Fast Eddie's Diner — Restaurant in Phoenix

It’s hard to judge a restaurant on one experience. However, this was our 1st and last time visiting this place. Here was my experience.

We visited at around 8am on a Saturday morning. It wasn’t busy. The lady with the pink hair greeted us and sat us at a booth. She came back about 3-5 min later to get our drinks. From there, we sat for about 20 min or so waiting for our server to at least come greet us. I eventually got up and told the lady with the pink hair at the register that we haven’t even been seen. She was quite apologetic and went to go get the server. We waited another 3 min for that server to come. When the server came she was also very apologetic and immediately took our order. She stated that she forgot that that booth was also in her section. We ordered 2 cups of soup and a bowl of soup. The soup came out about 3 min later, so, cool. My wife took 2-3 bites of the chicken noodle soup and it completely lacked flavor. It tasted like over watered Campbells chicken noodle condensed soup. My daughter and my broccoli cheese soup was nothing to write home about either, but we ate it. So fine. My wife put her uneaten soup that had 90% or more left in the cup. The server asked if she wanted us to take it. We said yes. In my opinion, something else should have been offered of like value. The cup of soup was about $5. Perhaps a little less change than that. Regardless, the conversation never arose of was there something wrong with the soup. I ordered the special of steak and eggs. My daughter just ordered a side of bacon. My food came and I asked for my steak to be cooked medium rare. It came out medium. However, it was juicy and tender, so it was definitely okay to eat. The steak was actually pretty good. The hash browns that came with it was small and the scrambled eggs were dry. The rye toast wasn't really toast. It was 2 pieces of slightly higher than room temperature bread with a slightly hard crust that did not crunch when you bite into it. Toast should never flop when you pick it up. The server also completely forgot my daughter's bacon. Had to wait about 5-7 min after I got my food to mention it because that’s when she came back. I’m sure the bacon was okay because she ate it. We got our bill. When I went up to pay I made another notice. A lady came in to pick up her to go order. The lady with the pink hair said, here’s your change, but I’m sorry, I don’t have .97 cents to give you in change. Why would you not round up and just give her a dollar? Seems a bit odd to not have change in a restaurant that accepts cash and to not just lose .03 cents. Anyways, when I paid, the lady taking my payment asked to leave a tip on the card (which I always do). I only tipped $3 (which I almost never tip less than 20%). The service was terrible. The lack of recognition and the lack of remembering items did not deserve 20%. For those of you who will judge me for being a poor tipper, here’s my statement. You tip the service. You don’t tip just because they're a server. I once tipped $50 on a $25 check because the service was outstanding! Anyways…..at the end of the transaction, the credit card machine prompted me to give a star rating. Before I could even make a selection, the lady taking my payment chose 5 stars! Undeserved! However, I didn’t say anything and I’m not coming back. End of story. Have a good...

Seems like a family bought this restaurant a couple years back. They are very friendly. I don't want to take away from that. They went out of their way to interact with our toddler, and, like I say, are very nice. VERY chatty. If the food was great, I would have nothing else to say.

That said, here's a fact: the new owners took over, and it's only an approximation of the 50's style diner it was. Food quality slipped, and the prices went up.

Hash browns, two eggs, 3 pancakes (short stack), eggs Bennie (the hollandaise has suffered since new management), 2 (very weak) coffees, 2 OJ: just under $70. Nearly $35 per person for a simple breakfast. Just mentioning this because I used to be able to come here and pay about $50 for 2. This is since the new owners have come on (mid-covid timeframe). You know how you just want some diner coffee? We sent one back before we realized they're just making it very weak. Cost cutting?

You will wait for a long time. I walked in, waited five minutes up front before anyone acknowledged me, tho the waitress could certainly see me. She will stand and talk with tables for extended periods of time without acknowledging anyone or anything else that is going on. VERY chatty. Like I say: nice, but at the cost of leaving people standing around waiting to be seated or waiting for the check. There used to be multiple waitresses, now there is the one, and a guy cleaning tables, and someone who seems like might be the waitresses husband cruising around. Another cost cutting measure.

Just saying. I can go to a Japanese restaurant and eat what some might consider a 'fancy' meal for the same price (I do it a couple times a month). I'm not quite a senior citizen, but I know this place actually services and has serviced the elderly in the area, and I know this is all affecting them more than me. Just feels like knock-off Disneyland, you know, it looks like a 50's style diner, but it's just the last vestiges of a representation of a thing from the past.

I was left with all of the above feelings when they first took over the place. I just returned a few years later after not going for awhile, and it hasn't improved, hence the review. If you remember this place from the past...it's just not the same. I suspect it'll change hands again after failing (something I do not wish on the people who run it), then turn into a weed dispensary or something...

Ronnie's, down on 43rd & Cactus still has it. Check that place out!

My old review: Delicious, cheap food and fast friendly service. Can you really do any...

Original date 10/2 Just tried to eat here at 11am. Would have been our first time. We stood in the doorway for a minute or two before realizing we need to find a hostess.

The place is half empty (and not because of covid spacing) but the hostess (manager?) wanted to put the two of us on a list. Two people were sitting on the bench. I asked why I should have to sit around. We had just left Waffle House to avoid a fifteen-minute wait over there.

So in pressing to understand, I was told that she needed to "pace her staff." As I turned to leave she persisted in asking for my name three times (as though I don't have autonomy to decide how long I'm willing to waste my time?)

Certainly I wasn't pleased though I wasn't outright rude either. As we walked toward the exit she let out a flabbergasted "wow" at the audacity of it. I guess my value as customer is apparent.

Update: I can empathize with staff issues these days. (And I've worked all areas of a restaurant too.) The point is that tables were available. You may think it's better to queue us up prior to seating but I don't see the benefit. I can read the menu or get a drink if cooks are primarily where the delay stems. 11am seemed like a bit of a lull anyway. Every restaurant goes by order of arrival. Nobody was acting entitled here.

You're sorry I didn't make time for what? I tried to take the time to understand the issue. Perhaps 99% are willing to wait around without any indication of the purpose. I'm not one of the sheep.

Had it not been for the muttered "wow" there probably isn't gonna be a review. I value my time and I couldn't afford to waste an undetermined amount of it. Are there other reviews I missed that suggest your food is worthy of hour-long waits?

There's no judgment to make. You couldn't explain why a wait was involved much less how long to expect. I left. Those last two sentences make no...