Tom + Chee – Orlando

We stumbled on Tom + Chee completely by accident. My group of three pulled into the parking lot intending to go to T.G.I.Friday’s, and as we walked over we realized that Tom + Chee was a restaurant featured on Shark Tank. My husband is a big fan of the show, so we decided to check them out for dinner instead.
The restaurant is very bright, featuring big walls of primary yellow and red colors, good for waking a person up. We were all pretty impressed with our food, and would go back again if we lived in Orlando. I tried the original tomato soup, with the chicken garden dinner salad, and shared the donut grilled cheese with my husband. My salad was great, and much better than I was expecting for a fast food restaurant. The veggies were fresh and the chicken was moist, and a nice break after eating junk food at Universal Studios for two days straight. The tomato soup was thick and full of flavor, and not even comparable to canned tomato soup I have at home.
We were pleasantly surprised by the grilled cheese donut. It isn’t filling enough to be a dinner on it’s own, but the sweet glaze on the donut was really delicious with the sharp cheese they used as filling. My husband also got a custom grilled cheese, with turkey, tomato and rye bread. The bread had a bit more butter on it than I would have preferred, but was still pretty tasty. I found the prices very reasonable (comparable to a meal at something like Fatburger or Carl’s Jr. at Canadian prices) and the menu had enough variety on it that I would return for sure.

After a long day at the magic kingdom while being under the weather, I just really needed some comfort food to take back to the room. I’m a sucker for grilled cheese, and read that this place offered gf bread. It was right by our hotel so we stopped here on the way back.
Atmosphere: very bright lighting! It is a typical quick service restaurant.
Service: very friendly. Lots of smiles which is nice.
Food: perfect comfort food. I made my own grilled cheese with gf bread, cheddar and smoked Gouda, and opted for a cup of the tomato soup. (You can also get a bowl, or a dipping side.) the sandwich was so good, just a classic, you can’t go too wrong with grilled cheese. The soup was good, and you get a lot for a cup! I would like to come back and try some different sandwich combinations. I love the concept.

Shark Tank –you failed me !
I saw the three stars and didn’t let the negative reviews sway me ! I’m a vegetarian and looooove Shark Tank-​so going to a grill cheese and tomato soup restaurant would be a no brainier-​right?! Wrong.
This is very expensive– 14 bucks for grilled cheese and soup that taste like it came out of the Ortega sauce can ?
We both got the classic grill cheese –I got the creamy soup and my husband got the chunky soup –both had a very dull, thin, watery consistency. They probably had three full spoonfuls of soup in each cup. I think we got shorted! The grill cheese was just that –basic –very greasy-​light on the cheese.
There is a Noodles and Co right next store-​better value, more and better quality food and much, much better soup !

I’m lactose intolerant but I was excited because they have vegan cheese however after ordering I realized they put butter on the toasted bread. I wish I would have made sure the butter was vegan as well because now my body has had a very negative reaction to it. More than likely Will not be going back.

Delicious! Don’t get weirded out by the mix of toppings on the sandwich or dessert donut sandwiches because it is really good mixture of sweet and salty

The good: service rocked, very nice lady helping on a Sunday morning. Purchased a gluten free grilled cheese and it tasted good. Grilled onion was great.
The bad: Sandwich was small, for the cost. Ordered cheddar, mozzarella, lettuce, onion and tomato.
The ugly: Probably will not go back or suggest to people.

Expensive, with small portion sizes and very few novel items. Guys, this is grilled cheese with tomatoes in it, it’s nothing special. That the Sharks fawned over this food is bewildering to me – maybe they’re too used to extremely upscale dinners? But really this place is back-​to-​basics with pricing that isn’t basic. Because each side is priced separately, you’re looking at about $ 12 for lunch with food that should cost around $ 6. While tasty, it’s nothing particularly impressive. For example, the caprese salad is delicious but only comes with two small chunks of fresh mozza and two tomatoes. Not worth it.

Pretty excited to try a restaurant chain we’d seen on Shark Tank. The décor is pretty cool — red and yellow to match the tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
The menu is extensive — lots of neat pre-​made options with a ton of toppings, as well as make your own options as well. The sandwiches themselves are decently priced, the sides are what get you — small salad is 5 bucks, and cup of soup 3.50. However, the soup is excellent, and not to be missed.
I had a half grilled cheese sandwich, nothing fancy, and a chunky tomato basil soup. Tasty, but basic. Nothing superb or that you couldn’t make at home.

