Johnny’s Burgers & Dogs

I really wanted to love this place.
First negative was no kids menu.
Second negative was the beef sandwich. It looked so good and was packed with the perfect thickness of meat. Was dipped. However, I like simple goodness and this sandwich had way to much seasoning. I wan’t the texture to be soggy bread, and lots of meat. This had way to many «chunks» of season.
Third negative — my kids would hardly eat her food. First complaint was the french fries tasted «fishy». I’m not sure what she was tasting… maybe old oil? She had a similar complaint about her plain cheeseburger after eating less than half. Perhaps it was the butter/​oil they slathered on the bun to toast it?
Only positive part of the experience was the cheeseburger. Cheese was perfectly melted and the lettuce was very crispy and the pickles were delicious.
$ 21 not totally wasted.

Honestly, I can’t stand this place. My husband loves it and it’s Fathers Day so I came with a smile. He loved his burger. This time I tried a Chicago Dog instead of a burger. The dog was luke warm, steamed not grilled and bland. How does bland happen on a Chicago dog?!! Their tea tastes funky and disgusting, I don’t drink coffee or soda, the lemonade is too sweet and the water from the machine is nasty. I tired half lemonade/​half water but funky water doesn’t dilute to a pleasing flavor.
All that being said, service was good (nothing special but good) and my husband loved his burger and fries. 4.75 from him and 1.25 from me, so I’ll average it out to a ³⁄₅.
Since its Fathers Day I ate with a smile. Only my review tells the truth about how I felt about this meal.

The burger was great! Piled high with fresh meat and veggies. Service is fast too. They also have Chicago style Italian beef and Italian sausage sandwiches. I’ll try those next time.

Wow. Visiting Tempe for daughter’s college tour and found this place on Unilocal.Fresh made burgers that taste fresh. Chili cheese fries are also great. But the star is their fry sauce! The manager gave me a small cup to sample with my fries and this stuff is amazing. When we get back to Tempe we’ll definitely be back to this place!

Amazing work!
The customer service is great nothing bad just that they all do a good job! I enjoy my meals here can’t beat it!

Wow. This place has been across the street for some time and I finally decided to give it a try. This place is absolutely phenomenal! Burger was juicy but the best part was the bun and the service was quick! They toasted it and it takes the burger to the next level. This place can definitely be compared to The a chuckbox in terms of quality.
I’ll be coming here for a very long time!
PSA Do not skip on the cheese fries. They are to die for!

Alright where do we start, let’s start with the burgers. First in foremost the burgers were very dry and bland. Next the cheese fries. If they decided to stop being so cheap and put a little more cheese on the fries they would be delicious. I personally thought everything there was super dry and hard. I only recommend this place to those who are seeking dry food

Best burgers! I always look forward to them. The Italian beef is also some of the best I’ve had. My kids like the hot dogs, minus all the good Chicago style toppings. Add some hot peppers or grilled onion to the bugers.

MMMM… this is a Tasty burger
Italian beef with hot peppers dipped… real good.

My boyfriend and I stopped here for lunch last week, he got a burger with the works and said it was the best burger he has ever had. You could tell the ingredients were fresh from the bun to the patty. The lettuce and pickles were nice and crispy and you could tell their special sauce was homemade. I had the veggie sandwitch and cheese fries and oh my god… That cheese is amazing. I asked for an extra side to smother on my sandwich I probably could of eaten it by the spoonful we got milkshakes to go and they were a great end to an amazing meal.

This is the second time I have been here, and I am just as happy, if not a little less. I didn’t order the milk shake because I was so full! The service is very kind and the food is abundant. If you are looking for a great place with big plates, don’t hesitate, go for the burger and chili fries.

I ordered a cheese burger with fries and my boyfriend got the Italian beef with friends. They were both absolutely delicious! Also got fry sauce which kinda tasted like chorizo to me. I would come here often if I lived in Tempe. It’s Chicago themed which my boyfriend appreciated because that’s where he’s from. Fast, friendly, and fresh food!

Had a delivery order. I cannot comment on the taste. The bag holding my cheeseburger and Chicago hot dog was soaked through the bottom. I pulled the items out of the bag, juices from the burger clearly soaked through its wrapper, partially soaked the through the bun of the hot dog and the brown paper bag as well.
I tried to unwrap the burger but the soggy paper disintegrated as I did. The bun was visibly wet. The entire order went in the trash.
I ordered via Door Dash. The driver said it looked bad while pulling my order out and that I could probably get another. Not taking that risk, I’ve requested a full refund.
I’ll try the burgers in store as I’m sure they live up to positive reviews here but don’t waste your time on delivery of a greasy, wet mess.

