Dalton Restaurant — Restaurant in Dalton

My wife and I have eaten here several times, and have always had great service from the staff, a clean table, and a lively atmosphere with so many locals packing the booths and counter. Dalton Restaurant is sort of a fixture of Dalton and has been family run...well, forever. And I suspect that longstanding patronage and vaunted local status has contributed to the reason we've given this restaurant only two stars: they just aren't trying very hard to please customers anymore.

The problem isn't the selection -- there are lots of options. And it's not pricing, which is always reasonable. I've already said the service is good, and it's clean inside, and there are lots of other folks having meals there at all times of the day.

Okay, so what's the problem...?

The problem is the quality of the food itself. The coffee, for example, is undrinkable. Having travelled all around the country and had the best and the worst of bar and diner fare, I can confirm that there is really no worse coffee anywhere in the U.S. than what is served at Dalton Restaurant. It doesn't even taste like coffee. And if you add some the restaurant's left-out-too-long half-and-half to that strangely flavored brew...well you'll get a very interesting beverage indeed, with a lingering and unsettling aftertaste. :-0

Another example is the breakfast steak. It doesn't taste like steak, but has more of a chemically liver flavor. Maybe the tenderizer they use is to blame, but this breakfast cut is just about as inedible as the coffee is undrinkable. And again a strange aftertaste will stick with you long after you finish your meal.

Are there any exceptions? Sure. The chef's tuna salad is actually pretty good, and the burger is too. Breakfast eggs are also a fairly safe bet. The home fries that come with breakfasts are hit-and-miss, but on a good day they're savory if a little mushy. And on the occasions I've ordered a beverage from the bar, it's been a generous pour (which is always nice). But so far these are the only things on the menu that we would ever order again from Dalton Restaurant -- resulting in what has become very limited selection of safe or enjoyable options.

The one bright spot is the bakery next door, which is attached to the restaurant, and from which you can order reliably yummy baked goods with your Dalton Restaurant meal. Or...you could save yourself an unfortunate and disappointing dining experience and just order some baked goods from the bakery to go.

Lastly, the other irksome challenge we encountered at Dalton Restaurant is that mentioning any of the food and beverage problems to the staff doesn't result in a better outcome. You won't get a redo, and you won't get the items you didn't eat or drink taken off the bill. "That's what we serve," said one of the wait staff to me when I raised an issue about my meal (sigh). It's what they've always served at Dalton Restaurant, and folks just keep filling up the restaurant to order more of it...so why should anything...

We went there about 4 times. Food was good, tried a few different things each time being around the area. We went today and were told they were adding a tip, because we didn’t tip last time. They were really rude had us waiting for nearly 15 mins with open tables, asked us if we were next left us in middle of isle and sat us down and loudly spoke since you didn’t tip last few times if you stay we will automatically add a tip. One we are the only people of color that go there, they don’t have people of color that work there, everyone is nearly over 50 when we are there. We always tip people that give good service and the last we stopped there last minute and had barely any money, but there are better ways of speaking and approaching customers because it’s not mandatory to pay a tip. I believe this about more then just a tip, and more of because we are people of color, diners will...

Been here maybe 100 times over the past 15 years, and would give it 5 stars, but having a good waitress is not a guarantee. My order is frequently incorrect, and the Waitresses are typically not very friendly. If you are there all the time, maybe they are fine, but I would feel more welcome being a Fox in a Hen house. That said, a few of the Waitstaff are very good, and the best Waitress I ever had there is now one of the cooks, and that's too bad. Maybe she had her fill of bad customers. Food is usually very good. Anyways, I still go there every few months, mostly for Breakfast.

Update. The Waitressing has improved noticeably as of late, and my orders have been correct. I hope the restaurant can maintain this level of...