Our go-to CT diner spot (NYC ex-pats approved!) My wife and I used to live in NYC, and like most ex-pats, we consider ourselves absolute "diner people." We seriously missed the vibe, the regulars, and the familiar faces at our old city hangouts when we first moved to Connecticut. Luckily, we've found a few local spots that stepped right into that void, and Darien Diner is easily one of our favorites. First off, the vibe here is awesome. It has that classic, retro stainless steel exterior, a great eat-in counter, old-school soda fountains, and tons of 1950s memorabilia inside. It's always super clean and well-maintained. During the pandemic, they had a makeshift tent and wooden deck for outdoor seating. They took it down a while back, but the *best* news is they just finished building a permanent foundation for a brand new outdoor dining area. My wife and I cannot wait for it to open so we can bring our fur babies along for breakfast again. Speaking of breakfast, they serve it all day and the food is pure American comfort. If you're going the breakfast route, you can't go wrong with the Farmers Omelette, the Two Eggs and Three Meats, or the Protein Breakfast (grilled chicken and tomatoes) if you're trying to be good. For lunch, their Patty Melt is elite, and I'm a massive fan of the Thanksgiving Sandwich (turkey, gravy, cranberry, and stuffing on a flatbread) and their Gyro platter. A quick heads up on timing: this place gets absolutely packed around noon on the weekends--we're talking a line out the door. If you want to sit down, definitely aim for either 11:00 AM or after 1:00 PM to miss the rush. Weekdays are much calmer, but on weekends we usually just order takeout to avoid the crowds altogether. The location is incredibly convenient, right off Exit 13 on I-95. Plus, there's a Splash Car Wash right next door, so we usually kill two birds with one stone and get the car cleaned before or after we eat. Pro-Tip: Just watch your speed when you're getting off the I-95 ramp onto Connecticut Ave. Cops love to hide right there and ticket people catching the light. Definitely recommend this spot if you're looking for a solid, welcoming diner in the area! read more

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The corn beef hash-just OK. Simple over easy eggs and bananas foster french toast do it for me. The ambience-light and peaceful. read more

Darien Diner - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

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We always visit diners when we're visiting back East. Our breakfast was delicious, the service from Manny was excellent, and of course we loved the ambiance. read more

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The Darien Diner will now become a regular stop on our way from Maine to NYC. Here's what we got: Meatloaf dinner-Very big portion of meatloaf with fresh mushroom gravy and lots of mashed potatoes, also came with a salad Turkey club sandwich-Seemingly hand cut turkey with lettuce, mayo, tomato and bacon on toast-solid I got the french onion soup which was excellent and exactly what I hoped for (plenty of cheese) and a side order of spinach pie which was huge and tasty for 8.99. Adorable setting, great servers and clean bathrooms. read more

Excellent diner.. There were 5 people in our group and they were all satisfied with their meals..Service was excellent..

I had an uber order and they forgot something. Lisa went above and beyond to make my order right and sent out the correct items to Make my meal right. Thank you Lisa!!!! This diner has the best service! Thank you so much Lisa! read more

Nice people. Good food. Big portions. Ok prices. Would definitely go again. Gluten free pancakes for my gf spouse - very good. Chicken souvlaki for me - very good if a bit untraditional- lots of green peppers and onions. Not the best I ever had but fine for the purpose. read more

The Darien Diner has some sister locations, and we've been to the Poat Poad one many times. The menu is pretty much the same and both are very clean and the staff is great. I had the pork souvlaki which tasted super fresh, but not terribly authentic. It was more like a salad than souvlaki. But the pork was tender and the tzitziki sauce tasted authentic. Fries were crispy and not greasy. My daughter had a plain burger and it was cooked medium rare as requested and is a good size. I would give the location down the road the edge, but Darien is still good. But maybe the Darien location tweaks items for their clientele? read more

Darien Diner - Plain burger and fries, just like the girl wanted - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

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Are at the Darien Diner for the first time and we look forward to going back. I had the blueberry short stack pancakes and my husband had a grilled cheese with bacon. Service was great: friendly and on point. Cute decor and fun ambiance. Our only wish is that my husband had gotten more fries. read more

Great 50s diner with a pulse. Awesome pancakes and homefries. The service was great attentive staff very friendly. I will come back for sure. read more

This place is incredibly cheap. I just ordered a steak and cheese and it came with almost no steak. Spent a decent amount of money for an on the verge of spiteful sandwich. Never again. read more

Nice little spot. Food not amazing but fresh and decent. Service was very good. Value is meh.

