I've been eating from Tops restaurants for decades. My go to is the chili cheese fries. My recent experience at the drive thru: longish wait, good service and food was spectacular, as good as it was in the 90s. Over the years sometimes it's hit or miss depending on the location, but I recommend this shop. I want to try the zucchini fries next time. read more

I am going to start out by saying this is a three star review.....but with extreme prejudice (I would even go so far as to say a 2.5). The extenuating factors are that my mom raves about this place, and we did get it to go, and stopped for gas, so it may not have been at its best. But.....my initial experience was not as good as my mother would hope. First off, I asked for it without onions and thousand island. I open it up at home, and there was an ample amount of thousand island all over my burger. I did my best to scrape it off, and added my own toppings. The bun was ruined (as again, sopped in a dressing I asked to not be on it), and the meal.....was a big nothing burger (dad joke intended). The patty, even with ketchup and mustard added.....had very little taste. It wasn't bad.....it just wasn't that good. The fries were shoestring fries, and we ordered them extra crispy, which they were not (again, I will be nice and assume this happened in the "journey" back home for take out, and may have been better if eaten in restaurant. It is a drive-thru, but in the middle of a neighborhood, so be prepared for some congestion. I guess it is popular locally, and that is a credit to the congestion, but be prepared to be honked at. I am glad my mom enjoys it here, but I probably wont be returning back read more

The Original Tops - Meh (to go) - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

We had the chilli dog, chilli tots, fries, pastrami sandwich and the kid's cheeseburger burger. I used self checkout, and I loved the pictures ordering the first time. It was jam packed inside and out. If you want to come order and eat and leave this is the spot. The people who brought the other half of our food were so nice and polite. Food was great, I loved the chilli dog. We would totally go there again. read more

An acquaintance of mine claims this place is a classic. If that's the case, I wanted to try out this place as I was curious about it. It has been around since the 1950s and is the original. Unfortunately, the place is no good. Arriving, the parking lot is limited. The place is a fast food joint and the quality of food has declined as the prices have increased over time. The ambiance was not great. There was small space between each of the booths and the bathroom was tiny. When you look around, the people eating inside were unhealthy looking. I felt out of place, I felt like I was in a McDonald's or Fatburger. A lot of fatty items on the menu that will cause all sorts of problems. I had a difficult time figuring out what to choose from the menu. Chili cheese fries, triple hamburger with fried onion rings, hotdog with fried okra and a Diet Coke, etc. The breakfast isn't served all day, massive disappointment. The customer service was horrible. The woman at the front was annoyed at her job, she didn't smile and was annoyed with how long it took for me to order. When the food arrived, it was smaller than what I could have received at jimmy deans, another drive thru fast food joint. The size of the Baja burrito (carne asada, rice and beans, and chili) ordered was so small for $10. I could have went to del taco and got the same size burrito for $6. A bean and cheese burrito would have been more satisfying and it is about $3 at Taco Bell. The other thing ordered was the pastrami sandwich and boy was it average. It was $12 and it was loaded with trimmed fat. No wonder people look unhealthy here. It was loaded with a sauce that tasted icky. Icky like the texture of saliva from making out. It was goopy and it wasn't right. The aftermath was not great. I had a stomachache after and had a hard time going to the restroom. I couldn't go! I feel that the food was still trying to be absorbed in my body. I'm not used to eating the food at all. Overall, a big miss with the experience and aftermath. I can't recommend it if you are used to eating healthy food. The onion rings ordered were over cooked in hot hydrogenated oil. It was very salty and I couldn't finish a ring. The pastrami sandwich and burrito were unappetizing. It looked nothing like the pictures I seen taken from others years ago. read more