I discovered Tom + Chee at a fundraising event for one of my favorite local organizations (Give Kids The World) — they were a big sponsor of the event and had an awesome booth, handing out lots of tasty samples. I made a note to visit their new location and stopped by a few weeks ago with my mom for a late lunch on a Monday afternoon.
No line to order, which was nice. The menu is pretty extensive — we both decided on build-​your-​own sandwiches, pretty traditional grilled cheese sammies (OK, we added bacon :)). Service was quick and friendly, and we had our food pretty fast — very tasty!
I thought pricing was a bit high. On Mondays they offer a buy one get one half off deal, but we still ended up paying $ 20 for 2 sandwiches and 2 drinks (no sides). The décor was a little disappointing — it just seemed a bit cheap.
I don’t see myself making a special trip here, but it’s a nice option if you’re in the area and craving grilled cheese!

While in Orlando for a job conference… I figured that I would branch out and try something new. So I love grilled cheese sandwiches and when I found this place… I was on cloud 9. This place serves grilled cheese sandwiches, Mac and cheese, and tomato soup. All 3 of my favorite foods. I didn’t find their sandwiches to be gourmet and nothing special about it. The food was good, but nothing earth shattering. I should have known by the existing reviews that this place would be mediocre. Anyways, I tried a new spot and I had a fun adventure.

The most disappointing part of my visit to Tom+Chee was a result of high expections. Ever since seeing this concept on Shark Tank my kids wanted to check it out. When we were planning our trip to Orlando we knew we would get our shot.
Our visit started off well — we were able to find the restaurant easily in a strip center with quite a few other places like Moe’s, Friday’s, and Taco Bell. We received a sincere greeting upon entering the establishment and the menu was easy to read, albeit a little expensive for bread and a processed cheese.
The chunky tomato soup tasted more like marina sauce. The Bleu cheese chili was so salty that it was inedible. The sandwiches were ok, but not worth a special trip.
The highlight of the meal was the s’mores grilled donut. Unfortunately, chocolatey goodness was not enough to save the meal on this visit.

Not as good as I thought, based on Shark Tank. My wife and I were both looking forward to trying this place after watching it on the show. The menu is intimidating as it’s all over the place. The person that greeted us was very nice and helped explain how the menu worked. My wife and I each ordered a grilled cheese sandwich (mine was the standard Tom + Chee), and her’s was custom. We both also ordered a cup of tomato soup… mine was standard, and her’s was a creamy variety. We also wanted to try a donut sandwich, so we ordered the s’mores one.
Our order was a bit off, as I didn’t order a double sandwich, but received one and was charged for one. My wife had a missing item on her sandwich, and the person who took our order brought it over to her as an add-​on item. Ordering issues aside, my sandwich was OK, not out of this world. The tomatoes in the sandwich were very tasty, but the buttered bread, and cheeses were unfortunately pretty ordinary. My soup was really tasty, and I would pay for that every time I wanted tomato soup. The donut sandwich was just really sweet, but that’s to be expected for glazed donut cut in half with graham cracker, chocolate, and mascarpone cheese.
Also, our orders with 2 small drinks was $ 30. If everything was amazing, I wouldn’t mind, but for what we got… definitely not worth it. Might be a good novel place to try once, but not a repeat restaurant for me. Maybe the noodle place next door? Haven’t tried that yet.

There is so much potential here. But I agree with what everyone else has said. the menu is confusing, and despite being in large print, doesn’t offer a lot of variety. they seem to want to focus on a build-​your-​own style, but the options are so few and EVERYTHING is extra. They have some fun creations and specials but they don’t catch your eye and they are over priced. The décor is phoned in at best. I love all things cheese, so it wasn’t going to be easy to disappoint me (even if it is a chain *shudders*). Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be passion or creativity in this business.

