Sussex Sit n' Chat Diner — Restaurant in Wantage

I sure do hope our server, Tiffany, knows just how much she meant to me today. Her compassion and kindness really made my day! I've been struggling lately and haven't gone out much after having a double knee replacement 3 years ago. I feel like such a burden everywhere I go. My feet don't quite keep up with the rest of my body and I often struggle to do the simple things that everyone takes for granted. It can be very frustrating! While stepping into the foyer, I misjudged the last step and fell pretty hard into the lobby. (Hard enough that i broke my glasses and cut the side of my face). Utterly mortified, I laid there defeated. There was signage and all, I just couldn't catch myself. This young lady leaped to my aid so quickly, she was calming and kind as my husband tried to pull me up.. I could not get my feet under me and my husband kept pulling me. This young lady asked him to refrain, and to let me be for a moment. She sat down right beside me and held my hands (I suppose she could see the shame in my face). Told me it was ok and to just breathe, I cannot tell you how badly I needed to hear this. At this point my husband was explaining to a very large man that I stumbled due to my knee replacements and they both were rushing me off the floor, so she asked them to step back and go get a first aid kit for me. Still, she sat with me. Almost in a motherly way, making me feel safe. She asked me some basic questions, I supposed quizzing me for a potential concussion, did a general assessment of my injuries and made sure I was feeling well enough to be lifted to the seat behind me. After catching my breath and calming down, my husband and this large man (I think he worked there also) started forcing me up and I was embarrassed when I couldn't be lifted. She immediately stopped them and forced them to back up and leave me alone, and told me she'd lift me when I felt comfortable. How was I ever going to feel comfortable letting this girl lift me when a grown man can't. I wanted to stay on that floor forever. She encouraged me to trust her and told me she'd be lifting me from under my arms and would walk every step with me. I had no choice but to try. She did it, she held me and stood for me, lifting me from the ground. She took each step as if it were my own, she did not let me sway or feel uneasy and walked me to the first table inside the door. After seating me, she held my hands and assured me it was ok, and not to be embarrassed. She went and got me a water, put on gloves and cleaned my cut, covering it with a band aid. I assure you, I've not felt so cared for in years. In this moment of shame, this kindness is all I needed. We had a lovely lunch and her service was fantastic. She really went above and beyond, recommending us both to excellent choices and bringing us everything we needed before even asking. As we were getting ready to leave, I thanked her again. She kept saying it was nothing, but it was not nothing. She even tried to make me feel relatable and say shes stumbled before, it's all about how we get back up. Oh boy, she is wise beyond her years. I was teary as I still could not shake the shame and disappointment in my body, and she hugged me. She teared up as well and begged me to forgive myself for making a silly mistake. This young lady hugged me and let me cry on her shoulder as she cried with me, she didn't want to see me upset. That right there, has made me feel so peaceful and calm since leaving. She is such a special young lady, and someone I look forward to visiting again. I will be there as often as possible just to see that smiling, bubbly personality. I hope you see this, Tiffany. Thank you again, and God Bless. -Joann written (by Alyssa) on behalf of my mother Also, please note, if that tall man works there, my parents could hear you telling everyone it was my moms fault bc she has "plastic knees". I wish i had been there, id loved to have expressed myself to you, sir. maybe you could learn something...

Well, for what its worth, we came in and were immediately seated, it was off-hours, and there was only one other table of patrons in the restaurant. The one thing I noticed with the diner is that, compared with other diners I frequent, was extremely clean.

The server was friendly at first, but when I went to order told me my waffle would come with ham, bacon, AND sausage, even though the menu clearly said "OR", when I pointed it out she said everyone said that, but its just odd wording. Well, I was happy, with 3 sides of meat it was fairly priced. When my waffle came out it had.. just bacon.

I was going o inquiry with my waitress, but I never saw her again for the rest of the meal, until it was time to ask us to quickly pay so she could go home, cause she had to have her tables tallied. I've never been asked to "quickly pay" at ANY restaurant I've ever been at. I guess my expression gave away my shock, as she quickly added "You can stay as long as you want, but I need to go home, so you need to pay."

I asked for a dessert menu, and she said "All we have is the cake in the window." Clearly put off that I wanted to order dessert. And, to be fair, it was stale. I should have refused to pay for it, but I digress.

The service, for being one of TWO occupied tables at he restaurant; I counted at least FOUR waitresses and owner/manager running the register; was abysmal. Considering I had to ask her for a refill (or was it self service for drinks, who knows?), and I had to listen to 4 grown women gossiping about all types of things that I don't want to hear about while eatting, much less by people who are serving food... I'm not too surprised there was only 2 tables filled.

We picked this diner based by Google reviews, which is the only reason I'm actually posting this, because the reviews didn't reflect...

Early Saturday morning, not busy at all. We were seated immediately after the guy from the counter realized that we had walked in. We waited and waited for someone to take our coffee order. The wait staff hung out behind the counter chit chatting. Our waitress could clearly see us but it wasn't til we saw the guy that seated us and asked for coffee before she decided to come over. After we got our drinks we asked questions about the food and was not impressed with her lack of knowledge. Especially when she thought picking out the green peppers from the hash browns was acceptable for someone that gets sick from them. BF asked for a ham and swiss omlet with mushrooms. She asked what kind of cheese he wanted? I'm sorry waitress much? Didn't see eggs benedict on the menu my go to when we eat out and almost opted for nothing (should have gone with my instincts) but decided to try the apple something pancakes. Their pancakes being a specialty how could you go wrong? They were huge, saucer sized with five pieces of apple, raisins some kind of crumb topping and powered sugar piled on top. Ate about a guarter around the outside and no apples. Wasn't happy. Started eating towards the center and found the apples but they were hard and covered with uncooked pancake batter. Waste of money. And they weren't cheap. BF liked his omlet and the toast wasn't burned and was buttered well. He opted for french fries which were awesome as usual. Not our first time here but was seriously disappointed for the second time. The great fries and decent bacon were the only reason they got two stars cuz the...