Tolly’s Grill and Soda Fountain

It’s really unfortunate that I had as bad a time there as I did considering that whenever I go down south to see my grandparents, they always seem to recommend this place… oddly. Let me just start by saying that I myself am a waitress and I enjoy going out to eat, seeing as that I’ll be helping someone else out the way my customers help me out at the end of the day and I’ll be consuming good food. (So I tend to look out for little things more than usual since someone else is doing what I do as well). Well, that didn’t happen today. Which is actually quite unfortunate since the encounter started off so well in the beginning. Me and my grandfather walked in and were greeted promptly with all smiles and sat within about 15 seconds so that was pleasant. We were given water upon being sat and the waitress was helpful. Check. Then we ordered. This is not an exaggeration, it literally took 40 minutes for our food to come after we ordered. I was frustrated but tried to keep an open mind about things thinking oh it’s just a little busy, but seeing that there was only 4 tables in the entire restaurant that each averaged 2 customers, it made me think otherwise. Anyways lets backtrack for a little bit. When we had initially ordered, me and my grandfather both got cheeseburgers and I asked the waitress to bring me ranch dressing with my French fries. I watched as she clearly didn’t write my request down, knowing right then that she would forget. Tip of the day waitresses: WRITE STUFF DOWN! Anyways back to present tense. When our food was brought out to us nearly an hour after we’d ordered it, of course I had fries and no ranch dressing. And I had to ask several times for my ranch. Did I mention our food wasn’t even brought out by the waitress who took our order? But that’s not the issue, the issue was that both our burgers AND fries were cold when we got them. They were indeed the worst burgers we had ever consumed. The buns were so greasy that the meat continuously slipped out and we had to resort to eating our burgers with forks. How American. Oh by the way, aren’t burgers (steaks and other beef etc…) supposed to be served with steak knives? Why is it that I had to struggle cutting through a 5 inch thick burger with a dull butter knife when a steak knife could’ve been brought out at the start? I would never serve any of my own customers a steak or burger without a steak knife it’s just common sense, let alone take forty damn minutes to get their food to them. Fast forward to the end of our mediocre meal and my grandpa and I wait 15 minutes with obvious finished plates pushed to the side in the hope of an employee coming to save the day. I leave to go to the bathroom expecting our table to be cleared, bill payed and grandpa waiting at the door ready to go, but I walk back out to the dining floor to see plates still stacked on our table, grandpa with no check in his hand, and our waitress casually on the phone not giving a damn about us. I walk out there, pause, make eye contact with her to gesture to her that I’m not satisfied and she looks back at me with a worried broken smile, because she’s now aware that she’s done a bad job. Did I mention that we weren’t checked on one time during the duration of our meal? Anyways, she hurries over and gives us our check and states that she’ll also be our cashier and I think to myself, oh great let’s stay and wait here another forty minutes but grandpa had been thinking the same thing so he just left the money on the table. And you know what shocked me the most through all of this, he left her $ 5.70 in tip! WHAT??? I straight up said, in front of the waitress, Grandpa that’s too much! Maybe leave that for good service but that’s not what we got today… She asked how everything was and me and grandpa were silent, because we didn’t want to stay in that facility any longer dealing with someone who probably wouldn’t take our comments seriously. But that’s where we were wrong. We should’ve told her exactly what was wrong so maybe next time she won’t piss off the wrong person who actually WILL say something about the bad service. The point I’m trying to make is, I surely will not be returning to Tolly’s or Tollie’s however you spell it. P. S. Don’t order the «ABC» burger, the only thing good on my plate were the avocados. Peace.

On a road trip, we pulled in for dinner due to good reviews. The place wasn’t busy but we were seated upstairs and subsequently forgotten. After the waitress took our order (4 burgers), we didn’t see her again for 50 minutes. Two of the burgers were not made to order, the fries were stone cold, and drink refills were not offered. Neither the waitress nor the cashier asked how our dinner was. Cute place with character plus, but service so terrible that I cannot recommend it.

A great I5 stop! Real food, delightful service and only a mile off the highway.

Aww, this place was so fun! I had a tasty sandwich and if I had more time I would have gotten candy and ice cream as well.
For a small town, this is really a great spot and offers it all in a hodgepodge cute way! The décor is interesting but it’s fun and the wait staff is so friendly and kind.

