Franks Famous Hot Dogs

What happened?! I guess the business has sold. Miss the old guys. Anyways… My order was lost (ticket). I had twice the wait. Whatever. That was my 3 star reasoning. It was not busy at all, so this mistake was clumsy. The food… I have always loved their ‘salsa’, Pico de gallo, whatever they call it,… it’s to die for. I had some giant double cheeseburger that still tasted really good even though I was still pissed off about the order mess up.
Would I recommend? Right now, I am up in the air. Always been a taste staple in SLO. ‘World Famous’ for a reason, but, I would have to say, ‘at your own risk’.

Brought the wife in for lunch today for the first time. Usually get breakfast burritos in the morning before work, which I highly recommend! But, we decided on chili cheese dogs and some fries. Both are spot on and very affordable meal for the family. Milk shakes are also

I’ve walked by Famous Frank’s many times but never gone in to eat until my friend wanted breakfast. We got pancakes, biscuits and gravy and French toast. Pancakes were absolutely delicious as well as the biscuits and gravy. The French toast was meh. I’d go back again.

It’s not the same, what happened Frank? The fries which were perfect before, are just sad, some over crisped, some barely cooked. Chicken sandwich was over cooked, dry, tasteless on a gross burnt onion bun and a hard green tomato. Milkshake leaves a weird after taste, so did the ketchup for some reason. And the place is seriously grimy, didn’t used to be, used to be super clean. Did they change ownership?

I suppose you run the risk of customers having high expectations when «famous» is in the name of your establishment. Highly disappointing food. Ordered Frank’s Hot Dog. The hot dog itself was refrigerated cold. The bun was stale. The tomato was hard and very green. First time here sadly the last time I will be here.

I have been here 2 times while my stay in San Luis Obispo. Both times the food was good. The only complaint is the burgers are very wet and therefore they get soggy. We have tried the Mushroom and Swiss, Bacon Cheese Burger, Grilled Cheese, Corn Dogs and all tasted very good. The French Fries are excellent and served in large portions ! The Onion Rings were good and also served in large portions..

I’ve eaten here a decent amount of times and sometimes it was good and sometimes it was fair to blah. hit or miss. might want to shoo away the flies before you use the salsa or hot sauce too

The customer service was good BUT… it took 20 minutes to get a kraut dog, bacon burger & bowl of chili. The chili was Luke warm, the hamburger was more bun then meat and the kraut dog had so much kraut on it it fell apart. The kraut was over powering the small hot dog. We will never go there again.

If you come here expecting high quality, exotic hotdogs this is not the place for you. But it’s great when you are craving greasy, heavy, over the top loaded hotdogs. also the ICECREAM IS AMAZING. Dont come here for a fancy meal, come here when you want some greasy fast food.

The hotdogs were very good. The polish was very good, the onion rings were huge and crispy. The fries were pretty good too. They could use more bottles of ketchup, and more drink choices. The place could use a makeover.

Lots of value for dollar. The dog was great as well as the bowl of chilli. Parking stinks, had to park on the street.

We’ve been coming to Frank’s for over 15 years — even when we lived in the Bay Area and needed a fix, we’d drive up and back in the same day to enjoy a Master Burger and fries. I never thought I’d give Frank’s 1 star but my last meal there was horrible. I don’t know how you can ruin a hotdog when your name includes Famous Hotdogs but the bun was stale, the dog itself was cold and the cheese wasn’t melting. My friend’s chili dog was the same with lukewarm chili. The atmosphere wasn’t nearly as fun as it used to be and the service was below par. I was able to get refund easily, which was a plus. Until they do something to bring it back to the way it used to be, we won’t be coming back. I’ll save my money and get a better hotdog at Costco.
:-(

My husband and I have been going to Franks since they were located near Foothill Blvd. Don, Kenny and the longtime crew just did an amazing job. Food was great and it felt like a locals place. Out of nostalgia and the desire for a good dog we went there last night. Very few folks there at 5pm. Food took 20 minutes to make. My chili dog (both chili AND dog) were cooler than room temp. I asked to have it heated in a microwave or something at which point they poured more cool chili on top. We had an appointment and had to leave, but the tweakers hanging out in the parking lot were making us want to leave as much as the less than mediocre food. Sorry Franks. We’ve given you a few chances now — but you’re just not the same.

Full disclosure: I grew up in San Luis Obispo and I absolutely love this place. BUT, i’ve also eaten A LOT of hot dogs and I must say, Franks does something for me! I recommend breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I wanted to like this place. I really did. I’ve heard a lot of rave reviews from SLO natives swearing that this place had «the best hot dogs» and I found myself walking away completely unsatisfied with my meal.
I came here today with my boyfriend who ordered his favorite pastrami sandwich. He asked for light grilled onions and banana peppers. The cashier was new so she didn’t understand what he was asking for and he ended up getting jalapeño peppers. So you’re probably thinking, not a bad substitution, right? Nope, not jalapeño circles which would have added crunch and spiciness to each bite, but it was sliced long and just looked really gooey. I can only imagine how it tasted. He gave his pastrami sandwich a solid «decent» rating, although he did not finish it and commented that they over cheese-​d it.
I ordered the classic cheese hot dog with everything on it. The relish was perfect. Sweet, crunchy and it really complimented the yellow mustard very nicely, but it did nothing for the dog which was lacking in succulence and that overall «hot dog» feel. I found the hot dog itself to be more of a flavorful afterthought.
Would I come back? If I was hungover, yeah sure. I can imagine their dogs would hit the spot in that context, but I wouldn’t come back sober anytime soon.
In terms of overall appearance: the place was very clean and when we entered from the rear entrance (from the parking lot) we were blocked by an employee who was mopping. He didn’t move out of our way, just stood there like a statue. The tables were wiped down, but not toweled off and it was still a bit wet when we we were waiting for our meals to go.
The new cashier employee (she was a woman) was great. She was quick, attentive, and friendly. All the things you need in a cashier.