See all

I first heard of this spot from my coworkers, who all spoke highly of this place. After trying it out, this may be my new go-to spot for a tasty pastrami sandwich. The inside of the store has a classic, old school diner feel about it with its plush booth benches, checkerboard tile styling, the wall with old images of Tops, the standard bowl shaped lights above, and so on. You'll find this place buzzing with locals just enjoying a casual meal together, hanging out with friends, etc. Each person is happily chowing down on a burger, sandwich, and sides. In terms of food: Pastrami Sandwich ($14.19): Like a person trying to hug a full sized Sequoia tree, their soft, toasted French roll tries its best to hold the stacked layers of peppery & salty brined blankets of juicy, tender pastrami. A light spread of yellow mustard and slices of pickles completes the #topspastrami sandwich (I added onions to mine because I like that bit of sweet, sharp taste). "Small" Chili Cheese Fries ($6.09): They say it's small but it definitely is a generous size to share between 2-3 people in my opinion. A pile of fries are slathered with hefty amount of chili and melted cheeses (we topped ours with onions). It's a heavy, rich accompaniment that goes well with any of their sandwiches or burgers. I enjoyed the friendly service and terrific food so much that my last bite felt bittersweet. Full up with the rich meats, bread, and fried goodness, I definitely need to take some time to walk about a bit afterwards. Give this place a try and let me know what you think! read more

See all

Super bummed they got my order wrong!! I live 30 mins away so I couldn't just go back. I ordered a CARNE ASADA tostada salad with no pico De gallo. Even the recipe said it. By the time I got home to eat, I opened it up and saw chicken! I was mad! Ugh Mom got an avocado BLT. She liked it. Loved the crispy bacon. read more

The Original Tops - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

I wish I can put a ZERO STAR. Never eat here. Food was wrong and cold. Gave me someone else's food after they messed up. And on top of that they gave me the wrong drink. Just not the best experience. I would understand if it was busy but there was only 2 customers in the place which is wild. read more

I complained about how chintzy they get during their last hour and this establishment reached out to me to make it right so I went back and did get a full size pastrami sandwich that time. However, I got there around 8 PM or so instead of getting their during their last hour on a Friday or Saturday night. I did notice, however, that their chili cheese fries box did get a bit smaller for the same price. I noticed it as soon as I set the box down on the passenger seat. (When you do something often enough, you notice when something is "off," you know?) I asked the cashier about it and he confirmed that their size did get smaller for the large chili cheese fries. That doesn't diminish from the fact that they're still delicious. read more

The Original Tops - The last hour, they get cheap & give you smaller portions to make their pastrami last, I guess. Normally, the pastrami sandwich is bulging. - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

Stopped in for an afternoon salad and order of onion rings. While the chefs salad was okay, and a fair deal for the price, the onion rings left a lot to be desired. It was merely a sliver of onion topped with lots of breading. Basically no onion whatsoever. Just bite after bite of fried bread. Very weak. How about putting some onions inside those rings, please? read more

One thing I enjoy doing when planning trips is choosing which restaurants we're going to do. And my biggest enjoyment is when I allow my family to pick a place. In this case, my son wanted to come try this place out. It's definitely a drive If you're coming from DTLA. But If you come during the week and go when there's not that much traffic then it's only a quick 45 minute drive. LOL. But it's definitely worth the drive at least once. My son and I both ordered their TOPS Special burger. It comes with a thin 1/4 lb beef patty with a mountain of pastrami, mustard, American cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. The burger is huge, and very tasty. The beef patty was cooked perfectly and the pastrami was delicious. The burger with fries is definitely very filling and with the price of admission. It's very fairly priced. My son enjoyed his meal as well and was very happy that he selected this place for our trip. We both agreed that although it was delicious we would only want to return if we were in the area for a game at the Rose Bowl. It's rare when we make it out this far, but we had time to kill so it was no biggy. Despite it being delicious, I wouldn't go out of my way to do revisit this place. But if you're in the area, I definitely recommend it. read more

See all

Tried to order 2 breakfast burritos and the lady said they ran out of sausage. Who the F%$k runs out of sausage on a Saturday morning? NO BUENO! read more

