Old Towne Grinder & Ice Cream Parlor

The prices have skyrocketed while the quality has plummeted. Was a long time customer but will not be going back.

Location: Old Towne Grinder is located in Old Towne Orange so parking can be somewhat difficult. There are meters on the street and some random public parking lots around the area. It is located on the corner however with a fairly large sign over the door so I think it’s pretty easy to spot. The area is nice to walk around during the day too, so we usually take advantage. In fact, we «discovered» this place on a walking food tour!
Service: This is touch and go — the first time we came, we were on the food tour so the woman who was working was pretty nice. She explained the food we had and served us all. People went and ordered other things such as sodas and other snacks and service seemed pretty good. When we came back, service was meh. Hence the touch and go rating. When people are AT the register, usually no problem. No one has been overly friendly, but neither are they rude. Sometimes the disappear from the front completely however and you have to wait for someone to notice you are at the counter. When the food was served to us on all subsequent occasions after the food tour, the tray was plopped down somewhat unceremoniously and a quiet «enjoy» as she was walking away.
Food: Grinders is obviously what they focus on here — I do have to say that we have only tried the turkey. No complaints about the sandwich, but it’s just a sandwich. I don’t feel like it’s any better or worse than other sandwich places, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go and get a sandwich here. My husband enjoys the variety of sodas here and granted they do have several old timey sodas which is nice. They also have fudge, pre-​scooped italian ice (?), and ice cream. Also, if you are willing to fork it up just a little bit, you can have them make your «own» soda.

A great corner location, with an inviting old town façade. Inside the shop is lined with bottles of pop, nothing cold or ready to drink besides the big name brands. A very small selection of ice cream nothing home made or shop made, besides the fudge which was super sweet and did not taste very good. There was really nothing else besides some sno cones that were pre made and just sitting in a mini fridge, they didn’t look good. Unless you want a cheap sandwich theres really nothing you can get here. Left feeling empty and longing for a real ice cream shoppe

This place is awesome. Super cool sodas. Love all the options! Fudge is super good. Thrifty ice cream! Fries are delicious. Pulled pork is on point! And the freshly made potato chips are insane! So good! Love this place. Manager is super nice and friendly too, always come by when I’m in the area :)

Love love love the BLT from here this is the best I’ve had in a long time. They do not skimp on the meat and the bread is the best even now my mouth is watering can’t wait to get one today. And do not forget to get the homemade root beer and home made potato chips.
My sister is in love with the roast beef dip sandwich and pouting fries
Thank you keep making the best

I’m sure writing this review based upon solely their soda pop options and service. I noticed how they had a sign for Doggone Good Soda. I first saw this brand at Toms Farm and yikes it was so expensive almost $ 8. Here, they had a deal two bottles for $ 4.99. Way better! I bought the root beer one for my dad. Its actually a decent size bottle. You could make two floats. I bought the coke for me and it has real sugar cane like the Mexican cokes. They also had a ton of other soda pop options. Fun area to check out antiques and have a soda! Service was good. Cashier told me if I brought the Doggone Good Soda glass bottle they give a discount of a new soda purchased. Thanks for the information! Great service.

Great sandwiches. When was the last time you had a BLT with warm bacon perfectly cooked, fresh lettuce and tomatoes on a home cooked French roll. Damn. I’ll be back! The roast beef with AU’s jus looks amazing. You’ve got a new best friend Grinder… See you soon

This place is fun and deserves a 3.5 star rating. I’m not really into sodas and I don’t tend to drink them, but this place has something for everyone. I got an Abita root beer (Side note: I’m more of a beer drinking and Abita makes one of my favorite beers). It was really good! My wife got a cherry cola and we shared an order of Old Towne Fries (half regular/​half sweet potato). Also very good.
This is the sort of place that I will definitely return to if I was in the area and wanted to grab a snack and a pop. But I live in Tustin and wouldn’t drive out of my way to go here. It definitely fits in with the vibe of the Orange circle

