An Ellwood City favorite, @red.hot.restaurant has been a staple in this town for FIFTY SIXyears! The owner, John, has been (and still does) slinging hotdogs, hamburgers and the best fries I've ever had since Nixon was president. When you walk in, you are greeted by one of John's family. According to Nicki, John's daughter, "there are lots of us!"you know that they are a family, because they treat you like family. With old pictures on the wall of special memories and even one of John with Steve Harvey! You can tell that there is love in what they make here. They are gearing towards all farm to table, featuring all of their fresh meats by @meatguyzpa, and you can tell the difference in everything we tried. I loved everything I ate here. Somehow their chili sauce sticks to the fries, and the cheese turns to cheesy goodness in front of you and makes a beautiful dish. The small portion was the size of my head! Their dogs are snappy, burgers have tons of toppings (I'm totally making a chili cheese burger the next time I go) and their chicken cutlet sandwich is off the charts! We also got their new gyros to go; and they were great even 15 minutes later when we got home. Loaded with meat and fillings, you can feel Greek heritage in this one. Happy Eating! read more

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While in the area for a short stay, we wanted to try out Red Hot as it is a proclaimed staple in the area. Red Hot has a bit of spice to their chili sauce. I wouldn't say it was hot though. The burger I ordered was thin which for the price makes sense. I actually like thin burgers so it didn't bother me in the least. We also ordered chili and cheese fries (we did work out prior to dinner hoping to balance!). The cheese was velveta slices and the fries are on the thicker side so I prefer New Brighton Hot Dog Shoppes chili and cheese fries. They are cash only so be prepared to visit the cash machine near by. read more

Red Hot Restaurant - Chili Cheese Fries - Hot Dogs Near Me - Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

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Yelp ratings led me here on a road trip. The place is popular for good reasons. Not a huge menu, but everything is made fresh to order and is excellent. I was sad that my discipline kept me from trying dessert. The folks here are great. I'll definitely be back. read more

The food is pretty good but the fries seem to always be under done. You have to specifically ask for them to be cooked longer if you want them cook thoroughly. The owners are super friendly! read more

Nothing too special, kind of an average hot dog/hamburger sort of place. Although the food is not amazing, I would still go back for the consistency. The inside is cramped, so it can be hard to find a seat. But the service was very nice. read more

Food, cold Waitress's, bitchy Owners, nice Hot, dog Experience, bad Atmosphere, bad Cleanly ness, gross Explosive, diarrhea read more

Best chili dogs and chili fries around. Ive been eating Redhots for 20 + years since I was a young kid and their recipe hasn't changed at all. The restaurant is the definition of a small town mom & pop shop. Fries are cut fresh and the chili is made in house daily. If you're in the Ellwood City area, stop in and tell John or Paul Kyle sent you. You wont be dissapointed read more

Love the food and owner. Best hotdogs around! Dining area is small so I usually order to go. Small menu, but prices are reasonable.

The service was way better today than last time. I believe it's because last time it was an owner's child.... Angry, unappreciative adult child... And this time it was someone working for a living. I really wanted to give kudos to the server, but that person preferred to remain anonymous. read more

Not sure how a hot dog shop screws up a hot dog but this place figured it out. The hot dogs just don't taste right. I'd rather make my own or go to Brighton hot dog shoppe thank you very much lol read more

The best local hot dog shop you will ever eat at! The staff are always friendly and helpful. The food is awesome and if I can give you a recommendation, try their breakfast! read more

There are many burger joints, and hot dog shops to choose from here in Pa. You won't find a better one than this though. In everyday life you won't find me eating a hot dog with a ten foot pole, but for red hots I make an exception. The chili is phenomenal and the dogs are top of the line, they make pretty good hamburgers as well. The chili cheese fries are always piled high with the medium resembling more like a large.I would have given them 5 stars, but the resturant needs a major over haul. It's pretty old and puts off the feeling of being a little dirty or gritty. It doesn't stop me from chowing down though! So if you're ever in Ellwood City give it a try..promise you'll love it! read more

Red Hot Restaurant - Chili dogs to go - Hot Dogs Near Me - Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

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worst place to buy hot dogs, hamburgers and fries, they put a little chili sauce on and onions and won't give you more when you ask for more, never heard of this in other places. the fries were about 1/2 inches in length most less then that, when i told them about all of this they could care less and it cost too much. don't eat at this place. o stars read more

It's an EXTREMELY friendly place, workers and owner are extremely nice. Let me tell you, Being transgender service is VERY important to me, they correctly gendered me and were very welcoming, not every place is like that. We came for a dog show and had 9 dogs in our van, they gave us some uncooked hot dogs for our puppies. The food is amazing and is very appetizing, my only regret is they don't sell milkshakes. read more

