The Original Red Onion — Restaurant in Pinole

Look, the staff was nice. But when four burgers and 2 soda's cost me over $60, I can't accept that. I know that businesses are faced with rising rent and overhead, rising costs of goods. But here's the thing: Can our burgers come with a side of fries at least for that much? If I go and sit down at Applebee's, and I order a burger, it's going to have fries on the side, and I know they have burgers for less than 10 dollars. And the Red Onion isn't even a true sit down restaurant. It's is in line with the Foster Freezes, the Nations, BOTH of which offer sit down seating, yet you order your food first, and it is not tip based. Now don't get me wrong, offering tips to young workers is good, but we are all struggling here, and when I go into a place like this and four burgers cost 53 dollars and change, I can't afford a decent tip. So I tipped 7 bucks, bringing my total over $60.

A cup of fountain soda was $3.20. I should have went next door to 7-11 and got a 2 liter for the same price. The only reason we went here is because we were driving through, and I grew up in the area and my wife loved this place, so I wanted to treat my family knowing that we couldn't really afford a "real" restaurant. But by the time we sat down and saw the prices, I couldn't pull my family out of there, but the truth is, a real sit down restaurant would have been cheaper.

You know, if the burgers at least came with fries in the basket, maybe I wouldn't be so upset. But damn I swear you can't do anything in this world anymore without it breaking your bank. If you're not making 6 figures, how does anyone afford to eat out anymore, even to a fast food burger...

The first time I went to this place was about almost a year ago and I vaguely remember it as pretty good but it was also one of the first burger places I have tried in the East Bay. After trying other burger places I decided to come back here to see if it was as good as the first time I tried it.

The people at the counter were super friendly and patient while I looked over the menu. They were also busy keeping the place in shape and taking over-the-phone orders. I ended up ordering a double cheeseburger with grilled onions and seasoned criss-cut fries to go. It didn't take long before my order was ready to go and I can tell for almost $15 you get your money's worth. It was a huge order of fries which were seasoned perfectly, however greasy which I turned a blind eye to. The burger waited until I got home and it was this massive piece of burger.

The first bite was like an in-your-face burger, it was huge. Then there was the second and third bite which were not as fulfilling compared to the first bite. The burger was well-over done, the onions were bland, and the burger overall was greasy which upstaged the lack of seasoning. There was taste, not as significant as I can recall. The fries were the turning point, they were so delicious and there was enough food to share between two people.

The Original Red Onion is a nice place to try out and if you're not into the savory they do sell sweets. It's also located in a very small and narrow plaza so parking can be difficult. Original Red Onion serves its locals and it's convenient due to its location, however if you don't mind trekking a few more miles south then...

Although the food is great it is a disappointment of how service has declined at this restaurant. I don’t live around the area and coming out to Red Onion was considered a treat. I tried to introduce this spot to a friend in efforts to continue to support the local businesses but service was entirely awful. The closing staff on January 11, 2023, specifically the young lady waitress, was not happy to serve our table. She was absolutely unapologetically rude. We walked in and sat ourselves at a table. We grabbed the menus to order quickly as it was around 9:15PM, understanding they close at 10PM. The waitress came to our table speaking aloud her concerns about where we got the menus. One of us apologized and thought it was the end of her bad day. She then got a drink menu and tossed it on the table. When she came back to the table, she crossed her arms and asked with attitude what we would like to drink. One of us ordered a drink and contemplated for a moment whether to stay or leave. Ultimately, we left before ordering anything further. We did not want our night ruined by the type of service they are approving to provide us.

If the staff is not happy to be serving anyone around 9PM, please consider closing the restaurant earlier than to deter any business from returning customers.

Service is less than one star. Customers are better off ordering to-go if you still want to support...