Johnny Rockets is fine. It's not world class, it's not scum of the earth. I visited Johnny Rockets at The Banks location for lunch midweek. It was empty. Literally empty. I was the only person in there at the time. The moment I walked in I felt bad because all of the waitress jumped at me and greeted me warmly desperately trying to get a customer. I ended up sitting at the kitchen bar and had a couple waitresses help me as there wasn't anything else for them to do.
I ordered a coffee, which honestly was pretty darn good, and the Smoke-House Double burger. I don't know if they cook all the burgers to same temperature or if it was the waitress in training that forgot to ask, but it came out well done, which I'm not at all opposed to as long as it is still juicy. The patty's were cooked decently. Nothing amazing but still worthy. It  had a little bit of that char on the edges, which I enjoy. The Smoke-House comes with bacon, onion rings, cheddar cheese, and a BBQ ranch sauce. Overall the burger was perfectly adequate. One gripe I had with the burger was the bun. It was a really hard bun, maybe old, maybe intentional, I don't know. But I prefer a different bun.
The space is maxed out in Cincinnati, mostly Reds which is cool. I've never been to Johnny Rockets in other cities but the ones I have been too were your run of the mill old school diner decor. There are some elements of that here; the juke boxes, shakes, and chrome lined bar, but the Reds signage and memorabilia make you feel some Cincinnati pride while you eat.
Something that I've read in other reviews was that there was a bar. I did see the bar in the back. It was quite small. I didn't go to it but I can only imagine how overpriced it might be. And yes, that is one of the reasons Johnny Rockets gets 3 stars from me. The prices are a little on the high side, especially for the quality of the food.
Listen, I realize there are dozens of locations in the city with better burgers. They also aren't chains which is even better. But, really, Johnny Rockets is what it is. You know what your going to get from it and that's what makes a good chain. I didn't try any of the other food, because honestly Rockets should be judged on their burgers, so I can't speak to their other offerings. Johnny Rockets touts that they have "The Original Hamburger". And while that may be so, progression wins out in this instance. Hamburgers have advanced, and maybe Johnny Rockets should reevaluate theirs a tad.
When we went in here I didn't have high hopes. Â I have been to other JR's and they have been ok at best. Â What set this one apart was the bar in back. Â Who knew this place had a bar. Â The place wasn't busy so we just had a beer and talked to the bar tender. Â His name was Rick and he was really great. Â He told us about what was going on and what was going to opening. Â The service there is what made this stop a nice one. Â The bar tender was great.
Review Source:I can't possibly explain to you how much I tried to like this Johnny Rockets. Â My husband and I live at the Banks, and for a long time, JR and the Grail across the street were the only places that served food in the retail space. Â Additionally, the two of us are hardly the healthiest eaters you'll encounter, so the burgers/fries/chili/milkshake menu is, frankly, right up our alley. Â We've eaten at Johnny Rockets restaurants previously, and really enjoyed them.
So when I heard that we were getting a Johnny Rockets at the Banks- with a full bar and specialty alcoholic beverages, no less- I was *really* excited. Â Fast forward about a year and a half later, and we're in full-on boycott mode, and literally probably wouldn't eat there if it was the only place at the Banks to get food. Â Because of the number of bad experiences we've had here, I'll just give you the quick hits version. Â By the way, as background, we have literally never eaten here and not had something strange or annoying happen. Â Probably ate here 8 or 9 times prior to pulling the plug, and each time had something ridiculous happen. Â Here is a sampling of some of our experiences:
1) Â For starters, there were multiple times when we would call in an order for lunch, and the person answering the phone would frantically put us on hold and then... never pick back up. Â This probably happened 3 times over the course of several months.
2) Â Delivery disaster # 1: Â We called to ask them to deliver dinner one day (I know, we live right near the restaurant- but it was raining and we were busy). Â They informed us that there was no delivery being offered because it was a Reds game so they were too busy. Â We walked by about 20 minutes later and there was LITERALLY not a soul in the restaurant. Â There were four waiters on the patio forlornly wiping down four empty tables. Â Puzzling.
