Denny's — Restaurant in Seattle

Yesterday while dining at Denny’s in Seattle, I witnessed just how professional and kind the staff, especially the server Crystina, truly are.

Two guests came in with a dog they claimed was a service animal. While I personally wasn’t convinced, Crystina handled the situation with complete professionalism. I overheard her ask the appropriate questions without ever being rude or discriminatory. When the dog barked, she immediately checked in to make sure there wasn’t an issue, yet stayed calm and kind the entire time. The guest quickly calmed the animal, and Crystina explained to me that unless the dog became disruptive, there was nothing more she could do. I respected that she didn’t make assumptions or cause conflict between customers.

Later, I overheard the guests admit the dog wasn’t actually certified and that they “just say that” to bring it inside. I let Crystina know what I heard, and she sincerely apologized for my discomfort, again explaining that she could only act if the animal was truly out of control. Even though I felt uneasy, I appreciated her honesty, professionalism, and grace in handling the situation.

On top of that, the food was outstanding. At Crystina’s suggestion, I tried my hash browns with gravy, bacon, cheese, and a dollop of sour cream and they were incredible! I’ll be ordering them that way every time. She also encouraged me to pair my meal with a milk or orange juice in addition to my coffee, and she was soo right! It made my pancakes and steak even better. Adding mushrooms and onions to my steak was a great tip too, it was so flavorful I didn’t even need steak sauce.

I also admired the teamwork of the entire staff. Crystina talks kinda loud and I heard her praise the kitchen for doing a great job while it was busy. She helped fill drinks, and even ran food for other servers when they were a little busy. That is the kind of leadership and teamwork all businesses need as it is rare. I didn’t get a chance to ask her but she should be on the leader ship team and I want the manager to know she truly embodies what excellent service looks like.

The atmosphere was so warm and welcoming it genuinely felt like being among friends and family.

Because of the food, the service, and the way Crystina gracefully handled a tricky situation, I will definitely be back the next time I am in town! Thank you Dennys and Crystina for making my first impression of Dennys the best impression out of all the restaurants I have...

When I saw the advertisement of the 5.99 all you can eat pancakes Denny's Diner deal, I was elated. The possibility of sinking my teeth into unlimited fluffy goodness was, well, mouthwatering. I alerted my best friends, and we concocted an elaborate plan to commute to the city to enjoy the bottomless breakfast delicacies. I was so excited for the afternoon with my friends that I even called in prior to our arrival to ensure that it was still on. To my surprise, the woman on the phone informed me that the deal was actually 7.99 for the unending pancakes, as the restaurant's location in the expensive city of Seattle warranted an increase in price. "No problem," I thought, with an undeterred desire to experience the Denny's delights.

Later that afternoon, I picked up my friends, and headed towards South Seattle to finally reap my reward for a long week of work. As we sat down and waited for our server, the excitement was palpable. Discussions of ordering anything besides the 7.99 deal were quickly squashed, as we only had one thing in mind: bottomless pancakes.

As the server approached our table, we watched in excitement and anticipation. Each step he took felt like a century as tried to contain our desire to order as soon as possible. When the moment finally came, I asked, "Could I get the all you can eat pancake deal?" Looking at the deal on the menu as I ordered.

"We don't participate, " He quickly responded. When we alerted him of our previous phone conversation and the fact that the deal was explicitly stated on the menu with no stipulations or fine print around it, he muttered some unintelligible nonsense, giving us no clarity of the situation, and leaving us gutted. To add salt to the wound, he suggested we order the 12.99 deal for breakfast arrangements that would certainly result in less food than the deal we sought after.

After brief depressed deliberation we decided to leave the store. We would not eat at a restaurant that betrayed us.

Have I fully recovered from the incident? Truthfully, no. I am dazed, bamboozled, and shell shocked. The pain of betrayal has left me jaded as I pick up the pieces of what was once a hopeful life.

As time goes on, I hope to find the mental fortitude to live life with hope, to trust, and to love. However, one thing is for certain: I will never forgive Denny's for the void they left in my soul-- for that is...

I had a poor experience today that will result in me not returning to this location in the future. I have placed this order several (3 times min.) times at this point and had no issues until today. On the mobile app under sides I order 4 orders of their french toast (2pc ea.) For 8 pc total. They're 2.49 per 2 pc and on top of that, I tipped them $5.00 (%50 pre-tip). I get there and upon checking my order, I noticed they gave me 4pc and not 4 orders that I paid for via the app. I went back in thinking its a simple mistake, something anyone could do no big deal. However, when I brought it up, the gentleman started arguing with me. I should have gotten his name, but he's an older gentleman maybe in his 50s, gray hair, and black rectangle rim glasses. He was wearing a black dress shirt as well, seemed like the manager maybe. He kept bringing up add-on and how I needed to order a meal. I explained to him and even physically pulled out my phone and showed him how I order this on the app and that I am NOT required to purchase extra food or a meal to get the remaining french toast I had already paid for on the app. He made a comment again about the cost and I showed him on the app that the cost was the same, the only difference is I used a %20 discount this time. He laughed and said "theres no such thing". He was very rude and unprofessional. It seems like pretty poor management to have somebody like that in a higher role that doesnt understand their menu and worse, argues with the customer about it and laughs at them making them feel stupid. Again, I had placed this order several times before and the rest of the team seemed to understand. For some reason today, this specific gentleman wanted to pick a fight and argue about the prices on the app. I now cant return to this retaurant out of fear of him trying to shorten my food again that I aready paid for. **Update: I found out the last 4 pcs I had to argue for were inedible. It tasted like butter and burger grease and the bread was so soggy it was complete mush on the inside. This was obviously intentional sabatoge. So overall I had to argue to get the remainder of my food and because the gentlemen there didnt understand his own menu (again this is a grown man in his 50s), he decided to punish me for it. I will now be escalating this to corporate...