Once again I will withhold one star just on principle. It would take a mighty special place to deserve that last star. That said, this diner is apparently part of a group of three others; which means the same owner, and I would expect, that all of them have the same menus and the same kind of cleanliness and attractiveness as the rest do, and as the one in Darien does have. I ordered my traditional BLT, And although they were a little bit sparse on the mayonnaise, there WAS some on the sandwich, and the sandwich DID taste good. It's presentation was well done and the waiter listen to me patiently, as I explained my desire to have a toasted and "not grilled" breading. The retro decorations all over the place made it an interesting place to look around in while you wait, and the food did not take long to get to the table, in spite of them being perhaps 25% occupied by customers. The thing that especially struck my wife and I, was that it was quite clean in there, and it was obviously well cared for. read more

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This diner is always packed weekend mornings. I went with my sister on a Thursday for a late breakfast / early lunch. I had the French toast which was good. My sister had a Greek salad with a hold the black olives and feta cheese and add this and that, dressing on the side (yes, she's on of those people). I guess I can't get too jazzed over the food. But the service was good. The waitress was friendly and positive despite the high maintenance ordering from my sister. For the record, I firmly believe that if you're ordering a Greek salad and don't want black olives and feta cheese...then we're entering the non Greek salad category, right? Also, for the record having been a waitress in my younger years- why do people do this? Why?? Stay home and make your own food. The diner is what it is- a ton of selection, speed and food service. read more

Darien Diner - Greek Salad and waffles Short Stack Deluxe - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

went there for breakfast got french toast and was expecting a bountiful plate insteadi got 2 sad slices. the service was lackluster i had to flag down a different waiter to get a new drink, my oj was 15$ for 2 glasses. it was mostly clean, but the the price was an eye watering 50$. overall good but cheap. read more

Love this diner. Great food and staff is so friendly. Great diner food. This place is a keeper.

I've been coming to this diner for quite sometime, food and service is always great. My corned beef hash breakfast without the home fries, substituted with grilled tomato and wheat toast was great. Also ordered to go, their asian beef stir fry from their specials was delicious! Some diners have mediocre food and service, this is definitely one of the best one around! 5 stars! read more

Darien Diner - Corned Beef Hash - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

Food was great. Tacos were very flavorful and delicious. The wait staff was very attentive and service was great. Even recommended meals so that the party wouldn't get the same foods. Ambiance was that of any other diner. Felt the old school diner vibes which was great. read more

Cute little retro feel diner right off post toad ample parking but lot is usually full we normally order salads with grilled chicken or breakfast sandwiches. Nothing amazing just your normal diner food the salads are fresh and the grilled chicken is flavorful: once in awhile we order chicken souvlaki platters which are good but the fries are always soggy and so is the pita bread very large portions and pretty friendly staff. They do take credit card and offer take out read more

Immaculate, great service! Delicious iced coffee and coffee in general. Only had a sandwich and soup but the French onion soup was delicious and the tuna Sammy on toast was very fresh! My husband also really enjoyed his Gyro and tzatziki! Can't wait to try their breakfast! read more

The Darien diner does not miss the inside is spotless and has that amazing retro diner feel and decorations, and the food is great! We split the disco fries, and then got coffee malts, a grilled cheese, the club sandwich, and eggs for brunch. The malt was sooo good, it tasted like real coffee was mixed in and not just flavoring. The fries are perfectly crispy, and the service is very fast. Go to the Darien Diner for a clean, tasty, and enjoyable CT diner experience. read more

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Had to stop because my stomach was talking to me. I found Darien's Diner and the experience was wonderful. The food was outstanding, service quick and hospitable the ambiance now that was simply adorable. Great place will definitely come back. read more

Hot open turkey sandwiches were good, though way too salty. Black and white milkshake was pretty good but small and cost 8 bucks! It's my friend's favorite diner for many years now... Probably worth giving another visit for different items. read more

