Knowlwood Restaurant

Here for breakfast, waited 1 hr for our food to be served. Toasted bread is cold, vegetable omelet has meat on it and taste funny. The server is nice but never gonna come back again.

A great place for great food. Fast courteous, reasonably priced and fun environment. Knowlwood in Irvine beats any other Knowlwood I’ve been to in customer service. A big fan of this restaurant and the staff.

I’ve got a soft spot for these old fashioned burger joints. I don’t need fancy cheese, organic lettuce, or homemade ketchup on my burger! I like the classics — show me american cheese, iceberg lettuce, and a sesame seed bun, that’s my jam and that’s what Knowlwood is all about. They also include fries when you order a burger, which should be LAW, can’t stand it when chichi burger places don’t offer a combo meal, come on, this is America! This is an excellent spot for families, there’s a few arcade games inside, a large patio for wild kids, a cheap kids menu, and beer on draft (for the parents). The bathrooms are downright disgusting though, had to knock back 1-​star for that misery. My favorite menu items are the world’s best burger, the frisco burger, and the all-​turkey corn dog. Overall an excellent place for a family lunch.

It’s a strange place. They definitely need a remodel. But the burgers taste super good after you’ve hiked 15 miles. The wait wasn’t long. The draft beer mugs are tiny — what’s up with that? Get a pitcher. Got the green chiles on my burger but couldn’t tell they were on there.
The bathroom area smells horrible — like natural gas leak. Anyway, I don’t see myself coming back here unless the group I’m with insists on returning.

Slow service, 2 people working in the dinning room that Holds 50+.
Good was not good, tasted like Wendy’s at best.
Save your money!
Would not recommend at all!
Jack in the box across the street would be better!

Whenever we come home to visit, this is one of our first go tos! We have been coming here since our kids were babies. Their burgers are so juicy and their mustard sauce brings all the flavors together, their fries are amazing. Try their onion rings, super crispy and not at all oily. Would highly recommend coming here when youre in OC

This place reeks of urine!
The burger is NOT the best in America as advertised.
Never EVER coming back!!!

This place reminds me a lot of a restaurant called Boll Weevil. Like the reviewer below, it is somewhat like a dive restaurant. If you can overlook all of its flaws and just focus on the quality and taste of the food, you’re solid.

Take this place for what it is… an old-​time classic burger joint. It’s not trying to be an upscale locally sourced organic ingredient seasonal menu curated by highly trained Michelin-​star chef. So, relax folks and take off your Saveur food critic hat off! You’ve been watching too many food critic shows. It’s a dive and I mean that in the best way. So yes, the booths, tables and chairs will be worn etc.
That said, this place provide a great value for burger and fries or breakfast. The service is fast and friendly. If you’re not happy… they will fix it. Just ask.
My favorites are the Frisco burger and fries, breakfast skillet, Chorizo and eggs and corned beef hash. I’m a sucker for good hash browns but I do ask for them crispy.
If you keep your criteria and standards in perspective and rate for what the place really is a slam dunk 5 stars.

Bad attitudes and horrible food. Don’t bother with them. World’s best, lol. When I went back for a refund, they gave me attitude. The fries were cold and hard and the bathroom is dirty, but probably cleaner than the kitchen. Go to Denny’s next door.

The service is a mess. No one cleans the tables until a customer comes in and asks to sit down. Our waiter wrote down our order on a napkin he grabbed from our table. It took 30 minutes for the food to come out and when it did, the food was not hot. The cups for self service water were dirty– there was dried coffee on the cup. When we ordered chocolate milk, the dirty cup had a red lipstick mark on it. When I went up to the counter to follow up on our order as it was taking so long, I heard another disappointed customer informing the manager about her bad experience that day.
The food isn’t good at all. I don’t cook and I can heat up toast better than this restaurant. My omelette was runny and it was bland. The French toast was not even warm– it tasted like it had been sitting out for hours.
Overall bad experience and not worth it.
100% will not return.

We have been coming here for years.
And little by little it has went downhill more and more!
We went in after the farmers market today for lunch and got a couple of burgers and a Philly cheesesteak sandwich.
I noticed the lady chef kept having to argue and be upset at her helpers with her. You could tell by her expressions that she was just very upset and fed up with the whole thing! That’s soon followed in the food!
By the time we got our food, my wife’s cheesesteak sandwich was cold.
So I went to the counter and told them and they said they would replace it with a new one. Waiting only a couple of minutes… I noticed a plate with a sandwich and fries on it coming out of the microwave. The girl gets it off the counter and hands it to me and says here’s your new sandwich. I said no, this one still has a bite out of it that she took. She proceeds to tell me that no it’s a new sandwich.
I took it back to my wife and found out it was still the same sandwich and still cold!!! Got my money back for the sandwich and we left.
It’s sad to see that a place many of us grew up with is gone all to «hell in a handbasket»!!!

