Swensons Drive-In

Such a wonderful food with so many memories! The garden burger, fries, and California is the best meal ever!!! Always have time for this place:)

The burgers, fries and shakes are good, the over zealous teen waiters can be a tad overwhelming, but I’ve been back twice now since being here since October 2015.

Food is a little overhyped but definitely quality fast food. Enjoyed the car hop experience and the food overall (Galley Boy cheeseburger and potato puffs). Will likely be back! :-)

This place is always fantastic! They’re swift, tasty and have great prices. Today I stopped to get my mom a galley boy and fried mushrooms to take her in the hospital because Swensons is WAY better than flowers when you’re sick, right? It hit the spot for her but it was almost painful watching her eat it knowing I couldn’t have a bite of my own. If only there were a Swensons closer to our house I’m certain we’d be there often!

Great food all the time!!! Service could be a little faster though, better to call ahead!

An Akron Classic! Sadly, even though I went to the University of Akron for 5 years, it wasn’t until after I graduated that I went to Swensons. That was 12 years ago. And I have been to Swensons many times since then. I always get a Galley Boy and Fries or Potato Teezers. It is always excellent. I can’t really speak to anything else as this is the one place I always get the same thing. Not getting a Galley Boy would be sacrilegious. The car side service is quick, easy and friendly. A nice stop off for an indulgence and easy on the pocketbook. I’d also suggest the California or Florida sodas.

Swenson’s is an institution in Akron! Everyone who lives in Akron or has visited has eaten at Swenson’s. I can vouch for them and say that they serve some of the best burgers in the United States, or at least in Ohio.
If this is your first time going to Swenson’s, you can’t go wrong with what I usually get: Galley Boy, Potato Teezers, and a drink called the California (grape soda combined with ginger ale). Their menu is extremely large, so you really can’t go wrong with what you order. Like Sonic in California, all you do is pull in, turn on your headlights, and a waitress will be right there ready to take your order.
You will be only satisfied when you leave Swenson’s!

First time here sand loved. Loved the fast and friendly service…
Ordered the Galley Boy, it was good. Next time I’ll add pickles like others have suggested.
Wish they lids for the drinks though.
Definitely will come back to try something different.

Awesome burgers (Galley Boys are my favorite!) and have been going here since high school ~ 45 years!

LeBron and lots of other Akronites would not mislead you. Not only an Akron institution, a unique place in the US. Unique service and a great experience. I go with the Galley Boy, but the hamburgers and cheeseburgers are delicious. Great fries and onion rings. Good shakes. Also, a veggie burger for those not into meat. Stop at any of the drive-​ins. Be prepared to wait while they make your order, even if you call ahead. For the true experience, get served in your car.

Oh my gawd! Best burger I’ve had in years! The Galley Boy will blow your mind, had it with the Potato Teezers and a Hot Fudge Shake. I’m in bliss thank you Swensons!

This is seriously one of the best burgers I have ever eaten! The burger is cooked to perfection, not greasy. Lots of ketchup and cheese and that bread oh my!!! Heaven on a bun!!! This is my first visit and won’t be my last!!! I came out go visit my best friend and she recommended it. The servers were fast and friendly! Such a unique experience for me. I will definitely come here whenever I visit again!

The first thing I have to say about the service is wow, wow, wow!!! These guys hustle and they are on top of everything. Half a dozen young guys running around and checking on you often. This is how its done! Its an old school drive in restaurant like Happy Days only Fonzie was nowhere to be seen. The history goes back to 1934. The Galley Boy is their specialty burger-​double cheese burger served with barbeque sauce and tartar sauce. They serve shakes, fries and onion rings like any typical old school fast food joint but the GB and the service keep you coming back. Seven locations around the Akron area. This is a must for anyone in the area…

locals rave about fhis place, the hamburger meat seems to have a lot of sugar added, not a fan of the sweetness. huge variety of shakes to choose from including some rather unusual flavors. they come to your car to take your order and the expectation seems to be that you will eat in your car also. the jalapeño cheese fried potato ellipsoids are pretty good. When I ordered a key lime shake I discovered too late (after leaving) that it was vanilla, they were quite busy at lunchtime so I will give them one pass for this error)) there is no outdoor or indoor seating at the restaurant, since expectation is that you will eat in your car. I imagined or dreamed some pretty girl on rollerskates might come take the order, but staff walk to your card, a male staff member in our case.

Swenson’s has been a staple in Akron (and in my family) for years. We still love the Galley Boys, extra crispy fries, fried mushrooms, crispy/​fluffy hamburger buns and sugary hamburger patties!
My husband and I visited Swenson’s a few weeks ago and sadly received 5 mushrooms (I mean 5 — small — mushrooms) in our fried mushroom order! We were extremely disappointed when we got home with our take-​out order. I also remember a little more sugar in the hamburgers (which also used to be bigger).
If you don’t want to drink something with caffeine in it at Swenson’s be prepared to drink Pink Lemonade (which is actually delicious)!
Just sayin’…

Even though I don’t like the location of this store, which makes everything chaotic, and it is located at a not very good part of the town, their burgers and onion rings are still the best. I usually go to the one in Stow and their location is much better than this. If they were at a better location/​lot, they would get a lot more customers.
Also, if it’s your first time at Swensons, try their onion rings, they are amazing. Though, I don’t really like their fries.

