Took me until 30 to finally experience this classic. I appreciate the vintage feel and throwback to old diners. But I was hoping more from all the hype I had heard. Onion rings were good. Side of meat sauce was yummy because it wasn't too sweet. Burgers and sandwiches were simple. For this style of quick bites I would prefer Charlie's. read more

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The best. It started as Don&Bobs and still makes the best burgers. Miss the jar of pickles.

Went to Don's last week with some of the Yelp crew and had an awesomely positive experience with all the people who came! I wish I could say the same for the food, but I feel like perhaps my expectations were too high from a classic burger joint that's been around for who-knows-how-many-decades. These days, I feel like they're just incomparable with any of their competitors in terms of the food they make. They have burgers, hot dogs, standard sandwiches, shaved steak sandwiches, your standard sides and additions, and have not much else to differentiate themselves from all of the similar chains all across Rochester. The biggest differences I was able to find were that (1) the prices were far too high for their offerings (probably how they manage to stay in business honestly) and (2) homemade battered onion rings that were really crunchy and awesome. When it came down to taste in the end, ultimately everything was average at best. If you're one for supporting local business like me, I'd say it'd normally be fine, but when it costs you extra to switch your bun to a hard bun or add some basic condiments to a sandwich so much so that it's near double the price of their next door competitor, it makes me more inclined to visit their neighbors next time instead. read more

Don's Original - Barbecue chicken sandwich and homemade and homemade onion rings! - American Near Me - Rochester, New York

A spectacular throwback to the good old days when burger shacks were the places to be out with friends. The advice I have is to stick with the classics and never sway: - Cheeseburger with all the fixins (ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, maybe even hot sauce) and on a hard roll. - Onion rings -- crispy, and the fried exterior make these a cut above the rest. - Custard or a shake -- chocolate almond is a classic. Any option is worth choosing. It's rich, creamy and delicious -- the ultimate summer treat. - Bonus: fries with a side of their meat hot sauce -- thanks to Em's suggestion. So tasty. Like chili fries without the mess. It's a little pricey overall, but the onion rings are so worth it. Live a little. Then, enjoy a drink on the beach afterward at Marge's. This experience is a requirement that must be fulfilled at least once each summer. read more

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Beef BBQ was amazing! It was tender and the sauce, better than ever. The others in my group loved their burgers and fries...

The food here is wonderful but holy cow is this place overpriced! I got two hot dogs, a coke and onion rings and spent $20 including the tip. I'm sorry, the food is great but there is no chance in hell its worth that much. Please lower the prices to make them a little more fair. Additionally, the staff was not really too friendly unfortunately, and this really took away from my experience. While I'd love to come back in the future, I will need to reconsider as I'm not really interested in shelling out $20 for hots and onion rings. read more

Don's Original - American Near Me - Rochester, New York

Got here at 9:15pm on a Sat. Their web site says they're open until 10pm. They wouldn't serve us. They said they were closed. Boo, hiss. So we went down the street to Abbotts, and I got a delicious chocolate/black raspberry shake. Mmmm. read more

Yum!!! Ground round with cheese and homemade onion rings!!! Love me some Dons! Don't forget to ask for the meat hot sauce and save some room for a chocolate almond custard cone ;) read more

We have been getting The Ground plates from Don's in Seabreeze for years but we have noticed the last several times they are not the same. Tonight we got them and their were 5 steak fries and the beef patty was completely raw in the middle. This just reeks of lazy to me. Nothing is more disgusting than raw ground beef. We are done with Don's. read more

My wife and I had not had a meal from Don's in a long time. this past Friday we gave them a try. Our meal was a HUGE disappointment. What was a worse disappointment was the lack of interest when I called to complain. The store manager took my complaint and said she give it to the owner. I called the next day and was told they could not leave a message. I asked the manager again to have the owner call me back. I never received a call back. I'm not going to nit pick what our complaints were. I do know that when you ignore your customers they will not come back. We will NEVER go back to Don's original ever again. read more

I've been going to Don's for as long as I remember and loved their burgers and hots. Yesterday (10/15/20 late afternoon) was a different story. Although there was only one server working, this young man was very cordial and did his best to serve the customers as quickly and efficiently as possible. The service was great. My issue was with the food. My friends and I ordered hots and burgers. All our hot dog buns were obviously stale and hard and the burgers tasted like the meat was about to expire. They were definitely not made from fresh meat and not juicy like they used to be. Understandably their prices went up during this crisis, but for heaven's sake, don't serve old food to your customers when we're trying to give you our business. We were all very disappointed. read more

Making sure that people know- solid place for food. Great menu, great people. I enjoyed my meal and my time while there. I appreciate the location, the availability of parking as well. Coming from Brooklyn, it's a nice change of pace. Don's has made Rochester extra special, like its chili sauce. read more

