Bubby's Diner — Restaurant in Huntsville

For lunch this weekend, I tried out the South Huntsville eatery Bubby’s Diner.  This quaint eatery is located on the busy Whitesburg Drive and is locally owned, boasting a unique set of charms for customers.  The diner is themed as a traditional 1950’s diner and anyone looking for vintage nostalgia will love the fun décor that Bubby’s offers.

Eating at Bubby's Diner

Upon initial entrance, you will find black and white checkered floors, bright red vinyl booths, and turquoise blue walls.  The fun color palette definitely adds to the exciting vibe of the diner.  Further inspection will reveal a fully functioning neon jukebox and walls decorated with vintage vinyl and celebrity posters from days ago.  The restaurant offers a retro soda fountain counter with a tempting ice cream freezer placed to the side.  The counter boasts stools with shiny chrome and red vinyl seats for an authentic fountain experience.

Doughnut Burger

Bubby’s has all the menu markings of a traditional diner, offering breakfast to dinner bites along with delectable desserts.  Their trademark menu item is “the doughnut burger”, a juicy burger in between two grilled doughnut halves as buns! For my lunch meal, I chose a chicken salad sandwich with a side of their “Jeff” fries and peanut butter pie for dessert.  Considering myself a chicken salad connoisseur, I was hesitant but excited to try their recipe and boy was I pleasantly surprised!  The taste and consistency of the chicken was superb.

Chicken Salad

I’ve had many chicken salads that lacked flavor, but Bubby’s recipe rises above.  Their salad’s shredded chicken is perfectly seasoned and includes juicy, sweet grapes for an added burst of flavor.  The chicken salad comes in several options for the customer’s preference, including toasted wheat or white bread, tortilla wraps, croissants, and crackers.  I love that their menu offers different choices to suit a variety of tastes and preferences.

Service

The waitresses offer superb customer service and customizable options for customers.  I requested a slice of tomato to be added to my sandwich and they complied, free of charge.  Along with my tomato, I opted for toasted wheat bread.  Their bread was perfectly toasted and crisp and the tomato was bursting with flavor.

Jeff Fries

Some restaurants skimp on a scoop, but not Bubby’s.  Their sandwich portion was huge, offering a hefty heap of leftovers for the next day.  For my side, I chose their famous “Jeff” fries.  These are French fries covered in melted pimento cheese and topped with bacon and jalapenos.  WOW is the first thing I can say about these fries….and about the only thing I could say when I was stuffing my mouth full of them.

Peanut Butter Pie

Peanut butter pies come in many shapes and sizes, so I was excited to taste and see Bubby’s spin on the much loved classic.  Upon receiving my order my heart rejoiced, this peanut butter pie comes with a chocolate crumble cake crust with peanut butter mousse as the topping.  One bite of this dessert and I was in heaven, the dense chocolate crust was perfectly paired with the lightness of the peanut butter mousse.

My slice was, again, generous as I had more than enough to share with a friend.  Bubby’s offers a rotating array of desserts, so you never know what special they might be offering in addition to their standard fare.  Bubby’s is the perfect restaurant for a late-night drive-through after a long, stressful day at work or for a sit-down meal to enjoy the vintage ambiance.  The food is tasty and the service is welcoming to all.  It was heartwarming to see the family-friendly atmosphere that warms the restaurant, from the kind servers to the happy children playing...

It was a first visit for my husband and myself. We are both of AARP age. Food? I’d give the food SIX stars if I could! Length of time to get food after placing order? No time at all. Five stars. Accuracy of order? Perfect. Five stars. Cleanliness? Everything looked very clean except tables. They were clearing tables, but in our observation, they weren’t getting wiped down consistently between patrons. They were pretty busy, and people were claiming tables before staff had a chance to wipe them down. And I do believe the table we chose appeared to have been hastily wiped down before we grabbed it. Neither of us needed the restroom while there, so based on our experience, I will give them 4.5 stars for cleanliness with the recommendation that they consider hiring a dedicated bus-person to clear and clean tables and chairs between patrons. Service other than what is listed above? This is where it gets tricky, and I’m a bit torn. Our waiter was so nice and friendly; they all seemed very nice and very friendly, but from the time we entered and sat at a table, at least ten minutes passed, and no one was paying any attention to us. It was actually a couple of “regulars” at the nextdoor booth who mentioned to the waiter when he brought their food that we’d been waiting a long time without being greeted. After this nudge from the neighboring table, we got greeted, given menus, and our drink orders taken. After dining, it once again took awhile for our waiter to notice we were ready to pay, but once he did, it was a quick process. I’m torn on the review to give for general service because this is clearly a family owned, genuinely southern eatery with a laid back, hospitable staff who is very friendly and who figures you’re there to enjoy and visit awhile. I feel I have to give their general service 3.5 stars. Prices? Really good. My husband and I each got a sandwich, drink, and fries, and we shared a warm, homemade blueberry cobbler with Blue Bell ice cream, and our total bill with tax and tip was just under $30. Five stars for prices. Decor? A moderately sized restaurant with booths and tables, and decorated like you’d expect a fifties diner to look. Very well maintained. Five stars. Overall, we would both HIGHLY RECOMMEND Bubby’s Diner, and we will definitely try it again. Overall, we’d give it 4.5 stars! Just a NOTE that they also serve a breakfast menu daily...

I visited here last Tuesday with my parents for our weekly lunch together. We'd never been before but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

The building is easy to find in south Huntsville, just look for the bright blue colors! It's near Rooster's Crow Coffee. They do have a drive through available, which is a nice feature, but we ate together inside.

They were doing a pretty good lunch business but we were seated quickly and all our needs were met in a timely manner. The inside keeps up the blue theme but has lots of fun old timey diner / ice cream shop decor.

Our waitress was stellar - can't remember her name but she chatted with us a bit about how she loved waitressing so much she left a massage therapist job for it. Her passion and skill showed! She took absolutely fantastic care of us; bonus points because we were being super annoying and indecisive because everything looked amazing on the menu lol.

Sadly they were out of a few things we hoped to try (no malt for a chocolate malt, and there was something else too but now I've forgotten it), but overall we were each of us happy with what we got. My mom and I both got the pimento cheese burger while my dad got the Reuben per the recommendation of our waitress. Parents split fries and I had tater tots as our sides, and we took home a piece of strawberry pretzel salad.

The pimento cheese burger was hand-pattied and very thick and juicy. The bun was large but managed to hold up to both the burger itself and the gooey pimento cheese. I do wish there'd been a bit more heat/kick to the pimento cheese, but it was yummy and plenty to eat for the price. I actually liked the fries better than the tater tots, but both were good. My dad particularly enjoyed the Reuben.

Later, my mom and I split the strawberry pretzel salad. It was delicious (what SPS isn't??), though we did wish the pretzel crust had been more coherent (as opposed to just snapped pretzel sticks kind of thinly held together), and a few pretzels were a tiny bit stale.

Overall though, mostly very small complaints. We look forward to returning again in the future for lunch, as well as trying them for breakfast. One of the few places in town that makes corn beef hash - yum yum! Thanks, Bubby's,...