Don's Original

Outside - SeaBreeze Area location, 4-2008 Inside - SeaBreeze Area location, 4-2008 Don's burgers and wonderful onion rings, 4-2008 Penfield - Aug 2008 BradMandell

Seabreeze Area Location

4900 Culver Rd, Rochester, NY 14622

Hours

Sunday - Thursday: 11:00AM to 10:00PM

Friday & Saturday: 11:00AM to 11:00PM

Phone

585 323 1177

Monroe Avenue (Brighton) Location

2545 Monroe Ave, Rochester, NY

Hours

Sunday-Thursday, 11:00AM to 10:00PM

Friday & Saturday, 11:00AM to 11:00PM

Phone

585 244 2080

Penfield Location

2055 Fairport Nine Mile Point Rd, Penfield, NY

Hours

Sunday-Thursday, 11:00AM to 9:00PM

Friday & Saturday, 11:00AM to 10:00PM

Phone

585 377 1040

Website

http://www.DonsOriginal.com

Don's Original is a diner serving hots, hamburgers, custard and other standard diner fare like hot turkey sandwiches and strip steaks.

Don's prides itself on retaining the same quality and feel, and pretty much the same core menu, for over 50 years. Judging from the pictures on the wall in every Don's, as well as on the website, your experience today is not all that different from what it would have been in the early 50's. Customers still order by lining up behind a large "All Service from This Counter" sign and choosing from a brightly-painted menu board. The food is cooked as you wait. Seating is either in a booth or on a stool at the counter. And Don's crowd still consists of a wide range of customers, including teenages, families with kids, and older folks.

Don's slogan is "Where Quality Predominates", and it attempts to live up to that standard by making fresh what is often pre-packaged at newer fast-food restaurants. For example, if you ask for onion rings, they'll be made from real slices of onion and hand-battered, and the custard is made on-premises.

Don's Original began life as Don and Bob's, with locations in the Seabreeze Area and on Monroe Avenue in Brighton. The original Brighton location was sold to another owner in the 70's and has now closed. The Seabreeze location remained under the control of Don Barbato, the original Don, who changed the name to Don's Original because of issues with the original Monroe Avenue location. The new Brighton and Penfield locations have opened in the last few years. The full, convoluted history of Don and Bob's and Don's Original is available on the website.

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ADMIN NOTE: Comments previous to 2008 are now located at Don's Original/Comments

2008-05-01 11:00:26   Of all the home grown greasy burger places in Rochester, I think Dons is the best.

Very similar to a Five Guys burgers and fries burger. (Not the 2 patty one.)

This is the least salty burger and has great fries. —MrRochester

2008-05-31 17:21:00   Had a BOGO coupon, so son and I stopped by the Penfield location for their cheese-burger. Way overpriced for a mediocre burger. Of all the local burger joints, Bill Grays or Tom Wahls burgers are better than don's. That's a fact—jack! —MrPhil

2008-07-20 19:13:19   I can see how Don's and Seabreeze bring out a lot of nostalgic feelings. The smell of the grill, and the lake - it's old school, and proud of it.

You enter, and there's a row of seats at the counter, a few tables on the side, and that's it. No line, no place to order, it's very cramped, and it seems unorganized. Credit to the waitresses behind the counter, who do a very good job at getting the orders in, and keeping track of them.

The burger's good - a little crispier than it's competition next door. So are the fries, and onion rings. Tasty, but nothing earth-shattering.

The real star here - echoing other posters - the chocolate almond frozen custard. I much prefer it to Abbott's. The salted almonds make a big difference. Try it! —ZachSmalt

2008-07-23 23:43:52   I hear that Five Guys in opening in Rochester next month. I heard that they will be opening next to the Moe's on Jefferson Road in Henrietta. —happyman

2009-03-01 09:27:12   Unlike Tom Wahl's and Bill Gray's, Don's Original has not gone down in quality since expansion to other locations like these other two previously mentioned. Look at how Tom's and Bill's have to offer a lot more coupons to entice people to come to their places, where Don's offers very few coupons to entice people to come eat at their locations. Around here, it seems that a lot of our local places decrease in quality once they start expanding (think McGregor's!). —DabeernFooddude

2009-08-07 15:00:28   I love the food and the atmosphere at the Seabreeze location, but check the prices as of today: Cheeseburger on a roll: $4.65. Onion Rings: $3.85. Fries: $2.85... Meowch! —RichardSchreiber

2010-03-01 09:28:28   Had a burger there last week (Monroe Ave) location. The meat was undercooked, the bread was stale. French Fries were undercooked. On the plus side, the servers were friendly and the pickles were good. Five Guys down the road in Pittsford Plaza had Don's beat, hands down. —MrPhil