Old Town Hamburgers

I’ll keep it short.
The burgers are great. Fries are thick.
Do not ever order anything but that. The Philly cheese steak is insufficient, burned, has no bell peppers. The onion ring option costs $ 0.99 more and I got only FOUR rings. Four. Quatro. 4.
I am full of hate and envy, not beef and onion.

Service — Counter
Food — 2 Star
Ambiance and Price Points — 4 Stars
We really liked the old burger joint décor. People must like the vinyl covered booths because when we went there for lunch, every booth was full and all the the tables were empty.
The menu is overhead and the prices are cheap. A cheeseburger platter including drink was about 5 bucks. We both ate here for under ten bucks. That was the good part.
The food was a little lacking, but considering the price, it was a fair deal.
The fries were cooked OK, even if they were a tide over-​salted. The burgers biggest problem were the thin patties. It’s impossible not to overcook them when they’re so thin. However, on the plus side, they were not too greasy. Lettuce and tomato were fresh and crisp.
A perfectly adequate little lunch. This place fulfills its purpose to a tee. If you’re nostalgic for those old skinny burgers cooked on a flat grill, served in an old style joint, this is the place to go. Good to know.

I dined here for about an hour. And during that hour, my boyfriend and I were the only customers to set foot in the place.
Otherwise, the service was decent, the food was delish for a hungry stomach and the decorative environment actually looks pretty snazzy.
I ordered the Gyro sandwich with all the fixins. They piled too much lettuce and tomato in there for my comfort, though, and I’ve definitely had a better gyro at an authentic eatery. I will add that I got a kick out of the way they pronounced gyro (pronounced like «euro»): JYE-​ROW. Hahaha…
The hot, seasoned fries were also satisfactory, as well as the quick service. I love the way they decorate the place with neat, colorful metallic lamps hanging from the ceiling and the standard red and white checkered table tops.
It’s too bad not more folks visit a place like this. You’d think the proximity to Arlington High School and the affordability would build a huge student crowd, but I guess not? I would’ve LOVED to hang out at a place like this after class during my high school days.

I wish I’d checked Unilocal before we took a co-​workers advice to come here. There was a line out the door when we arrived for a Tuesday lunch (we thought this was a good sign!) but because their menu is only posted on a chalkboard behind the counter, so we couldn’t even think about what we might order while we waited. I was excited to see their offering of Sweet potato fries, so I had that an a cheeseburger with a tea.
Speaking of iced tea, I LOVE it, i don’t mean just a little either. This was NASTY tea. It tasted very, very stale so I switched to Diet Dr Pepper and waited for our food.
My burger looked ok, very basic and the employee who delivered it acknowledged my request for Ranch dressing, but she never brought any back. The fries had no seasoning what so ever on them. They were very, very boring and obviously frozen from somewhere.
My fiancé’s chili dog was a disaster waiting to happen — it was canned chili with some chunks of tomato and onion on it with icky fries.
We won’t be returning.

I have to agree with the service issue Colin B mentioned in his review. The food was ok, but could have been wayyyyy better. I ordered the avocado and onion grilled cheese and would you believe the cheese wasn’t melted! LOL It was a cheese sandwich on toast basically. The concept is good, but the cooks lack the ability to do even the basics, apparently.
The price was good — very inexpensive, but come on! I can’t boil an egg, but even I can make a gilled cheese sandwich.
I may give them another go though; it might have just been another bad day. ;-)
Give ‘em a try and see what you think. It’s an adorable place… love the lights, and the diner look. The food needs improving, but they could accomplish that with a new cook! :-)

The idea of Old Town Hamburgers is brilliant — counter service, basic burger menu, in an old shopping center in the middle of an old suburb, cheap. But the application is pretty bad.
The burgers are the paper thin diner style from back in the day and mine was burnt to a crisp. The meat lost the flavor in favor of general well done burger taste. The top of the bun was griddled and was even a little charred, losing that buttery bread taste. Even the curly fries were just basic, perhaps because I saw the Ben E. Keith bag they came out of. Again, how hard is it to buy whole potatoes and curl/​cut them yourself? I will notice the difference, I promise, and I will pay for the difference.
The service was also slightly awkward. I walked in wearing grey jeans, a green t-​shirt and a black hat and you would have thought I looked like a Martian. The counter service guy seemed confused to see me sit down alone, grab a newspaper and start to read. Is that really that odd? Do I look like I don’t fit in? I don’t get it.
Hate to say it, but I don’t see this place sticking around very long if this is what they typically serve. Good idea, bad follow through.