Trip's Diner — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

Trips Diner, St. Petersburg.

I have been wanting to eat here for well over a year. Every time I drive by I see people on the side walk (turns out that’s where the smokers hang out), but I’ve never found a parking spot. The lot behind them holds a tiny amount of cars, street and other lots are off limits. If I have to circle more than 2x’s I’m likely to head elsewhere, as there are TONS of alternative options nearby. Today I found a parking spot for lunch. I was told to take any seat. I chose outdoors, not realizing how loud the traffic would be, nor how the exhaust smells would effect the ambiance. The server was nice, friendly even though he did get my order wrong, bringing out the meatball vs meatloaf sandwich. He took responsibility for the mistake which was fine, I had to wait an extra 10 minutes. The atmosphere is similar to most diners with worn down booths, decor etc. The bathroom wasn't clean, but it wasn't the worst I've seen either. I hadn’t eaten all day, I was starving, you would think with an empty belly I would have enjoyed eating almost anything…nope. What disappointed me the most was how bad the food was after seeing so many positive reviews, typically diner’s serve up some YUMMY good ole home cooked food, but this one was lacking, everything tasted canned, boxed or artificial, not home cooked. The Sourdough bread was the biggest surprise, as I have found most Sourdough here, is pretty bad, all over Florida it’s lacking, but their sourdough was pleasantly good. The lack of condiments on burgers and/or sandwiches is something I have come to terms with, as it seems common in Florida, weird to me to have a dry sandwich or burger come out but I’m adjusting to it being normal here. I had the meatloaf sandwich, it had a reasonable amount of seasonings to taste like meatloaf but it was VERY dry and burned on the outside/edge. Considering there aren’t any sauces on the meat, nor the sandwich I added the side of sauce they brought. The side sauce was SUPER sweet and tomato-y. It tasted like someone blended tomato sauce or paste with brown sugar, but forgot the spices/seasonings. It didn’t appeal to me at all. The cheese was just a simple slice melted on top, it was fine. The Chili was bad. It tasted like it came out of one BIG can of preservatives. I tasted sugar, something similar to hot dogs, although I didn't find any meat in mine then blended with HOT PEPPER spices. The cornbread was the best of everything, sweet but that was ok, it crumbled, which requires a spoon or fork to eat it, it was nice and crispy on the outside but overall just ok. The raspberry lemonade was SUPER sweet. If you like tart or typically avoid sugars, this probably won’t appeal to you. As I was waiting for my check, I started feeling rumblings. I eat super clean, mostly organic natural, nothing from a box or can. I had an inkling my tummy was rebelling. I will spare you the photo of the vomit near my car, I didn’t make it to my car before I got sick. I feel bad writing the review, it could just be that my tummy is not used to eating boxed/canned foods but overall Trips Diner, isn’t a good place to eat, not even as a diner where you expect a certain kind of fare. Everyone was friendly, except the girl taking the money to pay the bill (which happens inside). She was not engaging at all. Would I refer people here, NO way, I would be embarrassed to take my friends/family here. Will I return? NEVER, not even a 2nd chance is worth...

