James Coney Island

Haven’t been to a James Coney in years and really enjoyed my return. The service was great and they served me with smiles and great attitudes. I will most definitely go back to this location. Thank You!

This was my first — and likely my last — visit to James Coney Island. I understand that this place is a Houston institution, but I can assure you that it didn’t become so popular with the service that we (didn’t) receive today.
First, the guy at the counter engaged us in a staring contest as he rested one arm on the register and the other on the counter. There was no «hello» or «May I help you» or anything. Just a blank look. We ordered, paid and took our seats with our receipt and drinks and waited for our number to be called. And we waited some more.
My son finally mentioned to me that several people who came in after us were getting their food, so I went to the counter to find out what was up. The manager on duty asked for his receipt, despite that my son told him we were order #158. So, alas, my son walks back to the table and gets the receipt. As he was walking back to the counter to pick up the food, the manager yells «Ah, we have your food ready. It’s here.» (And no, the manager didn’t ask to see the receipt when it was all said and done.)
The hot dogs were fine. Nothing special. The fries were so cold that the oil had begun to congeal on the outside of them. Seriously.
To the owner (s) of this place: You have a mural on the wall that says «Service is our Motto.» Neither your lackadaisical manager (whoever was on duty Saturday afternoon Sept. 12) nor the employees under his charge seem to understand this. Your establishment is well adorned and fun. Your hot dogs are fine too, although they cost more than a dog on the streets of NYC. ~ You can’t have it both ways, nor should you want to. You own some expensive real estate along I-​45 from which you hawk high-​dollar stadium fare (without the stadium) and your employees are screwing it up for you. ~ Protect your investment and go in there and train them. Hire a manager who is worth a damn, because that is truly your main problem at this location.

We have not been to a coney island in years, but that is going to change now cuz this place is so much better than I realized. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. I didn’t know they had increased the menu to include so many more options! Awesome experience!

Today was my first experience at James Coney Island. I walked in the door and passed an employee in the dining area. I was not even greeted. There was only 1 other customer at the time. The place seemed clean. I ordered the Chicago Dog and Texas Chili Dog and Garlic Cotija cheese fries. The dogs were good but the fries were totally cold. I sent them back and they said they would make a new batch for me. I never got called for my fries so I went to the counter and asked for them. They never even started them. The shift manager said they were still making them. I watched as they ambled along slowly to make my fries. They young lady slid me my fries on the counter and didn’t apologize or say thank you or anything. She didn’t say anything, she just slid them to me and turned around. The one customer that was in the store had his food delivered to his table. It appeared he was a friend of one of the employees. Anyways, the food was nothing special, it was the service that was terrible. The bad service is a deal breaker. I will not patronize a restaurant with poor service. I will spend my hard earned money elsewhere.

Definitely not pleased with this restaurant. We ordered our food to go, and my husband came home with several orders missing. He didn’t have a meal! When he called to tell them, they expected him to drive all the way back to get it, instead of refunding his money. The manager was snarky, rude, and unhelpful on the phone. We won’t be returning.

I went with my family who lives locally because they recommended James Coney Island. I looked over their menu and wanted something more substantial than a hot dog, so I ordered a polish sausage sandwich. I expected a link of polish sausage, but got just another hot dog in a bun for which they charged extra. When I went back to the counter to get another sandwich, it took a long time to get waited on, and my family was finished eating by the time I got my sandwich. I could only eat a couple of bites because they had to go. I will not eat there again.

So reason’s I’m a fan of James Coney:
*They’ve got awesome creative combination flavors of hot dogs that make me want to try every flavor so I take 10 minutes struggling on what to order despite that it’s a fast food place.
*I vow that I’ll try every flavor someday, but they keep coming up with new flavors, so it’s a never ending vicious cycle that keeps sucking me back in.
* They’re not skimpy on their toppings!
* The French fries are crispy and somewhat golden with good oil to salt ratio.
* They’ve got a spacious clean dining establishment with TVs.
* The presentation of the hot dogs is nicely put together and not a hot sloppy mess even though it’s going to end up becoming one. At least they leave that up to you to do.
* Portions are large and very filling for the price.
* Quality of hot dog meat makes you think this could pass for gourmet instead of artery clogging a.k.a less guilty feeling of indulgence despite the half pound of toppings.
These are all things I like and can live with on occasion and that’s why I’ll keep coming back to JCI when I’m in Houston!
P. S. They also have plain boring hot dogs for the kids, so it’s a win win sitch for everyone.

JCI used to be one of my favorite restaurants, not any more! They don’t steam the buns like they used to, cheese is cold & the service is TERRIBLE! We were the only 2 customers in the restaurant & 6 visible workers we order 5 coneys 1 tater tot. Waited about 20 minutes, no new customers & we still have not got our food. The workers in the kitchen all doing nothing! One nice gentlemen offered us drink refills. Half an hour of watching them do nothing & we still have not received our food! We go ask how much longer, the same girl who took our order asks, how much longer for what? I say, our food. She says what did u have? I tell her again & she says we cleared that order. Me– uhm… No sorry we never got it. They finally make it & it’s incorrect. We eat it anyway cause we have been there forever! They offer us free ice cream, uhm… No thanks! I really hope they can pull it together! It would be a shame for such a wonderful classic place like James Coney Island to go out in this manner.

