The Original Red Onion

Stopped by for my first time. My bacon cheese burger was good. Fries were hot. Friendly employees. They could use some new tables and chairs. I still loved it there.

Slammin. That should about sum it up. For those who need more. .I’m a bay area local, born and bread on east bay small burger joints. This place is old school, not for the snotty whiney crowd, but for real down home folks. We order pickup anytime we crave an awesome burger meal and have never been disappointed. It’s not fancy, and that’s why it’s perfect.

The food is really good, however I just could not get over this older lady serving my food was not wearing a hair net, or hat or even have her hair up and contained. Instead it was in a long ponytail and she had and little hairs all over her clothes that looked like in any minute it would land in the food. I haven’t been back since.

Because ½ star ratings aren’t possible, I’ve rounded my 2.5 stars to 2.
Don’t get me wrong. I am ALL about supporting local businesses; however, it’s hard to overlook the greasiness of this place.
It’s a diner. I get it. But some of the hygiene (or lack there of) practices make me a little suspect. The place is definitely older, the grease has found it’s way to the window sills, and the place could use some dusting.
Has this stopped me from ordering to-​go? Nope. Is it my go-​to spot for diner food? Nope.
I say try it once and if you’re not satisfied, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

My roommates mentioned how bomb this place was and today I was craving a burger. A friend and I popped in on the way home and enjoyed a ½ lb double cheeseburger and a ¼ lb cheeseburger with onion rings. They were delicious and cooked perfectly (we requested medium)! Even better was the quality of service. Both of the ladies were very friendly and sweet as well as attentive, making sure we had refills and napkins. We will be back :)

It was ok. Afew years ago we went and it wasn’t that good and we just stopped going and we found on in Pinole that in my opinion was better by a land slide. The servers were very nice and caring. I got a cheeseburger with grilled onions and fries. It was about 12 dollars. It came in a As wrapper and I bit into it and I think some of the bacon grease mixed in with the onions and all I can taste was bacon instead on he onions. It wasn’t great only gotta go when I’m to lazy to go to Pinole.

i love this place, but the old asian lady that takes the orders sucks. she is bad. she makes terrible shakes, she forgets customers fry orders, and she forgot my fry order. the other cook is very good, i’ve had some delicious burgers and hot dogs from the cook, but the cook can only do so good, when the counter sucks. the counter will make a business fail while the cook tries to make it float.

I suspect this is the original Original Red Onion. Certainly looks like it’s been around forever even with its old drive-​up window (now only for handicapped persons). I recall biking here as a kid, so it has been around the block LOL.
There isn’t anything special about the joint except for its classic 50s-​60s exterior that hasn’t been updated since then.
The ¹⁄₃ pound burgers are huge and juicy, and made to order. I had the works put on including jalapeño peppers. I managed to finish it along with a side of thick, crispy French fries that I liked as much as the burger.
There’s only counter seating inside and you’ll come out smelling like a hamburger joint if you stay. Instead, we sat outside at the wooden picnic tables soaking in some rays. It felt like stepping back in time enjoying a slow afternoon.

One of the first spots we visited when we moved to El Sob. Burgers on point. Fries simple and tasty. Shakes= the BEST!

the good: they don’t put iceberg lettuce on the burgers, bacon on burger was perfect, they use a potato roll to add some richness in taste, the sweet potato chips were awesome, and my husband’s seasoned fries were great.
the not so good: there was a fly buzzing around the restaurant. On a hot day like today, they could use some good ventilation, and season your meat before you grill it. I had my sweet potato chips to go because they had forgotten that part of our order. You have all of the other elements down perfectly.
I dont think I would go there again but they were alright.

The Original Red Onion was a unique surprise. menu looks similiar to foster freeze, even soft serve cones, hot dogs, chicken burgers, etc. pricing cheaper too.
mostly counter seating. TV in the back corner for people who eat facing forward and can see thru the back of their heads.
eats: ¹⁄₃ # burger, med rare (4.29?)
–yep, med. rare, meat slightly cold, red meat, no juice
–loaded with lettuce, french dressing, tomato, red onions, toasted bun
–meat tender but not juicy, squirmed when griller smashed the burger
3.5 stars
crumbs:
–very pleasant service, dedicated young ladies working here
no doubt locals have discovered them
–cooking skills not so hot, maybe it’s the grill
–fries served are frozen crinkle ones.
–fab pricing, great value, not so tasty, actually 3 stars. however,
gals are sweet and so hot!
–small parking lot.

I was quiet surprised, I ordered a double bacon cheese burger combo made to order medium rare and it came with fries and a soda, I switched the soda to a strawberry milkshake .99 cent extra. $ 10.00 combo plus tax has been the best deal I’ve found. I will be back again. Ummm… Ummm…good!