Dinner review: Lack of concern for customer service, poor attitude and bad food. Trip's has been a family favorite for many years and we were very disappointed with our dinner experience. There was a long list of negative events that started from the moment we walked in, but I'll only highlight the worst. Waitress was very bothered by our presence and had a sour attitude until we were leaving. We started to get up and leave after our drinks were delivered and dropped. We were ready to order but she walked away without saying a word and she didnt come back for about 10 minutes. She cut me off when ordering (rudely) and was honestly just bothered by us being there. Our food sat up in the window 7 minutes- the waitress took another order and then she looked at our food when she walked behind the counter right next to the mgr and 2 other employees chatting and the mgr was on his phone, but she continued to cut a piece of cake and scoop ice cream and deliver it to a table. Our food getting cold was zero concern and she could have asked for help from the 3 others doing NOTHING! Finally, the mgr noticed our food sitting and delivered it and the bread on both sandwiches was burnt, very noticeable. The waitress commented on the burnt bread at the END of our meal when it was left on the plates. It never should have been delivered to the customer, it was literally black around the edges and the bottom was even worse, the cook tried to hide it. The B.S.T. sandwich had 2 half pieces of bacon on each side, one was less than 2" and the other was less than 3" (no exaggeration), literally more than half of the sandwich had zero bacon. When I brought it to the mgrs attention and showed him, he explained that each half of sandwich has 2 half pieces of bacon. I held up the tiny 2 pieces and asked if he was justifying the tiny pieces being half of a slice and then showed him that the 4 pieces didn't even equal one slice, it was actually comical that they even sent it out. He did go back and get more bacon, which we appreciated. Another waitress had to get us refills. We were the only customers in there other than the table that got cake & ice cream! It was around 7:00, they close at 9:00, so we were not an imposition. Honestly, with all of the extra time we had to look around and wait while the mgr and employees chatted, it was obvious that the place needs a good scrubbing and cleaning, it's dirty. This visit was more than just a normal dinner. My 86 year old mom had just had an ultrasound at St.Anthony's and she loves the B.S.T. and unique pasta salad. As she gets older, her taste buds have drastically changed and we are VERY limited on places she likes to eat out. Trip's used to have a 2nd location closer to her house in Seminole which we would take her to often and since we were on the other side of town she was excited to have a meal that she likes. Now, unfortunately we will probably not be able to revisit because she will "mark it off the list". Employees need to realize their service matters for different reasons and being polite and kind goes a long way and professionalism & standards should start with...

When you see one of these legacy diners, you (or at least I) think the food is going to be amazing, the decor is going to be charmingly aged, and the servers will be busy but kind and efficient.

The food is boring, though fairly priced. The decor is indeed aged, and the servers are busy and kind, though not super efficient. The parking situation is really tight, be prepared to walk.

I went there twice, thinking maybe the first trip was a hiccup. I went during a busy late morning and about 90 minutes before closing.

Breakfast: biscuits and gravy, bacon, scrambled eggs with cheese, home fries and a side of hollandaise. I saw it sitting in the window for at least five minutes, but they were slammed. Still there were about 10 plates in the pass, literally not enough room for more plates to go up. Biscuit was average - kind of hard, not super fluffy, not terrible. The gravy was…white. I don’t know what it tasted like, but not “sausage” or “country”. Edible but forgettable. The thick cut bacon is indeed thick cut but mine managed to be both over cooked on the meat part and undercooked on the fat part. Ate about 1/2 strip of the 2 on the plate. Potatoes were very brown but not burnt, they tasted like potato flavor. Seasoning would be nice. The hollandaise was not lemony, it was weirdly sweet and I’m glad I didn’t get a Benedict.

Dinner: I wanted the Tuscan pasta advertised on their website menu (artichokes and piccata sauce)…that is not the Tuscan pasta currently on their in-store menu (spinach and Alfredo sauce). Same name, different pasta entirely. So I got a Reuben on sourdough instead. “Sour” is pushing it, but it’s nice thicker white bread. It was fine, though somehow dry and wet. Dripping but with jerky-like meat. The “unique pasta salad”…yeah that’s a hard hard pass. It’s orzo pasta, feta, basil maybe, pine nuts, greasy Italian dressing…and sweet golden raisins. It just doesn’t work. It could work with some adjustments maybe, but yeah it was not to my taste, and the greasy feel on my mouth was unpleasant. The unsweet iced tea had steeped for a LONG time and was very strong and actually gave me the jitters. Earlier in the day I might appreciate that.

The pancakes and French toast looked good, I think I’ll go back once more and try that but I am kind of prepared to be disappointed. Why am I going back? They’re pretty close to my house, otherwise I wouldn’t bother. If I had to drive more than 5 minutes I...