Walnut Bottom Family Diner — Restaurant in South Middleton Township

Before I give a review of the food which would have received 4 Stars, I feel I need to make people aware of their unscrupulous business practices, which would receive 0 Stars.

When we first sat down and the waitress came over to take our order, she explained that even though there was prices listed on the menu the manager would charge a higher price sometimes. I'm not exactly sure how he convinced someone to pay more than the menu price. There was a huge board as you walked in of the Specials for dinner along with the prices. My hubby and I chose the Chicken Fried Steak dinner with was listed for $10.95 (the price is important here). Dinner was very good, the waitress was very attentive.

So the waitress brings the bill and leaves. I pickup the bill and notice that the price of the dinner on the check is for $11.99 (not the price special of $10.95). So we figure she made a mistake and charged the normal price. Called the waitress over and showed her the incorrect price, she says she'll be back. When she comes back, she says nope the price is right. I said no it's not. (There were so many specials we had taken a picture of the board so we could decide what we wanted.) I said we have a picture right here with the specials and prices, that it's $10.95. Then the waitress says the hostess made a mistake when she wrote it and the manager says it's $11.99. I told the waitress to go tell the manager that I'm not paying more than the $10.95 listed. The manager wouldn't come over to the table, but expected the waitress to do his job for him. She came back and said the manager laid all the blame on the hostess again and still wanted $11.99. I told her once again I'm not paying anymore than the $10.95 and if the manager didn't like it, to come talk to me. He wouldn't come over, so she fixed it by giving us a 10% discount. Which was less than the special dinner price.

Apparently the manager changing the prices to a higher price is a common practice at this diner. It's not just dinner that the prices are higher but breakfast and lunch as well. I also heard from the staff at the diner that they charge higher prices to the various clubs such as the car clubs which stop there to eat. So if you don't want to get ripped off by being charged more, check your bill out. It's unfortunate that the manager is so unscrupulous because their food was very good. I don't think the wait staff or the hostess should have to deal with being accused of doing their job incorrectly, when the manager can't be bothered checking the specials board before it's placed out for their customers to see. Maybe they should look into getting a new manager and get rid of than one that...

We were regulars when the previous owners ran the diner, so we decided to try the restaurant under new ownership. It was a big disappointment. A bored looking teenage girl looked irritated that we interrupted her when we arrived. Not a great way to start, and it went downhill from there.

It looked like they kept the same menu that the previous owners used, but with much higher prices. For instance, if you wanted to add fries with your sandwich, it cost an additional $2.50, as opposed to an additional $1.00 previously. There was a lot of shrinkflation going on. The iced tea cups were much smaller than the standard sized cups most diners use. The plates and portions were smaller as well. I ordered a turkey and cheese wrap, and my husband ordered the Walnut Bottom wrap. In mine the turkey was dry and hard to chew. I couldn’t finish it. The fries were barely warm. The other wrap felt like it had been thrown into a microwave. The lettuce and tomato were warm instead of being crisp and fresh. Everything was flavorless. It was not an enjoyable meal.

Not once did our waitress stop and ask if everything was okay, or if we needed a beverage refill. The service was nonexistent. There was a lot of staff, and not one person smiled. Everyone looked annoyed. When we went to the counter to pay, the woman gave a perfunctory, “How was everything?.” We told her the food wasn’t good and we had bad service, and said we wouldn’t be back. She didn’t ask why we felt that way, nor called a manager over.

I was trying to find something positive to say. The only thing I can come up with is that the desserts in the case...

No frills diner with good food and even more impressive prices, especially given the large portion sizes.

My wife and I stopped by on our way put of Carlisle where we attended a weekend wedding, and our itch for a classic diner breakfast was itched. The place is large for the style, which was appreciated because it was quite busy in the late morning on. Sunday. Even so, the service was quick and accommodating and friendly, which can always be a bit hit or miss, especially for diners off the highway.

I got the breakfast special, and was impressed with the amount of food I got for under 10 bucks. 2 big pancakes, eggs, meat (I chose the more unique Scrapple option), fried potatoes, and toast I didn't manage to even get to because I was definitely full.

The pancakes were fluffy and crisp on the edges and were definitely decent, the eggs and potatoes played their part (though you'll likely need to further season them, I chose Tabasco). The scrapple took me back to childhood in rural Ohio, as it was crunchy on the outside, but very moist on the inside, with a great savory flavor that worked well alone, but especially nice with a touch of the syrup from the aforementioned pancakes. QMy wife got the Belgian waffle and bacon and was also happy with her meal, especially the low price in this modern world.

Overall, it wasn't the greatest breakfast I've ever had, but was very satisfying and well priced, and it would definitely be a place I would return to if ever in that area again. Certainly worth a stop to hit those classic cravings at a price you'll be quite...