My partner and I have gone to Judy’s twice total. We wanted to try a local Bangor staple and really thought this was the place based on reviews. The first time was lackluster, but we thought maybe it was just an off day for Judy’s. We took two friends for our second visit a couple of days ago. This time made it more evident that our first experience was just how Judy’s operates. The restaurant itself looks and feels dirty, and has desperately needed a renovation or deep clean for at least a decade. The waitress seemed rude and impatient, and the environment is very unwelcoming unless you’re a regular. They say “no substitutions” on breakfast items, but really it’s a just cover for you to remove an item and have to pay $4+ to order a different full-sized side item. The food was the lowest par for diner food and only what I can describe as sad. I got mid-rare steak and over-easy eggs and was greeted with a grey, sad piece of overcooked meat with no sear and eggs with one crushed yolk and a bizarre film on top. The home fries that my friend and partner ordered were somehow overcooked and undercooked at the same time. Tough, overdone outside, and tough underdone middle. Everything else was barely passable. Again, I understand this is diner food and I’m not expecting more, but this stuff barely makes the cut. I don’t think they realize that there are other seasonings out there besides the salt and pepper on the tables. The waitress was inattentive and spent most of her time chatting with a customer at the bar. My friend spent half of her meal waiting for a water refill, then the rest of us slowly followed suit with our waters. We only got a refill 5 minutes before we left because it took one of the kitchen staff walking by to notice and offer refills, then he was the one who brought them opposed to the waitress, who was still chatting and (I can only hope) oblivious.

After experiencing what Judy’s has to offer, I can with confidence say that their only enthusiastic patronage (and the good reviews) comes from people clinging on to the scraps of memories and nostalgia in this place or those who seek out alcoholic beverages at 6AM. My best advice to give Judy’s a try is to start going there 20 years ago, otherwise you’re in for a cold welcome, food that a teenager could cook 10x better, and dust that has outlasted multiple presidential administrations.