JS Hamburg Downtown

I have been coming here since I was a kid and have always liked it. The last time I was in it was about 2 in the morning and it was as great as always. At that time, you can have breakfast (always perfect) or my own two personal favorites, the burger deluxe or patty melt with fries. Whichever way you go, you won’t likely be disappointed. Nice outdoor seating as well.

BEST burger I had in TC!
My husband, 4 year old and doggie were just coming back through TC from Sleeping Bear Dunes and needed a place to eat before heading home and since we had the dog, it had to have an outdoor seating area. We were driving by there and noticed it did, so we pulled into a lot across the street and called to make sure. They were super nice on the phone!
When we got there they offered us a dog bowl of water for our dog and were very nice!
I ordered a burger and said non-​toasted bun, the waitress even came out and told me that the chef said the buns were lousy without being toasted but he could warm it in the microwave if I didn’t want it toasted still.
Service was phenomenal and as I said BEST burger if had the whole trip! Prices were really reasonable too!

The food is great and I usually go at night after I’m out of work. I decided to take my mom today for lunch. I know this place stays packed but today it took 20 mins to order coffee and at that point we knew what we wanted. In this 20 mins 3 other tables were helped and had FOOD! By the time we finally had someone check on us we asked to just pay for the coffee they brought the food… it was cold… and when I said I was leaving no tip the girl got snippy

Just ate here while walking through TC. We were passing through looking for a place with a patio SUCH. A. GOOD. FIND.
Our table had burgers, a chicken sandwich, a fish sandwich, banana cream pie and a malt. All were amazing! Saying that the fish sandwich and chicken sandwiches were the best we have ever had.
Must remember for next year!

Driving around looking for somewhere to eat breakfast and ran into this place. My husband and I eat out seven days a week, and I get tired of the same places over and over. So today instead of heading to one of our usual places, I decided to look around downtown Traverse City and find something different. Traffic was heavy, and I was actually pulling in the parking lot so that I could turn around and go back to somewhere we had passed. My husband was like, «Hey, they serve breakfast, let’s eat here.» It looked like a burger place, so I wasn’t excited about going in, but we were hungry and had been driving for too long. It’s a small building with tables sort of cramped together on the inside. There were extra tables outside, but it was chilly out so we picked the last remaining indoor table.
Whenever we eat somewhere new, I always look around at other people’s food to see if anything looks good. I was impressed at what I saw here. The most perfect looking eggs were being served to the couple sitting next to us. And the toast. Oh so golden brown and looking exactly like toast is supposed to look. You would not believe how many places can screw up toast.
My husband ordered scrambled eggs, sausage patties, and hash browns. I ordered the potato pancakes, which came with pancakes, eggs, and coffee. I’m not an expert on potato pancakes, but I have had a few in my day, being Polish and all. These were different, but good. It was like shredded hash browns mixed with mashed potatoes and onions. You could definitely taste sour cream and chives. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it. All of our food was delicious and came out quickly. We had full tummies and a new place to go for breakfast on the weekends.
Although we didn’t eat dessert, I noticed they had several cakes, pies, cookies, and muffins on or behind the counter. They were all homemade, and looked great.

A perfect bun made of browned butter and clouds. The burger can be dry, not dissimilar to any decent diner burger. Respectable fries and onion rings. Good oreo shake.
The staff are as friendly as any staple diner in any town. If you strike up a conversation they will play ball. Very reasonable prices. Welcome respite from the tourism complex.

The burgers here are crafted well. The buns are served on pretzel dough buns with fries. Little hole in the wall diner on the edge of town. Service is OK. Place was needing some TLC in the busboy department. I am full and satisfied.

On a recent family trip to TC, we had to stop here on a recommendation of a family friend. We sat out front outside since we had a large party with several kids.
The staff was slow getting out to help us. We were a party of 8 so I completely understand that food will take a while yet they just didn’t come over — we had to find them after they sat us. After that, we placed drink orders, which they proceeded to mess up two of our orders.
We brush that off and all order some of their burgers or sandwiches and the kids order some chicken strip baskets. First, they brought us the wrong table’s food. Then they brought our food yet didn’t bring one of the meals. They didn’t come back to check in on how things were tasting or mention anything about the missing meal. We had to go up to the waitress and tell her that we were missing it — she had written it down yet just never double checked the order before running it to our table.
We decide we don’t want that meal and the rest of the group finishes up. When the bill comes they billed us for the meal they didn’t deliver and an additional chicken strip basket. All around it was a slow and frustrating experience.
I would check out this place for a quick burger with one other person yet they don’t handle a group well.

Best burgers anywhere. Interesting people. Open ²⁴⁄₇ in the summer. I’ve been eating here since 1963 and it has never disappointed. Sit at the counter and talk to the staff for the best time. A true landmark. Don’t miss eating here while you are visiting TC.

I’ve been eyeing up J&S for a while and finally checked it off the list. As a long standing institution surrounded by tourist-​fueled bistros and shops, I was hoping for a great burger. The J&S burger was good — the lettuce/​tomato cold and the burger hot, on a nice pillowy bun, but the burger was dry and we also had the same Cole Slaw snafu mentioned by a few others. It was included but not served with the meal, we were told a fresh batch was being made, then half our party got theirs, I asked for mine, and it finally arrived. The service was so-​so — half the staff was «on», half not so much. The fries were tasty. Cole Slaw, when it arrived, needed more dressing.
There is a blacktop outdoor dining space, and a parking lot which is a plus.