3) Â Delivery disaster # 2: Â The second and last time we asked them to deliver, they brought us a sandwich that we had requested without onions that- surprise, surprise- had onions on them. Â Not a huge deal by itself- it happens, and it was a modification, so it's hit-or-miss. Â But when I called to tell them that they had screwed it up and to ask for a new one, all of the sudden it turned into some kind of 007 mission. Â First the person who answered the phone said she had to hang up, get permission from the manager, and then call me back. Â (???) Â Then when she did get the permission to bring me the food that I had ordered and paid for, she stressed repeatedly that if I didn't bring them the original sandwich with onions, they couldn't give me the onion-free one without charge. Â It had all the seriousness of a hostage exchange.
4) Â The upcharges. Â Ohh, the upcharges. Â They've been detailed at length by other people here, so I won't linger on this one. Â Ditto the price in general- quite pricey for a burger joint.
5) Â I've seen the owner throwing temper tantrums before- in full view of guests and passers-by. Â Including, but not limited to, freaking out and throwing around into the street signs that somebody had put on the sidewalk.
6) Â 1 AM sidewalk power washings. Â The other restaurants seem to be able to schedule noisy cleanings and heavy maintenance during daylight hours- but any time you have the opportunity to do something noisy in the wee hours of the morning and piss off the hundreds of people trying to sleep around you, you've gotta take advantage of it.
7) Â I saved the most amusing for last. Â One day (before I had learned better), I suggested Johnny Rockets to a coworker for lunch- the place was, as per usual, nearly empty. Â When we arrived, we were seated at a table. Â Then a waitress from another section came over and started hissing at the greeter. Â Our menus were collected and we were moved to another table. Â (again: ???) Â Once we were at the new table, a waiter (I presume from the original section) came over and started sniping at the greeter, then the two waiters plus the greeter were in a full-on argument in the middle of the restaurant. Â I know there are not a lot of customers to go around, but- arguing over who gets to serve which customers? Â REALLY? Â Eventually a manager came over and ended up getting sucked into the argument himself. Â At least this event was somewhat entertaining, though that didn't make it any less bizarre.
So after all of this, you may be asking, but is the food any good? Â Yeah, it is, if you like that kind of food, which I do. Â The burgers are good, fries are good, chili is great. Â But you'll also pay about $45 for lunch for two (2 burgers, 2 fries, 2 soft drinks). Â There was one waiter, I'm not sure if he's still there, who always seemed a cut above the rest (taller guy, middle-aged, wore glasses)- he was pretty much the lone bright spot in terms of service. Â
That's all I got.
I love... the bar in this joint. I can't say anything for the food, but of the food I did see, it did look good and came out at a decent time frame.
But the bar... This is not you're parents liquor cabinet, or rather it could be if they had a fully stocked bar with its own built in ice cream machine! That's right... mudslide with ice cream? totally! But they have great specials and strong drinks. Rick, who was behind the bar that night was great and told us all about what was going on with the new developments at The Banks, and the specialty burgers they have just in Cincy, and special events that they do (like I guess give out free stuff in the morning of Opening Day).
The service was fast and attentive, and refilled when needed. Eventually I might try the food, but for a bar, this is more my low key, no so packed pretensious Holy Grail type place. I can hear the people I'm with here.
I don't expect much from a Johnny Rockets, but when I am handed a menu and then informed that most of the items are not actually able to be sold yet, what's a girl to do?
Lackluster service, even for a chain diner like this one. Perfect Banks location, but there are better options down there. Try... any of them.
I don't have much to say about Johnny Rockets, because what is there to say about Johnny Rockets, really?
A friend and I stumbled in when there was a long wait at good ol' Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill.
The food was exactly as you'd expect from JR, but it's worth noting that the manager was really rude to his employees. We sat at the bar, and he spoke harshly to the busy, seemingly hard-working servers and kitchen staff whenever he was around. To be avoided, unless you're desperate or unless you want to support a place that treats waitstaff poorly.
The only positive we experienced at this restaurant was that we were seated quickly.
I was with my wife, her parents, and her sister & brother-in-law and their 1 yo son. We all ordered some sort of burger, and each split a order of fries. When she brought our waters, I asked her for a margarita.
To summarize the experience, the burgers were cold, the fries came after everything else had been eaten (we turned them away and had them remove them from the bill.) The margarita came 25 minutes later (again, turned it away and had her remove it). It also took 7 minutes to get another beer (in the bottle, only needed to be opened).
All of this and the manager never paid a visit. I had to seek him out and explain our experience.
Save your money and go eat somewhere else...
