Duluth Diner — Restaurant in Duluth

I’m seeing some pretty good reviews on here for this place but for me its thumbs down. The first time I went in there it was to get a cheeseburger to go. I was asked how I wanted it cooked and so I ordered it medium well. First bite I was absolutely disgusted because the meat on the inside was pretty much raw and it didn’t taste very good either. Not only that but while I was standing there waiting for someone to come take my order the staff was looking at me all strangely like they never seen someone standing by the register waiting to place a to go order. So while I was waiting I just felt very uncomfortable like I was being stared at by the staff as if I was some kind of a suspicious character or something like that. I’m a burger connoisseur and the best burger you ever had in your life is the breakfast burger they have for brunch at Local & North in downtown Duluth. Anyways I decided I would give the Duluth Diner another chance because I was thinking that if I order the burger well done and it’s cooked right then maybe it will be pretty good. Same experience as the first time as far as the service goes because again I felt like I was being stared at by the staff as if I was some kind of a suspicious character & like they never seen someone standing there waiting to place a to go order. This time the burger was cooked fully but it still didn’t taste that good. It wasn’t nasty but it definitely wasn’t worth buying. Terrible quality beef. McDonald’s has better burgers than the Duluth Diner does. Now the cheeseburger at American Deli is absolutely amazing and it’s 2$ cheaper than the cheeseburger at the Duluth diner and it’s...

I don’t want to exaggerate in this review, but our server today has the power to return one’s faith in humanity and the greater American institution of the Diner in general, single handedly. Bafflingly attentive to seven, eight-plus tables, refilling coffee and creamers with an intuition that would stagger the greatest minds of our generation, doing all with a silent curtesy and an economy of motion more subtlety graceful than some collegiate ballet performances I’ve seen (excluding the Nutcracker performed annually at Lehigh University, which remains unmatched).

NOT ONLY was the server fantastic, but the food tasted like food. Any longtime Atlanta area residents will know what I mean when I say that often, the foodstuff at breakfast locations tastes like vague fried matter. At Duluth Diner, this is not the case. The bacon tastes like bacon, the sausage tastes like sausage. The home fries came from an actual potato. The coffee tasted like coffee! The simple truth of food that tasted like it did in 2019, tasted like it should, was almost profound.

The bathrooms are un-pretentiously gender neutral AND handicapped accessible. The soap is actual soap. I highly recommend you take a moment to appreciate this during your visit.

Anyone caught in the web of eternal pessimism, located within a 20 mile radius of this place, should make it a point to visit when it’s next convenient. The whole world is going to hell in a handbasket, it’s true, but the Duluth Diner remains a bastion of what once-was, and could be again. A lighthouse in a sea of darkness.

Atmosphere is 4/5 stars because it looks kind of like a...

I was duped. I read the reviews. I saw the pics. Who writes these great reviews? Do these fokk not cook? I cook every day and have since before I was a teen. I have cooked professionally. This food is less than average. The prices are outrageous. Food is tasteless or too salty. Well, I take that back. the grits were great. Omelette flat, no cheese, no salt and pepper. Home fries tasted like leftover backed potatoes that had been diced and fried. Not a terrible idea but real lack luster. My wife sent her hash back. It was flat and folded. I don't understand how that happened. It was burned. She sent back the home fries they were burned. She asked for sausage in stead. It was undercooked and salty as a salt lick. A glass of soda was $2.55. I know it cost less than $.25 per glass to make a soda. Like I said, I did food thing for years. Our server was really sweet. She seemed very in tune with our concerns. She went and asked if I could taste the soup of the day before ordering. It was good. I should have ordered it. I can't speak for other menu items, but ours was disappointing. I do agree that the menu is way to expansive. When it takes that long to read and choose... Well, you know. It was almost chore like. I don't fault the cooks. People say they like the food. So, why change based on a few bad reviews? I will say however, for the owner to blast people for their feedback is juvenile and unprofessional. The place was clean, staff was nice, and we felt welcome. My review is just my opinion. I wish luck to anyone trying to eek out a living in...