Tom’s Folly

So it’s a dive. The food is worth it! I cannot go long without getting the jerky or the sticky toffee desert.

My experience has made me tend to ratchet my expectations down a few notches for bars/​restaurants people smoke in. It’s not always the case, but they tend to serve the same burger and fries type of food. Tom’s is the exception. While they do have these bar go-​tos, they do them with a more refined touch. The menu is not extensive. It fits on one page, but they do every dish well. Definitely give the sausage and goat cheese potstickers a try. The sauce is addictive. You won’t be disappointed.
The crowd can be an interesting mix, but that comes with the neighborhood. You will usually have a few tech kids, a handful of regulars and maybe an old barfly or two but they know how to have a good time. The bartenders are great, really fun.

I got to check out Tom’s Folly a while back with my sister and her husband. They always talked about it (since they went to Tech) and said it would be up my alley because of their «don’t take shit» attitude towards their customers. I can respect that!
The atmosphere was slightly dark and the furniture simple, complete with a bar, a few tv’s, and a newstyle jukebox (as in not a wurlitzer).
The menu was simple, but it had some diversity to it.
Our waitress was the bartender as well, she was pretty friendly.
I ended up getting a swordfish special of the evening with some potatoes and asparugus– it wasn’t bad, but seemed like it took forever to come out (I think the owner kept telling one of the cooks he was messing it up, ikept watching him go back there).
The flavor was decent though– a lot of flavors I did not usually expect.
The place has a very homey feel to it, which can be hard to find sometimes when you are in certain parts of town.
Just remember, don’t start whining about anything there or they will send your @$$ packing!

So why only three stars? Well, a lot of it has to do with the amount of smoke in the room. The waitress was great and the co-​owner came to the table and introduced himself and asked if we had any questions about the menu. I ordered the fish special which was pretty good. This place has a lot of potential but I’m certainly not digging the smoke filled room. It wasn’t cloudy or anything but there was enough of a smell to be unappealing to myself. Perhaps a ventilation system could suck it all out or something.
Burgers and sandwiches are cheap and the entrees are $ 10+.
Beer selection is pretty good with cheap domestics.

I will miss you, just moved away. Both times I have been to this restaurant were memorable. The food is a great mixture of several cuisines. The owners wife is Korean and makes some really good food as well.

OK. So it’s um divey in a charming way? Well, nonetheless, my server was LOVELY. Plus she hated the Yankees;)
THe owner/​manager was kind, informative and attentive.
I had the goat cheese sausage potstickers, which were fantastic. Had the fish special. The fish was tasy, but not my thing. A fish similar to flounder. The Siriacha mash and sauteed green beans were delicious. THey brought me the burger patty w/​aged white cheddar and sauteed onions to sub my fish and it was out of this world. THey allow smoking so I went early to avoid the smoking crowd. It was not gross smelling as per some other reviews. My suggestion is table 20 if its available. If it’s packed then hit the mini patio.

I’m still punching myself for not checking this place earlier, when there was Scoutmob love to be shared.
However, Tom’s Folly is well worth full price.
Fellow Unilocaler Allison Z suggested my hubby, she, and I check this place out after a good round of drinking at Red Brick/​ABC/​whatever they’re calling themselves now. Brandon and I saddled up for what we assumed would be post-​drinking, pub grub fare in a standard crap-​hole somewhere. Instead, we ended up eating some near-​gourmet food at Tom’s Folly.
The outside isn’t much to look at — frankly, it’s what we’d expected. But once you get inside, you’re welcomed by a somewhat British pub ambiance, with an enormous selection of beers, incredible food, and a Canadian waitress who seems to know everything about everything (and is apparently ALWAYS waitressing at Tom’s).
I had the meatball sandwich, on flaky but chewy bread, and a mix of fries and their mashed-​potato-​filled tater tot bites. I’m not a big tater tot fan, but I AM a fan of anything involving mashed potatoes, and if that includes frying them on the outside, I’m sold. However, fair warning to conventional tot fans: they aren’t the little round hashbrowns you’re used to eating.
Definitely check out Tom’s for lunch, dinner, or late night fun. Heck, stop in on your way home from the nearby WalMart. It’s a mere hop-​skip, and a jump from midtown and well worth whatever drive you’re making to get there.

