Denny's Restaurant — Restaurant in Rural Municipality of Headingley

I Came for the Goth Latina Experience, and Got the Biggest Letdown of My Life

Alright, lemme tell you something, Denny’s. I walk into your fine establishment, and I’m expecting a certain vibe, okay? You know what I’m talkin’ about—the late-night Denny’s experience that every insomniac and weirdo craves. The food’s whatever, we all know that, but what sets the whole thing off is the ambiance. And for me? That ambiance includes the Goth Latina waitress who makes you question every life choice up until that moment. But no, no, you had to go and ruin it.

First of all, where was she? I’m not here for the food, okay? I mean, sure, it’s Denny’s. I get it—four stars for the food just ‘cause it’s so greasy, it might as well have its own zip code. But I come to Denny’s for the attitude. I want to be judged, I want the waitress to look at me like I just asked for ketchup at a five-star French restaurant. But nope. What do I get? The friendliest service of my life. I didn’t sign up for that! I don’t want small talk, I want her to roll her eyes at me like I’m just some basic, late-night loser. That’s what makes Denny’s, Denny’s! I want to feel like she’s one sarcastic comment away from quitting her job and burning the place down.

Look, the food was decent, I’m not gonna lie. But without that little extra flavor of disdain, it’s like eating at a Walmart cafeteria. I don’t go to Denny’s at 2 a.m. for top-notch cuisine. I go for the atmosphere, which should be dripping in existential dread and eyeliner. I’m talkin’ about a Gothic Latina whose playlist is 90% My Chemical Romance, 10% internalized rage. I want her to spit in my pancakes metaphorically, you get me? But no, instead, she smiled at me like she’s happy to be alive. Disgraceful.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t about wanting bad service—it’s about wanting the right service. There’s an art to it, alright? The sarcasm, the deadpan delivery, the “I’m too good for this but I’m still here” energy. It’s like Denny’s hired the nicest person on Earth just to personally insult me. A smile? Really? If I wanted a smile, I’d go to an IHOP at 8 a.m., not Denny’s after midnight.

So, Denny’s, here’s the deal. If you wanna stay true to what you’re known for, bring back the goths. Bring back the Latinas who look like they hate every fiber of your being. The food? Yeah, it’s four stars—but it doesn’t mean jack if I’m not getting the full Denny’s experience. Until then? You’re just another chain restaurant....

updated

I came in again this morning (Monday) for my scrambled eggs and English muffin and Sonja was in an exponentially better mood or having a better morning today and spoke to me with respect and kindness. And I am grateful to her for that. And have updated my review to reflect the experience.

(Sunday) I ordered two scrambled eggs and an English muffin from Denny’s on Skip this morning—same as yesterday. I’ve done this across Canada and the U.S. for over two years.

After ordering, I went into Flying J for coffee and the restroom, then decided to wait inside Denny’s rather than walk through the frigid parking lot twice.

After Sonja seated a family, I let her know, "I'm here for my Skip order, but I don't think it’s ready yet."

Her immediate response, with a slightly ignorant tone: "The order just came in, and we have 24 minutes to prepare it." (Despite it being placed and confirmed 10 minutes prior.)

I said, "That's fine, I just figured I’d let you know I was here in case it was ready." Because… two eggs and an English muffin?

She walked away, then immediately came back: "Actually, I'll just get you to sign for your order now then."

I hesitated for a second—signing for eggs? Weird. But I got up and walked over, saying, "This is new; I've never had to do this before."

Her tone escalated: "Actually, THIS IS OUR POLICY." Imagine a teenager correcting you on something insignificant.

I responded, now matching a small version of her tone but playfully, even making a silly face: "Well, I didn’t have to yesterday, so it must be new."

She scolded me: "You're supposed to be signing for it. That’s policy." But much more aggressively this time.

I told her, "You're being quite aggressive in your delivery, and it’s unnecessary."

She snapped back, "I’m just telling you what the policy is."

"Yes, but you're doing it with a rude attitude, and I don’t understand why. The aggression is super unnecessary."

I never refused to sign. I wasn’t rude. I even tried to lighten the mood. When I called out her attitude, I was direct but polite.

Three minutes later—not 24—she dropped my food on the counter without a word and walked away.

I made sure to thank her before leaving.

I get it—food service is hard. But I wasn’t a nightmare customer. Sometimes, when people say, "I’ve never had to do this before," they’re just making an observation.

And when they say, "I'm here for my Skip order," they aren’t demanding you rush. They’re...

Not sure how to best write this review as the experience still has us both blown away.

So, it’s been a long day travelling on the road and both my husband and I are beyond exhausted and looking for some place close by to eat, but mostly seeking out that famed comfort food we Canadians seem to be drawn towards. Our hotel has a Denny’s right next door, so we decide to give it a try. Not expecting too much, we enter into a virtually empty restaurant and wonder, oh oh, hope we made the right choice.

Fast forward to one of those little life changing moments that you will always remember. We are warmly greeted by a lovely woman named Lesya who turned out to be, to our good fortune, also our server. Despite the empty restaurant, we already knew we were in the right place, and we were right. Both our meals were exceptional with my husband commenting it was the best burger he has ever had.

The best part of the story doesn’t stop at the wonderful meal, it’s more of one that tugs on your heart strings. An elderly couple, both struggling with mobility issues, came into the restaurant. It was immediately clear that this lovely couple were regulars of the restaurant and were clearly there to eat mostly because Lesya was working. In fact, they had actually called ahead to make sure she was working. When she knew they were there, it was like watching a loving and attentive grandchild taking care of her loved ones. She clearly had a warm connection with them which was clearly mutual. It was so lovely to see. Turns out we were not the only ones touched by this lovely young woman’s compassion. Who would have thought that a review of this Denny’s restaurant would be one were you could honestly say that the great food was just the bonus, the true experience was the reminder that human kindness can go a long way in making someone’s day truly comforting...