This place is heartbreaking for the people of this area that loved our Coney Island.
There used to be a great Coney Island in Clear Lake on Bay Area Blvd. They used to steam the buns and it was all so good. That one closed and I was crushed.
About a year later a new one opened and we were so excited until we ate there. Still we just assumed that they were working the kinks out of their system being a new store and all.
It’s been open for three years now and they’re still the same as the first day they opened. Terrible

Coney is all you need to get here. Don’t mess with all the new frou-​frou items. Their weird attempts to diversify the menu is obviously a failure. Asian Fusion sandwich? Whhhhy?! There is no shame in doing one or two things and doing them well.
Why are you bothering with a philly cheese steak anyway?! This is James Coney Island — ya get a coney!
Don’t bother with tots or fries. Two or three coneys and an ice-​cold root beer and you will be happy.
Just stick to the coney!!! (Have I made myself clear?) Maaaaaaybe a cup of chili if ya wanna mix it up.
I’m always happy with my cheese coney, no mustard, extra onions.

I was happy when I had saw them bring back JCI back to our area a while back and had been meaning to go visit the establishment for a long time. Unfortunately, when I did I didn’t feel I had that great of a value for my visit.
On this visit I wanted to try an assortment of the original stuff that they are known for. A hotdog, tator-​tots, and Frito-​pie. I have to say I was not impressed. The hotdog felt like it was a miniature dog and the Frito-pie’s chili was terrible. It’s pretty hard to mess up a tator-​tot because you just chunk it in the deep-​fryer so I’ll give them that. My gf also got the philly-​cheesesteak, which also was unimpressive.

I went in there with a good appetite and ordered their most expensive combo, the Walker Street. I thought for over $ 8 I was going to get a huge meal.
WRONG.
Two dinky mini-​dogs, which together are much less than a foot long in volume. Half a plate of tots in a single layer (not that much to eat). Oh, and a fountain drink. Big deal.
For what you get, their flagship combo is an embarrassment. Not planning a return visit.

Great hot dogs especially when they run their specials. Frito pie is great, Ice cold beer too. Regular family visit for us when we need a quick good bite for Americana

Good (for hotdogs), nice environment, and a helpful staff. Who would have thought that chili and mustard would go well together? Burger was not at the «five guys» level of awesomeness, but edible.

How does love a hot dog with a shot of cheese whiz! America!

I don’t know what happened. The food used to taste better. The chili was lukewarm, the hot dogs were lukewarm, even the french fries were lukewarm. We used to visit the JCI on Bay Area Blvd. (before it closed), and they ran a good ship there. The buns were always steamed properly, the franks were always hot, the fries were always fresh. Something bad has happened to this facility. Whoever was managing the old JCI on Bay Area Blvd., needs to be brought in to fix this location.

Ok so it is James Coney Island. You don’t go in expecting a gourmet dog made from wild game harvested in a humane manner. You go in for dogs with chili and cheese! Not even real chili or cheese. Liquid cheese and watery chili tops a regular dog with a steamed bun. I know it sound bad but when you are hungry it is the bomb. They have specials all the time and you can get the coneys for under a buck. The fries are nothing special but they are always cooked right and crispy and with cheese on top they work for me. This location is a nice one. The staff was friendly, The food came out fast, and the place was clean and neat. Now my wife always goes for a burger and they are not bad. Freshly cooked and juicy. My only 1 complaint was I got cheese on my fries and they were kinda of skimpy on the cheese. Don’t short me on my damn cheese. I paid 30 cents extra for that!

My parents lived in Houston for 28 years. I lived there for 21 years. 9 ½ years ago my parents moved to Waco. And what is the #1 place my mom misses? James Coney Island.
Many times I have driven «home» to Houston to visit over the past decade, I have had to stop at a James Coney Island location and get a dozen hot dogs (all the toppings on the side) and drive them to Waco on my way back to Dallas.
Well the three of us made it back to Houston in December for the Texas Bowl. Each of us had at least one place we wanted to visit before we went back home. Mine was Star Pizza. Dad’s was Pappa’s Seafood. Mom’s was a given. Sadly, neither myself nor my dad will eat hot dogs.
We stopped here on Wednesday, December 29^th about lunch time, on a gloomy rainy nasty day before heading to Reliant Stadium. My mom had two of the Texas Style (no onions, sub mayo for the mustard). My dad had the large Chili Pie and I had two of the Polish Dogs (Texas Style, no mustard).
The Polish Dogs were yummy. I love that they have hamburgers, sausage dogs and frito pies on their menu so that my dad and I can eat with my mom at her favorite place.

Recently transferred from the City of Chicago to the Clear Lake area has left me hankering for a good Chicago dog. It is difficult to say the least for any Chicago dog to compare to the old neighborhood Vienna Beef stand. Though when I tried the Chicago dog from JCI, I felt like I was back at Byrons on Irving Park and Sheridan. From a Chicagoan to anyone looking for a Chicago dog… its legit.
The only reason I give it 4 stars intead of 5 is I am uncertain at this time to whether or not the encased meat was actual Vienna Beef.

Yaay! James Coney Island is back in my neck of the woods. Coneys! Corn dogs! Jalapeño fire dog served Texas style!
Yeah, it’s a chain, but it’s a Houston original chain. And they do a really good job with their hot dogs and sausages. I’m very fond of their Jalapeño fire dogs — a much better sausage than I find at a lot of BBQ joints, and at a much better price.
They just opened this weekend, and they were on top of their game, service-​wise. All the staff wore matching T-​shirts bragging about this new location. The place was packed, but they were really keeping the line moving. The new location is spacious, lots of chrome and metallic-​sparkle vinyl everywhere.
James Coney Island is my 7-yr-old’s favorite fast food.