Penelope's Diner — Restaurant in Florida

I read some of the negative reviews and I was wondering, where did these folks actually eat! When you enter Penelope’s (which is named after the cutest little girl, drawing at a back table), you are immediately greeted by the nicest host. If you ask, he’ll explain to you that the diner is a mom and pop operation. They stand behind everything they serve, and the food is amazing! I just bought in Gleneagles, which is across the street. My first experience was having a waffle for breakfast. Now, let me explain. I’m a chef, with a published cookbook. If I say the food is fresh and delicious, I know from where I speak. The waffle was crispy and soft inside, perfectly cooked. No gooey center as some places who undercook their food are wont to serve. Real maple syrup if asked for, the test of a great diner. I happened to ask the host when leaving if they serve biscuits and gravy. My first experience with biscuits and gravy occurred in my youth as a guest of the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead, Georgia. It’s the Ritz’s signature breakfast, served in their top hotel. The host declared that their biscuits and gravy were his father’s specialty, and he took great pride in his recipe. Folks, if you’re into a savory béchamel, loaded with pieces of sausage, served over fluffy biscuits, hand cut and fantastic, run, don’t walk. Their tuna sandwiches, the sign of a good restaurant, taste like homemade. Best tuna I’ve had in a restaurant in forever. My husband had a western omelet, and his big mistake was giving me a taste of it! Omg! I couldn’t stop stealing pieces. It was 4 or 5 eggs, stuffed with cheese, ham, onions and peppers, not raw as many places do, but sautéed to bring out the flavors. The omelet was puffy and, again, perfectly prepared! They’ll make a flat omelet if you so desire, but give the chef a chance to show you the miracles he can make with eggs. Service is terrific, and prices low for the tastes and quality of the food. All I can say is Bon Appetit, and I know I’m going to be sorry I wrote this review when the place is too busy to seat...

I decided to hop on line and leave a long overdue review for Penelope's Diner When I saw the negativity from some reviewers I had two thoughts; 1. Some people are never happy and, 2. you gotta be kidding me.

This place is GREAT! I eat here all the time, breakfast and lunch. If they served dinner I'd be here for that too, but then they would have no time for a life, so I'm glad that they don't do dinner.

The food is great. It's fresh, imaginative and the portions are generous. Oh yes, and it is delicious. I go to my favorites a lot. Crepes for breakfast...delicious! Lot's of options, fruit, syrup, filings and they always are happy to make it the way that you like. Corned beef hash with eggs over medium, hash browns and rye toast...off the charts. Sometimes I just pop in for a hot dog and fries for lunch. The hot dogs are the best around and being a simple soul, they make me happy. But everything is good...the salads, the wraps, the burgers, the soups...all great, all fresh, homemade and delicious.

The people who own this place, run this place and go out of their way to make every single customer happy are off the charts wonderful. I cannot tell you how fortunate I feel to have made such nice friendships with the family and their staff. They are just great people, kind, caring and really dedicated to making your experience excellent on all levels. The friendliness is genuine as is their caring. This place is really special and it's for real.

One last thought...we live in an imperfect world. If you don't feel that way, well, you're not paying close attention. But if you want to find a great place to eat where the food, the vibe, the service and the comfort level is truly superior I urge you to check out Penelope's.

I live in West Boca and there are lot of places closer to my home where I can eat, but NO PLACE compares to Penelope's. These folks and their team make me feel like I'm with friends and that is really special in today's hectic and stressful world. Give it a try...you will be...

On Sunday 5 of us went to have brunch at Penelope's. The hostess took my name and said it would be about a 30 minute wait for an outdoor table. We thought that was reasonable for a Sunday and for an outdoor table so we waited. I want to mention that one of the ladies uses a walker so the high top table would not be accessible to her, although not available at the time anyway. The hostess came out after 25 minutes and offered us an indoor table (I had specifically said outdoor only..due to Covid concerns). She then offered the high top table, even after clearly seeing that this couldn't possibly be an option. Then 50 minutes in, two (2) outdoor tables became available and much to my shock the hostess came out and plopped "Reserved" signs on them both. I said that 1 of those must be for us because I could see that nobody else but us was still waiting for a table. She said "no, both tables were reserved for others" What others I asked and since when does Penelope's take reservations..it's not noted anywhere on their website, and why didn't you tell us this an hour ago?! Had we known that those tables wouldn't ever become available we would have left 40 minutes ago. She became defensive and rude because she knew she was in the wrong. We left and will never go...