This place was excellent. Another restaurant embracing fresh local ingredients! I had the burger made with beef from a local grass fed producer. I was feeling hungry so I made it a double… Looking back there was No need for a double… These aren’t preformed junk burgers, a single is plenty!
Wife had the Creighton B, it was amazing as well. A really great sandwich. The waitress was friendly and you could tell that all the staff did everything to make sure everything was perfect. I can’t wait to come back here again. Places Serving fresh ingredients are a rare find in these parts.
Pro-​tip, I would skip the French fries and opt for the salad as a side. Also burgers are cooked to your specs… So you can get that burger with some pink! And because it’s local and fresh… I would.

My grandson and I ate Friday night dinner at this beautiful and historic place, choosing to eat in their courtyard, accompanied by a great singer/​guitarist. Service was perfect and the food outstanding. We had the Tolly Burger and the Reuben, both as good as anything else I have had across the country and the fresh cut French fries are my favorite and rarely seen elsewhere these days where frozen fries predominate at ordinary restaurants. For quality, the value is very good. I am going there for lunch right now and I am sure I will enjoy.

This place is a classic. Great old fashioned soda fountain coupled daily lunch service plus more upscale dinner service 4 nights a week. Dinner is served Thursday through Sunday night. They also have live music on the weekends which I appreciate as there isn’t a lot going on around here especially on the weekends. Tolly’s is an Oakland institution and while it’s had its share of hiccups during its life, you can tell that the establishment is well on its way back to its height of glory. It’s also one of the few local non chain eateries left in the county, so it’s great to see it continue to succeed.
The food is excellent and the atmosphere is always inviting.
Definitely worth a visit!

Literally the best burger I have ever had at a restaurant!!! I ordered the ABC Burger, which is avocado, bacon, cheese and all the fixings on a delicious bun. Cooked to perfection, awesome bacon, perfect avocado paired with delicious natural cut fries. I have had my fair share of burgers and this is the best I have ever bought! Also, the soda fountain is awesome, I highly recommend a half cherry half blood orange soda. And of course, what’s a good burger without a delicious shake, I actually ordered the chocolate malt, best ever!!!
GO THERE!!!

Pretty good. I was starving and was on the 5N when I saw the tollys ice cream and soda fountain sign. I decided to go in. It was good. The shake was way too sweet… The blue raspberry. It tastes more like birthday cake. The triple decker was good. It filled me up and I couldn’t finish it. I’d come back.

Food and service was equivalent to Denny’s. Prices were that of a four star restaurant. Although, I’m not sure if I’m being fair to Denny’s, as far as the service comparison; Denny’s usually has harder working and more friendly waitresses. Except for a couple bars, this place is pretty much the only place in town. So as far as their prices are concerned, I suppose they feel like they can charge what they want.

Definitely worth getting off the interstate for this place. Excellent lunch in a really interesting beautiful old building.
We went for lunch and it was excellent. I had the vegetarian sandwich and my husband had the turkey sandwich. Both were huge and delicious. Unfortunately we were too full to take advantage of the soda fountain offerings but it all looked great.
Service was very good. Servers were very attentive and friendly.

Surprisingly VERY good. Plenty of customizable options to suit vegetarians. Vegan would be a little tougher. Amazing house-​made pear dressing with puréed pear in it that brought a wonderful texture to the salad that I’ve never experienced before. Board games and quiz games for entertainment and light conversation and very unique furniture for a restaurant. Great pit stop on the I-​5 in Oregon.

What a great place. Old, old, old. I love it. As you walk in there is the original soda fountain counter from 50+ years ago on your left. Set the mood right! Their shakes are delicious and generous. And the food is fantastic; burgers, steaks, chicken, land (on special occasions). Can’t wait to go back!
I’ve read other posts, and I agree it could be loud, but not too loud that you could not hear the people in your party.

