Fletch’s

First off I am a Chicago transplant. I am always on the lookout for Chicago Style. Hot Dogs, Pizza, and the Holy Grail: Italian Beef.
I made a wrong turn and drove down 2^nd St and saw Fletchs, I made a U turn and parked and walked into a small kinda dingy place. Now I have eaten in dozens of hot dog joints just as dingy over the years, and I can let that slide. I ordered an Italian Beef with Giardinera. $ 8.75. Fair price, especially as it came with fries. I was NOT asked, wet, dry, or dipped. Things are not looking good at that point. I received the sandwich. I was disappointed on so many levels. First off Chicago Style giardiniera is mostly sport peppers, with some celery, olives and maybe a little bit of carrot and cauliflower, and it is in oil. Not at Fletchs! Here we have typical antipasto tray giardiniera, lots of cauliflower, carrots, in VINEGAR. Tart but certainly not hot! Then we have the sandwich itself. The beef was nicely done, flavorful but served on a SOFT BUN. Now I know you can’t get Gonella bread out here, but a number cbe crusty sour batard? A good thing it was not served wet, or dipped as this doughy excuse for a roll would have melted under the application of au jus! So Fletch? Are you really a Chicago expat? Or a poser? Try Windy City Pizza (also in San Mateo) your beef is actually better! But their roll and authentic giardiniera put them over the top! Or drive into San Francisco and go to Capos in North Beach, Tony Gemgianni does it right too. You CAN compete with them, rIse your price to $ 10, give me real crusty bread, dip my sandwich and authentic giardiniera and I’ll be back and reevaluate

I really REALLY wanted to be able to make this a «GO TO» place for a dog since I live close and frequent the theatre… BUT…
The other reviews about the comparison between here and Costco are correct.
Beside the fact that it’s a danged teeny sized dog you could microwave a Hebrew National and probably not tell the difference, :-(
Seriously disappointed-​got me (and my party of 5) once-​never again.

I eat here about two times a month for my Hot Link cravings and I always leave satisfied. Try it out!

I ordered the fetch and after one bite it went to the garage. The fires looked disgusting. First and last time I will come here. $ 7 went to the garage could of got a Big Mac from McDonalds.

I’m sitting here eating another couple of sliders when I realized I’ve never taken a minute or two out of my day to come and say that I genuinely love this place. Everytime I come here everyone is super friendly including fletch (funny guy too) and it’s so nice to be able to just skip the fast food run someone else and come have a quick meal for a decent price. Keep it up fletch’s!

Fletch is a really cool guy, but the size of the hot dogs is the same as his private parts. I’ve come here numerous times only to be left wanting more from the tiny 4 inch dog between the poppyseed buns.
The fries are actually pretty good and the dogs do have a decent amount of toppings even with the tiny wiener. I guess that’s how Chicago style is.

The Chicago style hot dog is delicious! I had one on a Thursday and was craving one by the next day so I got one on Friday.
The location is small and a bit of a dive place, but so good! The owner is super friendly! he was making appropriate jokes and was talking to all the customers.
My order came out quickly and I sat there and had my lunch. He checked in on me a couple times.
I posted a picture of my lunch on my Instagram and I got a lot of questions as to where the food was from. My best friend came down from the East Bay and we had one as well. She loved it too!

I absolutely love this place! The owner is awesome and the food is perfect! Simply and just the way you want it :)

Wasn’t absolutely horrible but most of it went in the garbage –_–
If I could give 1 star for just the chili fries I would! I read a comment on eat24 about it only being meat with marinara sauce and I should have listened but I couldn’t believe it it really is just meat and marinara sauce! NOT CHILI !! Definitely had to throw that away. Smh. I order the Polish dog and it came plain! No grilled onions or mustard like it says on menu!
Super disappointed.

