Sandy Springs Diner — Restaurant in Sandy Springs

I'll start by telling you what I love about this place. The food is always amazing, I've never walked out anything less than totally stuffed and satisfied with what I ordered. Portion sizes are great for the price and the sheer variety of items on the menu is something to behold. As someone who works in a fairly busy kitchen I can appreciate these qualities and these are absolutely what keeps me coming back. As a restaurant worker with almost a decade in the industry however, I do recognize an undertrained/underexperienced service staff when I see one; Not being greeted by a server for upwards of 5-10 minutes after being seated, not receiving silverware, servers simply disappearing from sight for extended periods of time, not refilling water/drinks even once, etc. For instance, today my girlfriend and I were seated as soon as we entered the dining room. We then proceeded to watch as two servers passed by our table not once, not twice, but a total of 5 times, bussing a table next to us before we had even put in a drink order, which was frustrating. Finally our server greeted us and took our drink order after we started to wonder if anyone knew we had even been seated. We ordered, the food came out in a very timely manner and looked stellar as always. Then our server vanished. My girlfriend had to get up and walk to the bar to ask for hot sauce. Neither of us got a refill on water or coffee for the duration of our visit. Ultimately after about 20 minutes he showed back up, presumably to see if we were ready for the check, which felt like an appropriate time to leave considering both of us were out of water and unsure as to how long it would take to get more. All of this is not to say that this is a place to be avoided. Far from it. It is my sincere hope that some extra training or some more experienced service staff could result in guests being treated to the same wonderful experience as their tastebuds are, and I wish the owner the best of luck in attempting to refine the service of one of my favorite lunch spots...

Been meaning to check this place out but I won't eat here again. My waiter was good as a waiter, but when he wasn't waiting, he sat at the bar and blatantly watched me eat. I'm one of those people who really doesn't like to be watched while eating--I mean, let's be honest, does anyone like being stared at while trying to eat? I'm not sure if maybe he was just waiting for me to need something (it wasn't very busy) but either way it made me feel really uncomfortable. It was very blatant, and I think his coworkers probably noticed, but no one said anything. He never stopped. That kind of weird behavior fosters a really uncomfortable environment.

The homefries had onions in them, and I'm allergic to onions. I have never encountered onions in homefries before and it didn't say anything on the menu about them having onions so I ordered them thinking it'd be a safe bet. I'm lucky I saw that they were loaded with onions before eating them. It wouldn't have killed me, and allergies to onions are rare, but still. I guess I just wish something so uncommon as onions in homefries could have been outlined on the menu. All the other food was good; I wish I could have at least finished it. I couldn't eat because I was so uncomfortable being stared at.

That being said, I still tipped him. There is no excuse for not tipping (just a little shout-out to anyone who doesn't tip. Just because you have a bad experience doesn't mean you get a free pass to be a jerk!) I give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he didn't even realize he was doing it. Maybe he was really tired. Either way, I hope management sees this and maybe just has a little mention of polite/appropriate behavior while out on...

I walked in and sat down at the counter. I made friendly conversation like asking how long the restaurant had been there and asking if it was a chain or a one off. I asked for a menu and the waiter said, “Booth.” I was confused and then he said “the counter is closed for dining, it’s just for take out.”

Now number one, to just say “Booth” to a new customer is very rude and sounds like how you would talk to a dog or a kid.

Number two, and this is the main problem, to have a beautiful counter there and not open it is dumb. Even if you made half the counter for pickup, or if you put (good heavens) a booth or table for pickup, that is fine. But they should open their counter. It’s part of what a diner offers, and for some of us, counter top/stool seating feels better for our backs and muscles.

Anyway, I politely thanked him for letting me know and said I am a booth guy, so I will not be eating there today.

It was a slow day and I think the fellow could have said oh hey you can sit here at the counter this time, but for the future we do ask everyone to sit in booths.

There was just no outreach, no warmth from the place. Oh well. I soon found another local diner that lets you sit at the counter and I have been back 3 times since (always at $25 or so for the meal, and I always give a $10 tip…) So this place without counter seating lost $75 and the waiter lost $30. Makes you wonder why go through all the trouble to set an alarm, wake up, turn on the lights… and then when a customer walks in the door, to not accommodate them and they leave. Isn’t the point of running a restaurant and coming to work to make money and creating a welcoming environment so that...