Gunther Toody's Diner — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

I had a great experience at Gunther Toodys today off Palmer Park. Initially the service was not good. After our food came out our waitress threw the plate on our table it was me and my mom. We thought how rude she has been and not very attentive took almost 8 min to get our 1 coffee and two waters without the cream and sugar I asked for when ordering i had to wave my hand around to get her attention just to get me creamer. So waitress not a good thing............... However The cooks especially "Daniel" was amazing, we always share the beef breakfast cutlet and always ask to put on two plates. I could not believe the plates after they were thrown on the table. The plates were very nicely divided appropriately, Looked amazing to both me and my mom even surprised that Daniel took a moment to split the english muffin into halfs and that too was on each plate, the egg was perfect sunnyside up the plate and was outstanding. Mom and I talked and we agreed 10 percent to the waitress but we wanted to tip the kitchen and the guy that took the time to make our plates look so inviting. I asked the waitress to get the cook we would like to tip him. Thats when we met "Daniel" what a sweetheart, we told him how much we appreciate him taking the time to divide the plates even mention cutting the english muffin. The smile on his face was something I will remember We gave him $10 our bill was $19, We asked if someone is working with him he said yes 1 guy a friend of his, I asked him to share the $10 with him. Mom and I were sooo happy, we have gone for the same meal over 20 times and never was the service bad. We always divide the plate and it has never come out so nice, in fact i mentioned to the waitress when we place the order that the last time we came they hardly put sausage grave of the beef steak and if she could say something to the cook. She said to me that we have to charge to add more, i said dont charge me, mention it to the cook and only asking for a reasonable amount last time there was very little. I told her after I get our plates if not enough we will pay for the extra She walked off looking like she was not happy with me at that point. Mom said right away to me shes not that nice... I said I know maybe shes having a bad day! Thank you Andrew I rarely do reviews but I had to tell everyone how good you made me and my mom feel by making our plates look amazing with a reasonable amount of the grave! Best of Luck hope you get a raise he is a great employee that doesnt just throw food on a plate we appreciate...

Today was our first visit since the start of the pandemic. We used to frequent there rather often prior to the pandemic. We specifically enjoyed going there for the fried pickle spears. We enjoyed them so much, I told friends about them. Well, today we returned to find that most likely in an attempt to cut cost for them, they have gotten away from the pre-battered pickles they had to doing their own tempura style. I wish we'd have known that before we ordered because frankly, we did not enjoy getting pickles with the batter mostly sitting at the bottom of the basket. We felt like we simply ate warmed up pickles. We tasted the batter alone and it seemed like a plain and seemingly unseasoned batter. The service and people were great as usual and we have no other complaints at all.

We just wish they would bring back the old pickles because now we honestly won't return for their new ones. Don't get me wrong, they're not bad. Just not as good as the previous more expensive ones in my opinion. Oh, there is one other thing... It is rather strange to be sitting in a 50's diner with 70's music playing. That kind of tilts the mood a little, but not a huge deal.

Please bring back the old pickles. :)

Update: The above was written 11 months ago. I received the following response via email on 3/21/2021 "i just wanted to make sure to make your next visit better, we will be looking to switch the pickles back in the near future. Thank you for you patronship and we look forward to seeing you next time. Matt-Palmer GT"

Fast forward to February 4th, 2022 where we visited for dinner. We of course, ordered the pickles with excitement, expecting that surely they have went back by now. We were incorrect. They were the same pickles with some tempura type of batter that crumbled completely off of the pickles just by picking them up or if it stayed on, came off with any bite. So we're now open to opinions on other places that have fried pickle spears. Our server was super nice and polite, so we tipped well even though getting our food took nearly 20 minutes. My chocolate malt melted before the food came, but I guess that's my fault for not telling her I wanted it with the meal. When we got the food, it was good as usual. We like this place and people a lot. We just won't be ordering their pickles any more,...

**UPDATE So, since I wrote this, we've visited again a few times. (Sept 24, Oct 16 & Nov 10) Once for a family member's 13th birthday (her request). We get sat, then ignored. For the birthday, ignored for 40 minutes! Yesterday was 15 minutes of watching our server flirt with another table & we only got attention when we started walking out. Last month it was a 20 minute wait. And this is just to be greeted after being sat. Not a single "I see you & I'll be right there" I'm talking absolutely no acknowledgement whatsoever (for the bday, we did get a chance to give drink order, then got ignored, no drinks)

Message received, Gunther Toody's - we won't be back.

Long time customer - we go at least once a month if not more often. Gabby has served us a few times now. She not only remembered our faces from our first meeting, she also remembered our drink order. She's sweet, personable & attentive. The food is almost always stellar. The almost is for the details, which the kitchen sometimes overlooks. I get it, no one orders a salad in a diner, but I did. There were some really gross pieces of lettuce in it that made the entire salad unappetizing. Aside from that, it's really amazing food! Atmosphere leaves a little to be desired if you have the bad luck to be sat anywhere near the kitchen. I really don't want to hear servers griping at about other (calling out Barbie specifically) as I eat. It's highly unprofessional & just plain rude. I rather enjoy, as a former chef, the kitchen talk - "drop two clucks" "heard two clucks" etc. Overall, we enjoy this spot immensely - it feels like the quintessential hometown diner. We love the tenders (always perfectly cooked) & the burgers (the John Wayne is a personal fav). Green chili - on...