So, I’ve been trying to get my 90 year old grandma to eat more since she’s been losing her appetite lately. I suggested milkshakes, which she agreed to and then I remembered she’s a true Chicagoan even after living in the bay area for 40 years. So, I got her a Chicago style dog with everything. I’ve been missing Chicago since I moved here 3 months ago so this was a great option for me too.
The hot dogs were good! Actually quite a bit better than Vienna (which is the most popular in Chicago)… I could taste the quality and enjoyed that ever-​elusive snap! The only non-​authentic thing was the buns. No poppyseed! The fries were delicious. They were clearly made from scratch… The shakes were tasty also.
For anyone who is curious. Chicagoan’s put ketchup on their fries, but never-​ever on the hot dog. That is sacrilige. :) Fletch’s has plenty of ketchup for you ketchup lovers.
The guy working at the register was kind of disappointing. I kept telling him what I wanted on my hotdogs and rather than write it down, he kept trying to remember and repeat it back to me. And he still got it wrong. And then, he gave me one compostable container that kept popping open. The problem was that the hotdogs weren’t wrapped in waxed paper, which any true Chicagoan knows will keep them from getting cold on the way home. So by the time I got to my grandma’s –a 10 minute drive — the dogs were cold and worse, the one with more toppings was really soggy. Gross.
We put them in the toaster oven, but it wasn’t optimal.
Overall, I would go back, I just hope they come up with a better to-​go option…

3 ½ stars (if Unilocal allowed this).
Had the signature dog (Fletch dog) for lunch. Nice tasting. The dog seems to have a richer flavor than a Ballpark I cook on my grill. The sport pepper added a nice finish. I guess there is a difference for a hot dog that is «ALL BEEF, NO BI-​PRODUCTS, NO FILLERS, with a NATURAL CASING» (per their web site).
Had to resort to Google search to find out what the heck a sport pepper is. Do you know? I do… :-)

Went there last Friday ⁷⁄₁₅ in the late afternoon. Ordered the Chicago dog, onion rings and soda… but was dry, hot dog undersized for a specialty restaurant. Onion rings were not even whole onions. but rather diced mushy unions. come on. you can do better.
I have to admit the staff was very friendly and down-​to-​earth. but just not impressed.

Inedible.
Where to start… The sliders were dry and overcooked. Not much flavor to them either. If you can add salt and pepper to ground beef, and cook it to medium rare; congratulations, you’ve done better. The buns are Hawaiian rolls, awesome, these rolls are good by themselves. You can buy them at your local grocery store in a 12 pack. No culinary expertise needed.
Turkey (?) sliders? Even worse. Rejected by office dog.
The hot dogs were nothing special. You can get a better tasting sausage from the frozen isle of your local Costco. Hell, go out to the Costco food court and get yourself a better sausage for $ 1.25. FREE SODA INCLUDED! Put your «Chicago style» toppings on top and you’ve done a better job for yourself.
Fries we had were soggy and tasted burnt. Not sure how you mess up dumping a frozen bag of cut potatoes into a deep fryer. Truly amazing.
I was excited to try this place because of the high Unilocal praise, but it was all hype.
What a shame.

My boyfriend stopped by for the check in offer and he loved it! I wasn’t hungry but I did steal some fries :)
The place is small and it’s right by a coldstone I think but other than that, it can be hard to miss. It’s close to the train tracks so it’s a short walk from where everyone and everything is. The place has a lot of decorations though.
The menu is kind of on the confusing side but just ask the cashier. He was helpful and even told us no ketchup on the dog! I forgot why but it made us laugh.
If you’re into pickles & that kind of stuff, you’re gonna want to give the dog a chance. If not, just don’t have any toppings. The $ 6 is a great price for dogs, fries and a drink!
My BF is craving more, so we’ll be back soon!

