Mattie's Diner — Restaurant in Charlotte

Stumbled upon this “Gem” of a place this weekend on Saturday – 20 January 2024; It was a cold morning, and this “New York Fat Boy” was foraging for an appropriate place to fill my belly. So, I took a chance – rolled my Orange Dice and drove my Orange Car over to this “Old School” – Box Car Diner with a tremendous amount of history behind it. Place is packed and bumping. Had to park in the “Overflow” lot next door which goes to show you what is going on. The intoxicating aroma of deliciousness and love simply will draw you in from the parking lot. Immediately – upon stepping into the “Box Car” you are transported away to a different world. How can I describe the Owner/Operator – other than a Captain of a Ship; - Everyone working in Mattie’s Diner is amazing; - Everyone is friendly, enthusiastic and stand proud and steadfast devoted to ensuring diner satisfaction; - You feel like you are seated inside a “Box Car Diner” – The ambiance is amazing. Friends – this is a place that you must try. Saturday’s Visit was just amazing; - Food was just unbelievable; - I visited there for Lunch; Most folks were eating Brunch. I would come back this morning (Sunday) – 21 January 2024 for Breakfast/Brunch; - This place is more than your typical Diner Food – the place has character, bite and class. The waitresses call you honey and sweetie; - You will not find a more local of a place; Yet – Ironically the Owner/Operator “Mattie” is your “Quintessential” Charlotte Boy originally hailing from Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Apparently – this is where he procured the originally Diner Box Car and transported down to North Carolina. Take a look at my pictures and videos from the weekend; they say it all. Everything that you will devour is made fresh and simply made to order. Tremendous Vegan / Vegetarian options; - You’re not going to find a place more respectable of the most discerning palates. This place is frequented by Charlotte’s Bravest – Witnessed, Firefighters dropping in to pick up food; - so you know it must be good. Tremendous selection of delicious beverages to wash down your meal; - Including this Amazing “Organic Soda” – Don’t fear the Sugar – it was amazing. I’m a Doctor – trust me, a little bit can’t hurt you.

Pot Roast Entrée was amazing and taste like “Bubbie” used to make; - That’s Yiddish for Grandma. This place is the epitome of melting pot with people speaking in various languages, dialects and accents. Don’t worry – You won’t get lost. Wait staff are psychotically accommodating and will ensure that you leave stuffed and smiling.

Parking could potentially be a bit of a challenge, but don’t fret/fear – you can make your way to the “Overflow” lot just a few feet away and find a great spot to park; - Otherwise just be patient – there is lots of movement at this place because everyone is coming and going. Place is truly spotless, I have to mention the extremely clean bathrooms; But – that’s because the team takes tremendous pride in every aspect of this institution. Sit down, because I’m about to say something important – Mattie’s Diner may possibly be one of the top 10 restaurants in Charlotte. I’m not kidding. Enjoy a “Little Slice of Jersey” in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina – I’m not kidding. Don’t be a fool! – Try it! – Great for couples and the family. Could get a bit tight for large groups. Overall – A+ - I challenge you to find a place with better food, down home character and local charm – all rolled up into one. You will leave feeling a part of this...

BFF wanted to go here because he saw vegan omelette via social media. Well, he described it as a Jersey diner and they had nonVegan items. Ok. Sunday lunch. Friend got on the list. But the Bestie that wanted to have this met me in the parking lot scared there would be cross contamination and wanted to go elsewhere. He's been a dedicated vegan since 2008 or 2010. Either way, this ain't for play nor show. He's principled. The other vegan is really pescatarian and could careless.

I have severe allergies and definitely care if there's cross contamination. Young lady seating is asked about how the cooktop works for vegan items:

1. is there a separate cooktop?
2. are new utensils used?

They did a good job answering and owning what they didn't know but sought someone to answer the questions. Young lady showed us the place where we'll sit and she would go get answers and be right back. She never came back.

Alas, the server showed up and he didn't know either nor did anyone ask him or inform him. I had to clean the table and seats were more upsetting to me. The busboy popped nearby and I asked for his spray bottle and he apologized saying he'd clean. H wiped everything but dried nothing.

Server returned without answers but someone got another guy to explain their process. He was helpful. I was content. I can say pics on Yelp leave much to be desired but I got the chicken fried chicken + mashed potatoes and sweet potato waffle fries.

The vegans got their food first and we got an explanation. I didn't care. Bring it as it's ready. I understand. Plus y'all know vegan cheese doesn't melt. Lol.

I didn't desire their vegan breakfast quesadilla nor padrino (I think that's what one had). See pictures. I must say I wanted to get the greens but I will definitely order them on another visit. The vegan ordered vegan pancakes for All to try. I like the crispy edges of any pancake but didn't need the pecans. The vegan butter and syrup was impressive.

We got a lot of apologies in due time as

1. straws were forgotten
2. soup of day query was forgotten
3. refills forgotten
4. table wasn't cleaned

I was most bothered the itemized check was taken away so I don't have an image for this review but also BECAUSE a huge convo took place regarding the tip. A new immigrant to the USA was amongst us AND had legit questions so I was happy to explain but their receipts show 20% totals and higher for tipping yet this receipt show the total with tax. Tips for on the pre-tax total.

Long and short I can recommend

1. fried chicken fried
2. sweet potato waffle fries
3. mashed potatoes
4. brown and light gravy
5. vegan pancakes
6. American potatoes looked great but I didn't touch em as I had plenty

Parking is rough. Cleanup in between flipping/turning tables doesn't really happen in the overflow and I'm good on that. Like, sweeping and wiping can be done between tables and as parties depart.

The staff is younger like everyone appear to be teens which led a dining member inquire where are the adults? I think I saw 1.

There is an...

My friend and I stopped here to have a quick bite while running errands this sunday so we didn’t google the hours nor were they posted somewhere accessible like on the door or on the menu. Apparently they close at 2 and we got there around 1:40, as we were so rudely informed. As someone who works in a restaurant i can understand how it’s a little annoying when customers come in so close to closing time but at the end of the day it’s still your job to provide them with the same level of customer service as you would the first customer of the day.

As soon as we walked in, almost every single open table was dirty. It’s seat yourself so when we sat down I grabbed a napkin to wipe the food and crumbs off of our table and as our waitress (i didn’t catch her name but she had pink hair and was an older woman) approached us and it was very clear she wanted to be on her way home already. She didn’t adress the state of the table or offer to wipe it down. She gave us a couple minutes to look over the menu and she came back and said “Are you ready to order or do you need a minute?” to which we replied “i think we need a minute”- the menu is very extensive so we didn’t have much time to look it over. She then replied “well we close at 2 so if you could order now that would be great”. So why offer us another minute? i felt bad about being their so close to close but i don’t think that was any reason for her to have an attitude about it and they sure didn’t do a good job advertising their hours. My friend then proceeded to order a vegan breakfast sandwich. Having been vegetarian for so long it wasn’t until the waitress gave us our bill that she realized they gave her the regular breakfast sandwich with sausage on it, she just assumed they had a really decent fake meat patty. We didn’t even bring this to our waitresses attention because i felt that she had already had such a bad attitude that she wouldn’t have been very helpful in solving that mistake.

I’m not one to leave reviews, let a lone bad ones but I had high hopes for this diner as many people have raved about it. The food was overall very good i just wish our experience there was better. I’ll definitely go back for another try but I hope the server has less of a “screw it we’re closing soon” attitude and the cleanliness is more up to standard. No one likes to eat at a dirty table or be greeted by people who clearly don’t want to be there. I get it, we all have bad days but if you can’t put that aside at work then you probably shouldn’t be working in...