When I made my 1^st visit to Tom’s Folly, I found my friend and her toddler son on the deck — I assumed my friend wanted to eat outside b/​c of the nice weather. On the contrary, they were outside b/​c Tom’s Folly is a lounge and therefore no kids under 18 are allowed inside. Now the reviews about the deck being packed w/​families made sense :) And FYI b/​c they’re a lounge, they do allow smoking.
CRABCAKE ON POTATO BUN W/​SRIRACHA AIOLI — $ 9.50
They use Maryland crab, and I thought it was just ok. I expected the aioli to be spicy but it wasn’t :(All the entrees come w/​a choice of homemade asiago tator tots or fries — I chose tator tots b/​c they sounded interesting. Texture was sorta like mashed potatoes inside, except I couldn’t taste potatoes. The tator tots also had cheddar, asiago, and chorizo (which I couldn’t taste). Another friend had told me the fries are actually better. I did love the homemade ketchup.
BURGER — $ 6.50
My friend’s burger was delicious — their burgers use ground beef & pork sausage. You could definitely taste the sausage :) However when I came the 2^nd time and ordered the burger, it was completely charred on one side — and I ordered medium well too. I tried to peel off the char … which resulted in a pitiful looking burger. At least what burger remained was tasty!
ROAST BEEF — $ 7.50
I also tried half the roast beef sandwich. The roast beef is slow-​roasted, and comes w/​a spicy mustard. Pretty good.
KAMMIE’S SALAD
At my 2^nd visit, we substituted the tator tots /​fries for a side salad for an extra $ 2. Good size salad — Bibb lettuce, pistachios, apple, lots of bleu cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette. Good but honestly not all that special.
Overall, food was pretty good, and service was very friendly. Ambiance is divey. I’d come back for the burger and pray they don’t burn it, and get a side order of fries. I’d also try to come during lunch when there’s less likelihood of smokers. Thanks to Scoutmob for introducing me to this place.

Down the street from my new place, I have the feeling this will be my neighborhood spot for watching a game. It does seem a little odd that Tom’s can’t make up its mind whether it’s a sports bar (tons of TVs, smoking allowed) or a restaurant (some pretty delicious food). Maybe it’s both?
I like the no-​nonsense attitude and the friendly staff. Good local spot, but doesn’t merit a drive across town.

I feel like it’s my personal duty to revive Tom’s Folly’s Unilocal luster. I was there for lunch today and had a great meal, great service and really good convo w/​the waitress from Toronto while I waited for my lunch buddy. What’s not to enjoy about a place that puts the «homemade» in «homemade?»
Sure, we chose Tom’s Folly because of a Scoutmob (hurry, it expires on May 19^th), and sure, it sucked to hear that they were out of a few choice items: the goat cheese/​sausage dumplings, the crab cakes and the steak, but they had other options on this short menu that looked just as tasty. I had a pork sandwich, which is apparently brined and slow smoked for 38 hours. Lunch Buddy had a burger, which is a mixture of ground beef and sausage. We both had tots with our sandwiches, but these are special tots. These tots are mashed potatoes mixed w/​sausage and cheese and then fried. Yeah. They were awesome.
Tom’s Folly even makes it’s own ketchup, which is good. If that’s not redemption, I don’t know what is. Eat there.

Fantastic! I live off Howell mill & love some good patio dinning. This place is a BAR. A badass bar with great food, and very fair prices. The staff seems limited, but very knowledgable about their cuisine. Yes, I said cuisine. From Skate to burgers — it’s all good. Oh, & the owner, Tom, brought us out a free taste of the pulled pork to sample-​yum.

I heard from a friend that lives in the area, that this place makes pretty much EVERYTHING on the menu… and i was all over it! i went on a Friday night, and had a difficult time finding the joint, due to the tiny sign! i had to call to get the location… and i was 2 doors down!
i wasn’t too sure about the place, bc it was pretty empty and seemed kinda dark and bar-​ish. i sat at the bar and was immediately greeted by Kevin, one of the bartenders/​servers. She was super friendly and nice. I had to try the tater tots, which are also homemade (I was curious!). I had a small side of them for an appetizer. They were not your average tater tots. Kind of like mashed potatoes coated in Panko. they were interesting and good, but not my fav.
For the entrée, I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. They were GOOD! Very large portion and served with garlic bread. the sauce is made in the house, and has a subtle spice, which i enjoyed. i liked the dish better than most Italian places… and i heard Kevin talking about the banana cream pie… I am a sucker for banana pudding, and i thought i HAVE to get it to go! she advised that i take a bite to try before i left, and i ate over HALF it was SOOOOO good!
I also talked to the chef/​cook, who was very proud of what he does, explaining the menu items in detail. i like that! i will definitely be back! everyone was super friendly and the food made me smile! What else can you ask for???