First time trying this place out as I am new to the area. I got a cheeseburger, onion rings and fries. They give you a lot of onion rings and they are all hand battered in front of you( they have them prepared to drop in the fryer). This place is right next to the lake and while driving up to it depending on where you are coming from you can see Lake Ontario. It's a beautiful site and the food is pretty good read more

Don's is a solid spot for that beach burger before or after hitting up the Irondequoit Pier, or grabbing brews at Marge's. They have that old school lunch counter feel. If you order a burger, be aware that it's an extra 50¢ for each separate topping. So if you get cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc, it'd all a separate added charge. Burgers are small, and they're alright, a little on the greasy side, up charge for a hard roll. Steak fries ftw though. Love me thick cut fries for my thick cut thighs. Nice sides of onion rings too. They accept cards, have custard outside, and bathrooms are gas station style, behind the building. read more

The best burger of all the Rochester area burger joints, and we've tried them all. The service can be a little disorganized, the air conditioner isn't always efficient and the place looks like a throwback to another era, but the food is always good and we are always entertained by the diverse clientele. Did I mention we go at least once a week? I like it best in winter. The place isn't as crowded and it feels like summer might be just around the corner. read more

This place is pretty simple, burgers, hotdogs, fries, pop etc. I enjoy Don's just fine but Bill Greys and Nick Tahous is my top choice over any burger joint hands down. Dons has incredible fried mushrooms, they're tender and juicy and as long as you eat them while they're hot these are out of this world. You can order white hots here, those are my favorite. It's a hole in the wall but right on the water and stunning during the summer and fall months. Enjoy a burger and go for a walk along the water. read more

This was my second time in Don's Original, which I understand is a Rochester "institution." Several of the restaurants in the SeaBreeze neighborhood serve burgers, fries, shakes, and such (and, thus compete with each other and offer many of the same items). My choices were the barbecue beef sandwich, onion rings, and orange creamsicle custard. The barbecue beef sandwich is displayed prominently on the sign. Others seemed to be ordering burgers, which I should have taken as a hint--but I insisted on the BBQ. Lesson #1 for BBQ in Rochester--skip everything except Dinosaur or Sticky Lips. BBQ can be ordered with sauce in the middle, on the top, "all over," or on the side. All over means, literally, all over. They will mix the sauce throughout the beef and then pour on the top of the bun. You'll need a fork! I opted for on the side, since I like to taste the meat without all of the sweet sauce. Turns out that the meat needed the sauce in order to be edible. BBQ was not served brisket style, but rather Philly cheesecake style. In other words, thinly sliced and looked a bit like lunch meat. Meat was dry (and, I mean really dry), and tough. I think it may have been microwaved. Sauce, which was apparently homemade (and, I don't think this was a good thing in this case), tasted a bit more like marinara sauce than BBQ sauce. I think it would be delicious on chicken parmesan, but not so much on the dry BBQ. Pickles were served on the side (but, no jalapeños available--obviously not a serious place for BBQ). Bun was nothing special. Lesson #2--skip the beef BBQ unless you're in Texas. You'll usually be disappointed. My partner always tells me not to expect people in the north to cook like they're from the south. Sage advice. Onion rings, on the other hand, were fabulous. Hand breaded and fried, onion rings will set you back a little over $4 (though, in my opinion, they look much more appetizing than the bulk frozen fries that are served). They were just as delicious as they looked--perfectly fried and delicious on their own. A little salt is great, but no catsup is needed. This was my second time having Don's onion rings, and they were consistently delicious, both times. Order the onion rings! Custard is also some of the best among the SeaBreeze shops. I opted for the orange dreamsicle. Yes, it tastes just like the bars that you used to eat as a kid. Fresh and delicious. Last visit, I had the banana custard. Equally fresh and delicious. Next time I come back to Don's (and, there will be next time), I plan on trying the shakes. I bet the orange dreamsicle shake would be delish. Service is prompt but nothing out of the ordinary for a diner. Don's is usually very busy, so be prepared to be dealing with many people standing around the bar. The servers may not recognize those that are waiting for their orders from those who need to order. You'll need to flag them down. They're not being rude--it's just too chaotic to know who's waiting. They'll come promptly to you if you wave. Leave the kids a few dollars for their college funds. Overall, Don's is a Rochester institution worth visiting. Skip the BBQ and try the burgers (everyone else seems to be doing so). The onion rings and custard are a must. BBQ * Onion rings ***** Custard **** read more

After being customers for over 25 years we will not be returning. Our last 3 times there have been terrible. An item they missed from our order took over a 20 mins. wait to get. They rest our group was already finished eating. The staff is not familiar with items ordered resulting in getting the order wrong. The last time there the grill cook reheated the "mistakes" & put the items on new order. All 3 times were during non-peak times and with only a 4 or 5 customers. The last time, the manager would not even come to the counter to talk about the issue. She loudly told the counter girl to "go tell your customer..." The owner needs to wake up and get a real Manager as his bottom line is being impacted with customers leaving and not paying because of staff mistakes and rudeness. We saw 3 steaks thrown out on 1 order from their mistakes! They may as well take the money out of his pocket. read more

