King’s Court Frankfurter Express

We wanted hot dogs one night and saw the reviews and decided to check things out. Unilocal had the closing time listed as 10 and we figured on getting there just at 9 so we’d be ok. NOT. We got there and he was closing. Someone was in line in front of us and didn’t seem at all bothered by keeping them open, but we know what that’s like so we don’t do that to others. He told us since he was already going to have to cook for them he might as well cook for us… all kinds of attitudy-​judy. I explained about the hours listed on Unilocal and said it was cool, we could come back another day but then he argued with us and how he couldn’t control Unilocal’s inaccuracies, so we felt SHAMED into staying.
The menu was a disaster, decoded only by those who are die-​hard regulars. None of it made sense to us and being pressured to stay and order and at the speed of light made it worse. I didn’t see anything traditional so I got something that resembled a chili dog but without all of the extra stuff that their version would normally come with. It was just… MEH. We won’t be back.
Argumentative (and he detonated an F bomb at the counter pretty loudly) and a schizophrenic menu will keep us from returning. Three stars for good chili, tho…

It was awesome, I had the double trouble & my wife had the braut. This was an excellent deal.

Great atmosphere and great food! Family friendly too! I had the chili dog special and since this was our first time here, i was given 2 types of chili. One that is made in house and a regular wolf brand type chili. The in house Chili was DELICIOUS! The toppings bar was very cool as you get to customize your dog :)

I see all of these cool gourmet hotdog places popping up, and I see the recipes on Pinterest, but really, who loves hot dogs that much? Not this chick. But hey, it sounds like something cool to try, at least once. So I pounced on a Unilocal deal and went to check it out with the BF.
This place can be a little difficult to find and kind of looks like a hole in the wall. The bathroom is weird and kind of gross. The only employee working seemed to be the owner, and he was friendly but slightly unprofessional– maybe a little more chatty than necessary, and openly a little negative about business? Maybe we caught him on a bad night though, because it was a Friday and there wasn’t much business.
He does the food well though– first off, let’s give a shout out to the fact that there’s a Cincinnati Chili dog on the menu! Damn I love that stuff. Spent time in Ohio growing up, and still get seasoning packets sent from up North so I can make it at home when I get the hankering. Felt there was too much potential to get the chili wrong though, and I make it often enough myself, so went with a different dog: the San Antonio dog! Topped with enchilada sauce, onions, and cheese, this was delicious. Would get again.
There are extra veggies, cheese, onions, relish, and various sauces available to doctor your dog up to your specifications. Nice touch, and very much appreciated by this cheese addict– though I did find there was ample cheese on my dog without needing to add more. But did it stop me? Nope!
Also had fries with our dog: good but nothing to write home about.
I may have been a little harsh about the appearance of this place, but it is clean and the food is good, and you can tell the owner is invested in it’s success and takes it seriously.
PS: these dogs are huge. One will be good enough fo your boyfriend, even though you think he’s a bottomless pit.

This is my secret spot that I like to throw down to someone who likes hot dawgs and blow their minds.
My boyfriend made this disgusting hot dawg one day that was wrapped in bacon and stuffed coleslaw and red onions on it, which was so freaking good, I call it disgusting because nothing should be wrapped in bacon and taste that good… That’s the health nut in me talking. The fat person in me says «everythings better wrapped in bacon». Oh, the guilt! Anyway, that story is what brought us to this spot.
BUT! I must say, almost all the hot dawgs are disgustingly good-​in the best way possible. So freaking amazing you will go in a food coma if you dare add those crispy tots or onion rings.
Some of my favorite things: Bacon wrapped hot dawgs, mustard’s, jalapeño cart, hot dawgs, cheap hot dawgs. Mmmm hot dawgs…

Place is decent.
All dogs are store bought so thats a downer.
Sometimes they are off their game but still good enough to keep coming back.

