Denny's — Restaurant in Monona

Breakfast is a hard 'widget' to sell, let alone on a busy Sunday morning. I've been self-employed now for 25 years. Prior to such I managed restaurant locations for Darden in the Chicago region at busy busy locations. I came to this Denny's location this morning after walking out of a different restaurant this morning. At that prior location I noticed small things that caused me to realize that the prior establishment was not going to be a great experience, and even a good experience was in question. Oh, how my morning has changed the outlook of my day that I found this Denny's location.... Where do I begin to start? The host, still not sure if his name, very might we'll be management, but I can't be sure. Part of the reason I can't be sure is every employee here is carrying their weight and helping others. I was seated at the counter as a single diner which I was most happy to have a chair after standing at the earlier restaurant for 20 minutes and not being sat. My order for food, eggs benedict with a side of French toast, was promptly delivered to the kitchen and expedited in wonderful time. If you've ever been here before you've noticed that the kitchen is openly exposed to the dining experience... If you've ever worked in restaurants before, you've also heard that the kitchen can be a noisy place...not this one... This one operates so quietly and professionally that you can hear the cracked egg hit the frying pan. Incredible efficiency starts in the kitchen on a Sunday morning breakfast and it is a smooth operating machine. Communication by the staff is unparalleled... If you've ever worked in a restaurant you know there can be locations that are deemed to be "crash corners" we're front of house staff can accidentally bump into each other as they round a corner coming from different directions. Anytime anyone approaches the corner that I'm sitting near while at my counter location a soft expression of "corner" comes out from whoever is approaching as to not blindly bump into somebody when rounding same corner. Clearing of tables and wiping down of counters and tables is done, things are very clean, seemingly always. Even when the plates are cleared and bust to stations, they are placed quietly as to not make a racket while people try to enjoy their dining experience. Any one of these employees could go be successful at any other restaurant and in fact teach others... Heck there may be multiple managers working at this location right now and I don't even realize it because there is such professionalism by all in getting the job done correctly for the customer. If ever I'm in town again wanting a good experience to start the day, it...

Food was great! The quality of the items (my girlfriend and I) ordered was very fresh, and seasoned well. I found out from our server that a few of my go to items on the menu had been taken off the menu indefinitely and without notice... I visited the Monona location so I'm not aware if all locations are currently undergoing these modifications to their menus as well.

I want to mention that not all of the menu items are great in person, visually as well. This location actually makes a great attempt in making the dishes resemble the pictures that advertise exceptional quality. The quality fluctuates variably, as the cooks who lack the practice in making less popular dishes suffer, as they don't get made as often... or are difficult to keep on deck for whatever reason that may be. Maybe this is why they chose to retire some of the items? This is only specualtion (as I don't want to be quoted for handing out misleading info, if I'm incorrect).

I had the "tilapia ranchero" and it's a great dish visually and taste wise! I really have nothing bad to say about it! The fresh jalapeño, and avacado really impressed me as well. It shows that they really care about the quality. Denny's has really stepped up their game! I would've preferred the cheesy mashed potatoes, but this is one of those items that they chose to 86! I'm not sure if this has location is the only one making these changes to their menu, but i haven't visited the westside location for a few months now. Aside from my favorite items being obsolete, I enjoy the quality of the food and the prices are really competitive with other places out there that charge a lot more with longer wait times, and lack of attention from staff due to high volume. It's a good place to grab a quick bite! They have a variety of menu items as well. From breakfast to dinner, they have it all!

Service was very personal our server always kept a professional attitude, and was attentive and very friendly.

I recommend this location if you're looking for an inexpensive, quiet, and short wait times... Here's a...

After ordering drinks with two of our family ordering flavor shots, we were told there were no flavor shots. We ordered food. My son got banana cookie pancakes form the menu and we were told they didn't have cookie crumble for the pancakes. He got them anyway. My wife orders a bacon avocado burger. I order the southwest eggs Benedict only to be told they don't have hollandaise sauce. I decided to get the five pepper burger and order it without pickles. After my oldest son orders the waiter disappears and returns a short while later and tells my wife that the avocado they had was bad and that they would alter the check for us.

3:4 of us were disappointed before our food even got to the table- and it didn't get better once it did. My son's pancakes were burnt on one side so much you could smell the char, and which looked as if someone tried to scrape it off with a knife; my wife and my burgers were not drained properly and grease oozed all over our plates; my wife and I had seasoned fry sides, but her portion was vastly different in size compared to mine... and I also had pickles on the burger.

To make matters worse the waiter never returned for any refills on drinks until he brought us the check... Which despite confirming what I had gotten before he took my cup, brought me the complete wrong drink.

Ironically my wife and I had been talking about going to this Denny's more because it is much closer to our house, but I would prefer the food being in stock, made correctly, and getting a refill at some point before my last two minutes at the table from the west...