I wish I could write a better review, but my experience so far has not let me. The only time I have visited the new location on the Banks was Opening Day. So there was a special menu with raised prices. The food was good and are server was very polite (you could tell she was really trying), but the experience has many faults.
For starters, when we left the game there were girls handing out coupons for a free Johnny Rockets shot glass if you purchased one of the special drinks. As a shot glass collector, we decided to have a bite to eat here. The waitress told us they had been out of shot glasses since the early AM... so why were they handing out these coupons 6 hours after they had ran out. I told her the coupon was the the only reason I got the drinks.... nothing could be done. I hated to recommend they stop handing out the coupons.
As I mentioned, the food is good, but nothing that you couldn't get at any other restaurant in the area. We ordered some chili cheese fries with onions and when we got them - no onions... not a big deal, but the fries would have been cold if we'd waited to get the onions.
The location is convenient to the ballpark, but I can't say I'd recommend going here, especially when there is a crowd.
If there's one thing that shouts "Stay away from this place," it's the fact that this place is NOT ethical. Â Johnny Rockets WRITES IN THEIR OWN GRATUITY TO YOUR CHECK AFTER LEAVING.
I've been a resident of the Banks Apartments for about a year now and am a big fan of the Holy Grail downstairs. Â When Johnny Rockets opened up, it was a nice change since the Holy Grail was the only food joint in the area. Â I stopped by for a to-go order for myself (Burger and fries/onion rings that totaled $18??) and was on my way back home to enjoy it. Â
After a few weeks, I check my credit card statement to see a charge from Johnny Rockets in the amount of $28!! I immediately called the manager to have this resolved. Â While speaking with him, he pulled up a copy of the receipt on this computer and saw that my server WROTE IN an additional $10 to the tip even after I crossed out the area!! He promised he would rectify the situation by refunding the money and speak 1:1 with his employee.
To date, I have not seen the money refunded to my account. Â If you're wondering why this restaurant is so empty, I think you know by now after reading all these 1-2 star reviews.
Took my family there for lunch before a visit to the Freedom Center. The service was embarrassingly bad. The food was way overpriced, but that's every Johnny Rocket's. I sort of felt bad for the people who worked there because management was clearly ineffective or just incompetent. By the time we left my wife was angry about the way we had been treated. This doesn't happen every day. The place was less than half full but the service was sooo slow. Ten minutes until the server greeted us. Another 15 minutes to get drinks. 45 minutes to get 2 hamburgers and a couple kids meals, which showed up cold and prepared incorrectly. No visits from the server to see if everything was ok. We had to get up and find napkins, silverware, ketchup ourselves. Just bizarre. The Banks can do better and the Cincinnati deserves better. Hopefully things at this place improve, but I can't suggest you risk your time and money to find out if they have.
Review Source:I have never been too big a fan of Johnny Rockets; paying near $30 for a pair of burgers and fries--not that great burgers and fries at that? Â No thanks. Â I'd rather get it cheap at Steak-N-Shake if I must.
BUT, this new downtown location at The Banks has won me over! Â It's a very unique Johnny Rockets. Â Everything is very warm, welcoming, and genuinely 50's dineresque inside. Â Every chair is wrapped in red and gold vinyl and a super cool, full-size jukebox sits in the middle of the room. Â The staff was friendly, the food was pretty much just like any other Johnny Rockets, but at least for the price I'm paying I felt like I was in a real restaurant. Â Plus, they have a full bar and a walk-up window!
I won't be surprised if the Johnny Rockets at the Levee closes up shop pretty soon.
Also, whoever gave this restaurant $$$$ is smoking something crazy. Â It's pricey for a burger, but I would be hesitant to even put it in the $$ range. Â Come on now!
My coworkers and I went here because we had a coupon and wanted to try out a new place for lunch.Hamburgers and fries were nothing special. I'd choose Red Fox Grill or Paula's (both downtown) before I went back to this place. Especially for the price.
All I could say is...OMG, the service is horrible and it's expensive for what you get! The three of us went and the place was not busy at all, but it took us 1.5 hours from start to finish and all we ordered were burgers and fries!