Frankfurter Express is a good place to go for choice hot dogs, both real meat and vegetarian/​vegan. They feature a wide array of dressings, all the way from a regular chili-​cheese dog to Chicago-​style to unusual combinations that I have never heard of nor tried before.
Along with their dogs, they feature curly fries and sweet potato fries. Go with the curly fries, please. The sweet potato fries are alright, but I have had tastier ones elsewhere.
The service is decent; not out-​of-​their-​way friendly nor rude. The owner is a nice guy and keeps his staff working hard to put out good food, but on one occasion I had food that was not up to the usual goodness.
My only gripe, and what brings down the rating from 4 stars to 3 stars, is the fact that the place could use a little more cleaning up. Don’t get me wrong, the condiment bar is kept clean and tidy and the seating area is clean as well, but the place just looks like it could use a good dusting, cleaning, and rearrangement. The patio area on the side of the building definitely needs work. Whenever I sit there and eat, it feels like I am sitting in a friend’s dirty covered garage. There is clutter that could be either moved aside or thrown away and furniture that could be rearranged or cleared out.
All in all, this place is a decent choice for vegetarian and real meat dogs with a variety of toppings/​fixings. Just make sure to go in the busiest, middle part of the day so you get food that is hot and fresh.

This is another great place where I can indulge in crispy dogs. Holy moly! I usually tell the guys to hold off on the chili though (not that there’s anything wrong with the chili, I just prefer crispy dogs plain). The youngest loves the Dogzilla while my babygirl loves the New Yorker. The guys who work here (I think one of them was the owner) are really cool guys too. They were joking and laughing around with us while things were slow and I couldn’t have felt more at home.

Though I’ve always liked a good hot dog, I really developed a taste for the unconventional and multidemensional approach to meat in tube form that one finds at Pink’s Hot Dogs in Hollywood. I lived in a bungalow just around the corner from it, and so was able to sample the best of their menu during the 7+ years that I lived on Detroit St. I finally found a place in my new home of San Antonio that fits the same niche, and that’s King’s Ct!
I went to lunch there last Friday with my son. Right away I noticed that they too were about taking the good olé hot dog and coming up with an array of variations using diverse permutations of toppings and ingredients. Their menu isn’t as nearly as big as pinks, but what is on it is as equally creative. They offer several different takes on the chili dog, including some regional distinctions. I decided to have a Texican, which was a bacon-​wrapped polish sausage topped with pico de gallo and pinto beans –scrumptous! It hit the spot that Pink’s would’ve satiated. All of their dogs and sausages are of good quality. Even the basic kid’s dog that I got for my son was good. The fries I got were good too. crispy outside and tender inside. King’s Ct also has a relish bar offering a smorgasboard of condiments. We got out of there for less than 10 bucks too. I definitely look forward to trying more on their menu!

This place is great!
Their food is fresh and made to order (I recommend the Zorro to all those veg-​heads out there). Not only do they have an expansive hot dog menu to choose from, with plenty of vegetarian options, but they also have great sides, snacks, and appetizers! Wonderful sweet potato fries, spicy delish jalapeño poppers, and a highly recommended sampler platter.
Their fixings bar is top notch and I always sprinkle a generous dusting of shredded cheese atop my piping hot fries. Also a rotating selection of various sauces and condiments to personalize your dog are available.
Funky fun setting with a great patio where outdoor movies are shown.
The staff (owner and son) are always there and totally friendly, engaging customers in small talk and making sure they love their food/​experience at King’s Court. Lord knows I do, and I keep coming back! You can totally consider me a regular here!

I don’t usually leave a restaurant angry about the quality of food, but, well, that’s what happened here.
I can generally appreciate a good hole in the wall, where food is often simple but made with soul. This, however, is the type of place that can only appeal to drunk college kids stumbling in at 2am when they can’t taste anymore.
From the shining reviews on Unilocal,and the fact that it’s an entire restaurant devoted to hot dogs, I thought they probably made their own gourmet dogs and buns, elevating the pedestrian hot dog to something glorious. Turns out it’s just store bought hot dogs on dry store bought buns, with plenty of greasy bland toppings to make you feel like you’re eating something scandalously dirty and «real.»
Why do people pay for this? If I wanted an overcooked HEB brand hot dog, I would make it at home for ¹⁄₃ of the price.
Also, I don’t usually care about a restaurant’s ambiance and interior design, but I’m reading reviews saying the décor is funky and fun. The walls are littered with cheap, tacky, classless junk and it makes a great visual metaphor for the food: trying hard to be ironic trashy but just failing.
Edit: Just to emphasize again, don’t get the impression that I’m an uptight pretentious snob. I like a trashy hot dog as much as anyone, but this place doesn’t even do that well.

