The Classic Diner — Restaurant in East Whiteland Township

I have been frequenting the diner for upwards of 10 years. It has grown increasingly more difficult to enjoy a meal here. My husband will still accompany me, but I will no longer bring my family. I just left from dining, today. I feel it is the time to finally speak my truth. What used to be a homey and comfortable place has turned into an unsavory experience. This is more often than not. I wasn't going to write a review, because I don't believe that it's something that necessitates the public reading. However, your website won't allow this much text. Again, I've given you my patronage for years. This is more of a constructive criticism, with the hopes that you can use it to your advantage to better the experience for the future of your patrons. The goal here isn't to nitpick or finger point. After all, I will continue to dine here. It is more so just to prove that these things do not go unnoticed. If they are not found to have some sort of problem solving measure, I know that others will share my sentiment. Personally, my meal averages $30. When I bring my husband, it is upwards of $50. Consumers pay good money for the experience of your bacon! While your food can be quite amazing, I think we can both agree that the staff can also make or break an establishment. I would never feel the need to write this after just one poor experience. Granted, some days are better than others. I found the need to pen this after several similar experiences in the recent past. I have taken notice that it is not a matter of any one day or another. It tends to be the same regardless of whether the business is lacking that day. I prefer not to point out any one singular person or persons, although it does seem to be the same faces. I assure you that I am not speaking alone when I say it seems customers are intruding on the employees' social hub. It is extremely unprofessional. You really should hold your staff accountable before words start spreading. For, instead of providing hospitality, there seems to be a greater need to socialize. At any given time, you can find employees sitting and talking in plain sight. You can see phone calls being made. You can witness boisterous conversations taking place. Foul language is used by who I know to be management. It seems to be a steady and uncomfortable chaos, and it is a rapid and obvious decline. It is difficult to keep an appetite while hearing this. I have also taken notice of an uptick in flies. As business owners, we have fallen on tough times. I know the difficulties, first hand, that come with finding good people. I have been personally handed a check just a couple of minutes after being handed a meal. The idea doesn't sit well with me. It would be nice to finish a meal, as opposed to the feeling of being rushed. There are times when customers want to eat quickly. There are times when there isn't a necessity to rush. No matter which customer is being served, they should never be pushed out the door. I am hoping, for all of the many who frequent The Classic Diner, you sincerely...

Always a 5-star experience. Sure, it's a little tight but it's a relatively small place!

My wife and I eat here regularly and have never had an issue with the staff, the food, or the location. The prices are online with the area, and in some instances, are cheaper than less notable competitors.

Don't take my word for it. TRY IT!

Just a word of caution, I wrote this review to not only share the fact that The Classic Diner is a lovely place, but also in hopes that the owner will read this and take any complaints received from the individual mentioned below with a grain of salt. I do not work for The Classic Diner and I do not represent any employees of The Classic Diner.

My wife and I had a meal at Classic on Saturday (02/22/2024) and were witness to a patron going out of his way to let everyone know (including texting the owner - who he knows personally) how "filthy" the restaurant was. Turns out, the "filthy" was a small piece of onion ring that happened to fall under a table during the VERY busy breakfast/lunch time. Not a whole onion ring, A SMALL PIECE OF AN ONION RING!

After making a scene in front of the lunch crowd, this Jason Kelce wannabe (trust me. If you saw him you'd say it too), has the audacity to apologize over the entire dinkng counter as he's walking out the door, stating "I'm sorry I ruffled some feathers, but I work(ed) for the owner at another location and I couldn't let it go."

It was a piece of an onion ring, folks!!!

Let's recap -

Classic Diner is awesome!

People who dress and groom like Jason Kelce need to get a new look. There's only one Jason Kelce and he's a treasure.

Acting like a jackass and texting the owner of an establishment over a piece of an onion ring is not a good look. I can guarantee that you are gaining no points with them by notifying of them of trivial things such as this. They hired managers for this reason. There are better ways to get noticed. I'd start by putting away the Jason Kelce costume.

Berating the staff like they owe you something simply for your connection to the owner makes you look like a complete douche. Why not simply wear an "entitled" sign around your neck?

A dressing down in the guise of a half-hearted apology also makes you look like a douche.

Here's a clue for the fourth runner-up in the Jason Kelce look alike contest - If you have a complaint, summon a manager. Discuss your concerns with said manager. IF the manager does not provide you with REASONABLE (I emphasize this because what you feel you are entitled to versus what is to be expected are two different things) accommodation, consider escalating your concerns.

Again, fine...

Food - 4, Service - 4, Decor - 2

TLDR - Friendly attentive staff, decent but overpriced food, interior needs heavy renovation. Can recommend (if you don't mind the high prices) but won't be back.

Went here for lunch with my daughter while waiting for our dog to be discharged from VRC next door. I ordered coffee, tuna BLT and onion rings, she ordered BLT with no T (go figure).

Our order was taken quickly and the food came in a reasonable amount of time. They forgot my onion rings but delivered it soon after I asked about it. The staff was attentive, friendly and frequently checked in.

The only have skim milk - I like my coffee with whole milk. Kind of odd for a diner, but whatever, not a huge deal. My daughter's BLT was unremarkable - what you would expect from a diner BLT. The bacon is thick and has the right amount of sweet/salt/smoke flavor profile. My tuna BLT was a bit of a mess. The piece of salmon is quite large and does not in any way fit on the bun. They should have cut it in half at least. The bacon was all piled to one side and the avocado was 90% hanging out of the other side and some spilled onto the plate. I basically had to re-assemble the entire thing to make it possible to eat it. The picture below is after I took it apart and rebuilt it, then cut it in half - which is how it should have been served in the first place. The side salad was fresh and the balsamic dressing is tasty. The sandwich was decent but for $20 I would expect something a little more. Onion rings were good. The house made chips were a little too cooked for my taste and kind of greasy but otherwise ok. The issue here is more the value - the above meal was $36 - two sandwiches, coffee and a side of onion rings. Even in these inflationary times I would expect something a little more.

The interior of this place is rough. It's badly in need of lots of renovation. Paint is heavily scuffed and peeling everywhere. The chairs and tables are really worn. Not the kind of cute rustic worn you get in a tavern, just the kind of old worn out worn you get from an owner too cheap to make the capital investment to bring it up to date. There are apparently leaks in the roof and literally water dripping onto the floor next to tables. Comes back to value - for the prices they are charging they really should update...