Be warned, the fries come out 10 min before the hamburgers even if you ask them as a side with your burger. The price is expensive for what you get. My bill was $11 for a cheeseburger, fries and water. The servers are incompetent and don't even realize that their service is causing this place to go down the tubes. If they mess up or take too long, do not hold your breath for an apology or discount off your meal because you just won't get it.
this ain't your mama's johnny rockets.
this johnny rockets is one of only three in the nation with a bar. Â a GOOD bar. Â excellent prices and surprisingly great selection. Â holy grail packed? Â head over to johnny's.
another thing - they are open until 2:30 a.m. on the weekends. Â aside from the walk up pizza spots in the cbd, this is the latest place for grub on the weekend. Â and the grub isn't standard johnny's.
try the dusty bacon burger - a burger whose patty is made from scratch and has loads of crushed up REAL bacon, worcestershire sauce, spices and more inside of the patty. Â add cheese, special red red sauce and you can get outta town.
also try the spiral pass appetizer. Â a whole potato that is spiraled on a skewer - add ranch, salt and pepper, buffalo or many other seasonings and you're good to go. Â for dipping sauce, choose from half a dozen awesome sauces (note: Â this is the ONLY johnny's in the nation with this app).
don't believe me that johnny rockets is the place to be on the banks? Â i don't either, but i was just there and it rocked my face.
I used to love going to the Kenwood Johnny Rockets as a kid and still go back there on occasion for a sit-down meal, generally with my volunteer work with kids or other groups that include families. I get that it's not a fine dining experience, and I definitely didn't expect that. I really wanted to like this new location since I live downtown. I wish I could say I thought the kinks would work out eventually as they're open longer, but sadly most of the kinks seem built-in. I feel like I had pretty reasonable expectations going in, and they just really dropped the ball in a lot of ways.
The walk-up window concept is pretty cool. You can order food to-go (including specialty coffees and breakfast). We ordered at the walk up window and then waited inside because it was a bit cool out. Around 8:30pm, it was only us and one sweet older couple, who also ordered through the takeout window. It took about 15min to get the food which seems reasonable since they fresh cook everything.
The Food: Johnny Rockets is known for their 1/3 pound burgers, but sometimes you just don't want that much burger. I asked if they had a smaller burger and they said no, so I asked about the kids menu. The burger option there is $6.59 and includes two "burger minis", fries, and a kids size drink. I told her I was fine with that and she said it didn't include cheese and asked if I'd like to add some. I said sure. Apparently cheese is $1.29 to add on (this is for a kids burger or an adult burger). This buys you one slice of American cheese cut in half with one half on each burger. Ridiculous for the price. I could see maybe 30 cents or 50 cents, maybe. The menu stated that you could get your choice of mustard, ketchup, mayo on them. I wasn't asked what I'd like, so I assumed I'd get the standard of mustard/ketchup or perhaps all three. Apparently you have to specifically ask for any sauce, otherwise they come dry. Â The burgers themselves were decently moist and I'd give them a solid B. The fries were fresh and hot and plentiful, but completely bland with no seasoning or even salt on them. We did get salt packets in the bag (without having to ask, so at least there was that). $7.88 for a kids cheeseburger meal is just way too much.
The Service: The waitress was a bit rude about the whole kids meal thing acting like it was an inconvenience, and I even put a $1 tip on the takeout order because that's just what you do. There were about six staff behind the counter to the 4 customers in there. One waitress was telling the elderly couple that sometimes the waitresses dance and they should come back to see that. The lady of the couple asked if they could dance "just for the four of us" and the waitress said sure. The lady seemed really happy but then the waitress handed her their bag of food and just moved onto doing something else and didn't make good on her offer. Weird.
The Venue: Adorable. Sparkling Clean. The  big jukebox randomly had a couple of credits left on it, so we programmed in a couple of Beatles tunes to enjoy while we waited. Not sure if the little jukeboxes on the tables sync with the big one or what. The patio is cute, would be nice on a warm day, but also has some major safety concerns. I would not take one of my friends' kids on that patio. They have a lightweight aluminum free standing fence surrounding it, and the pieces of the fence are not connected. I tried to open the gate and the latch stuck, which made one of the pieces of fence tip over. Thankfully, it was my 6'1" boyfriend who caught it (with one hand so it was not a big deal) and not a little kid who could have been injured by it.
If I'm dying for a burger and I'm downtown I'll go to Rock Bottom Brewery, or Joe's Diner, or drive to the suburbs for Five Guys.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
