Band Box Diner — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Fast, Friendly... This is honestly one of my absolute favorite places to eat in the Twin Cities. I have been coming to the Band Box for about seven years. It is everything you could want from a diner, from their excellent coffee to their fresh, quick, delicious, inexpensive food; their attentive and professional staff (with a universally warm attitude to customers), to the charming yet functional (extremely clean) layout and eclectic (without being overwhelming) decor. Opened in 1939, it is definitely the oldest extant diner in Minneapolis if not the oldest restaurant, still in its original location with the same storefront and corrugated metal roof... But while the history is certainly cool, it is not the reason people come - they and I come for the food. The burgers, of which there are over ten on the menu, are all excellent quality, the breakfast (for which there is no limitation on the time of day wherein you may order it) likewise satisfies on a deep, fundamental level; the french fries are quite simply the absolute BEST that I have ever had, always fresh cut shoestring potatoes made right when you order them (and always cut the same day that they are ordered, meaning that they could not be ANY more fresh unless they had been picked right from the ground by an artisinal tuber farmer the moment you order). The fries alone are reason to return to Band Box again and again but there are, as I have mentioned, a multitude of other reasons to come in as well. The value of the food, drink, and coffee is VERY good bang for your buck and they are not skimpy with portions. If you are deciding where to eat and want something quick, affordable, and delicious, this is your place. It can get very crowded at peak meal times, with an emphasis on the lunch hour (likely due to business traffic from Downtown), so plan accordingly.

Band Box does not serve alcohol; there are vegetarian options on the menu, but there is very little in terms of vegan accommodations; likewise, there are some gluten free options on the menu but Band Box does not carry gluten free bread, limiting the options for those with Coeliac. The menu is large enough to provide options without an overwhelming or unnecessary number of variations (food can be cooked to order anyway, one does not need to stick strictly with that which is listed when choosing one's order).

Highly recommend from the bottom of heart. Very few restaurants of any price level match Band Box in quality, and absolutely no other diners in the Twin Cities (or, indeed, ANY that I have been to, in the nation) come even remotely close. If were able, I would give a score of 140%, seven stars out of five. If you can think of higher praise than I put here, just imagine that I said any or all of that here at the end. Thank you for your time in reading this review... Time for me to finish my fries, and my girlfriend's fries. I think the guy next to me would notice if I...

Great place but for my first time here today, I walked in and was a little disgusted. Let’s just say that if I were an health inspector I would’ve dinged them for sure on dirty things. The reason is because when I sat to order my food I noticed the older guy (the cook) mishandle something’s and didn’t even think to change his gloves and wash his hands. He then proceeded to cook my food and grabbed the raw beef patty with the same gloves he just cooked someone else’s food and cleaned the flat top with. After he grabs the raw beef patty he arches back in his cooler and grabs two pieces of turkey sausage with the same gloves. As well as using the spatula, tongs, grabbing handles, and even used the soup spoon with the contaminated hand to cook the eggs. He literally touched everything from the bread to the fries. Now I’m a culinary supervisor so when I asked him why he didn’t wash his hands he simply replied “you don’t need to use gloves anyway I just wear them because some people tell me to.” And I left the conversation with that. I didn’t get rude I let the cool finish my food paid for it and threw it away. And I love patty melts but everything was contaminated the moment he didn’t wash his hands. Be aware of the cooks from these restaurants we eat at people. Food borne illness always starts because of people like him. Hope this is helpful. Good place im sure but not...

Um... three words son... DOPE AS HELL!!!!! Stopped in on a Saturday night and wasn't nobody there!! Totally empty! Kinda tacky lil diner, bigger than Mickey's tho, apparently 70 year old national landmark can't even draw anybody on a saturday night wtf! Only two people workin in the entire place, the friendly server and the chill cook guy.

Service was great and they had jelly and peanut butter out on the table which I was just chowin on. Friends got burgers but yo.... I got maybe the sickest omelette I've ever had. This omelette bossed me around it was so rude. And I mean it kicked ass. It was called the BRO Omelette or something because it has "bro" sauce on it, whatever. Also they use these lil words they made up and the menu is cute like that anyway. This freaking FAT omelette had all sorts of things in it like sloppy joe meat and cheese also it was square. God it rocked me.

Also was over the moon about the receipts that just have a little phrase saying "See Ya" at the bottom. Both letters capitalized no punctuation. I just about did a cartwheel across the dang diner I was so giddy about how cute that was. What a quaint lil midwest place with food that like.. I'm gonna have to make up a phrase right now to describe how good the food was man frankly it was BOMB-ASS DIGGITY.

Rating: Go here...