Found Tom’s Folley on ScoutMob and visited on Thursday ³⁄₃. The website is fitting when it says «probably not a place to bring a date,» but this is the place to for great food at absurdly low prices. Started off with the Thai Hot wings. Warned that they were truly Thai hot, I took the plunge and was not disappointed by the heat. Satisfied and mouth ablaze, I moved on to the burger. Great burger and I dare you to find a better burger for $ 6.50 anywhere. Tater tots are amazing as well. I see this a a regular stop for anyone living in the westside area.

Dang it. I read the reviews before coming here so I knew that it could be pretty good or pretty bad. My experience was… OK.
A friend and I went here for dinner last night because of the Scoutmob deal. When we walked in neither of us were really sure what to make of the place because it seems to be more of a bar than a restaurant but maybe that’s what they’re going for. We seated ourselves and our server came to our table pretty quickly for our drink orders. Like others have said the menu is not big but that doesn’t really bother me if there are some decent selections. I did think it was weird that the list of specials the server mentioned to us was about as long as the menu, so why not just put those items on the menu? Especially things like the meatball sub that I would think would be a staple at a place like this. But, again, maybe that’s just me. I did indeed order the meatball sub with tots and my friend ordered the pulled pork sandwich with fries. My sub was actually really good and the meatballs tasted fresh and slow cooked. The tots were different but very good. They’re little balls of mashed potatoes (I think) and then breaded in a crunchy breading. As we were waiting for our food a drunk guy came over to our table and I immediately thought of the other reviews talking about this guy. Is he the owner? I presume he is. He asked us what we ordered and my friend told him the pulled pork sandwich to which he replied, «Well, I have to tell you that it’s not our best today. If you want a better pulled pork sandwich come back in two weeks, or tomorrow.» I cracked up. I looked at my friend and said, «Yeah, two weeks, tomorrow, it’s all the same.» Back to the food. My sub was delicious and my friend actually really enjoyed her pulled pork sandwich but she didn’t care for either of the sauces that were offered. As we were eating the drunk guy came over again and asked us how everything was and we told him it was very good. Thankfully he didn’t stay as long this time as he did the first.
Overall I like this place but I have to say that it’s…weird. I can’t really say why other than it’s just the type of experience you have when you go. I wouldn’t tell someone not to go here but just don’t expect it to be normal.

Was So Excited About Trying This Place After ScoutMob Raved About Their Tater Tots. We Walked In A Barren Lunch Scene And Even More So The Menu. After Sitting More 5 Minutes, We Finally Received Our Menus. We Almost Got Up From The Lack Of Attention And Lack Of Our Desire On The Menu. We Had to Approach The Bar To Ask If They Even Existed. «They Are The Best… Panko Bread, Asaigo Cheese and So Crispy!!». They Come As As Side With All Sandwiches Or You Can Order As A Separate Side. We Shared The Roast Beef Sammie With Tots And Ordered An Extra Side Of Them Since We Were Hungry. Well To Our Surprise The $ 2 Side Came With 8 Tots That Were So Not Crispy And Not What One Would Expect. I Guess Our Disappointed Came Because We Were Expecting A Basket Full Of Crispy, Cheesy Comfort Food On This Sunny Day.