Red Hot Restaurant - Steak Hogie, peppers & onions, lettuce, tomato - Hot Dogs Near Me - Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

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Why does the cook feel compelled to carry all the hot dogs in his sweaty arm. Yeah prices are cheap. Place has sticky tables. Cash only why we lived in a modern world. But seriously why does he stack the hot dogs up his arm? read more

What a great find in this place. The burgers and fries are the best anywhere. I had the chili on the fries. It was absolutely amazing and the owner gave me a small container to take home to my wife. The service here is excellent. read more

Red Hot Restaurant - French fries with Chili. Best I've ever had! - Hot Dogs Near Me - Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

Not a bad little hot dog shop. The chili has some spice to it that I like. The fries are fresh cut style. Pricing is pretty good, you can get out of there on the cheap. I tried the hot sausage with peppers and onions. He brought out a big flat frozen sausage patty. I wasn't a big fan of that, I'd like to think with such a small menu it wouldn't be too hard to keep fresh meat in house. The bread was fresh at least. I haven't tried the other hot dog shop in town yet but I think next time I will and I'll update with a comparison. read more

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The food here is great and affordable. I have not tried breakfast here but I can tell you they have something for everyone. I normally just buy the family special. Staff is courteous and normally not a long wait. read more

Small mom and pops hot dog restaurant always enjoy stopping bye for s bite, prices are hard to beat.

Not only is their chili the best I've had in a very long time but the whole atmosphere was very family friendly and welcoming. We aren't from around this area so we turned to yelp and chose this place based on pictures and reviews. I will definitely say we were not let down. 10/10 would recommend and we would for sure visit again if we are ever back in town! read more

Best hot dog shop around! Once you try John's chili sauce you'll never go to any other hot dog place! Fresh cut fries and even breakfast items will keep you coming back! read more

Love the chili cheeseburger ,my Husband like a the chili dogs and the portion of the fries are amazing,so huge !!! And everyone knows everyone here ,food is best when pauly is there.our fav hotdog joint read more

The food is about what you'd expect from a hot dog shop. The real reason to steer clear of this place is the waitress. I have literally never in my life been treated so poorly at a restaurant. The woman was so ignorant to my 8 year old brother when he was trying to tell us what he wanted to eat. We had asked her to box up half of a family order so we could bring the other half home to the rest of the family and she refused and told us she would bring boxes so we could box them ourselves. Then got rude with us for putting the boxes on the empty table beside us since there was no room at our table (hence why we asked for most of the order to be boxed up). Then she had asked us if we needed anything else, I asked for another drink for my little brother and she rolled her eye, told me to wait, and walked to another table telling them "sorry about her". My husband and I were so angry that we packed up and left without eating more than a few bites. I've gotten take out from Red Hots often when I'm in town but this is the first time I've eaten in. I refuse to ever patronize this establishment again and will be letting my family and friends know to follow suit. What an absolute disappointment and an insult to the small town I grew up in. read more

Love me some Red Hots! Completely different from The Hot Dog Shoppe but just as delicious. But way better than the HDS in Ellwood. The chili is just the amount of spicy. And the portions are HUGE!! read more

Was not impressed. The fries looked good, at first glance. Had a good deal of cheese and chili. I went to take a bite and there was absolutely no flavor. Burgers were no different. I went in there with intentions of getting something small. The lady at the counter HIGHLY recommended the chili burgers. They were truly horrible. Nice staff. Nice customer service. But poor quality of food. Will not return. read more

I come here every so often. I enjoy the chili cheese fries on some days. It's alittle spicy for me but very good. The hamburgers and hot dogs are delicious. I love the pop that you can't get anywhere else. read more

I woke up Friday morning with the desire to make the most out of not only the day ahead of me, but life in general. Fortunately the woman I woke up next to must have felt the same way, because she expressed a desire to eat chili and cheese fries as our first meal of the day. We headed to Red Hot Restaurant in Ellwood City. Admittedly, I judged this book by the cover and assumed that it would be average at best whenever we walked into the entrance. I ordered the chili and cheese fries along with two chili and cheese dogs. The fries came to our table first, and it was quite a pleasant surprise to see that they use fresh cut fries (or at the very least they use fries that tricked me into thinking they were prepared fresh this morning.) The chili was a bit saucier than I normally prefer, but as I took my first bite of it I became a fan. What confused me were the (processed?) slices of cheese between the fries and chili. While it was good, I couldn't help but think it could have been better in some way. When the hot dogs came out, I dove right in. The same slices of cheese were used on the dogs that were used on the fries, but it worked much better in this application. The difference here was that the cheese wasn't just haphazardly thrown atop the main attraction and buried in chili, but rather wrapped tightly around the delicious cylinder of what I hope was mostly meat... and then buried in chili. More often than not when I eat a hot dog, it's more about what is on top of it because there aren't many hot dogs that I could honestly say I like the taste of on its own, but the dogs at Red Hot are actually really good. Most importantly, the waitress we had serving us matched the quality of the food. I don't have anything against the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe, but if you've grown tired of what they're offering at that local chain, swing by Red Hot Restaurant for a meal that's equal parts satisfying and reasonably priced. read more

