J's Diner — Restaurant in Hagerstown

I used to really enjoy going to Jay’s, but unfortunately, our visit on June 8th was a major letdown. I came with my four children and my daughter’s friend, and what should have been a simple family brunch turned into a frustrating and uncomfortable experience.

We checked in via the waitlist at 11:45 AM and were seated around 12:15 PM. After placing our order, we waited... and waited. We didn’t receive our food until 1:35 PM — almost an hour and a half later. During that time, we watched four other tables (who were seated after us) get served ahead of us.

Our server was kind and did his best to lighten the mood — even making some offbeat conversation to distract from the delay. He explained there had been an issue with our order ticket not being received by the kitchen. While I appreciated his effort, the situation wasn’t handled well overall.

The biggest disappointment was the complete absence of the manager. I asked to speak with one, but was told he was cooking in the back due to staff shortages. Still, not once did he come out to apologize or acknowledge the issue. A simple conversation or apology could’ve gone a long way, especially with a table full of hungry kids who had only ordered pancakes.

To make matters worse, the restroom was filthy — even my 5-year-old commented on how gross it was. The staff seemed aware that I was upset, and I felt uncomfortable being stared at while we waited.

I understand that restaurants can get busy or understaffed, but basic respect and communication with customers shouldn't be too much to ask. Sadly, we won’t be returning, and I’ll be letting friends and family know not to waste their time or money either.

Update to owner's response: 8/13/25 Your response is not only disappointing but also deeply dishonest. Let’s be clear: no one made any real effort to resolve the situation during our visit. The excuse about the ticket not reaching the kitchen doesn’t account for the lack of communication, care, or follow-up from your staff. We were left waiting with no explanation or sense of urgency, and no one took responsibility in the moment. What’s even more troubling is your false accusation that my family made a mess in the restroom. That is an outright lie. For you to shift blame onto us instead of taking responsibility for your own facility’s upkeep is completely unacceptable. It’s disappointing that rather than owning the situation, you choose to cover up your failures with lies. As someone who values Christian morals, I expect honesty, integrity, and accountability — values that seem to have been entirely absent in this situation. It’s disheartening to see such a lack of transparency and respect. Because of this, not only have you lost us as customers, but I will be sharing this experience with others who expect the same level of...

I feel sad writing this, as this has been a restaurant I’ve loved for years. It has unfortunately gone so downhill, I felt it necessary to remove my positive review. We’ve been regulars for as long as I can remember. When we first started coming here over two years ago, most everything was great. While we’ve never had particularly good service, it’s recently gotten much worse. The food, which used to be amazing, has declined in quality while prices have increased significantly.

The servers don’t seem knowledgeable about the menu. When I asked what kind of bread came with a sandwich, the server simply said, ‘square bread.’ I asked if it was focaccia, ciabatta, or something else, but she said she didn’t know what those were. She insisted it was called ‘square bread.’ When the dish arrived, it was actually ciabatta—the square kind you get at Costco, which is probably where they source it and probably why she called it square bread.

On one visit, a server even mixed the sweet tea with unsweet tea because there was only a little left of each. Who does that? It was then served to me as un sweet, when it clearly wasn’t what I ordered. They’re constantly out of items, and prices have gone up at least 25%. I understand higher costs mean price increases, but if you’re going to charge more, the food quality should at least be consistent. One of my favorite lunch dishes, the bang bang chicken and shrimp, is now $20, which feels unreasonable for a diner, especially when it’s a small portion with only a few pieces of chicken and two or three shrimp. The breakfast hash dishes have increased to over $20 now, and if you’ve ever had them, you know the minuscule amount of protein they put on those. If you get an entree and a beverage you’re looking at $25-30 a person.

They used to have the best fries I’d ever had—now they’re just basic, boring French fries. The meat has become gristly, and portion sizes have shrunk. Combined with the poor service, it’s a recipe for disappointment. My boyfriend and I will give them another chance out of loyalty, but it’s sad to see such a decline. Our last few visits have been major letdowns, and I’m not sure how much longer we’ll keep coming here. It’s a real loss, as this was one of the few unique breakfast and lunch spots...

Going to this diner I had higher hopes as the restaurant has numerous high praise awards but this restaurant has disappointed me beyond belief and let down my entire party. The service was non existent at points and the food took way too long. one of my friends meals was completely forgotten about by the staff and cooks with them all together forgetting the meal. My coffee also took so long it was cold and I was able to immediately finish it. The food was all disappointing and the restaurant was not busy nor any excuse to have this much of a wait time and thusly the amount of lackluster tasting and presentation. One item advertised as a kabab was not a kabab and looks more like a wrap. overall I would not go to this overhyped and overpriced wanna be it spot.-person 1. The service here was unexpectedly bad, our waitress waited 10 minutes to come over to us for water & then an additional 10 minutes for a diet coke & a latte that was cold. Our food took extremely long & the waitress told our friend that she forgot her order 5 minutes after we all had gotten our food. There was a lack of communication the whole time we were there & they did not properly sanitize the tables after other customers. The kabobs were advertised completely wrong & I really do consider my self to not be a picky person but this place just was not good & i wouldn’t come back ! - person 2

bad service, mediocre food at best, & poor prices this place sucks. don’t go. - person 3

food came out severely late, the food is advertised incorrectly and unseasoned. the veggies on the “kabob” were barely grilled and the chicken was dry. they were out of so many options as well. the staff seems really stressed and literally fighting for lives running around. we also noticed other tables having issues and asking for discounts around us. we asked to split the check 3 ways and got it split in groups of two with incorrect items per person. wouldn’t go again, don’t recommend at...