Johnny Rockets

The food was amazing. It smells really good as soon as you enter the restauran, plus I like being able to watch them prepare my food. The manager was really cool and helpful despite it being so busy. My only complaint is of course the parking situation. But that’s everywhere in San Francisco. The restaurant was tiny but located within walking distance of our hotel.
If you eat here you gotta try one of the shakes.

I ate at Johnny Rockets for the first time today and I don’t believe I have ever had faster service. My food came in no time at all. The waiter, Sam, is a good dude, backed hard.
The menu is not as extensive as the other 50’s nostalgia diner chains, but it is still good a place to eat a burger, fries, and shake.

Mmmmmmmmmm!
I like to enjoy a JR burger about once a year. I especially like having greasy burgers (like tacos) when I’m starving and my stomach makes the rules. Had I been thinking with some fuel in me I would not have eaten here.
I let go. I had a juicy, greasy, OH SO Yummy single burger with bacon and onion rings and bbq sauce. Fries, too and a COKE!
Service is really good and their bathroom was surprisingly clean!
What more can you ask for before you hit up the bars in the Marina? Get some food in ya before you get your drank on!

Our go-​to-​spot for our second dinner of the night. Dinner-​show-​then Johnny Rockets.
Sloppy burgers, shakes, fries. They know how to do it. Plus, this one had a very nice, friendly, and funny waiter!

The taste of the food doesn’t justify the calorie consumption or risk of coronary embolism.
I will give a shout out for the root beer float. My husband isn’t from the US. He’s just discovered the awesomeness of root beer floats and cannot get enough.

Came here because I was craving some Johnny Rockets. I wasn’t sure if i was craving the atmosphere of it or the actual food haha. I love the interior design and booths! So classy and retro.
My friend M. Nguyen and I shared a $ 6 Patty melt that came with fries. We weren’t hungry to begin with so half was good enough for me. It was greasy n oil drippy and the bread was toasted to a golden brown smothered in butter. Yummmmm !
We decided to get a side of chili cheese fries for $ 3.99. I thought it was going to be a big plate but the serving size was pretty damn small, I was disappointed! But it was pretty good, just wished the portion was bigger.
Unlimited refills on soda pop. Mhmm. Will probably come back and get the Philly cheese steak one day.

Okay, so it’s 1:00AM on a Friday, the shit show on the triangle is still percolating, the pig is standing room only, and I’m amazingly sober. Sober and hungry.
I stroll into Johnny rockets, sit at the bar, and order a patty melt, fries, and a coke (please see picture above). Even stone cold sober, this is the most delicious looking meal I have ever witnessed. I snap a picture and text it to my good friend NQ. The response is instantaneous: «Order me some fries.»
10 minutes later, an agitated NQ comes bursting through the door and plops herself down on the stool beside me. «I’m not drunk!» she exclaims. Yea, me neither. But there’s something up with you. «I’m not on drugs, if that’s what you’re sayin’.» Never said you were. «I just drank 8 red bulls.» Okay…
Over in the VIP (booth) area, two young ladies — twins — are celebrating a birthday. NQ decides to buy them an order of fries, complete with requisite «Happy Birthday» spelled in ketchup, and personally delivers it to their table. 8 red bulls, 5 inch heels, and 1 plate of steaming hot fries adds up to catastrophe, but NQ navigates her way around the room effortlessly.
Back at the bar, she can’t decide if she wants a milkshake or not. For me, the perfect culinary experience has already been had. Screw the cabs, let’s share a towncar. Goodnight, NQ. Thank you, Johnny Rockets. Peace, world.

I can’t say much about the food, since I’ve only had the chili cheese fries, which I liked. (how can you go wrong with fries and cheese?) But I LOVE LOVE LOVE the strawberry banana milkshakes. And usually I don’t even like fruits in my dessert… I wish I had one of Johnny Rockets strawberry banana milkshake right now.
Oh and the service here is great!

Had a western burger here at 1:30. It was pretty tasty. It reminds me of Mels as far as the interior. I think it was about 7 or 8 bucks so it wasn’t too expensive. It’s better than mainstream fast food, that’s for sure.

Good place for greasy eats after being out at the bars on Chestnut. I really enjoyed the sampler which had three little mini things including a chili cheese dog. I think nothing is worse than a chili cheese anything, so I didn’t eat that 1/​3, but the husband does and said it was good.
Overall, not too expensive, got our food quick, and my meal helped create a good base on the drinky stomach.

I’m surprised to see so many harsh reviews here.
My sisters and I came here for lunch today. We shared an order of chili cheese fries and we all ordered burgers– I got the single rocket w/​grilled onions and their special sauce (thousand island– reminds me of In and Out). I swallowed my burger quick– it was freakin tasty i tell ya! Service was great– our waiter kept checkin up on us and making sure we were OK.

I really have no idea how this place survives. I mean it’s like these guys are working down in the engine room of the Titanic, yet with all the other better burger options in San Francisco this place manages to stay afloat.
I guess it’s not a bad place, and they do have chili cheese fries. The burgers don’t suck and the chocolate malts are actually pretty decent. And the onion rings are not bad at all.
Ok, so maybe Johnny Rockets narrowly missed the ice berg.

