Valley Charcoal — Restaurant in Hamilton

Do all diners ask you to pay upfront for your meal if you are staying in? This one does even if you say, " I will be taking a seat. ", to the staff. They insist.

Do all diners charge you $3.25 for a can of Ginger-ale? This one does.

Do all diners have a wild kitchen staff? In my hospitality experience yes. The night I visited for a meal the BOH prep cook was howling laughing at his smartphone videos. Him & the cashier were watching them together shortly after behind the counter in plain view of customers & definitely within ear shot distance of the two other ( and only ) customers in house. I have to say, my meal with a side of "The Joker" tasted a bit funny.

No shade thrown on the only cook in the house. Not The Joker but an older man who looked to have a lot of experience. He was doing his job very efficiently. His food was great. But if you ever go up front and turn your head to look at his line you may find that it's a disaster and could use a wipe here & there. My chef's have always said that if you have time to lean you got time to clean. And last week there was nobody sitting in this place for the full hour I was around.

Will I be back? The best way to tell is to read this review one more time. You'll get...

Absolutely terrible. Place is FILTHY. Just overall unkempt throughout. Its quite dark inside. Smells dirty. Behind the counter is a stack of messy papers and junk wedged between coolers like why?! While waiting for my order I noted the garbage bin area was disgusting, needs a good wipe down and thorough CLEANING. Looks like they scrape plates into the garbage..and if they miss..oh well ..it runs down the front or on the floor. There were 2 tables with people at them. On a Sunday at 1pm. The pile of dishes strewn about the garbage area and left on tables was shocking. Its not like it was a breakfast rush and they couldnt keep up. The order; 1 banquetburger and 1 fries with gravy to go. $17.55!!!! Wow. The food. Yuck. There is no CHARBROIL at the valley charcoal let me tell you! It was a burger FRIED on a flat top grill. Terrible no name brand bun. ( not the big sesame bun from years gone by and shown in the pics) The fries...unremarkable.. they are fries..but the gravy...BLEH!!! It was very pale like chicken gravy & tasteless. What happened to beef gravy? Just SUCH a disappointment. I DEFINATELY...

It's kind of strange with the way you order at the front and then a waitress brings your food. ...why not just have full table service? Anyway, it's actually really tasty diner food. It's a relaxing atmosphere nothing is really new or modern but cozy for sure. Clean. The food is pretty great, especially the breakfast. The portions are large and the price is right EDIT TO ORIGINAL REVIEW: I kept going back because of the delicious and cheap breakfast but today and on a previous visit a few weeks ago Ive gotten the most disgusting tasting bacon I've ever experienced. It's not rotten, it's a spoiled grease taste that must be coming from a dirty grill or a dirty item used on the grill. I almost puked in the restaurant the 2 times this happened. Left the whole plate of bacon both times and just walked out. After this happening twice I see it is not just a one off time. It will continue to happen. I will now avoid at all costs. In surprised I haven't gotten dealthy ill or food poisoning....