I had to come out of Unilocal retirement for this one!
So, I hadn’t been here in about 10 years. There food was really good back then. The lines would go out the door at lunchtime. Even a lot of the local police would often show up for lunch. Well, I went there yesterday (Monday) at lunchtime to meet up with my friend. What a difference a decade makes. Compared to what it was like a decade ago, it was a ghost town. Maybe a half dozen people in there at lunchtime in Irvine on a weekday? Every good restaurant is busy in Irvine for lunch on a weekday. Did someone yell fire or something? No, they didn’t. Since my friend had already ordered for me, (because he got there before me, and I thought it would be busy like 2005, and I didn’t want to wait in line) and the food was waiting for me, I went ahead and ate it.
The good (or okay): The French Fries
The less than okay: The Iced Tea made my mouth really dry after every drink.
And then came the loser: The pastrami sandwich had this big bun, minimal slices of pastrami, barely any mustard, and barely any pickles. Only because my friend had bought lunch, I didn’t say anything to management, but it obviously wouldn’t have mattered, because the majority of empty tables are proof. It tasted like I was eating a bread sandwich with pastrami as a condiment.
Bty: My friend wasn’t impressed with his meal either.
I challenge the owners of Knowlwood to visit a Tommy Pastrami, or The Counter to experience what excellence is in a pastrami sandwich or burger is. I want you to succeed Knowlwood! You have a lot of history in Irvine. I plead with you Knowlwood to turn it around.
#1, bring dedication back to your quality.
#2, visit other restaurants to get new ideas, and implement them.
#3, put LOVE into your food.
#4, have a re-​grand opening with amazing food to lure us back
Remember, profits will come, when the people do. And people will come when the food great!
I gave you 2 stars instead of 1 because the people working there seemed nice.

Second time coming here
Terrible service both times
Only people in there for breakfast and still took over 30 mins for food

I don’t know how this greasy, slimy, disgusting excuse for a food establishment is still open, but I guess they have some thanking to do to the people that stay in the hotel across the parking lot or their convenient location off of the freeway. The employees here are just kids who don’t care about customer service and the cook thinks we’re too stupid to realize that when we ask for a new sandwich, I can tell when you’re bringing out the same one, sans pickle.
I had a family of four with me today and ordered the «irresistable» Frisco burger. Ingredients include: Bacon, cheese, grilled onions, thousand island, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on grilled Parmesan sourdough. EW, pickle? I kindly asked for no pickle.
Upon receiving my sandwich, 4 bites in I encounter a pickle. I kindly ask the young, blonde lady working at the front for a no-​pickle sandwich. I went to go sit back down at the booth while they cooked me a new one because that’s what a good restaurant does. They proceeded to give me back the SAME EXACT burger with the pickles taken off. I’m not stupid. No burger is cooked in 30 seconds and brought out piping fresh. I immediately went back the counter, clearly annoyed to have insulted my intelligence, and told them WHILE SHOWING THEM THE PICKLE THEY MISSED, and told them to make me a new sandwich. It’s called customer service!!! learn it, embrace it, USE IT.
Not only that, this place reminds me of a dive bar that I wish I was blind so I wouldn’t have to see all the dirt and grime everywhere. Pictures included with this review show the black dirt stains on the booth, the splattered food on the wall dividing the booths, and the seats that are tearing and worn down. This is basic cleanliness. Everyone who works here either doesn’t care or is just too lazy to clean it up.
I get that this is Old Town Irvine, but I do not literally want to walk into a warehouse full of dirt and eat the food that comes out of here. I hope this place closes down soon. Their prices are ridiculous and their burgers are NOT the «World’s Best Hamburger», I’d rather spend my money on a place that’s clean and doesn’t make me feel like I need to burn my skin off and take a steaming hot shower to cleanse my pores.

Located in Old Town Irvine (or what’s left of Old Town) and just behind Denny’s, Knowlwood serves up classic, greasy burgers.
FOOD: The so-​called «World’s Best Burger» is your standard greasy burger-​joint burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles and thousand island piled high (onions too if you ask). It’s certainly not the world’s best but it is done right and will hit the spot. If you’ve got a huge appetite try the Frisco Burger which is a monster with bacon, cheese, grilled onions, thousand island, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on thick slices of grilled Parmesan sourdough. The fries are pretty much meh and can use a bit of salt. Beer and wine is available at reasonable prices, which is something In-​N-​Out just can’t match.
SERVICE: Order at the counter and they’ll call out your number when your food is ready. Be warned that it can take a while to get your food especially when it’s busy. No need to bus your own table as they’ll come by to get rid of trays and wipe down tables. You have to grab your own utensils but condiments are already on the table.
ATMOSPHERE:
Even aside from the old fashioned décor and old truck sitting in the middle of the restaurant, it always seems a bit dark and dingy inside. Nothing is dirty, just dingy. The pool table and video games have definitely seen better days but it’s still fun for the kids.

One of my favorite places to eat lunch in Irvine, one of the last places around here with that kind of charm! They’re always super nice when I come in for lunch, turkey burger’s always awesome, and their fries are the best. I’ve been coming here since I was little and I’m happy they’ve stayed open and that they’re still busy. Super good value and there’s beer & wine.

They serve breakfast dishes and sandwiches and burgers here. It’s located off Sand Canyon Road and I-​5 freeway right behind the Denny’s Restaurant. I’ve been to four of the restaurants. Good burgers and prices.
You walk up and place your order and wait for them to call your number. Soft drinks are self serve. Plenty of seating with both tables and booths.
I’ve never been here for breakfast, so I can’t give you a review on that. The burgers and sandwiches are pretty good and the servings are decent.
I live in San Diego and wished they had a few of the restaurants down my way.