. Of course, I was more active and fit back then than I am now, so I could afford the extra calories and carbs.
My favorite was Tommy’s and I did Tommy’s at least once a week. It was easy since there was one within walking distance from my house in Westminster.
Since then I’ve become much more fussy about the foods I eat, and not just because of my diet, but because I really don’t see fast food the way I used to. Also, I’ve come to the conclusion that most fast food joints buy their «beef patties» from the same supplier, and none of them taste, or even look like the burgers I cook at home.
Flash-​forward… all the way forward to about 6 months ago: I was on my way home from a long day at work and was forced to take an alternate route due to a traffic incident. My alternate route that day took me past Tommy’s located off of Mission Grove and Alessandro in Riverside. I hadn’t been to a Tommy’s in probably 15 years or more, and as I drove past, I began reminiscing about my past relationship with Tommy’s. I was tired and didn’t really feel like cooking when I got home, so somewhat hesitatingly, I pulled into the drive thru and ordered my old staple; double cheese burger — hold the tomatoes and pickles — and an order of chili cheese fries.
Honestly, I was hoping that it wouldn’t taste as good as it did when Tommy’s was a staple in my diet, but much to my dismay — okay, maybe I was somewhat pleased — it was exactly as I remembered it; I loved it! «Good Lord», thought I, «I’m hooked again!»
Yes, it seems Tommy’s uses the same supplier of «beef patties» as all other fast food joints, but none of the others have that chili! Mmmm… that Chili!
Well, with age comes constraint. I do visit Tommy’s on a regular basis again, but not nearly as much as I did in the early ’90’s; once every month or two is enough to sate my cravings now.
I really like this location. I’ve never really liked doing the drive thru anywhere because I have a very difficult time understanding what is being said through the intercom; most people taking orders talk too fast — I think they say the same thing to every customer too many times, so eventually they don’t enunciate each word and run them all together. Don’t have that problem here when I use the drive thru.
Occasionally, I use the dining room, which is always sparkling clean. The wait can seem a bit long at times, but they don’t start cooking your order until you actually order it. This isn’t McDonalds.
Clear and discernible order takers, friendly attitude, clean facilities, hot food served fresh… albeit somewhat slow. And they always get my order right. Tommy’s gets a 4-​star rating; probably the highest rating I’ll ever give to any fast food joint…
«Statistics show that of those who contract the habit of eating, very few survive.» — George Bernard Shaw

I’ve been enjoying Tommy’s since the early 90’s – been to the original at Beverly & Rampart, Burbank, Canoga Park, Eagle Rock, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Long Beach and Chino. I think the best one is this Riverside location, it’s certainly the cleanist (absolutely spotless).
I found the staff cheerful and eager to please. Their dining room is always wiped shiny new, well stocked, cool and comfortable. The menu is simple, organized, and relatively inexpensive. They want your lunch dollars, and they’ve earned it!
The food is really quite good – It looks good, smells good, and eats good. Brenda the manager is delightful, and a chiliburger making champion! Really, her burgers look like the ones in the pictures, perfect and pretty. When’s the last time you ordered a burger that actually looked like the advertisement? Never! Well Brenda’s do. Obviously made with care, concern, and determination to make YOUR meal something special.
Lightly toasted bun wraped around perfect pickles, red tomato, and thick cheesey chili sauce seductively oozing out the side. This is my dream burger brought into reality by the fine crew at this Mission Grove Tommy’s.
Good Job, y’all deserve my extra special ‘DreamBurger’ award!

Dissapointing for sure. The chili looks like I already ate it and it should be floating in my toilet. See pic I posted. The fat bastage I was with loved it though. So I guess it’s a matter of taste.

Love this place, they have the best chili cheese fries in the universe and I’ve been to ktharxal’s in the Kuiper belt! No other place can compare and I’m still looking!
Be sure to check out the Chilli cheese breakfast burrito too!

This is the only Tommy’s I’ve ever been too it’s right down the street from me. The food is delicious, I just get their chili cheese fries and they are a mouthful of greatness! whenever I come I usually bring my brothers and the times we have come we usually go through the drive-​thru, for some reason they always mess up our order, whether it’s if we asked for no onions and they put onions, or no chili on our burgers and they put chili or get our drink wrong too, I’m not sure what the miscommunication is with the people working the drive-​thru window but it sucks. Going inside to order is totally fine. I’m giving it 3 stars for the lack of listening and clarifying and for the sheer frustration we feel coming home ready to grub and it’s not what we ordered. I will still eat here cause their food is good but I’ll order inside instead.

I rolled in on a Sunday evening with a hankering to try a chili burger. First thing thought was «gee, its pretty empty for 5:45. Then again it is summer…»
After a wait, I got my mitts on the object of my quest: a chili cheeseburger. The chili is made without beans and is very mild in spice level. It tasted/​felt very starchy in my mouth, almost like a thick gravy.
Its pretty oily stuff, and i couldn’t really pick out any distinct seasoning notes. I felt like it could use some contracting flavor like onions, cheddar, etc. I saw hot peppers at the counter, maybe that’s what I’m missing.
The chili cheese fries had sliced American cheese with a generous serving of the chili on top. After the burger, I was hitting overload, so I waved off after a few bites. The addition of the fries and ketchup to the mix helped, but I was still on the fence.
Oh, one other odd thing — the stuff coming from the napkin dispenser were those rough Z-​fold things that I would consider bathroom paper towels. Pretty tough on the face for wiping duties. Odd, considering how often you’d need to wipe your mug with a messy burger like this!
The long and the short of it: I suspect the chili here is polarizing — you either love it or you hate it… I was really hoping to find a future guilty pleasure, but now I think I’m leaning towards «meh» … Sorry Tommy! I wanted to love you, but it just wasn’t in the cards!

I went to the original location years back and loved it so I was pretty excited to find one so much closer. I don’t know if they changed their quality or if my blissful memories were over hyped, but the chili was pretty bland.
On the plus side they do heap it on and service is quick. I would give it 3 stars but my wife and kids loved it, so maybe I was expecting too much.