Beach Diner Atlantic Beach — Restaurant in Atlantic Beach

Having been a somewhat regular customer for a while at both the Ponte Vedra and Atlantic outlets, and quietly observant: Overall the food preparation has been inconsistent and the service can be somewhere between good and poor. A couple of times at the Atlantic property, I have experienced an upset stomach within a half an hour of leaving. It happened again after my last visit and needless to say, I will not return. But leaving food borne illness aside for a moment, I want to make an observation about service, and this is particularly pointed at the Ponte Vedra location. "Casual dining," refers to the customer, not to service personnel. Someone should inform staff there, that they are part of an industry that refers to itself as the "hospitality industry." Hospitality. Please consult a dictionary and apply that idea. No matter what your thoughts may be about a customer and/or how they wish their meal to be, don't proceed to be condescending, patronizing or just downright rude, with an attitude that either you wish you were somewhere else ( I feel your pain ) more befitting your rightful place in society ( good luck ), or perhaps, wish for the customer not to be there at all. Within that vein, something was muttered to me by a gentleman ( possibly ownership ) at the Atlantic property. In my asking that something be prepared a certain way, 'Well, you're just very special, aren't you." At this time I will answer that question. Yes and yes sir, in that you are in the hospitality industry and are supposedly there to provide a pleasant experience to me, the patron; not make rude, condescending comments. Perhaps you are part of what ails some of the staff. Well, there is my review. And I am certain of other establishments, where I will not encounter another food borne illness in the middle of the...

I’ve never given a bad review until today. My friend and I chose the Beach Diner after searching for a restaurant that we both would like. My lunch was a tuna salad pita sandwich which was a skimpy serving in the pita pocket and the tuna was dry. Had to fork it around and add mayo to eat it. Tabouli was dry and sweet potato fries limp not at all crispy. I showed the waitress. She offered to replace my food but we were not wanting to wait. My friend had pork chops, green beans, rice/gravy and corn bread. Green beans were mushy and pork chops were very tough. I took a bite of both and they were as described. Cornbread and rice was good. Glad we neither one wore dentures, would not have been able to chew the chops. I should have sent the food back but we were so hungry and had an appointment to make. The waitress gave us a discount( military) because of dissatisfaction but we are military and should have gotten it anyway , I didn’t ask for additional . Went to pay for both our bills and the cashier was going to charge me $30 for one bill. I caught it and showed her my bill which was the same, $15.34. She had wadded up the other and thrown it away so began to search the trash and said something about these were the only two open checks is why she charged the $30. It was corrected. It was my first time there and took my 91 yr old friend for lunch there. I don’t know how the rating is so high at this restaurant. Guess we both ordered the 2 bad items today. We won’t be returning or recommending to others. I hope some improvements will occur for other patrons in the future. Sincerely...

When my husband and I arrived to dine on the patio with our baby, we found ourselves looking for the -least- dirty table. None of them had been wiped and there was only one couple seated on the patio at the time so there were definitely opportunities for staff to clean. It was our first visit and excited to try it out so we sat anyways. We were greeted shortly after by a nice young man who took our drink orders as he dropped off menus. We requested a table wipe as well. He came back with our waters and another friendly young man to help him; one held our drinks while the other wiped the table. Except when I looked down he was wiping with a napkin. I have over a decade experience in the service industry which began as a server, then bartender, and finally manager. I know very well that was a health code violation to not have a sanitized towel to properly clean the surface with. In shock, I asked the young man if there were any clean towels to use and he said, “haha, I wish.” We got up almost immediately after that experience and left. If the tables can’t be cleaned properly (as if they’re cutting corners to not pay for laundered towels) what other codes are in violation?! Currently nursing so we weren’t going to stick around and take the risk. I was stunned. Also, very disappointed because the menu looked great and we liked the location’s distance from our house. Anyways… INVEST IN SOME TOWELS AND SANI...