Denny's — Restaurant in Michigan City

My wife and I went to Denny's on Monday, October 14th. We arrived around 11:30pm. We went to a concert in Chicago and wanted a nice sit-down meal afterward. Not many places are open late, so we checked Denny's menu and decided to go there.

We are very glad we chose to come. It's been years since we've been there, and several years ago, I had a bad experience that had kept me from coming back. Our experience tonight was completely different from the last time I was here, and we will now gladly be returning much more often.

I want to give a special thank you to the manager on that shift whose name was Bridget. Her server wasn't able to come in, so she was managing the store as well as waiting on the tables, and she was on top of everything. Quickly greeted us and seated us. Got us our drinks very fast. We were ready to order as soon as she got back with our drinks since we checked the menu online and already knew what we wanted. She immediately took our order, and the cook got it made in a very timely manner. Bridget checked on us multiple times to make sure that everything was satisfactory and to see if we needed anything else. My wife ended up ordering an ice cream cake desert thing but was too full to eat it, so they packaged it for her to go. Bridget also regularly checked to make sure our drinks were good. We never had to wait for a refill. Even with her managing the store while serving, she was still much better than most servers I've had anywhere.

I ordered the Bettlejuicy burger with fries and a coke. My wife had the Bourbon Bacon burger with a side of onion rings along with a coffee and a water. The cook that night cooked everything perfectly. I think his name might be Nathan, but I'm not positive about that. My burger had 3 thick quarter pound patties, and all 3 were cooked just the way I like them. Not well done, not undercooked, but just right and very juicy. It was the most filling and one of the tastiest burgers I've ever had. I highly recommend it to anyone as it's almost certainly a limited time sandwich to tie in with the Beetlejuice movie. Do yourself a favor and try this burger. You won't be disappointed.

I can't say enough good things about our experience. It was the perfect end to an anniversary date night for us. The restaurant was clean and well maintained. The staff was as friendly and personable as anywhere I've been while still being professional as well. My wife and I both got very filled up, and she even brought leftovers home. It was a very good price as well for 2 people to have a sit-down meal in a restaurant that was so delicious and filling. In this economy, it definitely felt like a better deal than I get at most restaurants.

The cook and the manager/server on shift deserve high praise. I just hope the right people in upper management or corporate see this post and do right by those employees because those are the type of employees that any business would love to have representing their establishment. I don't personally know and have never met either of the employees before tonight. I'm not some buddy of theirs leaving a good review for friends or anything like that. My profile here is my real name and real picture of me. I rate many businesses, and this is the most in-depth review that I've left in quite some time. The service and quality of the food were A+. Denny's has definitely stepped up their game since my last visit. Thank you guys for a great meal, impeccable service, and a wonderful ending to our...

I'm giving a higher rating due to previous visits, but our experience this evening was not as good in comparison. I suggest going for breakfast as staff seems to be on top of everything, food is served quickly, and is prepared better. We love making the trip for breakfast, and have never had a bad visit during those mornings when one might expect a wait or hurried preparation. However, on a slow, snowy week night with only a few other tables of people willing to brave a potential winter storm, it was lackluster at best. Our server was warm and friendly, but the first cup of coffee (yes we drink it with dinner when the mood strikes) was lukewarm and, well, not very fresh. I get it, nobody was drinking the Joe at that time and why brew more before using what's already there. But then we drank our lukewarm coffee quickly enough, hoping for fresh refills, only to realize our server would not return until the food was done. And that wait was way too long for only having three other tables with guests. My burger was delicious- only it wasn't really a burger, but pieces of what was once a burger patty carefully pieced together until it was picked up. Then they started falling from every side of the bun. I waited too long for that mess. It was cooked properly, they weren't stingy on the toppings, but it was disappointing to have it fall apart wth every bite. My kids were especially impatient, as kids tend to be at restaurants, and if our server had made an appearance earlier I would have suggested she bring my son's goldfish and my fruit side for them to munch while we wait. As a long time server, this is an easy tactic when you see kids getting antsy, and the parents ALWAYS appreciate the help. As I said, food was good. But service could have been more attentive and quicker; the manager did do a round to check on everyone, but it was right after we'd ordered so we had barely been there long enough to have any complaints. I would visit for dinner again, but at this point it seems peak hours during a weekend would be a better choice as a fuller staff might guarantee a...

I've always been a fan of Denny's and was so excited to get it last night. Went around 1am. Unfortunately it was an overall terrible experience. When greeted by the server, the first words out of her mouth were complaining she's tired and had to work a double her previous shift as she was yawning. Not off to a good start when you should be greeting with friendliness and warm hospitality. I originally wanted coffee, but they were out of the french vanilla creamer. No big deal, went with the iced tea instead. However it was pretty much water. Thankfully she let me switch it to coffee anyway. I ordered the grand slam. When the food came out there was a random half sausage link on my plate and my pancakes were missing. I asked her if I could please get my pancakes, she said yes and went in the back. Maybe 5 minutes later she comes back out, but not to bring my pancakes. She instead came out to go out front to smoke. I kept looking around for the other server or the manager. About 10 minutes later, the other server and manager both walked in from their smoke break outside. I asked that server if she could get my pancakes. At this time I was already finished eating the rest of my food. When she was in the back grabbing them, my server came in and finally checked in to see how everything was, saying she wanted to give time to eat. The other server returned with my pancakes saying they were originally put on her tray and she wasn't sure where they belonged. So instead of asking to see where they were supposed to go, they were instead put in the window for when I finally got my cold, hard and old pancakes. My server said she was just glad I finally got my pancakes, but ignored my request for syrup until she came back to bring the check. All the while never refilling a drop of coffee. The restaurant was not busy and there was no excuse for the poor quality food and horrible service. Save your money...