Had dinner with family tonight …
The place was not busy… but service was painfully slow…
The music was was way too loud for a dinner establishment…
We wanted to chat at dinner but could not hear over the music.
The food was just okay and after such a long wait we just wanted to eat and leave…

I’ve been cooking professionally for 20 years in Portland, and Tolly’s has some of the best breakfast that would give Portland restaurants a run for their money! The breakfast menu items might be your standard fare, which I personally love, it is prepared extremely well! From the house baked biscuits to the home made jam. Its all awesome!
My friend and I travel to Oakland once a year and each time we go, we have breakfast at Tolly’s and I always look forward to it.
I can’t speak to how the lunch and dinner is, but I hope to someday sample it. I’ve been even trying to figure out a way to make an excuse to make the three hour drive so I can eat there again soon and bring my wife.
Its definitely worth hopping off of I-​5 if you’re passing Oakland.

Wine bar? 50’s Fountain theme? Saloon? This place has an identity crisis.
Painfully slow service — 30+ minute ticket times on 2 burgers. Food tasted decent, but not worth the wait.
Coup de grâce — carpet in the bathroom. Under the urinal. Gross.

Fun place. Good atmosphere. Really fun sodas and milk shakes. Chairs are comfy. They can also do reservations for large groups. Takes a while to get your food though. Both times we were there we were there at least an hour.

This was a great stop on my family’s way north.
The place has a good nostalgia feel to it. The food was delicious and they even catered to my vegan sister.
The best part was the specialty sodas they make along with the ice cream bar inside.

Late review — but we went there for the first time in January with some friends who came down from Washington.
We were seated by a lovely young lady who was very polite and friendly. We got a table in the back area near the bar. And here we sat… and sat… no one came by to even offer water. About 7 minutes later our waitress came by. She was also very pleasant, but did not apologize for taking so long. We weren’t the only ones back there, there were a few other folks scattered about. The place was not full by any means, and there were several other waitresses about.
Our order was taken, wine was poured and we waited…32 minutes later our food arrived. I was stunned it too so long. Hubby had ordered the Tolly’s Original sandwich and a milk shake, our friends ordered the Tolly’s beef dip and Reuben sandwich and I went for the burger.
Hubby’s sandwich comments — It’s pretty tasty, but kind greasy.
Shake — Very good
Beef Dip comments — could not figure out why they put horseradish mayo on the bread. It was overwhelming.
Reuben sandwich comments — so much sauce the bread was soggy.
Hamburger — way over cooked and the bun was massive. Nothing came with it like mayo, mustard ketchup etc. Just the burger and fries with a yellowed tomato slice and a piece of lettuce. No onion, not even a pickle.
I do not think we will eat there again. It’s a cute place to go sit at the counter and enjoy a shake on a hot summer day.
I give it 2 stars because the ambiance is nice, the shakes were good, and they have a full bar.

Nothing irritates me more than an inconsistent restaurant. I am a local and I USED to LOVE to go to Tollys. I am quite annoyed with them lately and I won’t be back. at least for awhile.
I have been there MANY MANY TIMES. Breakfast, lunch and dinner or just for drinks and appetizers/​dessert.
This review is from my latest experience at lunch 3 days ago.
I had 1 hour to get back to work so I knew if I was going to go, I needed to make a decision and be ready to order as soon as the waitress got me seated. I told her I was ready to order and within about 5 min, my order was in the back. I ordered a bacon bleu burger with fries, side of russian and ranch and a diet cherry coke. It took over 20 min to get my lunch which I find ridiculous especially when they were NOT busy at all. When my order came out, it was WRONG, the server put that I wanted the chicken sandwich special (how possibly could you get that confused with a bacon bleu burger??) so she sent it back. I waited another 15 min! What did they have to go and slaughter the cow!?! I had about 5 min to eat my lunch and pay the ticket, which I just had to sign and go. I wasn’t even offered a To Go box or a refill on my drink. I was 2 minutes late to my job from my lunch hour.
It bothered me that I paid $ 15 for the ticket. What the hell was so much $$?? I called as soon as I could and found out that the hamburger was $ 12!!! and the diet coke was $ 3!!! WOW!!! I won’t be going back there! That’s RIDICULOUS in price. NOT WORTH IT!
NEWSFLASH: If you want to STAY in business in a small town, you need to 1) be consistent 2) have competitive pricing 3) speed up your time!!! 4) cater to locals who are your business not tourists.