Tom & Joe's Restaurant — Restaurant in Altoona

On an overnight stay from Pittsburgh, we found Tom & Joe's based on other faithful Google reviews, and I am glad we did. We arrived at around 9:30 am Sunday, and were greeted and immediately seated. This place is in downtown Altoona, and I realized by several nearby interactions that this place is frequented by mostly regulars, who don't even need a menu. Despite our being first timers, the waitress made us feel very much at home with her friendly and welcoming demeanor. The menu listed very traditional breakfast fare. I ordered something called the "Big One"which was like a kitchen sink of breakfasts...eggs, home fries (with optional green peps and diced onion), ham, bacon, sausage, short stack of pancakes and toast (for an extra buck). The food arrived with lightning speed by our experienced waitress. Coffee topped off without fail. Here's the best part. Without exception, each component in this dish was top notch, expertly prepared, high quality and very very tasty. I've had plenty of mediocre breakfasts, but this was thankfully not one of them -so good. One other thing that made me log this review. A manager/(owner?) fellow was bustling around, very concerned about some Uber eats orders that were lingering on a table... seemingly not picked up in time by the UE driver to be fresh. We finally overhead him calling Uber and politely taking charge. He took the box and headed out the door to deliver himself!

That is customer care and service in action.

If you haven't been, go to this place and support them. I expect you...

Tom and Joe's Diner is truly an authentic diner experience. They had wonderful food and amazing staff. The layout is unique and feels small but it works so well in getting food to where it needs to be. The menu has all of the American classics for a really reasonable price. My favorite items were the breakfast potatoes and the French toast. The potatoes I received seemed to be the left of crumbles off the grill with a couple normal ones thrown in which is why i marked this food rating down 1 star. I could tell that I was just unlucky and that the normal product would not normally come out with that many griddle crumbs. Fortunately I do like some crispy potatoes so it worked out, some of them were just a little to far gone lol. Again just a timing issue other wise they would have been amazing. The French toast was delish as well. They use thick Texas toast for the bread and soak it in a well balanced egg/milk mixture when you order it. No store bought or off the truck food here which I am always glad to see. I think self made food adds to a uniqueness of a restaurant that separates them from other chains. The wait staff were all super welcoming and polite and although super busy always had time to keep my coffee filled. I believe I even saw the owner putting in work looking like he was gonna do some dishes. It's nice to see such a hard working guy putting in the effort for his own business to succeed. I would definitely recommend this diner to anyone passing through the Altoona area and I can't wait...

I counted down the days, like waiting for Christmas, to get to Altoona. I couldn't wait to try this slice of good old-fashioned Real American nostalgia. Boy was I certainly not disappointed. I kept waiting for my Pa Pa and his buddies to walk in. Of course, they've all been gone for decades now. What I'm trying to say is, there just ain't enough of this stuff around anymore. My stomach got so excited that it persuaded my mouth to start eating before I remembered to take pictures of my food. All I can say is that you have to have some scrapple, lots of creamed chipped beef, plenty of rye toast to dip in it, home fries, and plenty of eggs any way you like. I prefer over easy. It was fabulous, and I had exceptional service from a real, friendly, smart waitress who knows how to juggle 15 tasks and make conversation with all ages while smiling and cracking a joke or two. The cooks were exactly that...people who cook food the way we like it and serve it up hot and fresh. None of that fancy apron-don't wanna get a stain stuff. The food is great, but there is far more to taking a person back in time. Thanks to all the great people here who keep more than just an old brick building open. They keep its spirit alive and well. I'll be back, so...