I used to come here when this place was called Lobbys so it’s been a few years. Well the burgers and dogs are still delicious if not better! The chili cheese fries are the best around. The cook is super nice and brought stuff we needed to our table without us having to ask. Great job Johnny, we’ll be back!

Shared the Italian Beef Combo with Italian Sausage which had mushrooms, fried onions, sweet peppers and provolone, the bacon cheeseburger along with the chili cheese fries with bacon and regular french fries.
The restaurant was empty when we walked in but began to have a steady flow of people as we waited to receive our order.
The Italian Beef was on the dry side even though it was dipped in juice. The sausage was tasty and the chili cheese fries with bacon was pretty good and would recommend that. The burgers are good and should be the main thing to order here.
Service was good, but the food was just okay.
With so many places to choose from would rather go elsewhere.

Finally. I was in the neighborhood after catching a movie. It was kinda late for them on a Sunday, they close at eight and we arrived just after seven. We still got the welcome smiles, though.
While at the theater, I was perusing Unilocal to figure out what to eat for dinner. I remembered all the hoopla over Lobby’s/Johnny’s and how just about everybody on the planet raved about them. How come only 50 some-​odd reviews then? Anyway, some of my most trusted reviewers popped to the top of the list, and to a person, gave a five-​star review. Maybe I’m just a little pickier, but while really good, I was not wowed enough for five stars.
Love the hand-​formed burger patty. Fresh veggies on the burger and the cheeseburger comes with Cheddar. I wasn’t asked how my burger should be cooked, but hey, I can see it would be tough to cook one of these burgers med-​rare. The wife had a plain burger and I had a cheeseburger. I would come back just for the burgers, and maybe try some of the add-​ins, like bacon (swoon), jalapenos, and other stuff. What really attracted me were the crinkle-​cut fries. Cooked properly, they should remain crispy on the outside, and creamy-​soft on the inside. Johnny’s does them proud, I would come back just for the fries. The burgers were delicious, however, in my case, they lacked seasoning, which was remedied by the salt/​pepper offered at the condiment station.
I also had a strawberry shake. I love strawberry shakes. Johnny’s does too, judging from this shake. I would come back just for this shake.
So, I guess what I am saying is, cost is reasonable, food is delicious and a great value. I would come back for this ish.

Great staff and always amazing food!
Make sure you add bacon on your chili cheese fries and double cheese burger.
The place is always clean and presentable.

Classic burger and hotdog joint.
Walked in to a friendly welcome greeting from the cooks. Food came out quick. Was very affordable. The burger and ingredients tasted great. The fries were awesome. Great lunch spot — especially if you think the line over at Teds is stupid.

The Burger Meister (husband) gives it a solid 4.5 vs 5 because the burger was a little dry. It was a large ¹⁄₃ lb. hand formed, fresh ground beef patty. The buns are grilled and ingredients fresh. So fresh that the pickles are more picked cucumber flavor than pickle flavor (I personally prefer regular pickles).
Crinkle cut fries were fine, starchy, no seasoning or skin on them, which is how the burger man likes them. I’m not a big fry person. If I eat them I prefer seasoning. The fry dip has a distinctive cayenne pepper flavor without being hot.
For me personally, it was okay. As mentioned before, it wasn’t my pickle preference and I probably would’ve preferred ketchup and mustard vs their sauce. Also, their iced tea is very «meh». I don’t drink soda or coffee, and water in AZ often tastes dirty so good tea is important to me. I had to put both stevia and a shot of lemonade to make it drinkable where I rarely use any flavor or a sweetener.
Note: while we didn’t order a shake, I verified that they still make their chocolate shakes like Lobby’s did– vanilla with Hershey’s syrup, which we don’t prefer because the syrup tastes fake (vs hot fudge or chocolate ice cream). My personal score is ³⁄₅ overall. Wouldn’t be opposed to coming back but wouldn’t seek it out either.

I’m sure glad to see Johnny’s come to rescue and resurrect the old closed down Lobby’s location. It was so sad to see the doors of the previous place locked with a handwritten note on the door stating there was a problem.
The menu and ingredients are virtually identical to the last place and the freshness and high quality of the product are exceptional. You can even watch them cook it in their nifty open kitchen. Just come on over and give them a visit and you’ll see for yourself.
Usually order one of their delicious Hot Dogs, or maybe an Italian Beef. Their juicy handcrafted USDA Choice Beef Burgers are spectacular and a must try. The crinkle cut french fries are nothing special until you dip them in their top secret famous fry sauce. Yes!
Service is always friendly and the inside is very clean and tidy. It is very easy to order too much food and end up overeating until you explode. It happened to me and I had a hard time getting motivated to go back to work. Just tell your boss you went to Johnny’s.
See you there next time. You won’t be disappointed. I’ll be the guy rubbing his belly as he leaves the building. TOUCHDOWN!
4.75 STARS