If you love pastrami give this place a try. I ordered the Tops special and it was packed with meat. They did not hesitate to add a large pastrami portion which was also tasty. It was not oily or dry. I also ordered zucchini fries. They were made to perfection. read more

The Original Tops - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

Decided to give it another try but the burritos now seem even smaller. Really disappointed with how small they are, you can look at the picture and see for yourself. Service is friendly but I can't justify this as a burrito. Lots of extra tortilla left over and very salty. read more

The Original Tops - Burrito ? Very small burrito, a side of salsa for size comparison. So much extra tortilla. Their burrito ads are misleading. - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

I always come here for the best chili cheese fries in town. Other places the chili is like mush but not here. You can tell they use high quality fresh ingredients. The portions are huge here. My other favorites are their burgers and the chicken tortilla soup! Everything so good. Drive through line is always long but it's worth it! read more

Tops always comes thru when I get a craving for "naughty" food - Their portions are generous, the food is always fresh & packed well & is reasonably priced even on Doordash. Chili cheese fries are dependably large enough to share and oozing with melted cheese. Zucchini fries were crispy and not cut too thick but were slightly too salty. The tortilla soup was also slightly too salty but was still delicious w/ a good amount of chicken & cheese in it. The fresh avocado on top was also a nice surprise. read more

See all

Last time I came via drive thru, it 45 mins for chili fries and 2 cars ahead of me. I can't completely blame Topps as maybe the cars in front placed a large order. Today, Got home and no ranch dressings were given for large zucchini sticks. read more

The place is clean and welcoming. All the employees in front are attentive and friendly. I wanted breakfast and missed it by 15 mins. So I settled for lunch, had the turkey and ham melt with a side of chicken tortilla soup. The bread was perfectly toasted and the whole sandwich was very good for a basic. The tortilla soup was surprisingly delicious as well, too bad they serve it in a cup. The soup was more of a stew as it was thick af, nice presentation tho and it has avocado piece in there. Overall prices are a bit high, but quality is good not great. read more

The Original Tops - Ham and Ham & Turkey Melt with chicken tortilla soup - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

The place is pretty good. It's like a old time diner with comfort food. The pastrami is alright. I prefer the one from The Hats more. I would rate their pastrami a 6/10. Not the best and nothing special. I love their breakfast burrito. The bacon one. So tasty and just the way i like it. The sauce is nice too. The cheese pastrami fries is ok. Too soggy and the pastrami is 6/10 Would come back! read more

See all

Massive portions alert! If you're ordering anything legit plan to share because everything is sized for two standard adults to split! The Original Tops is a great stop to fuel up for any event, we were headed to the rose bowl and stopped in and walked out stuffed with multiple left over boxes! From the juicy delectable burgers to massive pastrami sandwiches there's sure to be something for everyone. The fried zucchini was thin cut and crispy the perfect side that even reheats perfectly when you take it home! read more

See all

Food 2/5 Service 2/5 Ambiance 3/5 Milkshake 3/5 Not sure what the hype is all about. Food took forever to come out, no apologies even when they forgot our friends food and kids milkshakes. There is no customer service here. Onion rings were sad. Zucchini fries were better. Burger was mid. Nothing special about this place. I was more impressed with their bathroom and overall ambiance which was clean so I'll give them that. One and done for me. read more

By far, Today I ate the best (3) meat breakfast burrito w/salsa verde in my fukcn life! I'm a black guy so you know I've tried many! HA

The portions here are always HUGE! I got the crunchy taco and it was so stuffed that they didn't even bother filling the taco shell with all the meat, veggies, and cheese because it'd be impossible without breaking the shell. The toppings are just piled outside of the shell. 1 taco was the equivalent of eating 2 or 3 regular fast-food crunchy tacos. And the meat in the taco was fresh and you can tell its real beef with no fillers like you'd find at a cheap fast food place. I am just so impressed by this simple taco I also got the LA Street dog which is a bacon wrapped hotdog with cilantro, tomato, and grilled bell peppers. It was very smoky and exactly what you'd get from a classic LA hotdogs street vendor. This place is amazing and it's no wonder why it's always packed. But don't let that discourage you, the food comes out FAST. Highly recommend this place if you have a huge appetite without wanting to break the bank. It puts all the other fast food places to shame. read more

