Tom + Chee – Louisville

I want to like Tom+Chee. I really do.
I mean, their speciality is grilled cheeses — how can that not be awesome!!! Grilled cheeses are all about childhood and comfort food and lunches on rainy days off school with Mom. The happy memories are already a part of it.
But I’ve been let down on a handful of visits to this and other Tom+Chee locations.
I visited this Tom+Chee last week in the hope of grabbing a quick to-​go bite before my next meeting.
The service was very friendly, with the young lady behind the counter giving suggestions on sandwiches to try. With her help, I decided to be a bit adventurous with a grilled cheese that mixes the Grilled Mac+Cheese (mac and cheese with cheddar cheese) and the Pep+Chee (pepperoni, tomato sauce and mozzarella).
And like all of the other sandwiches I’ve gotten from Tom+Chee, this one was greasy to the point of making my stomach turn.
Yes, I know, grilled cheeses are greasy — greasy and full of cheesy, buttery goodness. You don’t eat grilled cheeses if you’re looking to shed a few pounds.
But this was just … no. If I hadn’t been eating it in my car, I would have patted it down with napkins first.
And then the bread was just thin and tough, like it had been pressed against a griddle way too hard. So the cheese didn’t really melt and hold the whole thing together well. I still don’t know how I was able to eat this and not get it down the front of me.
As I sit here and write this, the whole sandwich still makes me feel gross. And I remember feeling similarly after eating at Tom+Chee previously.
If they could just tone down the grease and the smashing of the sandwiches a bit, I would be a much happier customer.

I cannot believe I had not tried this place before! Went during lunch and amazingly enough found a parking spot (the restaurant was full). Their menu has so many options that we had to take a while to make up our minds. The cashier was extremely nice and gave us her recommendations. I ended up choosing a pizza grilled cheese sandwich and a s’mores grilled cheese donut. WOW! They were a-​mazing! Packed with butter but simply delicious! Service was very fast and the server was extremely nice and funny. I will definitely return!

I am not a fan! I think the food is overrated and is quite pricey. I have to say the soup is even bland. This is one of the biggest disappointments in Cardinal Towne. Go to China Inn for the hot and sour soup and pad Thai, instead.

Walked in here because it was the only place near by that didn’t have a line. We were pleasantly surprised! The hot&spicy grilled cheese was delicious!

This is a really cool joint to eat at. It you are looking for decent priced grilled cheese creations and don’t mind a few calories l, then you are in luck. Try the mac-​n-​cheese it was outstanding…

Love the food here! I absolutely love grilled cheese sandwiches and these are pretty amazing.

Tom and Chee was a lot of fun and excellent food! The donut grilled cheese is a must try!

I’m from the east coast and never heard of this place til I came and I love it! I’ve been here four times in one week, there’s a reason why. Try the bacon and blue grilled cheese!

I’ve seen Tom+Chee in the Highlands. I used to pass it every day and I always thought it was a great concept. Who doesn’t like soup and grilled cheese? I finally tried this one in Old Louisville and it was great. I had the roasted turkey and bacon with gouda cheese. Next time I’ll ask them to hold the pickles — not because I don’t like pickles (on the contrary, I love them a little too much), but the flavor threw off the rest of the sandwich for me. The bread was thick and hearty, the turkey was roasted and pulled, and the cheese was perfectly melted. I also had a cup of the creamy tomato and it was great. I may have liked it better than the sandwich — it was that good.
The price was decent. I think it was under $ 10 for the sandwich, soup, and a drink. The atmosphere was lacking, though. The inside was very… industrial. The menu is also overwhelming — a whole wall of the sandwich lists. I felt pressured and overwhelmed to order being that I’d never been there. But I was happy with what I got. I’ll be back at some point to try something different.

Had their Pepperoni Pizza soup on this visit. It was very tasty! Can’t say I visit Tom+Chee very often but when I go it is consistently good. The order process seems a bit slow and having to sign a receipt on a debit card purchase just makes no sense. I just want to order, swipe my card and go sit down and wait for my food.

Was good, I accidentally got something a bit too spicy for me, but once I scraped a few of my jalapeños off, it was really good. Only down side was the wait time, and it was a bit too greasy. Will go back for those grilled doughnut cheeses tho!

