Under new ownership. We had breakfast and lunch at the same table. The service was prompt and engaging, the food excellent and it had a good clientele. The best smash burger and grilled cheese in Hamilton. I urge anyone that's been here before the place flipped over to give it another try. read more

Amazing service, ordered the breakfast burrito and it was so good. would absolutely recommend to anyone in the downtown hamilton area. 100% would come back read more

We visited the diner on the day they reopened. The owner is really friendly, the food is great and the place has been completely refurbished. Highly recommended! read more

Visiting from Toronto and in search of great coffee and food, google brought us to the fantastic diner. We were delighted with the space, the co-proprietor who served us and the menu. The coffee and food exceeded our terrific first impression! The flat white and Americano were tasty and strong. House salad was huge and the greens were crisp, fresh and varied. Chopped purple onion was a welcome addition elevating a simple green salad to a stellar side. The berry-hued dressing was perfectly tangy and although the salad was perfectly dressed, a side serving of additional dressing was a really nice touch. We couldn't resist ordering smash burgers and they were among the best we've had. Perfectly seasoned, caramelized beef, great toppings and sauces, crisp lettuce and pickles...we'll be back. The fries were great. Crispy and well seasoned, good portion. Endless ice water, attentive and charming service and a well curated Sunday morning playlist completed this 10/10 lunch. They have only been open under this new ownership since March 2025, so any reviews before then were for the previous restaurant that occupied this location. Come and support this new gem! read more

0 Stars. all these good reviews are dasf My eggs- taste like burnt grease. My sausage- taste like burnt crap out of a pan or off something that's never cleaned properly. My fries- well, taste like crap because nothings cleaned. My toast was okay tho. Before you serve food, you should try it your self, if it taste like CRAP. DONT SERVE it. was trying to find new breakfast place, i won't ever go back here Waitresses are friendly/good people, i still tipped. read more

Really cute diner right in front of lulu's shawarma - the outside can be a bit easy to miss but it's surprisingly spacious inside. Ordered a smoked salmon benedict and a coffee, everything was nice and simple with really friendly service! Only complaint was that there was too much hollandaise sauce making the benedict super heavy. read more

Hamilton has a lot of these greasy spoons. Some are greasier than others. This one is a rather respectable one located in Downtown Hamilton at the corner of John and King William. Their breakfasts are rather decent and is still one of the cheapest in town. I had the regular breakfast for $5.50 plus tax and included two eggs, three sausages, toast, and home fries. Everything is great about it. For such a low price you get a sizeable portion on a ceramic plate and not a plastic plate. The eggs were the large size (and not peewee size). The sausage links were juicy and thick. The home fries were really delicious and fried perfectly. For this price what more could you ask for? read more

John Street Diner - All day breakfast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

Fast and friendly service with plenty of breakfast options. I had the salmon Benedict with seasoned home fries that were very tasty. A bit too much hollandaise sauce for my liking but that's an easy fix. Overall, would recommend and would go back. read more

John Street Diner - Salmon Benedict with home fries and ketchup- gotta have ketchup lol - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

I had lower expectations for this experience when I sat down, but after ordering and eating I'm blown away by the food! 10/10 delicious! Huge portions, great prices! Service was also great timing. Definitely recommend! read more

John Street Diner - 3 meat skillet with hollandaise sauce - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

I like this place. I came in for the 3.99 regular breakfast (which has now sadly been bumped up to 4.99) and it was a solid breakfast. Food isn't spectacular, and a bit greasy, but they deliver. Service was prompt and the lady at the front is a sweetheart. Was in and out in less than 20 minutes! read more

