When I first saw the colorful sign for Johnny Rockets restaurant, I was interested. It looked like a cool place to grab a hamburger.

Johnny Rockets is a national chain with restaurants reminiscent of a 1950s-’60s-era diner with lots of shiny chrome, upholstered bench and counter seating, and classic rock streaming from a jukebox.

Additional Photos

Servers Britney Holtan, Caitlyn Robitaille and second manager Crystal Duval raise the roof at Johnny Rockets. John Patriquin /Staff Photographer

I got around to visiting the Freeport Johnny Rockets (there’s also one in the Maine Mall in South Portland) last week. Even though it was a weekday, there was a full house during the lunch hour.

The counter was full and all the tables were full except for one bench table, so the hostess put me at the one open table. I felt a bit foolish being the lone person at a bench table, especially since the benches on these tables are quite long.

I looked over the menu and was surprised to find that this hamburger restaurant offers turkey and soy burgers and that you can substitute, at no charge, any beef burger with either a turkey or soy burger.

I almost ordered the Rocket single — a hamburger with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, white onion and special sauce for $7.49 — but when I asked my waitress, I found out the sauce is like a Thousand Island dressing, and I’m not keen on Thousand Island dressing.

So I went for the Original instead, a beef hamburger with lettuce, tomato, onions, relish, pickle, mustard and mayonnaise for $6.99. I opted to add cheese for an additional 99 cents. All burgers are served with a side of french fries or a salad. I went with the fries and a Coke, and asked that my burger be cooked well done.

Johnny Rockets’ menu is pretty much what you’d expect for a burger place. There are a number of specialty burgers, such as a chili cheese hamburger for $8.29 and the Route 66 with Swiss cheese and grilled mushrooms and onions for $7.49. The restaurant does offer non-burger meals. You can get a tuna melt for $6.49, a hot dog for $5.49, a grilled chicken breast sandwich for $7.49 and salads, which range in price from $4.59 to $6.59.

You can also order shakes and malts for $4.49 and $4.99. A children’s menu is available.

While I waited for my order, I listened to the classic rock songs piped in (while all the seats have jukeboxes, not all the jukeboxes work). Part of Johnny Rockets’ schtick is that its wait staff will at times dance to the music, so when “Johnny B. Goode” started up, I wasn’t completely surprised to see my waitress and another server take to the center of the restaurant and begin dancing.

My waitress looked less than enthusiastic as her hands hit the floor so she could kick her feet in the air. It’s really painful to watch people performing like that when it’s obvious they don’t want to be doing it.

Shortly after her reluctant dance performance, my waitress brought me my burger and fries. She walked away before I noticed she hadn’t brought me my Coke. It took me a while to get her attention, but when I did, she seemed put out by my request for the Coke.

And when I finally did get it, I didn’t get a full glass. By not full, I mean the soda was about half an inch down from the rim. That doesn’t seem like something to get your panties in a bunch about, but at $1.99 (!) a glass, it should have been full, especially when you factor in the space taken up by the crushed ice.

Even though I had requested that my burger be cooked well done, it was cooked medium rare. I ate what I could, and what I did eat was good. The bun was both soft and crunchy. I was disappointed at how few fries I got, which is something, because I usually prefer less rather than more.

My waitress brought my check before I’d had much chance to get through my meal. No dessert for me, I guess — and the desserts looked yummy, too. Fresh apple pie for $3.19 and a brownie sundae for $5.19 were two of the options.

While I wasn’t thrilled with my overall experience at Johnny Rockets, it has a lot of potential. Maybe I was there on an off day. I’d be willing to give it another try. 

The Features staff of The Portland Press Herald anonymously samples meals for about $7.

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