Johnny's Diner — Restaurant in Florida

I lived just down the street from Johnny's for like three years when I first moved to Orlando. I feel bad that I never went, or even heard of it. But lately it's been getting more press and is winning more awards in the periodicals that I read. They have some of the best breakfast in town, I love breakfast, so I came here one morning to see what was up.

It's in a strip mall, so you would think there isn't much opportunity for adding personality to your exterior, but Johnny found a way. Huge Christmas window paint murals adorn the giant windows, making this exterior very fun and very festive. Eye catching.

The service was legendary. You get greeted immediately with a good ol' country howdy when you enter the door. Like the ones I'm used to and miss about back home. You get a lot of huns and shugs when you're ordering and being checked on. And the server comes along to see if you need a coffee refill literally every five minutes or so. It was like being in a movie, the service. It was excellent.

The menu all looked so good, it was hard to choose, but I ended up going with the Johnny Omelet (Bacon, ham, sausage, onions, green peppers and cheese topped w/sausage gravy), after getting confirmation that it was a good amount of food for guys my size.

It was very good! Tons and tons of fillings, All diced very finely, so you got a little bit of everything in each bite. Just enough gravy on top, sometimes diners drown their food in gravy and take away from their meal, but this gravy was tastefully done. And the hash browns, griddled to a crispy perfection. Very nice.

I also got to sample the Very Special Breakfast (2 eggs, hash browns, 2 silver dollar pancakes, 2 strips of bacon, 2 links of sausage, slice of ham toast white or wheat). Lots of little bites here, everything done well. Over medium eggs were perfect.

Overall, the décor felt very homey, the service felt very familiar, and the food was solid. I'm glad I didn't know about this place sooner, so I'd weigh a lot more. Thanks for an excellent...

My wife and I decided to come here and it was our first time visiting. The food was good. Our server seemed overwhelmed given the number of tables she had to take care of. It may not have been her fault but very pushy and not friendly when it came to ordering. We sat ourselves as the sign said, we waited about 6 or 7 minutes, and a table was sat next to us and helped immediately when we hadn't even been greeted yet.

The server eventually came over and asked if we were ready to order when we didn't even have drinks yet. She came back with our drinks after a minute, seemed annoyed, and literally tossed my daughters straw onto the table and asked again if we were ready. We told her we needed some more time.

She waited another minute or two at most, no exaggeration, and came back asking if we were ready. We ordered hurriedly and then waited a while for our food, which was very confusing given how rushed we were to order.

We were given the check as soon as we were served by a different server. Thankfully, our original server came back to check one time, before we left, so we were able to get water. Not sure if it was to see why we weren't leaving to make room but that's what it felt like.

Good price for the food, but the service was not what we expected. I understand how frustrating and overwhelming it can be to servers, so I can't hold that against her personally, but it's not something I can overlook from a service standpoint. If you are overwhelmed and cannot handle a rush; you are in the wrong business.

There were other servers that were busy, and that's great for business, but ours seemed soured by it a lot, maybe just an off day or given too many tables to take care of. There are so many great reviews and that's why we decided to try it, hopefully just...

Johnny’s Diner, sitting at the corner of University and Dean next to Publix, has all the makings of a neighborhood staple—great location, steady flow of customers, and that old-school diner aesthetic. But after giving it a fair shot, I can’t help but feel like something’s just… off.

Let’s start with the space. It’s not that the place is tiny, but the way they’ve crammed in tables and chairs makes it feel smaller than it should be. When it’s busy (which seems to be always), you can’t help but notice how much of a tight squeeze it is. It’s not the kind of place where you can sit back and enjoy a relaxed meal—it’s more like you eat, you shuffle, and you go.

The food? Well, it’s not bad. In fact, it’s a step above what you’d expect from a Denny’s or IHOP. The portions are fair, the flavors are fine, but there’s nothing that really stands out. It’s the kind of meal where you think, “Yeah, that was pretty good,” but ten minutes later, you’ve forgotten what you ordered.

The service? That’s where things start to slip. It’s not the staff’s fault—they’re clearly hustling—but they seem overwhelmed. It’s like the diner is consistently punching above its weight class in terms of traffic, and the team just can’t keep up. It makes me wonder if the place is doing too well for its own good—packed house, but not quite raking in enough to expand or improve the operation.

At the end of the day, Johnny’s Diner isn’t bad. It just feels like it’s running at an awkward pace—too busy, too cramped, and not quite special enough to justify the constant crowds. Maybe it thrives because of the perfect location. But if you’re looking for a place that delivers more than just convenience, you might walk away wondering what all the...