See all

Let's me be upfront about this I am giving this place a 1 star because it is the lowest rating available here, my experience with them today was such that there is no rating low enough to match it. How to best describe this place and the very disappointing experience, poor service with complete lack of personality or care, pricey crappy brown water they dare call coffee, takes them over 40 minutes to attempt to fry an egg, the tea pots leak all over you and your table. Do not expect any assistance from the two female servers until you've had enough of their crap and leave the place without eating as we had to do. Everything was wrong from the start however we thought okay maybe the server is just tired or having a bad day and that is why she is so rude. We were ready to order she refused to take our food order and only took drink orders. We follow her instructions and gave her our drinks of choice: two mango smoothies, 1 tea, 1 coffee and 4 glasses of water. Simple right, well not for this lady she brought the drinks without the water which by the way never arrived, the small tea pot was dripping from the bottom and dropped most of the tea on the table, we cleaned it up, the smoothies lacked milk and sugar. Again you may think: simple just get your waitress's attention and voila, wrong again this lady NEVER return to our table. We waited and waited and waited almost an hour later we have had enough and got ready to leave the place. There were two female servers and one male person in the kitchen, we were two adults and two very hungry children who went without. We walked out without eating, when communicating that to the wanna be servers they became visibly upset as if We had done something wrong and how dare Us leave now that they burn some eggs to give us. We had enough of this insulting service using the word service loosely here and walked out. $16 for this whole adventure???? Ludicrous however true at this place they do charge you for crappy service We walked our hungry selves to RAD  Pizza and oh what a welcome difference, we were warmly welcomed from the first step into the place and the entire team was just superb. The pizzas were put together and served in a matter of what it seemed like seconds and oh boy what a delicious mouthful at every bite. What can I say RAD  Pizza never disappoints we will be back and back to RAD . Sayonara John Street Dinner, here is a suggestion just update your name and accept your reality "John Street Dive or nasty hole in a wall" sounds about right. Apologies to All decent respectable Dives out there. Elsa read more

I love this place, my favourite breakfast spot in town. You can get a great breakfast meal for 2 for under $20, or under $10 if you split a huge platter. The food tastes great and the eggs benny is amazing. I don't know who makes the hollandaise sauce but it is delicious. Definitely worth stopping in and taking advantage of the great food and good service. This is a regular place for us and for lots of others. read more

John Street Diner - My eggs florentine this morning! It's so good! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

This is an excellent diner, with friendly service, great food! We had the Super all day breakfast and the club sandwich. All prepared to order. read more

It's starting to lose points with us as one of our favourites the peameal bacon breakfast has lost our favour with the major reduction on the amount of the peameal and increase in the homefries to help cover the plate. read more

John Street Diner - The basic breakfast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

See all

Overall a good value breakfast in the heart of downtown. Fast service and friendly, waitress even did a song about bacon for my daughter! Lots of breakfast choices and fresh Seattle Best coffee, although refills are extra. Bacon was on side of salty and little greasy and the home fries could be taken or left, nothing great. Bread for toast seemed a little stale. But generally a good breakfast and would come back. read more

Meh! Falls short on a lot of things: food was bland, venue was bland, location was nice and central and prices were super cheap. $5 for a full breakfast including eggs, toast, and sausage. Pro tip: You need to order at the bar and then you get your food. There must have been lots of dine and dashes here. Ugh. Management, improve on the quality of your food, especially your all day breakfast. read more

Great location, huge promise, how could it take 50 minutes to cook straightforward eggs for 4 people?! We assumed it would be a relatively quick meal - and were terribly disappointed. Food passable, onions in the omelette were undercooked, potatoes overly dusted with flavoured powder. Problems in the kitchen for sure - we won't be back. read more

A very reasonably priced breakfast place in a good location. I ordered the breakfast with egg and sausage and the food came promptly and was hot and fresh. Everything looked great on the plate but I found the home fries undercooked (even though they were browned on the outside) and the eggs lacking in flavour. The sausage was pretty good, however. I guess you get what you pay for ($5 for breakfast) and if you're in the mood for a quick breakfast in Hamilton this is a decent place, but don't expect amazing food. Tip: You need to order at the cash, no table service. read more

Had the Salmon Benedict and home fries. Service was fast. Spent 14 dollars. Nice and sunny Sunday spot for your breakie. Has organic coffee options. read more

John Street Diner - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

A wonderful little corner breakfast spot with a more than affordable menu. I decided to stop by here after hearing its name several times from friends and family. The menu is nothing too fancy, but its not meant to be! I ordered the super breakfast which included two eggs cooked to your taste, an order of toast, two sausage links, 2 slices of ham, 2 slices of bacon, homefries, and a pancake on the side. Everything was very fresh and hot, the pancake was fluffy, eggs cooked perfectly! Overall I was very impressed and I would definitely come back read more

John Street Diner - The super breakfast for only $8.99!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

stopped in for a late breakfast this morning. this is my second time here and like the first time it did not disappoint. the food was tasty and nicely displayed....the service was really good. Zara was friendly polite and efficient. I had the breakfast special (eggs home fried toast) and substituted Turkey for the bacon... the restaurant is clean and the prices are reasonable. read more

John Street Diner - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

All day breakfast. You can have 3 beacons 2 eggs and 1 toast with a lot of potatoes at good price 3.99 dollars. Coffee is 1.6 bucks with variety choices: kick mass is quite strong and the name is so funny. Nice place to have breakfast read more