This was my first time ever to Don's and I was not thrilled on the food or service here. The place is old. No air conditioning and the inside is pretty nasty in my opinion. There is a waiter/waitress that takes your order at the diner style table. Also throws away your trash for you as well. On to the food... My group of four ordered the big plate (garbage plates). The Mac salad here is mayo and mustard based so if you like your Mac salad with a little zing then this is your place. Personally no one liked the Mac salad. Fries were done to perfection though! And then it came to the burger patties. I was expecting the best of the best. The cream of the crop. I always see this place swarming with people so I figured they had to be great right? Wrong! Two of the plates (mine included) had overcooked burgers. I also asked (one time) for extra hot sauce on the side. There were seven customers total in the dining area. The waiter said he could not get it right away because he was frantically getting three soft drinks from the fountain and completely forgot about the hot sauce. Oh well. Overall the food wasn't bad but I've definitely had better. Maybe your taste buds will see what mine didn't! I'll let you decide. But three stars is what it gets from me. read more

Definitely one of my favorite places to grab a great burger and onion rings. It's Don's Original, an institution, at the end of 590 North in Irondequoit along the banks of Lake Ontario near Seabreeze. Love it! read more

I haven't been here in years. The cheeseburger was really good but the onion rings were over cooked the French fries were under cooked. I wasn't fond of the Mac salad as it had a lot of mustard in it but to each his own. Some of the staff very friendly while other barely spoke or smiled read more

What would summer be without at least one trip up to Seabreeze? Well in my case, I got the chance to have one visit for a wedding celebration a few weeks back and one more recently with my parents for a late lunch at Don's Original right near the water. This location of Don's (also in Brighton and Penfield) sits in a group of three Rochester style burger/hots stands on Culver Rd with Vic and Irv's and one of the myriad of Bill Gray's locations. Our semi-competitive mini golf game at the Parkside Diner left us hungry and some classic Rochester hots stand food sounded perfect on one of the last hot days of the year. We ordered a good selection of the menu between the four of us and the family took a seat at one of the outside tables on Culver Rd while I waited inside at the diner style counter for the food. My part of the order was a couple of Zwiegle's white hots well done with mustard and hot sauce. Even though they weren't quite as well done as I would like, they were split and covered with a meat based hot sauce that actually had a bit of a spice kick and depth of flavor to it unlike most around the area. Not too greasy either which I was pleasantly surprised about. The white itself seemed a bit off but I also hadn't had one in a while so I can't say for 100% certainty if it had some freshness issues. We purchased fries and onions rings for sides to split among the group and the rings were easily the better of the two. The onion rings were freshly breaded and fried to a pleasantly crunchy exterior with tender onions on the inside. Good showing there. The fries were frozen steak fries and were barely edible. Highly recommend skipping the fries and staying with the rings. I did get a bite of one of the burgers that got ordered and it wasn't a standout. There was no noticeable crust on the 1/3 lb "ground steak" and really didn't bring much to the table seasoning wise either. Just a gray patty cooked at too low of a temperature to develop flavor. The other major thing I noticed was the price of our meal. Everything seemed just a touch too high especially the sides which were noticeably small for the prices they charge. They also up-charged for hard rolls and it kinda all added up to a surprising amount of money considering the level of execution. Next time we're up in the area I'll be trying a different stand than Don's and hoping for a better experience. For pictures and comments please see my review at Food About Town. read more

This is my favorite summer stop in Rochester A burger from Don's Original - off the char Fries (well done) or Onion rings, or even better, if you are with friends, get one of each side of hot sauce and a drink. Then, to make things better, chocolate custard with almonds and a walk around the Irondequoit bay. After that, maybe go to Marge's for a drink near the lake. read more

I will never go back to Don's,I have been going there for over 20 year's and now I will never go back,the hamburger is stale they never have home fries and they don't get you order right unless you only order 2 things,if you want great food go to Lakeview hots,the food is always good and they are so friendly I love Kelly and Chris there daughters are the sweetest girls go there you won't be sorry read more

I've been to Don's a few times, and I have never had much of a problem with it, but this latest visit was not good. I will admit that the restaurant was moderately busy, but it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes of me standing at the counter for somebody to come over and take my order. The kitchen did not have very good timing skills, either. My burgers were cooked and ready at least 5 minutes before my fries were even ready, resulting in cold cheeseburgers when I finally received my entire order. Not to mention, when I tried to ask for some condiments to be put on my burger, the girl serving me couldn't get it right. I would tell her what I wanted, and she would immediately repeat it back to me, asking if she had it right. This happened 3 times before she finally repeated it correctly. Then, when she gave me my burger, the condiments were completely wrong. The only thing keeping this review from getting a worse rating is the fact that I've eaten here before and have always had good service, and their chocolate milkshake was very delicious. read more