We recently started coming here to have a family breakfast. Since our son is still in his stroller, they will usually sit us at the far end table which is fine by us. I'm just glad that they accommodate families with babies and kids here. Typical diner food. The servers have always been friendly and fairly attentive. I'm not sure who the guy is that mans the front, maybe the owner or the manager. He could be a little friendlier - it's his tone of voice, he seems like he's either in a hurry or pissed at something. read more

Normally when you do the thing diner what are some of the criteria that come to mind. Foe me it's the below: 1. Breakfast anytime 2. Large menu 3. Fast service 4. Reasonable prices The problem is that at Darien only two apply and sadly it's the wrong two. 1. Yes indeed you can get breakfast anytime. While that's a great option none of us wanted that so while nice, it was irrelevant for this trip. 2. The menu is indeed large and it covers the gambit from breakfast to apps to sandwiches to salads to burgers to pasta to chops to a few token Greek specialties to a few diner classics. 3. The service here is not fast by a longshot. Sure we came early evening on a Saturday but we were seated with no wait and there were a lot of staff on. The problem is that we were seated in a no mans land in the middle of the diner where initially every server walked past us and while we were there three different people brought us things. Is this how they operate or were we seated in an area that no one wanted? I don't know but either way it was really slow and that "system" sure as hell does not work. 4. The prices are steep in general for what you're getting let alone for a diner. Back home most of what they served here would go for a good 20-30% less. I guess you could forgive that if the food were outrageously good, but it's not. My chicken parm is supposed to come with a choice of pasta except that when I asked for Ziti I was told they were out and then I went to Penne but they were out of that too. My choice for pasta was angel hair as that was all they had for all pasta dishes. The kids meals are nice in that they come drinks and dessert included but the portion size is very, very small. Also noteworthy to me is that for dessert I had to try the Orange Popsicle Shake as I'm a big sucker for anything orange. My verdict on that one is very much a not so good. Way too much orange juice in the mix which negated any possible creamsicle possibilities as it tasted like a all orange with no creamy balance. Lately we've been on a diner kick when on the road and for the most part that philosophy has been successful but at Darien we were badly underwhelmed and even though we'll be back in the area in October coming here is not going to be part of the plan. read more

Darien Diner - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

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Classic diner and diner food. Giant portions. I had a very good chopped salad and my husband had the meatloaf. The thing that struck me about this place is it is so clean. All the chrome finishes were shined. Every piece of memorabilia was clean, like zero dust. The desserts looked amazing but we were too full to try one. read more

This diner was so fun. It had a 1950s feel, and the food was great. I love breakfast food, so I ordered a bacon egg and cheese. It did not disappoint! Our server was really nice too. At the end, as we were about to leave, he came over and gave me a thing red velvet cupcake! read more

Excellent quantity and quality!!!! Prices are just right and service is quick and place is clean read more

Lovely wait staff, very accommodating. Visited for a late breakfast, we ordered an omelette, avocado toast, and some sides. The home fries are delicious. Everything else was typical diner food. Nothing super impressive. The avocado toast was very unimpressive actually, the bread is a seeded sliced whole wheat bread and isn't toasted with minimal amounts of avocado spread. Very mushy and soggy with all the toppings, sounds much more appetizing in the description on the menu . The OJ and coffee were good and the service was nice. I appreciate what they've done adding the outdoor seating area during this time. I know it took a good amount of work putting up the tent, the flooring, the lighting etc. All in all decent, above mediocre, but not spectacular. read more

Nice local diner. Good and quick service. We ordered burgers for our Saturday brunch, they were super yummy. First time here and we really enjoyed. read more

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Service was the first thing that was dissatisfactory- overall the staff was dismissive and inattentive and even rude at one point. I ordered a Cinnamon Toast Crunch milkshake; it tasted mostly of milk and was just thrown in the cup. I've order the cereal shakes from their sister location Post Road Diner before and there was always some type of garnish- at the very least whipped cream and a sprinkle of the cereal. But here we were garish-less and the cup was actually dripping. Disappointment #2. The deal closer was the tacos- dry and tasteless and came with an obviously reheated from the can soup. In general I just feel bad to rate this place a 1 star when there is a perfectly sister down the street. Save yourself the trouble and drive the extra three minutes to Post Road Diner :/ read more