5 stars for effort and concept +3 stars for actual delivery
We visited Tom+Chee for the first time on a weekday evening. Aside from my boyfriend and myself there were only two other sets of diners in the restaurant, a family of five and a table of one. Unfortunately we found ourselves in line behind the family and their order turned into some kind of convoluted mess of confusion. I’m not sure if that was the staff’s fault or the patron’s fault but either way it took forever for us to get to order. Once our orders were in and we sat down it took about twenty minutes for our sandwiches to make it to the table and once they arrived they were missing their soups. The staff member was apologetic and brought the soups about five minutes later.
The sandwiches were delicious. I had the Grilled Mac + Cheese and my boyfriend had one of their doughnut breakfast sandwiches. While we both really liked the sandwiches we agreed that they weren’t enough for a dinner meal especially because the soups were a total letdown. My tomato soup was completely bland and tasted liked watered down canned tomato sauce. His beef and vegetable soup was also very bland and was little more than cut up vegetables and beef chunks in boiled water. Both of them desperately needed salt. A restaurant that is based on soup and sandwiches should have great soup, not just great sandwiches.
We were about to decide that Tom+Chee was a nice idea but not worth visiting when one of the staff members approached our table, apologized for the confusion and delays at the beginning of our meal, and offered us dessert on the house. He then brought us a Mint Julep doughnut sandwich. It was amazing. Perhaps one of the most delicious things I have eaten. We appreciated the fact that the staff made a proactive effort to make up for our less than stellar experience without our even mentioning it.
Ultimately I recommend visiting Tom+Chee for breakfast, lunch, or for a great dessert. Just don’t order the soup.

OMG! I had the Flying Pig (turkey, bacon, gouda on sourdough) and it was amazing! Had a half sandwich that I paired with a lentil soup that was decent. Everything looks insanely yummy and a good choice for a ‘light’ lunch. I left feeling satisfied, but not bloated. :)

Not bad, not great, just meh. I got an Italian sandwich that had salt and vinegar chips ON it, which was different, but the sandwich made them soggy and unappetizing. In fact, the whole sandwich was a little too greasy.

I have only tried Tom+Chee once but I am very eager to try it again which won’t be a problem since I happily got a groupon. My friend and I went together and split our grilled cheeses, the bacon and blue and the the grilled mac and cheese. The grilled mac and cheese was kind of bland but the bacon and blue was cheesy and yummy. I also got the tomato gazpacho and it was sooooo good. It was less of a group because it was thick and it was full of tomatoes and definitely tasted homemade.

It’s taken me a long time to get on board with the concept of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. I finally gave in after trying just about everything on campus and wanting something different.
I actually feel bad for posting 3-​stars because I like when new things show up on campus that aren’t burgers and fries… and it seems hard for things to survive in the Cardinal Towne area. The service was good and the guy behind the register was helpful, however, I was underwhelmed by the food.
The food: I got the spicy vegg ($ 5 on special) that had onions, mushrooms, red and green bell peppers, a little jalapeño, carrots, and pepper jack cheese on it. I also got a small cup of creamy tomato basil soup. The soup was just OK. The sandwich, eh… I was expecting the veggies to be sautéed but instead they were raw and so for me it threw off the texture of the sandwich.
Overall, the service was the best part. The meal I didn’t find to be a good value — it was right at $ 10 with a soda. For those who love grilled cheese (and not people like me who eat grilled cheese maybe once or twice a year) you’ll probably enjoy it but I think I’ll try other places for lunch.

Tom+Chee, what a great concept. I haven’t had the chance to visit the other locations in Louisville but this spot right off of UofL’s campus was just right. Ever craving some grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup on a rainy day? Bring you drenched rain-​boots and close your umbrella, enter Tom+Chee.
As soon as you enter, you’re greeted by the giant menu chalked up on the wall to your left! So many choices! You can make your own by choosing your bread, cheese, and fancy cheese. The price is reasonable for what you get and they do seem to have various combinations/​specials per the day.
I got the Veggie Blues, the bleu cheese, hummous, grilled mushrooms, and red peppers on rye. Delicious with a zing to it. I wasn’t feeling soup that day but I’m sure it would’ve have been a great addition.
So I wanted to give it four-​stars, but I found the music to be a bit loud (though I can understand that it’s supposed to have a trendy vibe being off campus). But if it’s the food that you want to hit a tender spot, Tom+Chee will have YOU melting on a cool day.