The Original Tops - La street dog and large onion rings - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

See all

The chili cheese hot dog was a bit salty. But I liked the onion rings. Tostada salad. Pastrami burger. Fried zucchini. Chili cheese fries. Vanilla shake. The customer service helped me with a smile. Nice an classic atmosphere. Order what you like and what you know. But everything is a great filler to my hunger. read more

See all

The drive thru is rather awkward, but nonetheless the food is just right! I love the fried zucchini and French fries but what has captured my heart are their tater tots! They are lightly crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Am I addicted? Yes...I am! If I get nothing else, I'll get their tater tots. I have also had their grilled cheese-respectable- and their Tops special burger with pastrami? Omg. Soooooo good! I can only eat half. Also, many I add, they have the BEST shakes! I only ever get vanilla but good gracious! They are superior and fresh. Can't go wrong with much on the menu- I've had their breakfast items and they've all been great! read more

I usually like everything I order at this restaurant. They're fast. The service is good. I enjoy the atmosphere inside the people who will help. You are extremely nice, but the French fries. Were a complete waste of time. I got a large size but most of it got wasted. And there was no salt on it at all. So they were tasteless overcooked very underwhelming. I will never get them again. read more

Already can't wait to go back! I had the sausage breakfast burrito with green salsa and an orange bang and it was better than expected! Seasoned well, the sausages, eggs and potatoes were cooked perfectly and the tortilla was soft and pliable. Service was quick. They have drive thru, 2 digital kiosks as well as cashiers to help speed up service. The place was clean and roomy. read more

Comforting, delicious, and filling! Got the TOPs Special burger, a cheeseburger packed with layers of pastrami!! Washed it down with some soda and we're golden! Portions are generous and each bite will make you want to take the next so fast. It is almost as if the burger has to fall apart while eating since it's so thick! The mustard is almost a must to go with the salty tasty pastrami. I've been eyeing this diner for a while and will definitely come back to try more of their menu. Mix of usual diner breakfast items and Mexican food! read more

The Original Tops - Top's Special - wait this was so gooooood! Comfort pastrami and beef patty burger fully loaded! - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

See all

Went here for the first time to get some dinner and I got the chili cheese fries! I had heard a lot of good things about this place from my sister and some friends, so I was really excited to try it! I went through the drive thru, which seems to get pretty busy during peak meal times. The menu is pretty big, so they have a lot of options and a variety of foods to choose from. I definitely think they should update the menu sign for the drive thru eventually though. The service was pretty fast and the lady at the window was really kind. This place is pretty cheap as well! They give a pretty big serving for the chili cheese fries for only $7, which I think is solid! read more

The Original Tops - Chili Cheese Fries - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

I eat food from here every now and then and its usually good. I usually get a cheeseburger which tastes nice and has tomato, lettuce, pickles, and some sauce which tastes good. Last time I ate here, I got fries which were salty. If they were less salty I would like them more. They also have some free things you can get like spicy carrots and onions. Im pretty sure theres paintings on the wall which are pretty unique and interesting. Also, When you food is ready, you have to get it yourself. Overall, I would say its a pretty good place but if you dont like salt a lot, you shouldnt get fries. read more

The food at the original tops is shockingly bad. I mistakenly ordered a pastrami sandwich from the original tops, instead of tops on walnut Street. The pastrami sandwich was small and the meat was dry. The fries were limp and under-fried. The tops on Walnut Street give you a generous amounts of juicy pastrami meat, and generous portions in general. If you eat at the tops on Walnut Street, you'll never eat at the original tops again. read more

