Tom’s Burger & Frosty

So stopped by from So Cal and the food is not bad. What’s not great is the customer service, mainly from the male owner. The pretty girl at the cashier (with green highlights) was very kind and courteous and was trying her best when taking our order for 8 of us. However, in spite of the cooks (owners) forgetting our shake and order of fried mushrooms, they refused to give us a small side of ranch. They charged us .50 cents with plenty of attitude. Not cool! The Latina girl helping the cooks, needs to work on her attitude as well. Would have given this place a 4 rating but the bad customer service brought it down to a 2.

Stopped by this weekend while my husband & I were in the area camping, & really liked this little burger joint. My husband ordered the pastrami sandwich & he really liked it, but said that if he ordered it again he would ask them to leave off the onion or grill it more. He did really like it though; he just didn’t realize that onions came on it until he got it. I ordered the ranch burger which was delicious. It is a large oblong burger on a nice chewy sourdough bread, which is perfect for the burger because it doesn’t get soggy or fall apart. We shared an order of fries & they were really good too. The order was generous & the fries were the thick type perfectly cooked. The restaurant was very clean (bathrooms too), & I thought the staff was very friendly & helpful. The only suggestion I would make to the owner would be for them to out what comes on each item underneath routes in small text, so that a person can see what comes I the various items & not have to ask or forget & then get something they don’t really want in it.
My husband doesn’t order things with onion normally, but he got them cause he forgot what the girl behind the counter said was in the sandwich. It’s easier for a person to order when they can see what each item has. We really like it & we will be back when in the area again.

There’s basically always been a burger place like this here. I think it used to be called Foster’s Freeze. I’d never liked coming here because it was always so dirty. I stopped in with my grandmother today for lunch on our way home from the DMV. This was the first time I’d been since it changed names/​owners, and I was seriously impressed with the cleanliness. They were pretty packed, but there weren’t any dirty tables, as people got up, the tables were cleaned right away. For being packed our food came up rather quickly, too (probably less than 10 minutes).
I got the steak and cheese, which would have been better if they hadn’t put lettuce on it, but now I know to ask for it without next time. It was still delicious, exactly what you’d expect from a small grill/​fry place.
She ordered the Cobb salad which was gigantic and fresh. Much better than I’d expected from this sort of place. She also got a milk shake with extra chocolate, which she said was fantastic.
We split a side order of onion rings, fried zucchini, abs fried mushrooms. The onion rings were amazing. I’ll definitely order them again. The mushrooms were great also. It seemed like they used the same batter as the onion rings. The fried zucchini was only so so. They tasted like they were from a frozen package. The zucchini was too soft on the inside and the batter was over seasoned. I like fried zucchini, but probably won’t order it from here again.
The service was friendly and efficient. If the zucchini had been better I’d have given them 5 stars. As it is, if Unilocal would let me I’d have made it 4.5.

This place has the best burgers in town. I love the atmosphere and they are always so friendly. Gotta try it.

Love Toms burger, their food is fresh made to order. employees are super nice. lupe is super friendly and seems to be there everytime i go in there.
Weekdays lunch time, they can be little busy but not too busy that they forget your order. I also love their dipped ice cream cone.
PROS:
small town, mom& pops burger joint feel
fresh food
excellent customer service
CONS:
none

Good burgers, good burger options, plus other options like salads, would be 5 stars but a large drink is a medium everywhere else.

Tom’s is great for what it is… a burger joint with frosties. The owner is friendly, the staff works hard, and the food is great. Our kids love to go here and so do we.

Good food cooked to order, so fresh. I was greeted warmly & thanked for my order, which was refreshing. The burger & fries were spot on. The dining area was clean. Definately need to support this local establishment.

Although it no longer bears the name of Foster’s Freeze, but it still contains most of the delicious menu items.
Food ⁴⁄₅
I literally only come here for the root beer freezes. They are amazing, and have the perfect ratio of root beer to ice cream. If you have never experienced the root beer freeze this location has one of the best.
Service ⁴⁄₅
Everyone here is very friendly. The facility it clean and our order was made in a timely manner.
If you live in or near Placerville, or you’re driving up to Tahoe this is great place to stop.

We love coming to Tom’s after EVERY trip down from Tahoe. It’s a great burger joint. Nothing too fancy, but a fun place for lunch.
I get the ranch burger and always leave happy.
Say hi to Tom while you’re here.

Hungry and overdue for lunch as we were driving to Tahoe from the Bay Area, Tom’s Burger and Frosty in Placerville was just the thing. Just a couple miles off 50 Exit 44B, and thru fairly uncrowded streets, it was easy to find and had a large, private parking lot. No hassles on the logistics for this place.
My wife and I had the American Burger. Very good burger! Not just good meat, but the combo of cheese, veggies and a fresh bun made for a great lunch. We had thought maybe we would just eat half and save the rest for later; but they were just too good, no left overs this time.
The fries were thick, tasty and had just the right amount of salt: definitely delicious as well.
Of course we had to try their shakes. Small shakes are 2.69, large, 3.69: a real bargain for what you get. I had the chocolate shake, my wife the chocolate mixed with hot fudge. Both were excellent! Good consistency and well made; they obviously know what they’re doing in the shake department.
Tom’s offers a variety of shake flavors: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, caramel, peanut butter, hot fudge, pineapple, blackberry, cherry and raspberry. It would be worth a return visit to sample some other flavors.
The dining area is fairly large for a hamburger place, and a simple but nice place to eat. There were a lot of locals here on a Sunday afternoon, always a good sign.
We finished and were back on 50 in no time. Tom’s is a wonderful lunch option for locals or those just passing thru.