Those who know me well know that I have a weakness for gourmet hot dogs. King’s Court Frankfurter Express made me smile today. Our group ordered four different hot dogs: The Cincinatti Footlong (homemade chili, National Hebrew dogs with onions & cheese), the Dubya (polish sausage and peppers), Vinnie’s Cousin (Italian sausage, mozzarella, marina sauce) plus a side of tater tots.
They currently have a cool Unilocal deal $ 10 for $ 20 worth of food AND free fountain drink with Unilocal check in! Took advantage of those fine offers and enjoyed every bite. The bun and meat super hot and fresh and crispy taters never tasted so great after a long day of sightseeing San Anton.

Not a good place if you’re from the midwest. I’m not that into toppings or exotic stuff — to me perfection is a roasted weenie on a bun with ketchup. So I went in with a little trepidation.
The diversity of options is astounding. Calling it a hot dog place is a big understatement — there’s also polish sausage, bratwurst, italian sausage… the list goes on. Adding to that a stunning array of topping options that represent every possible style of hot dog — and homages to hot sandwiches.
The atmosphere was a little… alternative. Not really my thing, but I know a lot of people will dig on it.

You know, I’ve been to fancy smanshy places and hole in the walls. As good as the fancy places are the hole in the walls usually win with me. King’s Court is a good example of this. It’s a small little house turned restaurant with friendly owners that cheerfully cook and serve you food.
The décor inside is brightly colored, artistic and vividly interesting. When we ordered my friend and I weren’t too hungry so we shared a Chicago Dog. First off, I had no idea that Chi-​city natives liked NEON green relish. So if you didn’t know (like moi) it’s just relish with food coloring to better stimulate your retinas. With it we chose tater tots. All perfectly tasty! What really counted was the frankfurter wasn’t a wimpy one, it was nice and meaty.
The owner (at least I think he was the owner) was kind enough to split our hot dog in half and serve us on separate plates. To top it all off the price was right!
So yeah! — friendly service, good food, good price, great décor and location is why I’ll take a place like King’s Court that makes me feel at home any day over a large overpriced embellished restaurant.

This place is great! I love the quirky decorations that give this place a unique local flavor. You definitely will not confuse this place with a cookie cutter fast food chain. The restaurant is in a re purposed old house and the driveway and carport converted into an outdoor dinning area.
They offer a nice variety of preconfigured dogs or you can get one plane. Either way you go you can customize at the well stocked condiment bar where you will also find a very nice assortment of mustard’s. They make their own special fry dipping sauce that goes great with both fries and tots. Every thing they use is high quality and that means the final product is high quality.
When you get that craving to bite into a big dog this is the place to go. I do highly recommend the dogzilla with some tots on the side.
I cannot wait to go back for more. The only minor drawback is parking on this street is not abundant.

Friends: when I say «hot dog,» what do you imagine? Fourth of July franks on the grill? Turkey dogs on wheat buns (for the healthier of us)? An Astrodome All-​Star dog, topped with questionable relish scooped from a cart next to a guilty looking child with pickle juice dripping from his hands at the ballpark? Is that just me?
Well, how about a foot-​long Hebrew National with chili, onions, cheddar cheese? Or a Salsburg Brat with sauerkraut and mustard? A deep-​fried, bacon wrapped, polish sausage with guac, pinto beans, and some Tabasco? If you have been scouring the streets of our city looking for a source of high-​quality specialty franks, scour no more. The Kings Court Frankfurter Express in Tobin Hill, with its expansive and innovative menu, likely can fulfill all of your hot dog hopes and dreams.
Inside the Frankfurter Express’ funky, house-​like building, you’ll find a friendly, father-​son duo whose hot dog genius is rivaled perhaps only by their artistic creativity. Check out the prolific and very eclectic artwork that adorns those beautiful, condiment-​colored walls. Much of it was made by owners Carlos and Damien Ayala!
I digress. Back to really matters: the foods. With 25+ varieties of dog (not actual dog), you could visit nearly every day for a month and try ‘em all! …And then, you might never want to eat hotdog again, no matter how delicious. So on second thought, space it out a bit. If I had to pick, I’d say my current fave from their menu is the Alamo (chili, enchilada sauce, onions, cheddar cheese, and chili powder), and I had it for lunch yesterday, yo. Doing my research, you know what I’m sayin’?! You can hear all about what other people like (although I know that my opinion is probably the most important to you) on the Frankfurter Express Facebook fan page. You can also visit their official Facebook page here and encourage them to post more frequently and to start a Twitter account. (It’s for your own good, bros.)
Other items of note: the Frankfurter Express is BYOB, which is always fun; has indoor and outdoor seating; it’s just about walking distance from Trinity University, for all you young folk; and most importantly, they now serve SWEET POTATO FRIES. And you KNOW how I feel about
sweet potato fries. VERY GOOD.