I cannot say anything about the food because we never got any.
The water was nice, and the lemon in my water was very fresh though.
Like other ScoutMobbers, we decided to try the place out yesterday (the day the coupon came out) before we headed over to ABC. It was a beautiful day and we really just wanted a quick bite before drinking a ton of beer so we didn’t fall over.
When we walked in, we were bombarded by all the servers they had (including some random guy in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses who was a little drunk and at some point later got kicked out). They asked us for our drink order before we even had a chance to sit down, and brought out the waters fairly quickly.
Then we waited 20 minutes to get menus. Then we waited another long wait to order after having to flag down our waitress multiple times. (At one point she said, «I’ll be right back, I promise, I’m not lying.» She lied.) So after we finally ordered we waited and waited and waited and waited. One table near us got food and everything super quick, maybe they knew the owners. The other table near us got drinks and appetizers and entrees way before we got anything.
Eventually, we asked our waitress if our food was coming any time soon. (At this point, we had been there for an hour. So much for enjoying the nice afternoon with some cheap beer.) She said that our orders were the next to come out. Apparently this was also a lie, as several other tables had their food brought out while we again waited.
We asked if our food was really coming out at any point in the near future and she said «I doubt it, I’ve talked to [the cooks] several times and it doesn’t seem to do anything.» She suggested we leave.
We went to Chic-​Fil-​A instead and it was delicious.

I’d like to give this place a more objective review. Unfortunately I never got to try the food. Or the service.
Upon our arrival, our server came over to the table and introduced himself and asked if we’d like drinks. After telling him we needed a moment t to look at the menu, he never came to our table again.
The table behind us got up and walked out. A mom with two kids came in from one of the outside tables to tell the server that after waiting for 45 minutes for food, she had to leave. No one came to our table at all.
After 15 minutes of sitting, we decided to go elsewhere. At that moment one of the other servers finally noticed we were there, in time for us to tell her we were leaving. She said she didn’t blame us.
A third server followed us out the door to tell us we should come back another time, that the ScoutMob had really caught them off guard. There are approximately 10 tables in the place (it wasn’t so full that people were waiting), and an empty bar, and maybe 5 more tables outside. The menu has 5 appetizers, 2 salads, 5 sandwiches, and a couple of entrees. How overwhelmed could they be?

Odd place. Just north of 75 on Howell Mill Road.
Was out with a friend and a Scoutmob email popped into my phone. We decided to try it.
We go there and they were pretty full, maybe 50 seats in/​out. Menu was quite small, they said they were out of tatertots. We both settled for a pulled pork sandwich.
The pulled pork, was actually sliced pork. The BBQ sauce was odd to say the least. French fries were limp. As we sat down, an employee said «Bet they have a Scoutmob». Well we did. So what?
They were obviously overrun with Scoutmob diners. Someone resembling an owner or manager just stood at the bar wearing sun glasses and drinking a beer. As I cashed out, he mumbled/​slurred, «Scoutmob caught us off guard.» How can that catch you off guard? You bought the advertising and you knew the day it was going to hit.
It was cheap. Total bill before Scoutmob for two pulled pork sandwiches and drinks = $ 17.00
Going back? Not likely.

This is above average food for a bar with a casual atmosphere .
They have drinks starting at $ 3.00 & live music Tuesday night’s, Several T.V.‘s and for food and drinks you can’t beat the prices.
How many places can you get a Couple of beers and a really good sandwich with homemade tater tots with Chorizo sausage in them, or maybe Spaghetti and meatballs for about — $ 15.00 !
Everything is made in house. You have to try the Crab cakes, you actually eat Crab not fillers, or the B.b.q pork sandwich it is smoked for 14 hours and have different specials every day. Tom’s may have Lamb shank one day or Duck breast another and all of the soups are made from scratch. YEAH ! You don’t have to spend hours shopping or cooking in a hot kitchen .
Tom’s has a Full bar and is open late, recently opened on — Howell Mill rd. «No attitudes» and casual. The owner will even come over and say, «Hello» — everyone here is friendly ! Oh, and they allow you to smoke inside, does anyone allow that anymore ?
Take out is available too.

The food sets this place apart. Small menu but from my experience and from what i heard from other patrons, each dish is quality. The roast beef sandwich and homemade asiago tater tots were excellent. Homemade ketchup was an added bonus and certainly contributed to the meal.
I was fortunate to be able to also try the pulled pork. It may have stole the show. Immediate smoke flavor takes over the senses. Fork tender. I will return shortly to have that as my meal. Choice of two sauces. Very spice mustard sauce which i can appreciate. Also a more traditional sauce, very flavorful.
Fresh crème brûlée for dessert. Outstanding. Very hospitable and welcoming service. Tom’s Folly compares favorably to any establishment in the neighborhood.