Frankie — Restaurant in Lisbon

There is so much to say... Lisbon doesn't really understand good hot dogs, so I really shouldn't be that critical, but here I go. I walked in and was the only person standing in front of the person responsible for taking the orders. I looked up at the menu to decide what I wanted to order and another patron stepped in from behind me and placed his order. The cashier discounted me and took his order. Then a couple walked in from behind me and stepped in front of me and they placed their order. Again, the cashier again discounted me and took their order. Suffice to say I was getting frustrated so I turned to walk out when the person taking the order spoke up. I wasn't actually going to walk out, but rather I decided to take up a spot at the back on the line which had now grown to 4 people. Clearly the person behind the counter needs to understand how to manage the customers. She was completely inept. I finally got my order in and ordered a chili dog and onion rings. No drink. The menu indicated "picante". The order arrived. I counted 10 onion rings... cost was over €4 for the rings ... the chili dog was over €6. When I try a new place I want to taste the elements of the item, so I broke off one end of the hot dog for a taste. The hotdog was almost tasteless no smoke, no flavor, truly a very poor choice of ingredient. Then I tasted just the chili, it had no body, taste and least of all no spicy punch and it was blonde in color, not red. Overall, probably the worst hot dog chili I've ever had. The onion rings weren't bad, but at 40 cents each, not worth it. I finished the dog and the rings and left. Oh, yes, try to leave during lunch time. For the life of me, I can't understand why this place is so popular, but I actually had difficulty getting out the door because the entrance was blocked by hoards of inattentive college students. (I pray for the future of society). There really is no reason for me to return. I don't recommend going there for lunch. With the poor level of service I found at the counter, there's no telling how long it will take you just to order. Normally for a place with such a variety of hot dog combinations to choose from I would return, thinking that maybe I just ordered an item that they didn't put much thought into and taste my way around the menu. Here I can't force myself to taste around the menu because of the poor...

Almost 4 stars. As a hotdog fan, I’ve eaten hot dogs all over the US, Europe, Africa and Australia. Went here with a friend, we got the Chilli Dog & El Ramirez.

I give it almost 4 stars for the following reasons:

buns are the wrong bread. The Bread is a dry and crusty style bread. Being toasted, it’s even drier and crustier. It’s a great bread, but not the right choice for hotdogs. Our actual hot dogs were dry too. Tasty, but did not have the juiciness the dry bread rolls needed. My chilli dog chilli topping was primarily bean paste. So, also quite dry. The end result being, the bun + dog + topping sucked the moisture out of my mouth. So I needed to rely on my drink for the moisture the dog should have had. My friends topping was much the same.

The shoestring fries were fantastic - hot, crunchy and tasty. We had the pizza fries and batata Frankie. The serving size was just a touch on the small side but the toppings were generous & tasty. Definitely recommend.

The staff are friendly and fun. The venue itself has a nice atmosphere.

Price was good, we spent about 12-15...

Frankie's is a must visit! They offer an assortment of hotdogs (chili dog, cheddar dog, with onion rings, pizza dog, ...) and side dishes. For the hotdog you can choose you type of meat which is nice. As a side dish I would definitely recommend the batatas fritas Frankie, which are thin French fries with pieces of bacon and melted cheese. The daily dessert is great as well.

Frankie's is a very cheap place. I had 2 drinks, a hotdog with side dish and dessert for €11! The portions were perfect for me.

All combined, it makes for a popular place which gets very busy after 7PM. They don't do reservations, so be there early or you'll be in a long line.

UPDATE: we came back today at noon, and tried some other hot dogs. Service was again very friendly. It's...