Uptown Diner — Restaurant in Minneapolis

I'm glad the Uptown Diner is still in business as it offers a good option for those with late-night cravings. My experience with the food, however, was not good. My wife and I ordered pancake, egg, and meat combos -- a very basic item for any restaurant, certainly not anything they should struggle to prepare competently. However, one of my two traditional pancakes was soaked in grease all along one edge and had a stray blueberry on the other edge. I mentioned this to the server, who explained that since they don't have enough grills to make all the different pancake varieties on their own grill, sometimes one will overlap into another by accident. He did apologize, but he also made it sound like it was an acceptable error. Well, what if I had an allergy to blueberries? These are not trivial issues when it comes to mixture of food ingredients.

My wife had the pineapple upside-down pancakes and said the pineapple tasted tinny as if it came from a can. (I also had a hot chocolate that had unmixed powder caked on the bottom of the mug. We got the impression pretty much everything served by the Uptown was prefab.) Later her stomach was still feeling unsettled and she vomited much of her meal up onto the streets of Minneapolis as we were trying to enjoy our evening out. My stomach felt a little queasy, as well, although at least I didn't throw up.

To add insult to injury, the food is overpriced. Two eggs and toast was the cheapest item on the menu at $5.50, I believe. Our meals, consisting of two pancakes, two eggs, and four bacon strips, were $8-10 each. I understand the prices are higher due to the location right in the heart of Uptown, but I expect to get good food if I'm going to pay a premium for it.

Other problems existed, as well. Our booth was extremely drafty and we had to keep coats on the whole meal. It wasn't especially clean, either. There were copious amounts of ice on the sidewalk alongside the building, which my wife nearly fell on. No attempt seemed to have been made to do anything about the ice.

Honestly, if our experience was an indicator of the status quo at the Uptown, I'd be surprised if they don't end up getting sued and having to shut down on that basis.

We won't be back after our experience. For $25, we got an unsafe walk from the parking lot, a drafty, dirty booth, and food that didn't taste good and even made us sick. And the portions were not generous, either. Just two hours later, we both had to stop at a fast-food restaurant because we were hungry again.

OVERALL: Not recommended unless it's 2 a.m. and you're desperate (and even then, if you have a vehicle, there are...

This place has been on a downslide since the pandemic and it hasn't righted the ship. It used to be a respectable 4 out of 5 considering it's a 24/7 greasy spoon, but a few notable things have happened. I've been there a few times since just to give them a couple chances at redemption but it's just not up to snuff anymore.

You still get a mountain of food, but it's bland as all get-out. It's a heaping pile of passionless carbohydrates -- and the flavor issue didn't used to be a problem. The hashbrowns are a soggy mess -- typically overburnt on one side (crispy is great, overdone is not) and then completely undercooked beneath. It also makes it nearly impossible to get the food on your fork.

Prices are crazy. It's $4.40 (before tip) for the world's lousiest cup of coffee, which costs them probably

Great original diner spot! Lived in the area since 1993 and drove by and never stopped to enjoy it. Although pricey, very worth a diner meal. Self-seat, order, and enjoy! Greeted immediately, open diner bar and dining room, and lengthy menu choices. Come here for specialties, hashbrowns, and pancakes. Meat is typical but not their specialty. Must try!

Food was not bland but light on seasoning which is fine because the table is stocked with typical salt, pepper, jelly, hot sauces, ketchup, butter, and creamer. Our order appeared slim on long oval plates but once you dig in...hopefully you'll consume everything.

Generously portioned hashbrowns and pancakes. Worth it! The thinly shredded hashbrown and large-fluffy pancakes are a must-have here!

Steak combo $19.25: 7oz sirloin, 2 eggs, hashbrowns, and toast. Ordered my steak medium rare, scrambled easy with blue cheese and rye toast. The toast was buttered and crispy. Eggs lightly scrambled with blue cheese-YUM! the stringy hashbrowns were crispy but with a moist feel. The steak appeared to have been tenderized with a mallet so the texture was like a hamburger steak and the cook was medium.

#2 Favorite combo $15.25: Pancakes are the hit of this plate! Ordered OE eggs and it was perfect. Bacon was crisp and you can tell it was baked. Totally fine but prefer freshly crisped in the pan. Pancakes tasted delightful as it was drenched in syrup at the table. The absolute greatest thing is it didn't just drench and tasted like syrup it held its texture and fluffiness. Beats other typical...