Ate here for the first time today. I enjoyed the food and the service. Will come again.
–Good burgers with fresh fixins (tomatoes, onions, lettuce). The hamburger patties are not frozen pre-​packed jobbies, they are actually freshly pounded. The burgers are grilled on a flat top.
–Fries were cooked to a golden deliciousness.
–Peanut butter shake actually tasted like peanut butter. It tasted soooo good! Good selection of shake and malt flavors. And of course they have frostie cones.
–They accommodated hubs and I «special «orders. We asked for well done bacon on our burgers. The counter gal refers to that as crispy. Sure enough the bacon was cooked to a yummy crispiness. I ordered jack cheese on one burger, they normally use American cheese.
–Customer service was great. The counter girl wrote down my «special» requests down accurately enough that the cooks executed it.
–Cooks were quick and efficient. Knew how to cook crispy bacon, which is a plus in my book.
–Pricing is fair. Not fast food cheap.
–They have a salad selection! & Kids menu choices.
–Ample parking. Indoor seating with a/​c. Outdoor seating that is all shaded.

Great burger and frosty treat on the way back from Tahoe to the Bay Area. Fast, friendly, and fair priced.

Don’t judge by its appearance which is run down Foster Freeze.
This place has some delicious food. Burgers, Sandwiches, Salads, ice cream cones, many flavors of milkshakes and french fries. Affordable too.

Have to pile on here as this is my go to burger joint in P’ville. Incredible consistency, clean, with fast and friendly service. Been here many times and have never been disappointed.
Note that I was not a fan of the old Foster’s (which is why it took me a long time before trying the new Tom’s). If you’re tired of the same old fast food chains, give this place a try; I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

My boys and I have made «Tom’s» our Wednesday afternoon treat spot! They just keep begging to go and have the chocolate cones dipped in chocolate shell… and I’ll admit the onion rings keep me happy as well. The place is clean, the workers are always VERY polite, as well as friendly and the prices are fair.

I really liked their fried zucchini and the pastrami sandwich was great I visit there once in a while and pick up food for take out. I’m always happy with my food

I love Tom’s hamburgers! and fish sandwich! and fries! and onion rings! Meat nice and juicy, bun toasted perfectly with yum special sauce! The food here is delicious, and you can tell that it is fresh.
Great place to stop by on the way to Tahoe or Apple Hill. Nice outdoor seating and also the inside is updated and clean. Can’t wait to come back again!

Quick and friendly service.
BD enjoyed his raspberry shake, cheesesteak sandwich and French fries.
I had the double cheeseburger with onion rings. I’m not really a fan of beer battered rings but they were good with a little salt. The burger was a good size, meaty, juicy and not greasy
The little one had a good sized corn dog that he’s attempting to eat. Everything plus two regular drinks and a soft serve vanilla cone came out to be $ 25.
All in all its a decent burger joint and close to home. We’ll be back!

Mountain Democrat’s write up about this new venture, as well as a lot of the local attitude, are a bit polarized from my experience with it. Placerville is nostalgic that a burger and ice cream joint has opened in the hollow shell of what used to be Foster’s Freeze. On the other hand, I’m glad to see one of the best burgers I’ve ever had relocate to my new neighborhood.
I’ve been a customer of Tom’s since 1996, when he operated his prior restaurant of the same name in North Highlands, CA. At the time, the entire business was run by him and his wife, 6 days a week, took Sunday off to go fishing. A few years back, thanks to North Highlands being a dead town, they sold the restaurant and the quality slipped a bit, but it was still decent. The new restaurant is back to being a family business with the same menu and recipes I remember, same great customer service, and has put a few locals to work to accommodate the massive drive of Placerville residents crawling out to see the new thing. Tom even remembered me and my old order.
But to get to the point, it’s one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. I usually get that same reaction from most people I brought to Highlands back in the day. I don’t know where this guy gets his beef or what he seasons it with, but it’s perfect every time. The fries have some mysterious ability to stay hot forever, and the onion rings have a nice balance of bitter and sweet in the batter. I also need to finally approach the rest of his menu instead of ordering my usual, as I’m hearing raves about the pastrami sandwich and soft-​serve. It used to be a ritual for me after school.
The ambiance of the new location is much better than his previous one. More natural light comes in, and entire families pile in giving it an optimistic vibe. The old shop was plastered in military memorabilia to amuse his customers from the Air Force Base. The more family-​oriented feel of the new spot fits the menu much better, and I would love nothing more than to see that rotten In-​N-​Out Burger up the street crumble before Tom’s awesomeness, a sentiment that I’m sure plenty of Foster’s Freeze fans have been harboring since it closed.
All in all, friendly and delicious with a legacy behind it that the locals up here may not be aware of. They’re not new at this; they got it right 20 years ago and ran with it.