Chili Cheese Fries and a Cookies and Crème milkshake…
Sounds pretty good huh… for a retro time capsule, you would think you walked into an old back to the future movie scene…
The service at Johnny Rockets was very polite and never bothered me during my eating and the cashier also gave me my choice of straws. The Chili Cheese fries I ordered were nothing less than perfect… The cheese was well melted on the chili and with a order of onions on top you would have been sitting in heaven with me…
Now here is the awkward Milkshake scene, as I’m drinking my milkshake, I notice that there is something curly at the top of my whip cream and i ignore a little because i thought it was just the Oreo cookie, until i took a little more slurps… AND I NOTICED THAT IT WAS HAIR IN MY MILKSHAKE… I was very disgusted but held my composure and told the waiter and told them to get me another one and you wouldn’t believe what happened next…
YES… another piece of hair was found in my milkshake ASSUME THEIR CLEANLINESS RATING IS 50%… the only thing good that came out of this horrible meal is that I didn’t have to open my humble wallet and pay.
Do not try this place or you to will face the deception of a cold milkshake with a hidden hair inside…
take this review into consideration… I would hate to see you get sick
Thanks!

Yay for Johnny Rocketships! A and I stopped by for a late dinner after catching 3 For All at the Bayfront Theater. We sat down in a booth, but we really weren’t feeling it so we moved to the counter. The counter is much cooler. You get to swivel around and around on your stool and you get to watch your food being made. I ordered a chili dog and a strawberry banana shake. A ordered a philly cheesesteak sandwich, a side of fries, some rocket wings, and an orange soda. I didn’t realize how tired I was, but once I started eating, it’s like my body suddenly said, «Ahhh, finally I have some food. Now I can sleep.» I’m surprised I managed to stay upright and even eat most of my food. I was falling asleep after every bite.
Service was excellent. No complaints about that or the food. I did enjoy the entertainment though. A group of girls (young women?) came in and ordered some food at the counter, to go, and they wanted it in a hurry. But then, when they got their food, they just sat there slowly eating. One of the girls asked one of the guys behind the counter if they sell alcohol. Of course, he said no. So, what does she ask next? If they can bring their own alcohol in. Of course, another no. So they sat there being loud and eating for a while and finally left. But about 5 or 10 minutes later, she comes back in really loud saying, «Has anyone seen an iPhone? Has anyone seen an iPhone?!» And then she lets out a shriek and runs over to the stool where she had been sitting and screams, «There it is!!!» picks up her iPhone and runs out yelling to her friends. Now, THAT was entertaining.

Do you know they have a take-​out menu?
So instead of the frozen yogurt across the street, you can order french fries to go from a smiling clerk from Acapulco, and take them down to the park for a snack in the sunshine!
Fries, $ 2.90. Extra catsup, salt, and napkins, free. Not having frozen yogurt melt all over your forearm, priceless!

This is for their strawberry malt drink! Too sweet! :(
More malt please!!!
Service was nice though! :)

I used to waitress on the early morning shift in a fake 50s diner in Pasadena called Rosie’s, and so I know my fake ‘50s diners.
This, my friend, is not a real fake ‘50s diner.

Über-​late night review.
Showed up after hanging out at Circa… lost an hour due to daylight savings.
The place is mad tiny. There is only maybe 5 – 6 booths, with the rest of the seating at the counter, or around the edge of the restaurant facing outside.
I was going to give the place 3 stars, due to the size… and the obnoxious drunk that spent 5 minutes pounding the table, then TOTALLy eating it when he was trying to go to the bathroom — like feet were momentarily above his head, body splashed on the diner floor. I also enjoyed watching his two female friends trade prescription drugs and splitting up vicodin (and other tabs) while their friend finally disappeared for the rest of the night.
HOWEVER, I decided to upgrade the rating to a 4 because:
(1) They’re open until 3am.
(2) Our server, who was also the supervisor/​manager, was also in the back flipping burgers. The dude is definitely a multi-​tasker.
Oh, the food… typical late-​night johnny rocket diner food. Got the Rocket wings (boneless buffalo wings) which I would rate as average/​below-​average — i like my boneless buffalo wings breaded and crunchy — these, were not.

So I heard that this place changed hands recently and the quality had gone UP?
Since this was my first time here, I don’t know what it was like before, but I am that red-​headed chick who was licking her plate when you came in last night. Maybe I was just hungry or maybe the food was really good.
A year or two ago I ate in a Johnny Rockets in the Underground in Atlanta. This Chestnut Street location was small in comparison, but the food was just as good and the service was excellent. The waitress appeared new, but was right on top of our order; plus she was very polite and seemed to be following the «rules.» Like making the little catsup happy face in the dipping bowl — — that has to be a unique and peculiar requirement of JR’s? The onion rings were real onions, which I like. Not chopped, freeze-​dried and reconstitued onions, but real onions.
Only problem I saw was that it seemed a tad expensive for two regular sized cheeseburgers, one fries, one ½ & ½ (fries & onion rings), and one cherry coke. $ 21. A little steep for a juke box and 60’s music atmosphere.
All in all I’d give this place 4 stars. It is a hamburger joint after all, not a white tablecloth, gourmet 5-​star restaurant. But good for a 60’s diner. Food was good and service was excellent.
I will go back next time I’m in the neighborhood and I am craving red meat and onion rings and a REAL CHERRY COKE — not out of a can (Just next time, guys, every real cherry coke should have a cherry in the glass! Even Sonic does that!)

Anna K knows what’s up. If I am sober enough to drive a car there’s no way I’d step foot inside Johnny Rockets. All I ask is that they provide free water so I can sober up a bit, they have a bathroom that I can puke in if necessary and that they have man food (ie not salad, tapas, small plates etc). I’m not expecting a world-​class burger, just a place to sober up and hopefully not embarrass myself.
I recommend their greasy-​ass cheese fries and burgers. Their shakes are actually pretty awesome.