I drive past this place all the time, but for some reason never seem to stop in, except in rare occasion for for something less than a meal. Had that craving for a burger and decided to stop at Frank’s and give one a try. Reminds me of the small independent restaurants in every town in California 20 — 40+ years ago that competed against Dairy Queen and Foster Freeze (Yes Franks makes shakes and serves soft serve ice cream). Clean, but not spotless red and white interior, there was construction going on and one set of doors was closed for the roofers.
I ordered a burger with bacon and cheese, and the nice and polite server at the counter suggested I try the ‘Monster Burger’ so I did, and had onion rings as a side. Burger arrived on a large diameter whole wheat bun, with large burger patty to match. For me would have been an excellent burger, but shredded lettuce soaked in Frank’s special sauce (the only condiment) didn’t do it for me. Would have much preferred mayo, mustard, catsup, and maybe relish, pickle slices, and BBQ sauce. Frank’s sauce had the color and consistency of old Tabasco sauce but a mild odd flavor that I couldn’t get past. Guess you either love the sauce or hate it, I hated it. My friend had same opinion of Frank’s sauce on his small single cheese burger that he otherwise liked. Onion rings were good, not great, and ranch dressing served with them was sub-​par distracting from otherwise good rings with a heavy batter.
Did not try the hot dogs, and have not tried for breakfast, I’ve heard good words on both, but I’m picky so will give a try someday.
Over all the place is okay, but middle of the road, maybe leaning slightly below average for me. Too bad as that Monster Burger has real potential, nice burger patty, great bun. Will have to see if I can order it customized to my taste, if so, I’ll be back for more.

I went here thinking they’d have especially good hotdogs. I was wrong. My hotdog was nasty. A little rubbery, barely warm, low quantity of toppings, lame Rainbow brand bun and hardly any flavor.
I gave them two stars instead of one because the employees there were enthusiastic about their job and that made the atmosphere fun.
So far, the best hotdogs in SLO that I know of are at Trader Joes. Now those are really good hotdogs, especially grilled; full of flavor and meaty texture.

I worked at Cal Poly for eleven years, so I have had my fair share of Franks for lunch. It is kind of sad that it has gone progressively down hill. The chili is homemade, but I don’t know if it’s really suitable for hot dogs (too watery, tomatoey). I prefer to have it on fries. The orders of fries and onion rings are huge. The dogs are o.k., no need to put too much stuff on them, but really there is not much else to write home about Franks. People used to rave about the breakfast. Now the breakfast across the street at Splash is better and cheaper. What really ticks me off is that they sell breakfast burritos, but have nothing but raw pico de gallo (with a half a pound of jalapenos in one serving) or Tabasco to go with it. Seriously? This is California, even the Chinese restaurants have Tapatio or Cholula on the table. The whole kitchen staff can be heard speaking Spanish, yet they have no hot sauce? They must not even eat here.

Wow. Frank’s doing an amazing job to keep customers and provide the best service. Iv been coming here for 21 years (knew the old owner) and know the place well being a local.
Went in today (saturday) looking to get a delicious burrito but ended up getting a Monster Burger (even cheaper on Wednesdays!). The place was very busy and dishing out orders left and right. I tend to like my burgers with only a tiny bit of pink but this burger had too much in my opinion. So I politely went up, told the cashier who had helped me, and she was SUPER quick to help me. She gave me a full refund and got me a new monster Burger which was cooked to perfection and packed with toppings (like usual). Now THAT is a good way to get a great review and keep customers coming back.
PS To all you readers, the people (or families) that leave bad reviews on here are usually the people showing up 10 minutes before they close and expecting some Red Carpet experience with super quick delivery. If YOU are polite and understanding then they will no doubt treat you great and try to solve any issues you have. Also, waiting 10 – 15 minutes for food during busy hour is not long at all.
If you want ridiculously short waiting times go to some fast food junk place like Taco Bell.
If you want good food made with care DON’T show up at closing time.
That should be super obvious and understood. Most all food places are like that.
Don’t be a terrible customer and write reviews carelessly…

Oddly enough after years and years of just driving by I finally stopped in to give this place a shot. So stoked I did.
I expected a few hot dogs, and burgers, but the list I was greeted with was massive. With lots of variety and many more choices besides burgers and fries.
I got a Bajada Dog, which had fried jalapenos, fresh pico, the hot dog was bacon wrapped and fried, it was awesome!
The fries were thick crinkle cut, seasoned really well.
The booths are old and classic yet still comfy.
The service was quick and super nice, even during the lunch rush.
I will make a point to come here again sooner rather than later.