Hampden Diner — Restaurant in Hampden Township

Stepping into the Hampden Diner, you're immediately struck by its vibrant transformation from a former Applebee's, setting a new standard for cleanliness and brightness in the local diner scene. Here's a closer look at what you can expect from this charming breakfast spot, based on my two recent visits:

Service: A Blend of Swift and Easy-Going The ordering and kitchen service at Hampden Diner are impressively quick, ensuring your breakfast doesn't keep you waiting. However, once your food arrives, the servers tend to slip into a more relaxed mode. While they're not always on their toes, a simple wave from you brings them back with a smile and quick service for things like coffee refills.

First Impressions: Quiet Efficiency The host might not be the chattiest, but they get the job done. Upon arrival, you'll be silently offered menus and guided to your table. It's straightforward and efficient, albeit a tad unconventional in terms of hospitality.

Ambiance and Cleanliness: Spotlessly Welcoming The diner's interior is notably clean and welcoming, a pleasant surprise compared to many of its peers. Even the tables, freshly wiped, though a bit damp, speak to the diner's commitment to cleanliness.

Breakfast at Hampden: A Story of Hits and Misses

Homefries: A notable letdown, they arrive hot but disappointingly soft. The lack of crispiness is especially apparent, even when a crispy version is specifically requested.

Eggs Over Medium: A high point of the meal, these are cooked just right, balancing firm whites with slightly runny yolks. A reliable choice for egg enthusiasts.

Toast with Unmelted Butter: This is where the breakfast experience falters. The toast is undercooked, resembling warm bread rather than toast, and it's topped with unmelted butter, which fails to add that rich, creamy texture one expects from a well-buttered toast.

Chipped Beef Gravy: This dish might be divisive, with its thick and somewhat pasty texture. It's a far cry from the smooth, creamy gravies one might anticipate.

While the breakfast experience at Hampden Diner, particularly the underwhelming homefries and undercooked toast, didn't quite hit the mark, there's a silver lining. In future visits, I plan to be more assertive with special requests, as this could potentially enhance the meal to my liking. Additionally, the owner's engagement with customer feedback and reviews instills a sense of hope. Their willingness to consider and respond to diner experiences is a strong motivator for my continued patronage, at least in the short term. It also piques my curiosity about their lunch and supper offerings. Therefore, I'm planning to return soon to explore these other meals, offering Hampden Diner the opportunity to showcase its full potential. Stay tuned for an updated review that will reflect these new experiences and insights!

UPDATE:

Lunch Experience: A Notable Step Up I recently returned to Hampden Diner to try their lunch offerings, and I'm pleased to report a significantly improved experience.

This time, I ordered the Triple Decker Roast Beef sandwich, and it was a delightful surprise.

Triple Decker Roast Beef: A Culinary Triumph The roast beef in the sandwich was nothing short of phenomenal. It was tender, juicy, and free from any stringiness, showcasing the quality of the ingredients. The sandwich was well-assembled, ensuring each bite was as satisfying as the last. This dish alone has elevated my opinion of Hampden Diner's culinary capabilities and I'm now more eager to return and explore more of...

I have been a frequent customer at this restaurant for about a month now! I have eaten at many diners in the area and by far Hampden Diner is by far food taste better and reasonably priced diner in the area except for the up charge for stuff that should is usually free in other restaurants. Grilled onions for example . The overall customer service needs to be improved!!! Just about all the staff are teeny boppers that lack training in customer service skills! They fail to check to see if I need a refill or to see if I or whoever I am will need anything else! Too many of them are too busy just grouped together chatting with each other or with friends instead of paying attention to their customers. Last night was definitely no supervision and employee’s all teens were just gathered together”hanging out” with friends or employee’s who had ended their shifts ! It’s so disappointing to see no manager checking to make sure things were running ok! Even the “host” was just sitting down hanging out while he was supposed to be working ! I feel that there is so much these young people could be doing while “hanging out” waiting for customers! They could be cleaning the tables , sweeping the restaurant, cleaning off the menu’s.. I love this place and don’t want to see the place go down because of the teen staff! It would be different situations if this was a one time occurrence but every time I come and dine there the teens congregate together!

The manager’s need to nip the “hanging out” while on the clock in the bud! I have worked with the public and this unmonitored behavior needs to be addressed before you lose customers. Again food is great!😃 Staff is friendly! They just need to be more attentive and more training!!!!

Update!!!! The food continues to taste good and still be flavorful! Customer service from the servers is getting much better but I am still seeing problems with the young teen hires that are either on their phones and still hanging out with their co-workers at a table when they all should be doing something instead of just sitting or just hanging out with friends or co-workers ! It’s getting out of hand when the hosts are hanging out and not hosting and greeting the customers coming in waiting to be served! I love the owners and managers! They are friendly and caring about their customers! 😀 I would recommend this diner to anyone coming to the area and want good priced...

Hampden Diner is a clean and bright, spacious pleasant place to eat. Lots of windows. Everyday specials. Lots of variety on their menu. Counter service. Bakery case. Quick service. Pleasant friendly server. I had their strip steak and eggs with homefries and raisin toast for under $15.00. It was done as I ordered and steak was pretty good to my surprise. My partner had a ham and cheese on a pretzel roll with french fries and a cup of tomato basil soup. We certainly will be back to see what else we can order! Our 2nd trip back to try something different. I had the Senior Turkey Dinner with Filling which came with 2 sides, and soup or salad. Had mashed potatoes and applesauce and a cup of clam chowder. This entree was fantastic. Thick slices of roast turkey with homemade filling which had celery ,parsley and carrots. Great mashed potatoes with small pieces of potatoes. Clam chowder was as good as you get in any seafood restaurant. The Turkey with filling and mashed potatoes is a great choice for comfort food. My partner had their Baked Onion Soup...loaded with nice size onions and covered with a lot of cheese. The French Dip had good quality beef with a good quality roll and a large bowl of Au Jus. We each had dessert.. nice fresh slice of coconut cake. I had a slice of their cocunut cream pie filled with lots of coconut. All in all....another great meal. Do not drive by this diner......