Red Hot Restaurant - Chili and cheese fries with chili and cheese dogs - Hot Dogs Near Me - Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

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Red Hots is the best. Get there and try a chili cheese dog and chili cheese fries, and you'll see what everyone raves about. It's totally worth not feeling so hot and hour or tow later. Just remember - Cash Only! read more

This is a local favorite for many people. Great hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches and fries. Oh the glorious chili cheese fries! The ones you need to do mad cardio to work off. So worth it! The portions for the fries are very generous. Great for splitting with a friend.! The chili is awesome on the fries or a hot dog. I have always received great service here. The staff are friendly and quick. Prices are great which is another plus. If you aren't familiar with the place please note that they only take cash. If you have a card there are a couple of ATMs within walking distance. read more

I know everyone claims that their hot dog shop is the best hot dog shop, but once you eat Red Hot, you will realize you will never have a chili cheese dog that compares. Their hotdogs alone actually taste delicious, but when you top them with their amazing chili concoction and the little slices of cheese, they transform into the most amazing hotdog you will ever eat. The chili cheese fries are made in the same way. Don't be afraid of the cheese slices. The chili and fries are hot enough that the slices melt and mix with the chili and become delicious. The prices here are great as well. You can feed two people for around $7. The food is either to go, or you can sit down and enjoy your meal there. The only downfall is that since this is a small town family business, they only accept cash. read more

Red Hot is amazing. A small chili fry here would be a large anywhere else, and a large here will feed four people. The chili is really what makes this place great, and after eating here you will never be able to eat at Brighton Hot Dog Shop ever again. As was said by others, it's Cash Only, but you can easily feed two people for 10$. read more

I have dreams about eating chili cheese fries from Red Hot. I live in Charlotte, NC, but grew up in Ellwood, so whenever I come home I try to make a pit stop there. If you catch the owner there in a good mood, you might come home with some extras. We came in to buy some chili from them to take back to NC with us, and he gave us two quart jars filled to the brim and didn't charge us! Hometown love. I've never been able to find any chili as delicious as theirs anywhere. Not healthy, but TOTALLY worth the extra zillion calories! read more

We only had the hot dogs. I had 2. They were delicous. Atmosphere is good. Service is OK. I would definitely go back.

Good chili sauce, but my God those hot dogs are Slim-Jim thin. Ironically the fries are the most you may ever see in one order.

Great hot dogs with great service. It's a local favorite where they know your name when you walk in the door. If you are looking for the authentic local hot dog shop this is it. read more

Don't overlook there awesome breakfast! It's cheap and you can get chili & cheese on anything. read more

Good little luncheonette. Has the basics, hot dogs/ hamburgers and fries with options. We had the chili / cheese fries. They were ok, not good but not bad. The burgers were a bit dry but not burnt. We are likely to stop back in a pinch but not as an every week staple. I would recommend Carla's around the corner instead. Score Food Quality 3 Service 3 Atmosphere 3 Value 3 Recommend 3 Tier 3 read more

Best place in Ellwood for lunch it is a most go in Ellwood I love the food and the kids do to and its cheap

We were so so disappointed with the food. The waitress and, I'm assuming, owner we met were EXTREMELY friendly, so this is in no way a dig at them. But the food was terrible, the chili was watery. More of a gravy consistency then chili. The cheese was just American slices melted in a microwave, my daughter ordered cheese fries and a cheese dog and they looked completely un appetizing. Literally looked what I used to make when I bought my first place and had no food in the fridge and had to get creative lol. HOWEVER everyone around here has a preference about chili dogs and we prefer the Brighton way but lots of people love this place so it may just be not for us. The restroom could use some love as well, it smelled like they had been smoking cigarettes in there all day and we kept hearing the cooks swearing in the back which wasn't what we were expecting at a family restaurant with our two toddlers in toe. read more

The best chili dogs and chili cheese fries I've ever had!