Holy shitake– this place is amazing!
This is the best cheeseburger I have ever had. I have been to all the usual suspects, including places that are fancy and expensive and purport to have the best burger. Johnny’s is just perfect.
I had the double cheeseburger, fries, and strawberry shake. What impressed me the most, is that the attention to detail on all the items. Each ingredient is top-​quality and all of the parts combined come together in perfect harmony.
I ordered:
–Strawberry shake= perfection
–Crinkle cut fries= perfection
–Double cheeseburger= second to none
I really cannot say enough about the food. Just amazing. My meal was $ 13, which you might think is a little high– until you taste the quality and flavor. It’s well worth every penny. They have a Unilocal check-​in deal for 20% off, but I skipped it– I want this small business to survive and don’t want to take from them.
The place is immaculately clean, the staff were super friendly. It’s just perfect. I’ve heard the rave reviews and they were right!
My only request is that they offer Malts in addition to shakes. It would be super simple to just buy some malt powder and charge .75 for it.
If you are a burger enthusiast– run, do not walk to Johnny’s! Your taste buds will thank you– and you will have a new bar in which to measure all burgers.

Johnny’s is Lobby’s 2.0, guys.
And thank goodness it’s back — That was a long four months of fry sauce withdrawals, lemme tell you!
Same cook.
Same delicious menu.
Same delicious fry sauce.
Same squeaky clean burger joint.
Ran by a former partner of Lobby’s that brought life to the place we all know, love and crave!
After seeing a check-​in from Jared R., Dude and I made a late night burger run high on our weekend to-​do list.
Carlos was quick to greet us and make conversation of how this place rose from the ashes of the Lobby’s closure drama.
Interesting story; we’ll leave it at that. You’ll have to ask yourself.
Johnny’s staff is on their social media /​online reputation game like no other, going beyond the Unilocal reviews. Something that’s SOP in today’s Customer Experience Battleground, yet so many business owners aren’t consistent about monitoring.
For example, Carlos immediately recognized me as the «Gal who started a Talk thread about the Lobby’s reboot». (
) They were reading the thread before we came in. Neat!
I noticed no difference in the food or sauce. Went with my standby, a hearty, ¹⁄₃ lb lettuce wrapped bacon burger, topped with fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, huge pickle slices and a shared order of fries.
*drool*
Dude said the bun tasted a little different (I wouldn’t know as I forgo them) but it wasn’t a deal breaker.
.. . Sorry, Taric W. No Tacos Atoyac «Taco Divorce» drama here! ;)
Go ahead. Splurge for the larger cup of fry sauce. It sucks you have to pay extra, but oh-​so-​worth it!
That 20% off a combo check-​in offer will help you out.
Can’t wait to try the Italian Beef!
All the best to you and your business, Johnny. And PLEEEEEAAAAASE — Don’t go mysteriously closing up shop again — The last time almost sent me to rehab!

Since shortly after it opened, my family has been coming to Lobby’s… err… Johnny’s regularly.
The new owner, Johnny, told me he used to be Lobby’s manager awhile back.
It makes sense.
The restaurant has great Italian Beef (Portillo who?) with hot giardiniera (and they don’t skimp like the chains…).
On my most recent visit, I had a stroke of Genius and ordered some hot giardiniera on my cheese fries. DELICIOUS. I will not have them any other way.
My family comes here about once a week. If they are coming more frequently, they are not telling me about it. Of course, there was one week we went twice.
I love Johnny’s and it is SUPER CLEAN, which is saying a lot for a burger joint.
May you have a successful future Johnny! If you decide to give me that recipe for your Italian Beef, we can be forever friends.

Heeeere’s Johnny’s! With a menu that is virtually the same as Lobby’s, Johnny’s serves up the same high quality, superb Chicago style eats. I think the only differences in the menu are the additions of salads and the slightly different buns for the burgers.
We stepped in and ordered a mushroom burger, vanilla shake, fries, and Italian beef. The burger was a heavenly concoction of juicy, well seasoned beef, crisp lettuce, sliced tomato, red onion, with flavorful sauteed mushrooms. The sesame bun it was on was lightly toasted and provided some nice texture balance with the sesame seeds, slight crispness around the bun’s edges, and the soft bun itself. The Italian beef is as good as ever, with the broth soaked bun, expertly flavored, thinly sliced beef, and added toppings (We added hot peppers and onions). Oh so good.
The shake was creamy, thick, and delicious, and the fries were crinkle cut and crispy. Service was excellent and we were greeted with a smile by the cook and Johnny, who was manning the front when we were here. He even came by during our meal to ask if everything was OK, and thanked us for coming when we left.
Here’s hoping Johnny’s is here to stay for a very long time!