Still the classic place to hangout by the lake in Seabreeze. Food is old-school good and couldn't visit without having the white hot, rings, Don's original with hot sauce. Followed by chocolate almond custard it brought back great memories. read more

Went for the chocolate almond, everything but the chocolate almond was good. I feel like people are cheeping out on what used to be their home runs... It's ok childhood nostalgia isn't that important read more

The owner of Don's insists on parking on the spot where people in wheelchairs can get out of their vans. He's been asked not to do this but insists on making the lives of others difficult. Clearly he isn't interested in people with disabilities buying his food which is average. Stay away. read more

Don's Original - The owner's truck. - American Near Me - Rochester, New York

First time eating here in 20 years. Back in Rochester and excited to eat a cheeseburger with meat sauce on a hard roll. I was extremely disappointed. The beef was low grade and cold in the center. The roll was more stale than hard. Either the food was much better in my memory or the quantity has diminished over the years. The 2 stars are for nostalgia only. read more

I haven't been to Don's in years until recently. It's hard going to these types of burger joints being vegetarian. But ! I recently found out they have a garden burger, intrigued, I decided to try it. And to be honest, it's the best damn garden burger I've ever had. Hands down. There's some kind of rice or oats in it that make it hearty and tender. The burger just falls apart in your mouth. I always add lettuce, tomato and onion. And also love eating it with a side of pickles! I want one right now just thinking about it. I also really liked the steak fries. I've always been a fan of a thicker fries and these are just cooked to perfection. It's worth a check out if you're vegetarian or not. Or if you're just looking for some frozen custard ! read more

This is the Orginal. Coming here brings up my childhood memories. The food is always amazing and cooked right in front of your face. This place is here to stay with the feel of old fashion dining. I love coming here to eat and will continue! It's worth every penny! read more

In from out of town with a buddy who's a local. We stopped in for a burger and it was phenomenal. It's a dive but that's where the best food is. Get the chocolate almond custard. read more

Every trip back to Rochester (I grew up here) requires a stop at Don's Original at Seabreeze. Of course we still call it "Don and Bob's At The Lake", since I lived 1 block from the former Brighton location. My kids love coming here - it's a family tradition and we always get a couple jars of hot sauce to bring home. 1 cheeseburger 1 2 Texas 2 1 onion ring 1 2 French fry 2... Gotta get a chocolate almond custard for dessert. Probably a good thing I moved away or I'd weigh twice what I do read more

Located in Seabreeze in what to many is known as hot dog row (though the specialty at all the places is burgers). This is my favorite of the Rochester style burger joints. It's not a bargain meal for sure but the onion rings are delicious and the cheesburger is where it's at. I will sometimes go to Vic and Irv's nextdoor for their different take on onion rings but I grew up going to Don's and will always come back. I love going there in the summer then crossing the street to hit up Marge's for cheap beer. read more

Exceptionally good home made custard, perhaps a bit pricey. Best flavors are raspberry, chocolate almond, and vanilla. Opt for the waffle cone. For an extra $0.60, it adds a wonderful vanilla crunch to your smooth and creamy custard. A chocolate plug at the bottom would really put it over the top. You can wander over to watch the sunset on the beach and hear the screams of seabreeze...a classic summer experience. read more

Been here before but it's worse now. Dirty, cramped, greasy ...i can take all of those in a burger joint. Getting ignored for 20 minutes i can't. Not one friendly face behind the counter. Food was borderline before, add bad service and i'm done with them. We left headed for Schaller's but passed Vic's Place and decided to try this instead. we were greeted,ordered, and served in less time than we waited at Don's, plus it was clean, better seating,better food, and friedlier (although it wouldn't have taken much, the DMV is friendlier) read more

I wasn't crazy about the food or the custard here. I had a mushroom swiss burger that was pretty bland, and the onion rings were just ok. The breading fell off when you were eating them. Also, when I went to get custard, they were out of cherries, so I had to get something else. Overall, I would go to Bill grays and Abbott's just down the road instead. read more

Took a roadtrip through NY and found this little gem. Amazing burger on a hard roll. ...its delicious and thats coming from an extremely picky eater. My husband had the philly cheesesteak with the homemade onion rings and it was beyond tasty. Definitely recommended! read more

After waiting 10 minutes to get ice cream, no one still came out to serve the growing line outside even after multiple people went inside to ask for a server. Terrible service! read more

AMAZING! My gf and I go twice a week and almost daily in the summer! The steak sandwich and Steak subs are to die for!