Goobers Diner — Restaurant in Wilmington

UPDATED REVIEW* The review I wrote below was from 2 years ago, the one I'm writing now was from just June 26, 2024. My previous review was a 5 star review, this one is a 1 star review. What a difference 2 years and lack of competent help, management, and ownership can make. Wish I would have been able to take photos. My wife ordered shrimp and grits, I ordered the patty melt and also ordered a meatloaf platter to go. Both my wife and I are French Culinary trained and have been chefs for 32 years. I don't write many bad reviews but when I do it is warranted. The shrimp and grits were instant white grits with very little shrimp and not much flavor. My patty melt was a frozen burger puck that lacked flavor. The meatloaf was advertised to come with mirepoix potatoes. The meatloaf was cheap generic and frozen meatloaf, I have had Hungry Man TV dinners that were better. The potatoes mirepoix were plain instant mashed potatoes, and the mac and cheese was a horrible mess. Once again, the tv dinners I've had have been better. What a sad disappointment, I used to praise this diner, now I will probably not return. The pictures below and review were from 2 years ago when this diner was great, and the food was awesome. If I could give no stars I would. Our waitress was clueless, had no knowledge of the menu items. When I asked her about a menu item she stated, "I don't know anything about the food, I just sell it". She took the attitude that she could have cared less to be there or to be bothered. I adamantly encourage nobody to eat hear now. A total disappointment 😞

Great food and retro diner atmosphere, loved the food so much that we ate 2 platters each and took home platters for the next day. They also have some awesome antique cars and pure American muscle cars to look at in their garage (the garage is open on Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday) free of charge. Would highly recommend it and...

I was in the area and thought I would give Goober's Diner a try. I wasn't impressed and won't be back. The staff was friendly and attentive. But the food was very disappointing. My friend ordered the Eggs Benedict and hash browns with cheese. He said the Eggs Benedict was good. But, for him, the has browns were a major disappointment. The serving was small and cheese, for a 75 cent up-charge, was a half slice of a Kraft single laying on top. Worse yet, to my friend, the hash browns tasted greasy. As for my meal, I had the French Dip with au jus and hash browns (no cheese). The meat in the sandwich was tasty and tender. But the sandwich size was particularly small (maybe 6 or 7 inches total) for $12.95. Little attention was given to the preparation of the sandwich as the horseradish sauce was a heavy dollop on one end of the sandwich rather then spread across the length of the sandwich. The au jus was not au jus at all. It was thick brown gravy that was extremely salty. As for the hash browns, they were horrible. To me, they tasted like a batch had been cooked earlier in the day and then reheated. Very greasy and bland (other than the taste of old grease). In fact, the taste lingered in my mouth for an hour or so after I left the diner until I bought some gum. Finally, as we were finishing our meal, another customer was seated near us with a table spaced between us. The man was very unkempt. But what was particularly disconcerting was he had his mask hanging off one ear leaving his nose and mouth exposed while he was being seated. With current COVID conditions as they are, I felt rather uncomfortable. Overall, we were disappointed with our meal and experience in spite of the pleasant staff. Diners are traditionally known for their vast selection, large portions, and fresh from the stove/grill/oven cooking. Goober's...

This was our first time. Hostesses were pleasant and efficient, a small wait because of Covid restrictions. We wandered out to the goober’s garage to pass the time .. wow! What a treat! The fella inside was engaging and full of interesting facts about the cars , we were fascinated! We got the call for our table in no time. We were sat at a corner table ..the groovy linoleum table & red, chrome-accented chairs catapulted me back in time to my grandmothers kitchen, wonderfully nostalgic..and the place was spotless. Our server Mia was attentive and funny, our drinks were served promptly, the silverware was shiny & clean, the coffee cup was perfect.. I like a nice mug at a diner.. it matters, at least to me. We both ordered Big Breakfast so we could taste several offerings . Breakfast meats were exceptional , pancakes & french toast both delicious.. the shake of powdered sugar on top..a sweet touch. Eggs cooked perfectly and the hash browns, ordered a little well done, were stellar! Portions plentiful. In this age of Covid the condiments are now individually served and many places cut a corner in this aspect, ketchup packed in plastic lid ramekins, culled from some unknown source and the syrup an unfamiliar, mystery brand. Call me crazy but I’ve got some serious brand allegiance ..so the Heinz ketchup and Log cabin syrup at goober’s went a long way for this lady..

i actually think I’m going BACK tomorrow with a different crew..ones who’ll definitely sample the Tito’s breakfast drinks and Mimosas with me..it’ll be a snow party after all.. well done...