Another waste of $26 man I don't know why it's so hard to make good food. I got the pastrami burger, which it looked really good in the pictures but the pastrami was absolute trash. It's so fatty and just way too thick of slicing not good pastrami and the burger. The meat itself is just a frozen thin little patty. I swear all these places they haven't. They use the same burger and then everything was smashed together even the bun was was as thin as a dime because it was just smashed down. I had the chili cheese fries also which I'm gonna give this two stars because they were actually pretty good. The chili and the cheese and stuff is quality, but the french fries themselves were old cold and not fresh and every place does that they throw chili on something and I think old now it's hot again but it's not the fries were disgusting. It ruined it And then the soda machine you can tell it hasn't been clean forever. It taste weird and the soda taste weird and the ice it's just not filtered correctly. Maybe I just do one store so disappointed. read more

We heard the fish and chips were very good, but we were very disappointed when we ordered it yesterday. The fish pieces for small and the batter was nonexistent. Some pieces of fish were tough. I ordered sweet potato fries with mine and they were soggy. We do not plan to return Very disappointing read more

They have a wide arrange of menu item. From burgers, burritos, salads, burritos, chili, and fried chicken strips. I've ordered the chicken strips and the portions are huge! This time around I ordered the 1/4 lb cheeseburger and my boyfriend ordered the avacado bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries. The food took about like 5-10 minutes to get but opted to dine in so everything was fresh. read more

The Original Tops - Avacado bacon burger - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

See all

I love the tuna Sandwich. The fries are really good with good quality. The stuff are friendly. And they're so fast with the orders.

Holy cow, these were the best burgers I've ever had! I mean just look at that photo and how much meats in the burger! Highly highly recommend. read more

The Original Tops - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

Tops is an OG institution in Pasadena, and this is their original location. We have had Tops before as takeout multiple times, but this was my first time dining in at one of their restaurants. The inside still maintains the classic charm of an American diner with ample booth seating, an open kitchen, and self-serve utensils, drinks, and pickles. My fiance loved the pickled carrots, onions, and peppers because it cut through the greasiness of our food. We ordered a sycamore melt and the small chili cheese fries. Food took probably 15-20 minutes to be ready after we ordered. The sycamore melt was packed with pastrami and sandwiched between toasted rye bread along with melted cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing. The chili cheese fries were hot, flavorful, meaty, and super filling. It was a very delicious but filling dinner, and the two of us struggled to finish the fries at the end but we made it happen. Come hungry, leave happy--Tops has something on their menu for everyone. read more

The Original Tops - Sycamore Melt - Burgers Near Me - Pasadena, California

See all

I had a corned beef sandwich delivered. It was a prefect sandwich! Can't wait for my next one.

Best baked potato soup!!!!! It needs to be on the menu all the time! The grilled cheese with bacon is also excellent!

Tops is located not too far from the 210 freeway on Colorado. I used to visit here often a decade or so ago when I lived in the area. As soon as you walk in, you can see how loved this place is with constant lines forming and disappearing in minutes. I don't think on any visit I've been here, there hasn't been a line or a semi/full dining room. These are good signs of a great place to eat. On this day, I chose to have a breakfast burrito. These things are HUGE. Depending on your appetite, you could get 1, 2 or even 3 meals out of it. Great portion size for the price. It's not gonna break the bank. It will fill your belly and your tastebuds will thank you later. Tops offers inside and outside dining for their customers. The wait time is minimal at best, even when it is busy. My only negative is their green sauce. It is good BUT they keep many of them in a fridge and the sauce becomes clumpy and thick. You have to scoop it out of its containers. If you don't, all of it falls into whatever you're choosing to put it on. If they could keep some out so the green sauce flows onto foods, that would be great. Pro tip: If your green sauce is thick, put it on or near your hot food to melt it a bit. Wha-la, problem fixed. Do yourself a favor and go get yourself something delicious from Tops! read more

Always yummy. Had some tater tots and other goodies. Hit the spot. Been going there for many years. Great chili cheese fries.