Johnny Rockets
 

A Johnny Rockets is opening is my neighborhood. Is it worth going to? How are the burgers?

Nothing to write home about, but it is worth a visit!

It is about an hour drive away from my house, yet I still go. Enough said. :)

I like the milkshakes the most.

Cheers

Mediocre burgers. Good milkshakes.

Around me they tend to be in the malls. I can get my wife to go if the line is short and I put up with a couple of hours of shopping. I go all out when I do go, burger, onion rings, and a shake. Greasy but good, certainly would not put it in the best burger thread.

I'll add to the list of people who love their milkshakes. I made the mistake of looking at their nutritional charts once, and saw that I was having 2000 calorie meals there :o My visits have dropped dramatically since then. Ignorance is bliss...

Where is it opening?^

No Johnny Rockets around here that I know of.

56th and Third

I dislike "doo-wop"music so I don't patronize Jonny Rockets,Mel's or any of the other nostalgia based chains.

Get a shake, you won't regret it. And don't whine about the prices, tad high

Mediocre entertainment. It helps if you liked the movie Grease

They have tabletop jukeboxes, which were an interesting experience for my iPod-crazed kids.

I agree...I used to enjoy the Rocket Double...until I found out how many calories I was eating...same thing goes for Pizzeria Uno...once I found out how many calories I was eating, I stopped going.

- HF

Agreed.

I have been to them a few times, nice place to go once or twice but I would not make it a regular place.

Tolerable burgers, horrendous chili.

Question I have about such places is why go to them except if you're
far away from home?

There is a Johnny Rocket's in Hoboken and yes their hamburgers are marginal.
Again, In and Out spoiled me on almost every other burger out there!

Fries are not bad.

They DO make a good Coke Float (OK, I can't get them to make a PEPSI float! ;) )

They are also a little pricey.

There is a nice on in Manhattan Beach CA on Rosecrans and for kids who are picky they have a great grilled cheese and an egg salad that is good too. Their shakes are wonderful and it's the music that I enjoy. My kids are grown but they love to go and plug nickels into the machine. There is a brand new one at the refurbed Del Amo Mall in Torrance, CA and it's much larger than most of the other ones I've been too. Fast service, nice servers and okay food.

I thought the same thing when I ordered a strawberry shake on Ocean Dr in South Beach.

--Russ

I've only had a chance to try Johnny Rockets on a Royal Caribbean cruise. I thought the food was ok but it definitely was close to being a highlight of the trip.

Anyone able to compare the JR's onshore versus on Royal Caribbean?

Yes. It's an overpriced Steak & Shake

Truer words have never been spoken

They're sort of half-way between upscale fast food, and "family grill" chains like Chili's/Applebee's/Red Robin in terms of their price, presentation and the size of the burgers. Quality of food is very good by chain standards.

I wouldn't go out of the way for them, and if you have a GOOD local burger place, I'd go there. But in the absence of a good local place, they're a nice option to have.

Coach, there's one up in Huntersville at Rosedale off of Exit 23. I've had plenty of meals there that have to be eaten with knife and fork - the bottom bun often gets too greasy and gooey to be picked up after the yolk from the egg makes it way to the plate!

really?? there's one at the roosevelt field mall and it's always busy.

It's alright...
 

I think Johnny Rocket's is mediocre. They have fairly good burgers, not bad, but nothing really noteworthy. Around here in SoCal, we have a competing chain, Ruby's Diner, with much better burgers and milkshakes, and more menu items. But I'll still goto a Johnny Rocket's every now and then.


Steve

Up in NorCal, we have two 50s-themed diner chains - Lori's and Mel's, both of which have slightly-to-moderately-higher prices and much broader menus. The burgers at JR are a bit better (IMO) than the ones at either Lori's or Mel's, but given the menu differences I'm not sure they really compete one another.

I like Ruby's Diner much better, but there are none around here. JR's makes very good malts. I go there when I get an apple pie craving late at night. It's way-above-average apple pie. Most chains (and local diners, too) give you a plate of brown goo when you order apple pie. JR's pie is 95% big, non-mushy chunks of apple. Very nice.

There are two Johnny Rockets around me, one in Hoboken on Washington St, and the other in Jersey Gardens (Elizabeth).. Every time I pass by it, I want to give it a try but never did for some reason..

Not sure now if I should stop in..

I believe you can find them on some Royal Caribbean cruise ships. It's one of the places on the ship that will cost you a little something extra. I've always assumed, for that reason, that they were something special. I've never been in one, for the same reason.

Yes. Virtually everything about them on the ship is the same as on land, except on the ship the staff is MUCH friendlier :) and will actually give you the nickels to put in the juke box.

(Service seemed faster on the ships as well.)

I find them to be way over priced - sandwiches/burgers start at $6 -$7 dollars, and that does NOT include fries! Yes, the milkshakes are good, but not anything I couldn't get elsewhere.

JR's used to be in Australia in the mid-90s, and the food wasn't all too bad. I remember also being very impressed at the international-recognition.

I had joined up for their "free membership" in Australia that gave me discount of sorts (10% off all food and drinks, or something equally as exciting) and some months later visited Johnny Rockets at Fishermans Wharf in San Fransisco (which if I'm not mistaken was part of the then Travelodge hotel) where my card was cheerfully accepted.

My only pleasant experiences with Johnny Rockets was on a Royal Caribbean ship, about 5PM each day, after a morning/afternoon full of frozen margaritas. And, oh yeah, on the ship, IT'S FREE!

I'm not sure how long ago you sailed, but Royal Caribbean does now charge a table fee for going to Johnny Rockets (about $3.95 if I remember). Although it appeared that the charge was per person, we've eaten at Johnny Rockets on Royal Caribbean ships at least 6-7 times and were usually only charged one table fee no matter how many of us were at the table, and no matter how many burgers/fries/onion rings were ordered.

I understand this was initiated to prevent teens (and others) from hogging the booths all afternoon to just 'hang out'.

Additionally, I believe you also pay for the milkshakes.

As a repeat Royal Caribbean customer, you are given a book upon boarding which has coupons, including one for a free table charge at Johnny Rockets.

Ahh, thanks for the updated info. Yeah, this was about 3 years ago, back in the free for all days. Although, they still might have charged for the milkshakes back then. And yes, it was VERY difficult to get a table around 4PM each day. Pre-late-seating Johnny Rockets, can't be beat.

I agree -- and we have one or two Ruby's north of Seattle -- but the ticket price can creep up on you. Burgers and shakes for three plus tip can touch $50.

My wife and kid hit a JR in northern Virginia last week and said it was not very good.

Ugh! I meant to say it was NOT close to being a highlight of the trip.

Anyways, I think we paid a per person fee. We're finally going on our second cruise on RCI but I don't think the ship we're on (Vision OTS) has a Johnny Rockets so we're out of luck with taking advantage of this coupon.

Just opened up in Toledo, Ohio
 

I found that out the hard way, too; they'll be all closed up by next year:td:

Food is OK but not stellar - our grandkids love the atmosphere so we go there to treat them.

Back when I was a teenager, my friends and I always went to one when we were in DC. I remember there being great grilled cheeses, but everything else it pretty fuzzy.

I would definately go to one for the nostalgia, but otherwise...I'm sure there are places to get much better food for much cheaper.