If you are reading this and considering eating here STOP what you are doing and look up Toasted in Winter Park. Yes, it’s a bit of a drive from this place but trust me it is 10000x better!
I tried Tom + Chee with some co-​workers because it’s not too far from our office. Now I’m not a fan of restaurants on this side of town, but they have vegan cheese options so I thought I’d give it a shot. After all, Toasted makes an unbelievable vegan grilled cheese, so this had to at least be decent, right?
Wrong. Worst grilled cheese I’ve had in my life. I ordered a vegan cheese on wheat and added spicy cherry peppers and potato chips for crunch. The «cheese» is comparable to Daiya — — disgusting! Toasted makes their own «cheese» in house and unlike here, it is oozy and creamy and not like cold, melted plastic.
The potato chips were a huge mistake, they became soggy clumps. To top it all off? I got banana peppers instead of cherry peppers. Banana peppers are not even on the menu, leading me to believe the owners of Tom + Chee have never seen a cherry pepper before. For reference, I have attached a photo of actual cherry peppers, which I love.
The tomato soup was cold, and tasted like flavorless watered down marinara. My co-​workers equally hated their non vegan sandwiches. One ordered the mac and cheese as a side and commented that it «tasted like armpit.» Nice.
Locals take note, a truly amazing grilled cheese experience can be had at Toasted in Winter Park. Tourists, do yourself a favor and make the drive and don’t judge our fine city on such a shameful excuse for a restaurant. Finally, vegans don’t even waste your time, Toasted has an entire, delicious vegan menu to choose from.
Tourist traps like this place are the reason I have trust issues.

When I am in the area and want lunch, I normally go to Noodles & Company which is right next door. I had seen them building this place the last time I came for lunch and was super excited to try them out… who does not like Grilled Cheese sandwiches and Tomato soup? But alas… I was let down by the whole experience.
I went on a Thursday afternoon around 1:30pm and it was not busy at all. About 6 people were eating their food and only 1 guy was up ordering. I checked out the large menu board hanging up and found it a bit confusing. Lots to read and understand about the different options available. I noticed many of the items/​add ons are all extras. Your basic grilled cheese consisted of bread and two types of cheese for $ 4.95… anything else you want on it is extra. They did offer what they call «Fancy Grilled Cheese» and saw a BLT + Chee for $ 6.95. Memories of my childhood flashed in my head back to when I used to go to the local A&W Root Beer place in the summer and get a Grilled Cheese and Tomato sandwich with a large frosty Root Beer… so I thought this would be a good place to start.
The host behind the counter was very nice and super friendly. After telling him my order, he asked if i wanted to make it a combo… the sandwich, a soup and a drink for so much extra. I thought that would be fine and ordered the classic tomato soup. He gave me a cup for my drink and the order came to a little over $ 10… more expensive than Noodle & Company.
I found a seat and looked around. The place looked like not much was spent on it… black walls with red and Yellow accents. Cheap looking seating and tables. Was this really a chain? Is this the look they were going for? You can see not much is spent on the décor or to give a quality impression. I felt like I was eating in someones garage.
My food came out after only a few min and it looked okay. The sandwich itself looked thick but after inspection, it was because they put a large wedge of lettuce in the sandwich. The bread was a bit soggy and there was not much cheese in my grilled cheese. There was also bacon bits and tomato bits sprinkled in the mix. The soup was not what I was expecting either. I thought it would be a cup of soup but no… it was a dipper size… something the young man at the register did not specify. But thats okay… it was horrid.
I took my first bite of the sandwich and it was cold. They just made this… how could it be cold? I realized that due to the wedge of lettuce, it was exposed to so much air it cooled off very quickly. It tasted okay but not my childhood memory. The soup was steamy and looked hot… and it was… but I dipped my sandwich in and took a bite. Blah! This was not the soup I had wanted or imagined they would pair with a grilled cheese. It was almost like hot, water downed marinara sauce… not the creamy Cambell’s soup taste and consistency I was hoping for. I suggest they partner up with Cambell’s and serve their stuff instead of this tomato sauce. And this was the classic one… I can imagine what the other varieties would taste like.
I did eat all my meal and the young man who rang my up walked by to ask me how everything was… I told him is was fine… but I should have told him the truth.
Atmosphere = 3
Service = 8
Food = 3
I really wanted to like Tom + Chee. I might give it another try to see if any of the other food comes out better. I can’t really recommend this place but you might have a better experience than I did. In the mean time, I will go back to Noodles & Company for lunch next time I am at Crossroads.

