Honey Bee Diner — Restaurant in Maryland

My waitress was Miranda when I arrived at midnight. It is a cute little diner like you’d expect. Many food options. Lots of Taylor Swift music. The service however was disgraceful. It seemed she was confident in her memorization skills as she had no writing utensil or paper to write on. Of the four items I ordered, only the soup came out as expected. I ordered Chicken noodle soup Caesar salad Cheeseburger (attempted to switch coleslaw) Al la carte side of macaroni and cheese

Apparently it was Miranda’s personal choice to dress it in lettuce and tomatoes and mayonnaise (as it was not mentioned on the menu). It was also her choice to add fries (which is $1.50 extra and does not come with it) despite me not mentioning fries. I know this because I didn’t realize fries were extra.

Because the cheeseburger had made an appearance before the salad, I asked when it was coming out and she said she had not heard me. She returned and I asked if the macaroni was also on its way. She said she had put it in and would check on it. 20 minutes later I asked the oldest waitress to get Miranda or just ask about the macaroni and cheese. I said to disregard it if it wasn’t even started. She came back to say it was not started. When I saw her Inform my waitress it seems Miranda just decided not to look at me or attend to my table nor apologize as she walked by my table and in my field of view for the next 20 minutes. I had left a dirty plate with trash on it by the edge for her to pick it up but did not. It was blatantly obvious that either she was too embarrassed to check on me or she just thought “well whatever” and decided to put 0 effort into acknowledging my existence. I had been waiting for her to ask how my burger was cooked (as most waiters do when red meat with customizable temperature has been ordered). But my concerns and displeasure had gone unnoticed.

The older lady began talking to her coworkers about the younger generation tipping really well. And I’ll just say my tip is always based on percentage and that percentage is my honest opinion of service. I’ve given 10%-30%. My average is 18% for an average job. I gave Miranda 12% because while she had the opportunity to salvage her service by apologizing or acknowledging her mistakes, she simply avoided them and me her customer. I also noticed that when asking favors, the waitresses won’t help each others’ tables which I found quite selfish, lacking sportsmanship and common courtesy. Asking for a “box” from a different server shouldn’t have to be yelled out “hey Miranda! You need to get a box for your table!” if that different waitress was just counting money.

So sorry. But the lack of ownership and accountability really irked me. You need to earn your tip. Sure I’m in the “younger” generation. But I still condone A for effort and participation trophies. Customer service is a job. It isn’t an option. I wanted to ask for a replacement bun without mayonnaise. I wanted a box but couldn’t seem to get Miranda’s attention. Finally when I was given the check and a box I was offered some water. Well not a minute later I realize she...

We ate here on a Saturday evening around 7:30PM. The place was very busy, but we didn't have to wait long to get seated. However it was a while before the waitress came by to take our orders. The food also took a long time, but we were informed when we were putting our orders in that things were coming out slowly since they were down a grill cook. We were in no hurry, so we were just happy they let us know early.

The waitress was very friendly and she brought us refills promptly. When we first atrived, a table nearby was giving her a tough time complaining that their toast was cold (which, given the fact that a slice of bread has almost no mass, it should come as no surprise that a piece of toast won't arrive steaming hot to a table). The same lady complained a few minutes later that her entree was cold. This was likely the cause of the delay for our waitress taking our orders, but it did influence how she served our meals. She began bringing everything out as soon as it was ready, which meant that each person at our table was served at a different time. This wasn't that big of a deal, but it was strange that my husband's liver and onions and our guest's country fried chicken and gravy arrived long before my blueberry belgian waffle. I am not sure what the mix up was, but when my waitress finally brought it out, she told me that her manager ended up going to the kitchen and making the waffle themselves.

Everyone enjoyed their food. Our guest orders country fried chicken and gravy at every breakfast place he goes and he thought the one here was the best. However, he did not enjoy the grits with provolone cheese. He thinks it may have been the choice in cheese that was the issue, but he described them as bland.

Overall, we had a decent experience here. Due to understaffing and the weekend rush, you may end up waiting a while for food, but we definitely enjoyed the food and atmosphere. However, it was strange that they did not update their price increases in their menus. We had no idea how much we were going to spend until our check arrived. Most items we ordered were increased by $1-$2. They had signs up all over the restaurant warning that some of their items increased in price due to supply chain issues, but it is really unfair to not give customers an updated menu reflecting those changes.

Lastly, I should mention that I liked this diner better than Double T diner...

I wish I could have given 5 stars. I have been a frequent dine in and carryout patron of "The Bee" for 40 years with my husband and often with family and friends. It was fantastic and my favorite "go to" restaurant for a great and quick meal. I have always loved that it is open 24/7 (very rare and wonderful), the vast menu, the quality and quantity of the food, the affordable and reasonable prices, the wait staff and the happy atmosphere. Ever since the restaurant has changed ownership however, some things have gone downhill. The menu, the quality and quantity of the food has not changed much, thank goodness, but the prices have skyrocketed, the current wait staff aren't as friendly or prompt as they used to be and seem rather sad and angry or they don't seem to be happy with their job. We hardly waited long for our food over the years, but on recent visits, the service has slowed down considerably and the staff is not really engaged with the customers. It affects the overall atmosphere of the entire restaurant. The main reason for my review is because we visited about a month ago for dinner and I was astonished when we got home and looked at the itemized bill. We pretty much know the menu by heart, so we didn't even open it when we ordered our dinner. It was delicious and my husband paid the check, left a nice tip and we went home. I ordered a Reuben sandwich ($12.99 just for the sandwich??!) and fries with gravy on the side. He ordered an 8" Cheesesteak Sub, but was charged extra for lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise!! Shocking! Shouldn't that be included with the sub?? We also ordered onion rings and two Pepsi drinks. Our bill was $41 and change. I thought that amount was considerably higher than we are used to paying for what we ordered. Unfortunately, my husband accidentally threw away the receipt I was saving to question management about when I stopped by one day. We were very disappointed with our last experience of our beloved, "quick bite to eat", happy spot that has been a long time favorite of ours. I hope our experience will be a much better one next time...if there is a next time. A reply to my review from management would be greatly appreciated. Thank...