Can’t beat Fletch’s
Damn this place is the bomb.
The food: the signature dog is simply amazing. Not even sure how to describe it. Lots of toppings, with a sports pepper on top that gives it the extra kick. The signature dog uses some kind of meat that makes it taste much better than normal hot dogs for some reason. The fries all small but has that «grilled» flavor. The entire meal is served hot, just like the way every hot dog should be.
The owner is a cool guy, often striking up conversations with customers. The decoration inside is also really awesome, with lots of sports memorabilia plastered all over the wall and a bookshelf filled with baseball books. There’re even outside seats if you’re looking to grab a great-​tasting hot dog and chilling outside in the sun. Nothing gets better than that.
Went back several times now. Just can’t get enough of this place

With some time to kill before while visiting the San Mateo area we turned to our trusty Unilocal app in search in a snack we could share and the hubby picked Fletch’s. Very small family owned restaurant with a simple menu but many ways to tweak it to your taste buds by the type of meat or sausage you choose. Hubby and I shared a combo so we could try a slider and a hot dog… both were delicious!!!

Discovered this place while on the Caltrain passing by San Mateo… of course I had to try it! My co-​workers and I ordered online for lunch since we get 30 minutes to eat and dash back to our desks. Such minions. Anyway, since Fletch’s is a Chicago Hot Dog joint, of course I had to try their hot dogs…
From the moment I bit into it, I was in heaven. the hot dog had that snap to it– my favorite part when consuming a hot dog… loved having slices of tomatoes, pickles, onions in it as well…
Their hot links are crazy good as well. And remember, each order comes with fries! Don’t make my mistake of ordering an additional side of fries!

I thought their signature Chicago style dogs were pretty good. It doesnt come with the neon green relish but it does have the sport peppers, celery salt, diced onions, sliced tomatoes and mustard. Thus, it’s «Chicago style» and not «Chicago»
I also added chili on one of them and it was pretty good.
I didn’t really care for the fries.
And I thought I saw ketchup packets on the counter for whoever was complaining that there’s not ketchup.

Great sliders, I highly suggest the combo meal of the sliders and the hot dog that way you get a taste of the best of both worlds.
It gives you that taste of real wholesome goodness.
I ain’t gonna lie this place is small but ain’t no fast food its all gourmet.
Its fast in the way that they serve you tho, very quick, taking all the time it expertly takes an making you a priority.
The place is very cozy and comfy .
They also have newspapers to read.
I love reading the paper with my meal.
The food gives you that healthy mouth watering feel.
The fries are great too.
I suggest you also try there shakes.
I liked the décor it was really cool and original to see pics of the owner with his head shots in a bunch of random sports pics on the wall.
He must know Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman, how awesome!!!
It was kinda weird that the A/​C from the ceiling vent or fan was dripping water on my table tho, I gotta admit that.
It kinda made my friends a lil uncomfortable.
They have toasted ravioli here and it looked really good.
They even have outside seating here which is a lil comfortable if your love trains.
It practically wizzes by right next to you.
Great way to see your dates hair flip in the wind.
I love the location too. Its right in the heart of downtown.
Its the first thing you come to when you leave or enter the parking garage.

I’ve never had a Chicago style hot dog, but if this is what they taste like, I want to go to Chicago to have a real authentic one. Fletch’s is obviously a Chicago style joint. They show it with all their memorabilia on the walls and their food reflects Chicago in all its glory.
The boyfriend and I came here on a Sunday afternoon around 12:30 PM and it was not packed at all. It was us and another family. Although, I’m pretty sure everyone was watching football. Feltch’s offers different types of hot dogs and sliders, but what they are most known for is their Fletch’s dog. It’s a Chicago style hot dog with onions, tomatoes, mustard, salt, and a signature pickle spear on top, They also have poppy seeds in their hot dog buns, which adds a nice touch to it. When I bit into the hot dog, I was greeted with this taste explosion in my mouth. It was delicious!
My only complain about this place is they have terrible fries. I’ve never had fries this soggy ever. Skip the fries if you can, and just eat the hot dogs.
Prices here are pretty reasonable. You can get a two hot dogs, fries, and a drink for under 8 dollars.