I didn’t know hot dogs could taste this good! I am in LOVE with this place. I couldn’t stop talking about it. It’s a little place that sells specialty hot dogs. They have all kinds of different ones… pretty much like a make your own hot dog.
I ordered the Danger Dog and my friends ordered the El Torro and the New Yorker. The Danger Dog is wrapped in bacon and deep fried then topped with green onions and chili! It was the best hot dog I’ve ever had. The first bite was amazing because of the crunch from the bacon and it being deep fried. There is a dressing bar on the side for you to add whatever your heart desires, there’s onions, corn, salsa, cheese, jalapenos… everything you need. I added cheese onto mine… yummo! The El Torro is stuffed with jalapenos and cheese… how can you go wrong with that? Yumminess. and the New Yorker is a foot long that has a red onion sauce, sauerkraut, and mustard.
There is seating inside and a couple of chairs outside too! Definitely check out this place if you are in San Antonio!

When I first started Unilocaling (yes, that’s a verb now) I swore that I would never begin a review with the words «NOM, NOM, NOM.» I’ve stayed true to my oath for the last 9 months, but I can’t hold back any longer…
After many a restless soul searching nights, I realized there simply is no better way to start a review of King’s Court Frankfurter Express, so here we go:
NOM, NOM, NOM!
I also can’t believe I have found myself giving more than one business 5 stars in the same week, but here we are: BAM! — here’s 5 stars for King’s Court Frankfurter Express, right on the heels of another 5 star review.
The staff here are sooooooo friendly and make you feel right at home. In fact, the restaurant seems as if it was someone’s home not too long ago.
We had the Danger Dog and the Alamo dog and then split an order of fries. The dogs were VERY high quality, very flavorful, and very filling.
We were in total awe of the menu when we walked in, but since there were only two of us, there was only so much damage we could inflict. We will be returning in the very near future with a goal of tackling one item at a time and eventually hitting everything on the menu!
This is a MUST go to place for any San Antonian!

Ok, I’ll be honest. This isn’t a 5 star restaurant, but it IS a 5 star hot dog joint!
You can’t rate a frankfurter place on the same scale as il Sogno or The Lodge, but if you’re jonesin’ for a dog, this is the place to go!
To find this place, you have to know where to look. It’s highly unlikely that you would just happen upon King’s Court Frankfurter Express. Once here, you have to love the many choices and the high quality of the dogs used. Absolutely delicious.
A funny note: head to the restroom and observe the signs. Good for a laugh.

It was a Saturday night and the wife and I (No Kids) were crusing down St. Marys looking for somewhere to eat. Then I rembered we were near King’s Court Frankfurter Express we found it, and parked. The staff greeted us right away, and invited us to sit inside or outside where they were showing Muppets Take Manhattan. The place seemed like a really cool to bring the kids. (What kid does not like hot dogs) When we walked inside King’s Court it was definitely something new thing for us; an old house turned into a hot dog stand/​restaurant. You get that support your local bussiness feeling with this place. The onwer/​manger has paintings and ads of himself all over the place.
The hot dogs were good, big, and reasonably priced. My wife and I ate here for less then $ 10. I ordered the Alamo Dog which has chili and cheese and My wife the Chicago Dog which has tomatoes onions and cheese both tasted awesome. The hot dog wieners tasted fresh, and not like they have been sitting around all day in some wiener roller waiting for us to buy them. I really can’t say much more about about King’s Court Frankfurter Express other than this place is Awesome, and you have to see for yourself 5 Stars.