Metro Diner — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

Very disappointing. Today was my second time trying this restaurant after having a very "eh" experience last time and figured I'd give them 1 more chance. Definitely will never come back. Our person who was supposed to be serving us didn't pay us ANY attention. Literally the only thing they did was hand us the menu and gave me the check. I had to ask multiple different waitresses for help to refill my fiancés drink, for the check, to order the food. Another waitress even had to give us the food we were waiting for cause the person who was supposed to serving us wasn't doing anything. I get it's not a 5 star restaurant but it's supposed to be basic customer service. Not only just the customer service is terrible, the food is so bad. I tried a burger the first time and Mac and cheese and that was "eh" but today I had the biscuits and gravy and eggs and hashbrowns and idek what they're thinking. The sweet tea is just..tea. Has not an ounce of sugar in it. The eggs don't even look like eggs and not seasoned at all. The hashbrowns were seasoned with a whole bottle of whatever they use which should've been on the eggs. The biscuits and gravy were ok but the whole experience today was an absolute no. They do not know how to cook food nor know basic customer service. I ALWAYS tip. I've never not tipped before and today was that day that I didn't tip. This place is not going to last long. It's a shame I spent $30 on some...

Now here is a place that does brunch right! Unlike my disappointing trip to try First Watch, I was sat as soon as I walked in with three different people trying to find me a table. Unlike the empty First Watch, Metro Diner was packed full (11am-ish on a Sunday). The poutine was my starter, and even though cheese curds, fries and brown gravy sounds like a dubious mixture, it was delicious. For my meal I went basic with a meat lover's omelet and grits (with an english muffin) and it was all tasty. There is a varied menu of breakfast and lunch options, and I am excited to return to try some of their less traditional dishes now that I know that going out of my comfort zone can be delicious (waffles made with stuffing, topped with mashed potatoes, turkey and gravy?! I am intrigued!). My server Katie (very attentive and friendly, btw... though as I looked around the whole staff seemed pretty happy to be here, even the cooks in the fully visible kitchen) recommends the pot pie and fish and chips. Guess I'll be back several times! (I took a star off only because between the full Dining room and the open kitchen, it was less than quiet. I didn't even realize their was ambient music until lunch started...

Gave them a try for lunch since they were newly opened. The dining area is small but comfortable. Can easily see there being a long wait here on busy weekends with the amount of seating available. Parking is available but limited and will likely spill over to the Target parking lot but otherwise they have made great use of space. The waitstaff was friendly and we were promptly greeted upon walking in. The menu is fairly extensive and fairly priced with something for whatever mood you are in. I ordered the Metro Club with a side of French fries and a drink and my total was roughly $19 pre-tip. Forgot to take a picture of the meal but the sandwich and fries were both well presented and tasty. They give huge portions so I had half a sandwich leftover. My friend ordered the chicken pot pie which they enjoyed. Overall I enjoyed the experience and will be back to try their breakfast because I am interested in their strawberry butter. They aren’t serving dinner just yet but will expand to dinner serve after while. I am sure they will do well in this location as it’s a pretty good sit down restaurant with a bang...