Tom + Chee, I really want to like you. I really do!
Ever since I saw the episode of the Shark Tank when the owners pitched the idea of a grilled cheese and tomato soup restaurant, I was cheering for them to get backed and then build one in Orlando. And guess what? They did!
My wife and I were very excited to try this place out. After looking at their expansive menu (who knew their were so many different things you could do to a grilled cheese? You can get donuts for the buns? That’s just crazy! lol), I eventually settled on the BLT grilled cheese and a side of the tomato basil soup. In addition, my wife also ended up getting the mac n’ cheese grilled cheese and the tomato basil soup.
First off, enjoyed my sandwich. Yea, the toasted bread was a bit too buttery, but I didn’t think it was that bad. However, the soup was not very good at all. It didn’t taste fresh and it looked a bit like the marinara sauce they offer at CiCi’s pizza (you know this place. The pizza buffet type place). Now that I’m writing this, Tom + Chee kind of reminds me of how CiCi’s pizza looks, which is a bit cheap and lackluster.
Despite this, the staff was friendly and the place was clean. So they definitely get points for that.
Overall, this place is exactly what you’d expect. A grilled cheese joint that is great for its novelty and great for kids. Besides that, it’s not much more.

Aw gees. After watching Shark Tank and seeing this company on there I was super bummed they hadn’t brought this genius to idea to Orlando yet…
…but then they did!!!
I put it on my «to do» list and just saved it there because it was literally on the other side of town for me and I wasn’t going to make any special trips. But as fate would have it I happened to be close to the location with my husband and we decided it was now or never.
The atmosphere is very bright and the colors are stimulating. They have a great marketing team because the colors they chose invoke hunger (I have actually done research into this…)
I am all about classics. Plain grilled cheese and tomato soup.
However, I am also pregnant and a sucker for any type of mac and cheese. So I got the Mac and Chee sandwhich (basically a grilled cheese with some mac and cheese inside for calorie bonus!!) and a dipper size of the tomato bisque.
Husband got the BLT Chee. Husband LOVED it.
I mean, it’s a basic concept so it’s hard to mess up.
However, I felt the sandwich itself was WAAAYYY too buttered. I couldn’t truly enjoy the cheese because of it. I had to wipe my hands after every bite. Maybe some people love that but I don’t. And the bisque was «meh.» Mine is better (brag brag brag) and they used too much pepper.
All in all it’s a great concept and maybe I should give it another shot one day but I had my experience and I am good…

I have been so excited to try this spot. I love classic tomato soup and I love grilled cheese. The location is bright and the staff friendly. I ordered a grilled cheese with cheddar, a small classic tomato soup, and a drink. $ 10.00
My meal was delivered in a reasonable amount of time. I have to admit for a place specializing in grilled cheese and tomato soup I was pretty disapointed. The grilled cheese was just ok. Not grilled nearly enough, lacking cheese, and the bread was weak. The tomato soup tasted like watered down marinara sauce. Either this place has been given undeserved hype or the people in the kitchen have been poorly trained.
I probably will not return because my teenager can make a better grilled cheese and I know for a fact that I can get a better classic tomato soup at home.

Since seeing the restaurant on Shark Tank, I’ve been curious how Barbra Corkerine would scale this place. Now, that it’s finally here, I don’t really have a true feeling either way.
To be expected, there was a line almost out the door because it’s in its first week or so. Moving steadily forward, gave me a chance to see all the options they have.
They could have used another week in training though. Their staff is very abrupt and is easy to make mistake. The mother and son sitting next to us ordered a sandwich with no pickles. When the server brought it over and read what it was, she left too soon for them to say something. When she came back with the mothers food, she did say they would make another one for him.
My girl friend and I were waiting for our food. The order placer, didn’t place her order in correctly and my order wasn’t even placed it. The manager in front of house was very nice and ready to fix it. She even came over with «Free Stuff» coupons. At times it felt like she was the only one working out there.
Once I had my food, the side of Mac and Chee was more soup like then anything. The Tom and Chee, I added chicken and was ok. I’m glad I came to visit and try it out.

I’ve been waiting for this place to open and it finally did! I got the good classic ‘The Tom+Chee’! Such a tasty grilled cheese! It had diced tomatoes, garlic, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese! This is my style of grilled cheese! The ambiance is nice if you decide to eat in, I was in a hurry so grabbed and go! Next time I’m going to try a s’more donut. Staff was friendly and very informative!