Last Friday, I was walking past the Old Towne Grinder and noticed they had Cronnuts. I got excited! So I purchased the remainder of their inventory (3), one of their home made sodas and another soda. I was charged over $ 15.
When I got to my car I looked at my receipt and noticed the soda was $ 7.99. WTF??? Well… for that price, this better be the best darn soda of my life! BOY… was I WRONG! I think I paid for the bottle, because what was in there was CRAP! I should have just bought a name brand soda.
Now for those Cronnuts!!! Who knew that you could poke a hole in canned biscuits, place some icing on it and viola!!! A DRY BISCUIT WITH ICING!!! GROSS & Extremely NASTY!!!
Stick with the hamburgers!!! And stop charging your customers for those fancy bottle you put your homemade soda in!

**This review is strictly for the ice cream section**
Originally Alexis B. was looking for «a La Minute» ice cream but we couldn’t find and gave into this place –_​–
I don’t know how they can call themselves a «ice cream parlor» when its about 6 – 8 flavors of Rite Aid ice cream that you can get anywhere! –_​_​– I was not impressed because I could have gone down the street to my local Rite Aid and buy the ice cream there that’s better and cheaper! –_​–
I settled on a basic chocolate chip and Alexis got pistachio with chocolate chip and she loved it but mine was behh and partially frozen bitten –_​–
The thing that got me the most is that they don’t offer to go lids for your ice cream!
–_​–
When I tried to ask the cashier for one she said «We don’t have those» at first I thought she was joking but she meant it, so having ordered 3 ice creams you think I’m going to sit here and eat them all? –_​– My sister ended up having to grab some extra cups to cover them for the drive home and the cashier looked ticked off but what do you expect people to do? –_​– We’re not in the stone age anymore!
I also brought home a so called Mango Ice for my mom but she said it was the worst ice she’s ever had, it was purely coated in sugar and drenched on a ball of ice, we both ended up tossing ours out –_​–
I was not impressed by this «Ice Cream Parlor» and I think that title should be changed if you only have Rite Aid ice cream with basic and minimal flavors –_​–
If your looking for mediocre partially frost bite ice cream with no lids then come here
–_​–

We were in town for Orange’s international food fest and I saw some kiddies enjoying colorful flavored ices. It was so freakin’ hot that I wanted one!
Turns out those ices weren’t being sold at any of the festival booths, but at this interesting corner shop.
It’s a mishmash (in a good way) of different products in this cute shop.
Novelty bottles of sodas
Sandwiches & other edibles
Desserts
Ice cream
etc.
The desired Mustache Mike’s ices were in a small freezer on the counter already scooped into the cups.
Got the Big Daddy flavor and shared it with the hubby. Good stuff!
While I was at the counter, the hubby was checking out this contraption in one corner.
A create-​your-​own-​soda machine!
The owner was telling us about how it works and what it entails. It’s a two-​visit process.
You can design your own label and then bring a flashdrive with the graphic to them.
You’ll then choose your flavor (s) and the machine will fizzie it up for you.
A week later, you can come back to pick up the finished product.
The folks at the counter gave us a flyer and showed us the two types of bottles to choose from.
This would make a great gift!
The hubby’s been trying to come up with creative ideas for the labels. He likes personalized things like this.
We’ll be back when he comes up with something!

Our favorite lunch/​brunch places were packed and I realllllly didn’t feel like waiting… maybe I should have though *sigh*
[-1] Service was friendly enough but the food I had was just not very good. the pastrami lacked flavor and the mustard that came with it made the sandwich taste like mustard… I just didn’t like it. The pastrami was soft enough but that didn’t save it… Bf said his sandwich didn’t taste like a Philly Cheese Sandwich but his was at least kinda tasty! The pickles were good:)
[+1] Service was quick and nice and I like that. so I give them props for that.
[-1] Majority of their tables are wobbly. Finally settled on one table that wasn’t but I had to try like 5 of them before finding it :(
Maybe I should have gotten some ice cream or soda. I think this place is known for that. but since I only tried their sandwich I have to rate off of that. Maybe I will try their desserts next time I’m in the area:)
Tip: Park in the residential areas but make sure you read the signs!