Swensons is a drive-​in burger joint with great service. Their food is mostly burgers, but they offer chicken and fish sandwiches (who gets those at a burger joint?), as well as fried sides. I have lived in NE Ohio for over a decade, and I think I’ve been to Swensons 4 times. I have friends who worship Swensons burgers, but I must say I’m a bit more lukewarm toward Swensons.
The service at Swensons has always been really great and really fast. Servers are really friendly — friendlier than most other restaurants and eateries I’ve been to. Just park your car with your headlights facing the building, and turn on your lights when you’re ready to order, and they sprint toward your car like they’re in a race.
I’ve only ever ordered burgers. Most recently, I got their quarter pound burger and Galley Boy burger. The quarter pound burger was a, well, a good-​sized burger with good ingredients. It was good. It didn’t blow my mind, but it’s a good solid burger for about the same price you’d pay for a Wendy’s burger. The Galley Boy is a cheeseburger with two special sauces: bbq sauce and, I believe, a tartar sauce-​like sauce. Really, the bbq sauce just kind of cancels everything else out, and it tastes like a cheese burger with bbq sauce on it.
I got the potato teezers for a side, which are like fried potato cakes with jalapeño and cheese in it. Again, they’re good, but not great.
Overall, Swensons is a decent drive-​in burger joint with good burgers and sides, but without a wow-​factor for me. I have friends who come in from out of town and will not leave until they get a couple Swensons burgers, so they’re experiencing something I’m not.

Now listen… you talk about a great tasting hamburger? This is it! I was raised in Ohio, but never had the pleasure of nor the experience of Swenson’s! The staff is Über attentive, quick and pleasant. If your in Akron, do yourself a favor and get a Galley Boy! Oh and the onion rings too!
Good stuff! #Ohio

Nice drive in burger spot, and staff was super friendly. I’m not used to seeing waiters run!
Ordered galley boy and tater and jalapeños. Not a huge fan of the sauce combination (tartar and bbq?) but can respect the quirkiness of it all. The olive on top only made it more of a mystery. Fries reminded me of high school cafeteria lunch but the deep fried taters were interesting.
It’s obvious the staff and cooks take pride in what they do and enjoyed the experience and our food.

Just, wow…
I’m from California and our standard of a damn good, cheap burger is In n’ Out. I’ve been going there ever since I was kid; grabbing a double double with grilled onions, shake and fries on the side, while enjoying it watching the sunset in the back of a pick-​up at the beach was something I did often growing up and still do on occasion. Swensons, this greasy dive in Akron, blows that out of the water while barely batting an eyelash.
I am not shitting you.
Only been to Ohio twice. Not particularly fond of Cleveland or Dayton. I never plan on going back there ever again. But, until the end of my days, I will think fondly of Swensons and curse my state for not having anything as remotely good of a cheap and freakishly tasty burger as this place does.
Swensons was the first place my girlfriend took me on our tour of restaurants she haunted as a kid during our trip to where she grew up. It’s a drive-​in place, you park next to the brick kitchen where a young guy comes running up to take your order at the driver’s window. With a flick of their wrist, they toss a number on your windshield and greet you with a wry smirk before running off to other cars … always running. The experience is a trip and worth bumping up the rating an extra star if the food didn’t give it the highest marks on its own.
Had a Galley Boy and it was incredible. Wrapped in a thick piece of wax paper that is slowly turning clear with grease, two very juicy patties with melted cheese to hold it together, grilled onions, a sweet BBQ sauce and a tangy one to compliment, on a warm bun with an olive skewered through the top of it. This perfect martini of a ‘burg’ is their première fare and after widening my eyes at how good it was, my girlfriend brought up an amazing point of what burgers on the west coast are seriously lacking.
Every place over here, In n’ Out, Angelo’s, even Habit (which I have come to love), any MAIN burger you get is simply one with lettuce and tomato, and possibly cheese. That’s come to be known as a ‘California’ burger, apparently, though any place you go to always seems to serve it that way, at least on the side. No place here has a signature burger with a bit more to it that goes at the top of the menu. Here, secret sauce just seems to mean 1000 Island dressing or mayonnaise mixed with ketchup.
Swensons has opened my eyes a bit and I have the woman I love to thank for that. California? Guys? We may have damn tasty burgers, but we’re kinda … boring. Some greasy dive over here needs to make a delicious burger with more than the basics and call it their main fare … and fast!