This place is great for fast, good and hearty food. Love the quick service and diner esthetic. Very friendly as well. Hit this place twice when I was in town

Excellent food and experience. They have more than just burgers for those watching their waistline. They allowed us to bring our dog on the patio and brought her a peice of bacon and water! Food came out extremely fast. Try their sweet potato fries! Can’t wait to go back!

Absolutely love this place for breakfast! And if you’re hungry go for the «Pine Street». The place was well staffed and friendly. I’d certainly recommend! And be sure to sit outside and enjoy the weather if possible with their new outdoor seating!

Food was good and the atmosphere was diner like which I like but our waitress was one of the rudest people ever in fact for a minute we thought it was one of those rude gimmick restaurants. I am a local so could have accepted this kind of service but my sister was applaud and so I was very embarrassed. The other servers were very nice and went out of their way to make sure we had coffee but our waitress left such a bad taste that I will not be going back for awhile and that is too bad cause it is a good place and am so disappointed in our servers mood that was reflected in our meal

New Year’s Day: We had read about a local bistro with great crepes that was open for brunch; we arrived at the appointed hour, found the building in the dark, drove around for awhile and came back and found the place still not open. We took another excursion; came back; saw a couple of lights on and someone in the background shaking their head at us. We were not at all happy, to say the least. So we Unilocaled (yay, you!) another good breakfast spot in town… and that’s how we wound up at the opposite end of town, at J & S, a tiny old-​fashioned diner on Traverse City’s Front Street near the hipster Warehouse District. Talk about going in a different culinary direction!
We had super-​good breakfasts here — nothing fancy, just biscuits and gravy, but very flavorful, hot and well made; definitely not poured out of a can. The coffee was excellent. Our server was friendly and fast; the establishment was clean and tidy, very 1950s in feel and fun. (We could say this as non-New-Year’s-Eve revelers who weren’t nursing hangovers and were delighted to have the restaurant mostly to ourselves.)
This is a cute little establishment close to the bay and to downtown shopping; I understand it gets pretty crowded at certain times of day, but based on our experience and what we’ve heard from others, it’s worth a wait for some honest, tasty workingperson’s food.

This place is AMAZING in every way! Ate there at 4am after a fun night! The food was soooooooo good. The atmosphere is total greasy spoon, which I happen to love. They serve both breakfast and lunch and dinner ALL DAY LONG. The late night waitress was awesome, and we all enjoyed bantering back and forth with her. :) We stumbled onto this place by accident, but we are SO very glad we did!

I decided after a night of drinking to, once again, stop at J&S. Service was rather quick to accept my order — coffee and a club sandwich minus tomato with fries. The food was good, BUT the service was extremely SLOW. Halfway through the fries, an insect landed in my ketchup… yet the staff didn’t notice that my food remained untouched for 40 MINUTES. For nearly an hour I sat there with a bug and untouched food, even when one member of the staff came around to refill coffee, they didn’t notice the bug nor the untouched food. Even when I had picked up the insect and twirled it around, none of the staff noticed… Two customer received their food and checks long before I had received mine, despite me «finishing» before them. I remarked to each of them how long I had waited for any of the staff to notice and the duration.
Appalling service, OK food

What can I say they are open at 3am in a town were 9am-​6pm is normal business hours. I couldn’t find another place open. Food was ok at the absolute best! But once again something is better than nothing… Sorry TC but late night after bar food is not promising.

We’ve been wanting to try J&S ever since we saw it on our vacation last year. My bf’s name begins with a J and mine begins with an S so we always take a picture out in front of the sign… cheesy!
We finally made it in to have a burger but I think my expectations were too high. The burgers were good but I wasn’t blown away.
We both got burger baskets which, according to the menu, should have been the burger, fries and cole slaw. Neither of us received any slaw. I can’t locate their menu online but I believe we got the Classic and American burgers. Everything was cooked as we ordered though. I was just hoping for a really juicy burger. It was good but nothing to write home about… or even memorable enough for me to compose this review! I remember the customers more than I remember the food… oh and the bathrooms! Smallest bathroom I’ve ever attempted to go in. I needed to wash my hands but had to stand halfway in the bathroom and in the hallway to even do so, lol.
Our server was attentive considering she was taking care of all the tables both inside and out and it appeared they were in the middle of a shift change. Oh, I do remember one of the cooks being slightly snotty with me. When we walked in we weren’t sure if we should just sit anywhere or order at the register then sit. We walked up to the register (which is immediately next to the cook area) and I asked. One of the cooks just gave attitude as though he was bothered. I guess I was bothering him by asking, but he was the only one standing there. Oh well, maybe it was a long day for him.
It was a cool place to stop in considering the naming coincidence but other than that, I probably would want to try some other burger places out when in town again.

I don’t know what to make of this place. Is it a greasy spoon? Is it a diner? Is it a late night spot? (sometimes, apparently.) They feature regular specials and purport to have full entrees, but it looked like the entire kitchen was behind the counter, and they didn’t really seem equipped to handle much, though I’d be happy to be proven wrong.
Many folks recommended their burgers — hamburg (er) is even in the name of the joint — but ultimately I was not impressed. I’ve had better elsewhere in town. I feel like I got less than I paid for, all things considered.
Maybe this place is great when you want somewhere to go, late at night, and they happen to be open, but otherwise, I’d go somewhere else for a burger fix.