Little City Diner — Restaurant in Winterville

I have been a weekly or biweekly patron of this lovely restaurant for awhile — years. But I have decided that this Friday would be my last visit for awhile. I’ll try again later. The food is always delicious. The coffee is hot. The atmosphere is quaint. My breakfast for 4 adults and 1 child was nearly $80, including a 20% tip — it’s not the cheapest, and I’m ok with that.

I have put my best smile on for so long now when I walk in the restaurant and up to the counter. I know she’s there — she is probably there every day. The dependable one. She is at the counter as I knew she would be.

I’ve tried to be understanding - perhaps she is an introvert and wants to keep things simple,,maybe she doesn’t communicate well, maybe my family of 5 is overwhelming, maybe she is just quiet, maybe she is shy, perhaps she has her own problems which keeps her preoccupied. I’ve tried to make every concession for her and today, today was enough. I’ll get my grits somewhere else at this point. There’s just no reason that I should make so many excuses in hope someone will give me a moment of courtesy…and on top, as a bonus, to pay so much for breakfast.

I’m not even sure what her tip is for if she doesn’t even greet me, doesn’t place any effort to welcome me, or to answer with questions without gruffly answering like I’ve annoyed her by asking, I make my own drinks, and my own refills and once the food is delivered - well, good luck because you never see anyone again.

I am sorry I must move on but I’ve tried long enough.

If you don’t mind the service, the food is hands down some of the best in the area so don’t steer away!!

To the management, I’m not suggesting you rid yourself of her at all. In fact, I commend her. She is dependable and always there. She always gets the orders correct and remembers who orders what. She’s an asset in those ways. I just can’t move beyond the first morning gruffness. Maybe she needs a partner to ease the communication - she is a gem for the mechanics of running the restaurant but friendliness and hospitality — whew,...

My total was about $26.50 for one of the lowest quality hamburgers I have ever had. I ordered the special on 10/14/23, which was a cheeseburger (topped with egg and ham) with tomato chutney. The burger was okay, but not great. The bun, tomato chutney, and a few spinach leaves were the best parts; that was tasty. That is what earned the stars.

The burger itself was small in comparison to the bun, not seasoned at all (not even salt and pepper), and tasted like a cheap ground meat, Tasty beef requires nothing if it's quality beef. The egg was overcooked and lacking in color/taste (again, not even salt or pepper) and seemed your typical box store industrialized egg. I guess for it being a local business and the cost, I was expecting a local farm egg deeper in color and richness of taste. The sandwich meat was disgusting, I did not even attempt to eat it. Seemed like the cheapest sandwich meat (meat product, not actual meat) that had been sitting out for too long. The color was off, as was the texture, so I declined. The fries were frozen out of a bag you buy at the grocery store and not edible at all. They were so rock hard that you could break a tooth trying to take a bite. I voiced my concern to the staff, but no offer to remake them was made. So, they went in the trash.

Lastly, the bathroom had NO handsoap. This was learned AFTER my meal. I watched the chef leave the bathroom and go back into the kitchen. I went in after him and found ZERO soap.

I wanted to love this place because it's a small business, and I support locally owned businesses. But, I will never return. The quality is that of fast food at best (and I am being generous by saying this) with 5 star prices, and hygiene is a real concern. The atmosphere is nice and quaint outside. This meal (burger) was in total $23.00 plus a 15% gratuity given to the cashier ($26.50 about). Way overpriced for the venue. You'll be happier spending 10$ and saving 16$, going to your local...

Cute little dinner with a fun menu! The baked goods in the counter are usually pretty good, and their lunch menu is awesome.

The only falling down point is actually their breakfast. The biscuits are decent, but they tend to overcook their eggs. (Sunny side up is normally perfect, but anything ordered scrambled or in an omelet has come out dry every time I've been here). The pancakes taste good but are heavy and thick rather than light and fluffy, which was a turn off for me. I fully admit this might be a personal taste issue, though. If you like thick pancakes, you'll probably love these!

(If you're watching your calories, get a kid's pancake! It's cheaper and half the size, so you can have a pancake but not get overloaded, cause their pancakes are big.)

Also, every fried special I've had here has been...not so great. All their cornmeal battered fish sounds good, but the fry is always coming off the wet fish when it arrives, and it's just kind of ick. Taste is usually a little bland, too, so I don't order fish here anymore. Just stick to the normal menu and you'll have a great time! (I highly recommend the BBQ or the mozzarella balsamic sandwich for lunch and the bird's nest for breakfast!)

Overall, a great little dinner that's thirty seconds too long in the pan from being really fantastic. It's also almost never super busy and it's open early on weekends, so it's a great place to go if you have kids who wake up at the crack of dawn. Close to Athens,...