By far the most unsanitary place in town, not to mention the non existing customer service. My boyfriend and I decided to stop and give it a try since we couldn’t decide what to eat… You can say it was an after thought! Once ordered I sat down to wait for my food, and while waiting I couldn’t help but notice how dirty the place was, and how clueless the cook was.
We ordered Grilled Chicken Burgers
1. She pulls an open container from the bottom Fridge (sanity violation just for having an open container)
2. The chicken was sitting in a watery slimy «marinade». I asked the cook how long was the chicken sitting there w/​o mentioning the open container issue, she with a very reaffirming tone responded a «FEW DAYS»… My stomach turned just to hear her say it. I had to compose my self and very apologetic asked for my order to be canceled.
I don’t want to even mention the attitude I got after I decided to tell them to cancel my order. I will never eat there again and if the business owner gets to read my review I will like to bring this to their attention. Is a liability to have a person cooking for the public who is not trained. specially when handling beef and chicken! Your cook has no knowledge of food prep procedures… The entire place is cross contaminated. Regardless of what kind of clients your place caters is your responsibility to deliver a SAFE PRODUCT.
I think the high rating stars where meant for the location in Pinole when looking for this specific location I made sure it pertain to El Sobrante location. I hope if you read this you can keep this in mind, as far as standards go McDonald’s (we all know how bad that place that is) but they will have better sanitation than this AFTER THOUGHT PLACE. The city needs to visit them soon.
I do by all means like to support local businesses but I can only be loyal to the ones that have the responsibility to train/​care for their staff and clients.

Service is always great, turkey burger is delicious! The best fries in town! I would give it a 10 if I could.
I really like the ambiance of the place because it reminds me of the old school hamburger placed!
I went to the Red Onion in Pinole and the service was not that great, food was about a 3, haven’t been back for some time! I think that I will stick to what I know, the great food and wonderful service.

I had the grilled chicken sandwich. I was watching them make the grilled chicken sandwich and I thought they were over cooking the chicken but when I got home and bit into it, it was perfectly cooked. Tasted pretty good too. I also had a chocolate shake. You can’t go wrong with a chocolate shake. The only thing I didn’t like was the curly fries. They tasted stale. But pretty ok.

They just earned a new regular customer! The owner was absolutely awesome and made sure he took care of us even though we ordered take out. He was a pleasure to talk to while we were waiting for our orders. I was impressed with the portions they serve after seeing their fish and chips meal. Two BIG pieces of fish, fries and salad all comes with the meal. The burgers are delish! It’s very old and have been around for a long time and there’s no surprise why the business is still standing there. It’s fun to watch them cook since the kitchen is within arm’s reach. The smell will definitely make you more hungry!

Great, local place. Good burgers, friendly people!
The burgers are tasty and made right in front of you.
Lot of options: and bacon is one!
Plenty of side order options too!
Definitely visit this place.

Sh*ttin’ on Nation’s as far as speed, portion size, taste, service, need I say more?
Damn good bacon cheeseburger (no need for a double), a large order of fries can feed 2 – 3. Fries aren’t cooked until you come to pick up your phone order (talk about fresh!) and where else have you seen a caramel milkshake?! (Maybe you have someplace else, but I haven’t)
Never had a problem with service, and I love how «Original» this location is… I tried the one in Vallejo and it’s not the same at all.

Stars 3.5 rounded to 4
There are several Original Red Onion restaurants in the area. If I was going to go out on a limb to guess what one was indeed the Original Red Onion, I think it might be this one. The building is definitely the oldest. It looks like a mid-​century roadside diner. There is small counter and maybe two tables. There is also a walk up window. I find it charming to eat at places that seem to have some history. Charm alone is not enough; they also have to have good food.
I skipped over the Original Red Onion burger for the smaller ¼ lb cheese burger. They did ask me how I wanted it cooked, a big plus in my book. I dislike overdone hamburger I ordered it rare; the burger came out almost medium and that was okay for me. I also ordered onion rings. When she dropped them in the fryer it looked like they were frozen. They came out of the fryer quickly and were not overcooked. It was a pretty good meal. I suspect I will stop again and have the original burger. It sounds like it might be better. The owner was sitting at the counter with me; both he and the cook said the original was their favorite burger.
The waitress, the cook, and the owner were all friendly. They all wondered how I heard about them. I often drive by, and when I read the reviews on Unilocal I decided to stop in. They were pleased!

I ordered 4 burgers to go. all with different toppings and an order of one waffle and one curly fries…
I waited about 15 minutes and everything was ready to go for a decent price. no mistakes and with a smile.
We had fun watching them make our order too. The burgers were tasty, cooked to temperature of your liking and I asked for my onions grilled. which really hit that flavor spot.
The buns were light and fluffy, the «Original Red Onion ¼ burger» was topped with thousand island and requisite tomato and lettuce. and grilled onions. I enjoyed the burger flavor and the meat was not dry even though it was cooked to mid well as I asked. All in all a decent, greasy burger joint. Their fries were yum.
We all agreed that we are skipping out on the long lines at IN and Out and heading just down the street when we get a hankering for a burger, fries and a shake.