See all

Visited this place on a Sunday and was given a warm welcome by the friendly staff. The place had a quiet laid back vibe & smooth interior decor. The menu had quite a number of options & the food prices were nominal. I tried the big breakfast option & was impressed with the quantity served.The fries that comes with the breakfast option is yummylicious. The food was well cooked & served promptly, Overall, an amazing place & I'm pretty sure that this won't be my last visit. :) read more

PERFECT poached eggs, delicious home fries and the best bacon. FANTASTIC prices and great service! The only downside is the deceptively drab exterior. A hidden gem! read more

Not bad. Came here with my girlfriend for breakfast. Staff was nice and let us sit anywhere. The price point is quite good, but upon receiving our meals much much later, we realized why it's so cheap. I'm not usually picky about my breakfast places, but after being told good things, I was disappointed. Girlfriends ham was deli meat, some home fries weren't fully cooked, sausage tasted like cut-up hot dogs, and toast wasn't even warm enough to melt butter. Pirogies and eggs were good though. read more

I am looking for a TRUE diner in Hamilton, this is not it. All day breakfast, good potatoes, good sausage, pathetic toast, could be cheaper. Good coffee with wide variety (again, not diner style). A good restaurant for the local yokels. read more

very affordable food, had a regular breakfast for 4.99. I liked the fries comes with the breakfast! free refill for coffee is also a plus. ketchup tasted a little off though. read more

A little hole in the wall, about a block away from Jackson square mall, you'll find John street diner. They have many different breakfast options, but let's be real - everyone goes for the $3.99 all day breakfast. It includes two eggs, sausage, bacon or ham, homefries (which can be subbed for tomatoes if you're gfree like me!) and toast (sorry, no substitutes here). This place can get pretty busy, but the service remains surprisingly fast and the food is always good! They are great about doing subs for gfree, but obv can't guarantee that cross contamination won't occur. The decor is your typical greasy spoon look, however the art on the walls is actually local art for sale. There is no parking lot, but many places nearby that offer parking. This is probably one of the better breakfast places available in Hamilton, and in particular, this area. If anything, stop in for that $3.99 all day breakfast! read more

Amazing food, such friendly service! I really felt at home. :) I don't live in Hamilton but I'll make the trip to do some shopping and 100% stop for lunch here! read more

I went there with my boyfriend. Had a smiling person to welcome us and let us pick our seats. The server, on the contrary, had the bitchiest attitude I've ever seen. Moving on to the food. Most was alright, my boyfriend had a breakfast and I got myself a burger. The meat was HALF COOKED!! I had stomach issues for the whole day. The prices were alright. Which is probably the only reason this isn't only 1 star. read more

I placed a take out order over the phone. I specifically asked for no potatoes because I have a food intolerance. When I got home I realized my meal was covered in potatoes. I called to ask to have my order remade and the lady on the phone refused to remake my order and told me 'you can just eat around them' I would give ZERO stars if that was an option. read more

Food: 4/5 nice fair diner food. Service: 5/5 friendly attentive smiling wifi Location: 4/5 near central streets Price: 4/5 $10 for fish and chips Will be Back! read more

Good portions for the prices. The food is very tasty. Overall it's just a decent breakfast joint. Nothing fancy, but that's not the intent. read more

Breakfast was really good and very inexpensive. Cost $12.00 for two of us. We got the special which was pretty big for only $4. Coffee was good and the selection of different coffees was cool. No table service which I found sort of "off". You have to pay in advance and the debit machine prompts you for a tip. Sorry, but I am not tipping for you just cashiering. We don't tip at McDonalds and that is pretty much the same service setup here. Food was ready quickly and was presented well. Restaurant was quite warm. Please turn down the heat. Overall positive aspects: Value, good food, presentation, cleanliness. Overall negative aspects: No table service, pay in advance and prompt tip. Yes, would visit again. Keep in mind there is no parking lot for the restaurant. Street metered parking and pay and park lots are near by. read more

The eggs Florentine I had there was the best I've had in a long time instead of homefries I got a fruit bowl which was also amazing presentation was beautiful and the fruit was all fresh!!!! This place kicks ass! Love it! read more

Generous servings for a good price. Recommend this place. Male waiter super friendly.

Great place for a casual, bacon and egg-type breakfast. They also have some interesting options - I like their salmon eggs benedict and the steak omelette is surprisingly good. Very reasonably priced and friendly service. They have a sister location on King Street called Jet Cafe - equally as good, only usually a little more crowded - people haven't discovered John Street yet. read more