| Address | 2453 18th St. NW , Washington, DC 20009 |
|---|---|
| Hours | 24 Hours |
| Phone | (202) 232-8800 |
| Fax | (202) 232-8807 |
I am always impressed with how consistently good the food is at the The Diner. No matter what you order, it is prepared well, and the service is very friendly and accommodating. Then the best part is when the check comes and you don't owe you entire pay check.
It seemed as though the servers were just standing around a lot and the place was packed!!
I had the time of my life at The Diner. Seriously, I wish I could go back and revisit those precious moments wobbling to and fro whilst the room dazzled me due to moderate intoxication from my delicious, humongous bloody mary of doom. I mean doom in a good way here. The best way imaginable really. The pancakes my boyfriend graciously allowed me to totally nixon off his plate were like little clouds of happiness frolicking across my toungue. Nothing could be finer than The Diner. Nevermind the rats. Just kidding about the rats. The Diner rulez! Dogs drool.
This is a convenient diner, not a genuine, greasy, mind-your-own-business kind of diner. The food is below average and the service is more concerned with impressing their incoming friends than getting your food to you. Unless you're drunk (they serve beer) and/or very patient, stay away.
Not a bad alternative to giant floppy pizza slices if you're hungry late at night. Better yet, if you don't need to sit down, try the new Falafel place a block down.
I can barely remember life without the Diner. It's not so much the late nite dining as the anytime of day dining that I appreciate. Good solid diner food and plenty of fancier fare. Nothing is more odd, or great, than sitting at the bar, eating grilled cheese with a glass of wine.
I really want to like this place but been there four times and didn't like the food each time. I give the meatloaf and chocolate brownie sunday especially disappointing reviews, but you can do better for the same price.
Any time of the day or night, one can get a decent breakfast at the Diner. Moreover, visitors to the Diner can eat their fried eggs and milkshakes under a lovely pressed-tin ceiling, while listening to some nifty tunes.
It's hard to be blown away by this place. I like the veggie options fine, but it's not mouthwatering. The pasta? Horrible, stay away. I go with the grilled cheese with fries, a Hoegaarten Hefeweissen, and apple pie a la mode. All on the cheap. You really can't go wrong with that.
Hearing that this was a child friendly restaurant, my husband and I took our nine month old son for dinner on a Friday evening. "Child friendly" is an understatement. No less than four servers came over to admire our son - one with a baby sized milk shake as a free gift. Everything about the experience was baby proof and parent friendly. For parents who want to enjoy Adams Morgan without feeling like a drain on the younger party crowd, this restaurant is a must!
There has to be a series of really specific reasons for me to go to The Diner (I'm too hungover to walk up the stairs at The Reef, I've already eaten at Asylum four times that week, I'm underdressed for Cashions, etc.) but once I get there it's never as bad as I expect.
It's no Jersey diner. (good or bad?) But it does have diner food at slightly-more-than-diner prices and, most importantly, is open crazy round-the-clock diner hours! The Diner does what only The Diner can:-)
The Diner has some of the best mac and cheese around. The best place to sit is at the front when the doors are open and you're right on 18th Street. I wasn't happy when "American Idol" took over the place, but it can be a good spot to grab a bite while a baseball game's on. Good people-watching too.
The Diner is a staple in Adam's Morgan. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, this place is good for a variety of occassions. A great place for a weekend brunch, late night burger, or mid-day scone and tea. With a hearty, American menu, there's a lot to please everyone. A great place to take a family looking for something casual, but with a myriad of options. Great for dads, too. One problem: it's a bit noisy inside and does get quite busy. Get there early, and don't go if you're planning a serious or attention-needing conversation.
My favorite meal there that I get 90% of the time is their black bean veggie burger. MMMMMmmm! Though it is a bit messy and sometimes needs some salt, it is still delicious and full of healthy tasty ingredients. With the side salad it is even better, as the lettuce and quality of the tomatoes is very high. The service is always good here and I can get in and out quickly while never feeling rushed. I'd totally recommend a meal here (especially late night weekdays as they're open 24hrs., but stear clear on weekend nights when the bars let out!). Bon appetit, there's plenty of food to fill you up on most dishes!
