Uncle Dudley's Restaurant - Willard, OH — Restaurant in Willard

Eating at Uncle Dudley’s was one of the most fascinating culinary experiences I have ever had. Previously, I could only imagine that places like this existed.

Stepping into the restaurant at almost 2 PM on a weekday, the place was hopping. The clientele appeared to be made up entirely of regulars, and our entrance had in my mind the effect of a record scratch. We were told to sit anywhere, and a waitress brought a couple of menus after a bit of a delay. Judging from the menu cover, Uncle Dudley apparently does clown gigs on the side.

My wife ordered one of the sandwiches whose meaning was unknown to us before trying: pizza steak. This innovative masterpiece featured a large piece of pepperoni smashed onto the bottom of a beef patty, with a dollop of mozzarella cheese inside. There may have been some sausage mixed in with the ground beef. It was truly a genius hybrid sandwich, although my wife described the burger as “horrible.” The waitress seemed confused by my question of whether pizza steak is a thing around here, or if it is unique to Uncle Dudley’s. She did end up stating that she thought you could get it at some Amish farm stores around, but had never seen it on another restaurant menu.

Another menu mystery was the “hot beef spot” sandwich. Yet another curiosity was “fish square,” although I had a good guess what this meant. I ordered the perch, which was mostly delicious except that the breading had the consistency of fine gravel, and the tartar sauce was an unexplainable yellow color. I got curly fries with it, which were bland and underseasoned.

Undeterred by the main course, I asked for the dessert options, and the waitress rattled off an impressive list of pies, including one final cryptic item: possum pie. Apparently, this is a mixture of chocolate pudding and cream cheese on a graham cracker crust. I ordered the peach pie. The peaches had the fun texture and perfectly smooth surface that can only come from a can. It lacked peach flavor but managed to be outdone by the blandness of the crust.

But really, any criticisms aside, this place is exactly the kind of place you want to go to if you want to experience the vibe of a small-town U.S. diner. Uncle Dudley can come be the entertainment at one of my kid’s birthdays. He can tell us stories about what he likes to do in Willard, Ohio. Just don’t make us any...

They were busy for lunch but we didn't have to wait for a table. The waitress came by carrying food for another table and said she would be with us shortly. We had no issue with this at all( we have both worked food service for decades). She took our order. We ordered the perch, soup, and side salad. It took a bit for our lunch to arrive, but again, it was peak lunch, so we were patient. The problem was that we didn't get our cup of soup or the side salad before the fish, and then we had to ask for the soup and salad. She went to the window to ask the kitchen for the soup and salad, which they promptly put the salad in the window. The waitress was responsible for getting the soup( which was one of the best things we eat) at the waitress station. It felt like her asking the kitchen for those items was a way to shift responsibility off her and onto the kitchen.The home fries were really good. The fish wasn't very good. It didn't taste like perch and the breading on the fish we didn't care for. It was right out of the fryer, so it was hot. The waitress didn't come back to check on us and ask how the food was or if we needed anything else. Like I said, we have both worked food service and waited tables, so we understand being busy. However, we also know what good service is and we definitely didn't receive that. We always tip above and beyond, but that definitely wasn't the case this time because the waitress didn't do her job. I'm not sure we will go back to Uncle Dudles...

When my original caterer fell through they were able to get us a quick quote, they had good availablity and GREAT PRICES!

I didn't need to babysit or make lots of plans with them.

On the big day they were so great. They set up and tore down quickly. They packaged up all our leftovers. And they set up real plates for the head table without us even noticing. Totally professional, I mean I didn't even see them really.

They even helped us clear the buffet to make room for the dance floor.

The prices were really really reasonable and everyone said the food was really good. We had chicken cordon-blue, ham, and their famous roast beef. All excellent. Green beans, mashed potatoes and other things.

I believe pricing was around $7.75 per person with 250 meals. And after attending friends weddings where they paid $20 a plate, and out food was so much better.

I would defitnely recommend them for events. Professional, Easy, and the food is great at a...