Portillo's Ft. Wayne — Restaurant in Fort Wayne

This was my very FIRST time visiting a Portillo's. It was a cold, rainy day and we went through the drive thru. They had 2 girls working outside taking orders. The girl that took my order was very nice. At some point during the ordering process an orange sticky note sized paper with a Portillo's number was put on my vehicle. I never saw her do this (or I would have said something). I got in line to get my order and there was confusion as they had 2 windows close together and they also had a guy with a bright orange/yellow vest squeezing between cars and the windows and trying to get orders from window and delivering them to cars. Seemed sort of chaotic, dangerous and unnecessary, especially since when I did get my food passed to me through the window the employee was masked and had gloves on. I received my food, drove home, parked my cars in the garage, went in to eat. I did not leave my house until the following day. When I went out to my vehicle not only do I see this orange sticky note stuck to my car, but when I removed it - it left an orange stain on my white paint. I freaked out and immediately took it through Mike's Car Wash to see if it would come off. It did not! I called and spoke to a Manager. He placed me on hold so he could get his GM. He came back stating the GM said to contact customer relations and they would take care of me and gave me a number. I called. I have called several times over a period of a few days...Automated system. Voicemails are full so you can't leave a message. I decided to fill out a comment on their website. I simply asked for a return call so I could speak to someone about my issue /experience - no details. It has been over a week and I just now received an email that states ".....they have communicated my concerns to the Area Supervisor and General Manager of the restaurant so they can review further with their team members and address the issue internally." How can this be when NO ONE has contacted me to get the full details of the issue??

I'm guessing this "sticky note" number system is a practice they use or how else would this number have gotten on my vehicle? I can't be the only one that takes pride in their car? My car is a white....and now has orange stain on drivers door. Not happy!! Why did they not put this on the window? Was the food good? It was.....but that is currently being overshadowed by how I feel about their lack of follow through and customer service. :( I have saved all my receipts and documentation and will continue to leave poor reviews until a member of management...

Portillo's is the kind of place I'd frequent if it were closer to home (Louisville), but it's not so I have to wait for our every-few-monthly visits to Fort Wayne to get Portillo's awesomeness.

I 100% love the throwback/legacy vibe of Portillo's. It's like a 50s diner with lots of red and chrome, with signage and memorabilia dating back (in most cases) to a time before I was born. I absolutely love the malt shop interior and the music that harkens back to a more innocent, less responsible time.

Revolving door? A definite plus!

Ordering is a breeze, with a live person standing there to take your order. No impersonal order kiosks here! (if you're wondering if that's a slam towards other national fast food eateries that prefer you order from a touch pad instead of a person, the answer to that is a resounding YES!). Any questions you may have about the food, that person has your answer. (Order kiosks do not.)

On this particular visit I was Jonesing for a Chicago style hot dog. Luckily they have a combo for that! Two.... (yes, TWO) Chicago Style dogs, fries and a drink. Seeing that made Jim happy.

And it's here where we come to my only issue with Portillo's. "What kind of drink would you like with your meal?" "Dr. Pepper®, please" "I'm sorry, we don't have Dr. Pepper®." (audible gasp) "Do you have Pibb®?" "No, we don't have that either." (audible sigh) "Ok, then, how about Coke®?" "YES, we have Coke®!"

After ordering (and getting your non-Dr. Pepper®), you sit at the table and wait for your order number to be called.

Looking around is like taking a step back in time, with LPs and 45s dotting the walls, vintage signage and movie posters all over the place.

When they call your order number they do a little rhyme-y thing with it. I don't recall with they said (something like "Order 84 - Out the Door!"), but it fun and clever.

Food delivery never takes along, and it's delivered in a paper bag on a heavy plastic tray. And it was deliver fast and hot. The fries were seriously too-hot at first. Now THAT is fresh food!

The Chicago dogs were Spot-Freakin'-On! Seriously, the only thing that could have been better about them would be to have actually been IN Chicago.

Go to Portillo's. It's fun. It's retro. You'll have...

I wanted something hot, fast and different for lunch. I had no idea what Portillo's is, but there was no one in line for the drive through, so I thought I would try it. (No one being in line should have told me something.) As I was pulling away from the menu board and up to order, some one comes out of the restaurant and stops me. First thing they did was put a bright neon green post it note on my van. (I was not happy about that.) They took my order and payment, told me to drive around to the pick up window where I would get my food and recept. I will say this, being the only person in line for the drive through, they did not set any land speed records. My order was placed at 2:42 P. M. and I did not get my food till 2:55 P. M. While I was waiting at the drive through window, there was no interaction with anyone. Not even greeting telling me that my food would be right up. It would have been nice if someone would have said something to me.

I had a simple order of a hamburger and small order of onion rings. When I did get my order, my food was warm but not hot. Anyone who has ordered onion rings knows that the rings are too hot to eat as soon as they are served. The onion rings were cool enough to eat right away. On top of that I am guessing that the onion rings are brought in frozen. They are made of chopped onions and not the rings from onions.

Portillo's is on the expensive side. My order was a hamburger, and a small order of onion rings. My bill came to $10.00. I had a simple hamburger no cheese and only a single patty of meat. At Don Hall's Drive In, I can get a Big Buster, and a large order of onion rings (Made with cut, not chopped onions.) for right around $7.00, I only have to wait about half the time. Maybe they were having a bad day and my first impression of them is wrong. I may give them a second chance. I would hate to think what their drive through is like during busy times if it took that long being the only person in line at 2:45 in...