Darien Diner - Raul's pork tacos Lunch Special - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

While I have been going to this Diner for almost 20 years I can tell you in the last three visits quality control has been compromised. Care in what coming to the table has been sinuses. And as much as I would like to say maybe they are having a bad day. It feels like more than that and a total disrespect to customers today. I ordered a grilled sandwich with well done fries. I received a cold in the midddle pastrami that was not grilled and soggy fries that tasted reheated served to me in a presentation that was very unappetizing. No care bad service and food quality darien. There were no owners there today supervising. But it may be. While until I go back. Sadly they have disappointed a long time loyal customer today. read more

First time here and so far it was great. Friendly staff. Delicious food. If I'm ever in the area, might just visit again. read more

Darien Diner - Chicken souvlaki. So delicious - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

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Great service and ambience. Nice well priced menu. The chopped salad + grilled chicken is a good option.

Another one that has clearly suffered from covid. Used to love this place the food was good and the management/staff friendly. During 2021 we went a few times. The food wasn't as fresh - their hot open beef with mashed potatoes wasn't the same, breakfasts and even kids foods just didn't taste the same The kids all used to want to go but now they say 'no'. It's a shame but when the service is poor (generally unfriendly vacuous staff and non-existent management) and food quality is such that they are cutting corners (I do understand a business has to try make money in these tougher times) we just vote with our feet. Such a shame as used to be a good place for friends and family read more

Just passing thru for lunch and the Darien Diner was the perfect spot. Plenty of parking, and they sat us in a comfy & clean booth. Abraham was helpful and provided excellent service. I asked for my sweet potato fries to be very crispy and they were perfectly cooked and really delicious. I hope we pass thru Darien again, and I'll for sure be hungry and stop there. It is the perfect place for a delicious meal and a happy respite. read more

Took my elderly mom in law for lunch at Darien Diner. So she had gluten free pancakes and I had a pastrami sandwich with fries. The pancakes where good for being gluten free and the sandwich was ok, the pastrami was warm and not tough or chewy. The staff was also pleasant and attentive a big deal for me. So all that being said the entire dining experience was good, not extraordinary, not amazing but it was good. She and I both enjoyed our meals. The price is a bit steep we paid $27 for the food which I though for 2 pancakes and a small sandwich and handful of fries was much but it's Darien, CT so you can't expect a good deal. I would return if we were looking for a good quick easy place to eat. read more

Darien Diner - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

OK, let's start with the help. They are all extremely friendly and call us by name (yes, we are there a lot). No need to ask for a second, or third, cup of coffee. They are always there with it. This morning/early afternoon I had the stuffed french toast, which is only available on the weekends, I believe. It is french toast stuffed with cream cheese filling and topped with blueberries. They call it heavenly and it is to die for. Be aware that on Saturday and Sunday you may have to wait a few minutes for a booth/table as they tend to get crowded, but it is worth the wait. They have a large menu and daily specials. If you want something a little different then what is on the menu, just ask. I have found them to be very accommodating. Portion sizes tend to be on the large size so come hungry. Dinners come with soup or salad and you can't go wrong with either. Don't forget to check out their pies and cakes, try them once in you will be hooked. Nice fifties atmosphere with oldies playing and tons of fifties memorabilia everywhere. Les K. read more

Darien Diner - Heavenly - This french toast stuffed with cream cheese filling and topped off with blueberries is so good! - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

The food is decent although they do not have sourdough for patty melts, even looked at my wife funny for asking for it like they've never heard of it. I have to knock it down due to price though. prices would be high even if the sandwiches and burgers came with fries but they dont. its a $2.39 up charge for fries or $2.79 to any burger that you want lettuce, tomato, and fries with. pretty confusing with all the add ons for sides. its hard to tell what if anything comes with your entree. also, they are open till 10pm but turned people away at 9:45 with the open sign brilliantly lit right in front of them, not cool. I got the texas style bbq meatloaf sandwich, which was good. we all shared a chilli cheese fry with waffle fries. It was tasty but could have used ranch or sour cream. read more

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Food was good and service was too. I ordered the steak and it was cooked to perfection even though it was only a diner. I think their breakfast and lunch is better though.this place is pretty good. read more

Darien Diner - Prime rib - Diners Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

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