Eating here is so much fun — definitely a unique experience! This shop sells sandwiches and ice cream, but they are most famous for their wide variety of bottles sodas that line the windows of the restaurant and fill the refrigerators. While you are waiting for the sandwich to be made, if you purchased a bottled soda ($ 2.75), you can peruse the MANY different brands and flavors. It’s so difficult to choose! But also so fun.
The food itself is really good! I like the pulled chicken sandwich, which is just chicken and BBQ sauce — and they are very generous with the amount of chicken they put in the sandwich. The «regular» size is more than enough for me!
The environment is very casual, and is perfect for a quick meal which hanging out in Old Town Orange. Even if you don’t want to eat, you should definitely stop by and check out the store, it’s really awesome!

This is a cute little store located towards the end of the Orange circle; you can get anything from sandwiches, different sodas and ice cream. I’ve had their sandwiches which are pretty good and I’ve also stopped by just for ice cream and you really can’t screw that up. Customer service was great and if I’m around and want an ice cream or sandwich I’ll stop by again.

This place is pretty cool. They have a variety of items they sell here. From butterscotch root beer to animal cookie ice cream to a huge variety of fudge, They have a sweet to satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth!
Its a bit pricey, but worth it add they sell unique sweets! !

We used to go to a soda pop shop in LA, but this is a nice substitute. They have my wife’s favorite root beer, Virgil’s Bavarian Nutmeg Root Beer, which she’s always excited about. We also like to try out different sodas that they have too. It’s kinda pricey but fun because there’s a lot of different sodas (like 4 different fridges worth) to try. They also have a station where you can make your own sodas but I think it’s by reservation for groups.
Haven’t really tried much of their food, just fries and a crème brûlée (which had the thickest sugar crust), and it was ok.

My BBQ sandwich was passable. My bottled soda was fun — but not worth $ 2.75. Overall, it was a pleasant yet unremarkable experience — though here are my remarks, I suppose.
It’s a decent, quick bite along the Old Towne Circle… so … worthwhile, I suppose, if you’re in a rush.
Oh — and the ice cream is delicious. Give it a shot.

After coming back from the flea market today without finding what I was looking for, I decided to tour the antique stores in downtown Orange. We went through two and then I was feeling parched and a bit dehydrated, so we decided to pop into the grinder shop because we saw soda prominently displayed on shelves in each window.
For soda phreaks, this place is better than Bevmo, but not as good as Glaco’s. Cold cases are organized by type — cola, diet, ginger, etc… but $ 2.77 a bottle?

Circus animal cookie ice cream on a waffle cone was enough to warrant this 5 star review. It was fricken awesome, and the perfect treat to eat while you walk around Orange circle. You’ll notice that most stores don’t allow you to walk in with food, but who cares, because this flavor will make you a happy kid again for about 7 minutes (longer if you decide to scarf it down).
I think I might have to go here again this weekend just for this…

I feel like Adam Richman on the quest to find the best sandwich in the area. Unfortunately, I am still looking. I came here, Bruxie in Orange, and Deli-​licilious in Huntington Beach recently, and after much hype, I was not impressed with any of them.
New acronym: ATJAAC — Avoid This Joint At All Costs!
The roll was good sized. However, it hardly had any meat (pic). At $ 7.95, I expected more. In addition, the sandwich had some dressing in it, but it did not have any flavor.
Kudos to the joint for having an awesome selection of sodas. I could not even make up my mind when I ordered. I like «real» soda — w/​cane sugar vs fructose. But I was such a dumba$$, I didn’t read the label and mine turned out to be sugarfree. At $ 2.75 for the soda, the total bill was nearly $ 12. Jeez, I could have bought two $ 5 footlongs from Subway and had leftovers.
Lastly, I was trying to read the OC Business Journal but my sleeve kept on getting stuck to the dirty table. I understand the table is outside, but get rid of those ugly, blue plastic checkered things.
Needless to say, I will not be rushing back to OTG any time soon. I can get better food at Watsons and they also have a cool soda selection.