This place is best visited before 2 am in the morning. Otherwise, the party crowd gets a bit loud. This diner is unique because it serves alcohol.
I've been here twice for breakfast in the past month or two, and both times they've seemed quite understaffed. Maybe the staff likes it that way (fewer tables means more tips for each of them), and maybe most patrons like a leisurely breakfast. But they should still come by your table within a few minutes to give you coffee and probably to take your order. Both times, once I ordered, things proceeded pretty well both service-wise and food-wise, but that initial wait is not a good start to one's day.
Not your typical diner, so don’t expect diner prices or, for that matter, diner food. Though the menu options seem typical, what arrives on your plate is a step up from what you might expect. Service is the biggest inconsistency. Sometimes food comes quickly; sometimes you can wait for ages and not be sure why. Similarly, although most of the servers are perfectly adequate, there are days when your coffee cup is allowed to sit empty. Nevertheless, when you’re feeling too lazy to cook your own simple, hearty American classic, chances are you may end up here.
The Diner is all about being a diner - diner food, diner prices, diner decor, diner service... nothing fancy or extraordinary, but pretty consistent with good food. It amazes me how many people wait in line to eat at the Diner on a Sunday or Saturday morning when DC is filled with better places to eat... but the Diner does have friendly & fast service, which is more than I can say for a lot of restaurants in DC, no matter how good the food is. The main problem with the Diner is that some of the seating is too close together - on a Friday or Saturday night, when most of the customers come in drunk and loud, I'd prefer not too sit so close to most of them.
The Diner is a little too trendy to be entirely satisfying to me, but I was pleased to find it only moderately crowded on the New Year's Day. Often, the line to get in stretches out onto Adams-Morgan's main drag. It gets so bad that they have installed little poles and ropes on the sidewalk to corral prospective Diner diners into an orderly line. Though they are open 24 hours a day, some times are better to go than others. Weekend brunches are most popular, and hence least satisfying. They try hard to please a zillion different interests with their eclectic menu. By and large, they succeed. You can get grits at the Diner, or fancy goat cheese concoctions, meatloaf or salmon. From milkshakes to martinis, they seem to have it all. On New Years, I was pleased that the giant television screen was turned off (I go there to eat, not watch TV). However, I was displeased that the cigarette smoke from drinkers perched on barstools (yes, they have a bar) drifted over to where I was enjoying my reuben and salad. The urban scruff chic waitstaff accent the trendy atmosphere in a way that could never be achieved by interior decorating alone. The bill was reasonable for the quality of food; with its pastiche of hyper-cool, I expected it to be more inflated.
More than adequate food, efficient service. The Diner, faux or not, is just what a diner should be.
I enjoyed the urban atmosphere at the Diner. The mixed crowd, tight seating, and the sound of dishes and great conversation gave the restaurant a NY appeal. My friend and I ordered very simple dishes, a burger & fries and a chicken sandwich & fries. My chicken sandwich was a bit charred and my friend's burger wasn't well done as ordered. But I figure it's the Diner so one can't expect super fine cuisine. Though I'd only return to the Diner if I'm on a tight budget or not agreeing with friends on the more eclectic dining options in Adams Morgan.
I like The Diner because it's a cool place to grab a bite to eat on 18th street. The wait staff is friendly, the menu is decent, and they serve good beer. However, I ordered the "special" on this particular evening - vegetarian jambalaya. The bowl looked large, but that was mostly bowl, and not enough jambalaya. The jambalaya was tasty, but I left dinner wanting more so I ended up at Julias Empanadas on my way home. I hear the burgers are excellent and the french fries look yummy. This ain't your typical diner, so don't expect a $3.00 eggs and toast special. The atypical diner format, however, makes it worth going to again and again.
The Diner is the only thing open 24 hours in Adams Morgan, and they're always busy. Our service was really slow, but they were otherwise occupied, not standing and chatting with friends. The best milkshakes and pie around, especially at 2 in the morning. I've had better fries there, but we'll chalk it up to one off visit.
