Denny's — Restaurant in Riverdale

I am not impressed. I didn’t have high hopes walking in but it still managed to disappoint. At first-glance walking in, it looks nice and well decorated. However, upon closer look, you can see ceiling tiles missing, burnt out lights, and trash on the floor and on the tables. The host that seated us was not very polite and was just trying to quickly get us out of his way. It took about 10 min before anyone approached to ask us if we wanted some water. As I watched the goings-on it seemed like they were 1 or 2 employees working really hard to serve and clean while the rest of the staff including the manager just moseyed around at their own pace which put them behind which then put more work on the shoulders of those actually working. It was a Sunday at brunch time and there was a fair amount of people at the restaurant. The host would frequently disappear and was almost always in the kitchen. Many customers waited quite a bit to be seated just waiting for him to come back. In addition, some of the employees looked really unkempt. Our server’s hands looked like he had just been working on cars before coming in to serve our food.

When we got our food it was okay. Our milkshakes were basically flavored milk. It seemed like they had been sitting out melting for a while prior to us receiving them. The sausage and bacon were stone cold but the eggs and pancakes were warm. One of my biggest complains however, I receive a little cup of icing to go on top of my cinnamon roll pancake. The icing was hot and runny. When I poured it onto my pancake I looked inside the cup and there was a thick layer of solidified icing around the bottom edges and the sides. It seemed like to me that they just refilled someone else’s used icing cup and gave it directly to me.

When we went to pay we had to wait in line for about 20 min because (you guessed it) the host had disappeared. A server finally came up when the front door got super crowded. He was really nice and worked hard to try and get everyone through even when it was not his job. The manager slowly made her way up to the front counter however, when she got there she didn’t seat anyone or ring anyone up. Instead, she chose to yell ACROSS the entire dining area back into the kitchens for another employee to come up.

I think this location needs to work on customer service and cleanliness. Those two things would go a long way for the customer to have a more...

This is one of the best Denny's locations I've been to. The servers are usually pretty great and pay attention to their orders and the way things come out. Once we got a Sampler and it came out seriously with 6 fries haha, the server noticed and brought us out a separate plate with like half a basket of fries. My partner, daughter, and I were just here at 2pm for brunch and it was pretty dead. One server was literally pulling tables away from the booths to get a thorough sweep, we appreciated the cleanliness and attentiveness. Our One and only complaint is the music 😅 The lobby music was playing at what seemed to be a regular volume but the kitchen was playing their own music which was louder than the lobby music. It was clashing and frankly gave me a headache. On our way up to pay we saw a second server cleaning another section of the dining area. I love that they kept busy with cleaning when customers were in low attendance. It made us feel good about eating at this Denny's location. Keep it up Riverdale Road Denny's!!

Update, June 19, 2024: My partner and I now frequent this Denny's often and have I have to give a shout out to Alundra (sorry if I spelt it wrong, girl!), Carina, and Jeremiah! These three servers are always so kind and really work to remember what we usually order and it has made for a great experience. We usually visit during the mid-morning or afternoon, but this time we went at 2am. Our server was Shiann and good lort, she needed an attitude adjustment. She was friendly to the table behind and to the side of us, but was very cold towards myself and my partner. My partner and I are kind and polite people and tip very well. This server never greeted us and someone else got our drinks. Shiann came to our table eventually and only said, "Are you ready to order?". Throughout the meal we would have to get her attention for the things we needed, and when we would say thank you she would just walk off without responding. It just felt very rude. We noticed however that she was friendly with the other tables she was waiting and would respond to their "thank yous" with "you're welcome ". It was just a very weird experience and honestly made me feel bad. Like, were we being treated differently because we were two females? I honestly don't know the reason, but I do know that it felt very awkward and she could use an attitude...

i am usually very patient with restaurants because i know everyone is short staffed due to covid but this was so bad that it tested my patience in the worst way. they sat me at a two top table. it was such a tight fit that i couldn't get my feet completely under the table causing me to sit twisted. i ordered eggs scrambled, hashbrowns with onions,crispy bacon and pancakes. the food arrived timely despite the fact that the servers were visiting with a table of regulars. i questioned the server when i saw dark spots in the eggs. ahe told me that it was butter because that is the only thing they put in the eggs and then left. they were odd tasting so needless to say i didn't eat them. the hashbrowns were just burnt! i tried to eat them despite that but even if i could cut them into small pieces there was no flavor and they were so crunchy i worried about breaking a tooth so there was bno way i could eat them. the bacon was limp and undercooked to my liking. i paid for a completely overpriced meal then went somewhere else to have breakfast. if you have interest in a good breakfast i would look...