Very friendly staff, each order is made fresh so service was a little bit slower- but the wait was worth it! They have a decent baked goods case with delicious options (I didn't try any on this trip though)! I didn't get many pics, but my breakfast sandwich was awesome, and the crispy potato's were hot and salty- just what I was craving. Highly recommended by locals, and I see why! read more

Karen's Main Street Diner - Diners Near Me - Calais, Maine

You can find Karen's everywhere but this Karen has her own diner and offers dining in downtown Calais. Service was quick and the fried food crispy. I enjoyed the quirky decor some with a Karen like quips. This place has its locals and to me that was a good sign that his Karen can run a restaurant. I have to support this Karen because running a restaurant in this very far away border town cannot be easy. read more

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Homey comfortable place to have lunch after returning from Canada. Capable server. Food was great. Lobster bisque soup was on point and served nice and hot. I had pastrami and Swiss sandwich with plenty to take home. read more

Karen's Main Street Diner - Pastrami and Swiss with fries - Diners Near Me - Calais, Maine

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Food was amazing every time I come, very consistent, very polite and friendly staff, service is absolutely amazing! Love the rustic look of the restaurant! read more

I enjoyed the homey small town feel of this restaurant. Made me miss my small hometown in Alabama! Waitstaff was friendly and accommodating. read more

Karen's Main Street Diner - Delicious breakfast! - Diners Near Me - Calais, Maine

Stopped in for an early morning breakfast and the food and service was a delight on this Maine morning. Even the toast was really good. Along with breakfast items there's also specials they put on the board that include seafoods and soups. Come check out this border town diner before crossing over into Canada. read more

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This place is a hometown staple and one of the only places in Calais that is open consistently. Karen is wonderful, charming, and above all, a MARVELOUS CHEF! The foods are local favorites, seasonal and otherwise. Karen makes all of the soups an everything else by hand and her love shines through the dishes. It's a local, homey place I which to meet friends and share a meal a s a few drinks! read more

So happy to find this charming little place. We were staying in Machias and none of the restaurants that serve "breakfast" are open before 10. We were driving north so we set out to go someplace up there. My husband didn't like the looks of it do we kept driving to Calais. The first diner was permanently closed. We walked in and were seated immediately by the friendly staff. I got a 1/2 order of sausage and biscuits, 1 over medium egg which I put on the same plate, and a blueberry pancake. All really good except tge pancake was a little chewy. A very nice place. But what's with trying to find good in Downeast Maine?!? read more

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Excellent! You can get your home fries with onions and peppers just like Sandra likes it. The omelette was amazing! The food is the best in town! Plus just wonderful people that work there! read more

Main Street is quite depressed with many store fronts closed. Karen's appears to be a bright spot. This is a diner, not fine dining (I do not believe such exists in the town). Staff are pleasant. The French fries were hot and perfectly crisped. My lobster role was decent. Sodas and ice tea come in plastic bottles so they do not brew their own. So if you want some of the basics, I would recommend this place. read more

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Total old school diner. Awesome dining room and marvelous, friendly service. Ordered the usual. Over EZ and hash browns. Eggs were perfect and nice crunchy hash browns. Check it out read more

This place is awesome. Great service. Relaxed atmosphere. Good food. We had stuffed mushrooms, fried green beans, homemade potato chips, and a cheeseburger. Highly recommend! read more

What a pleasant surprise. My husband and I went to Calais, and it was about 2:00 pm and we stopped in at Karen's place for lunch. Honestly I was so scared of what they were going to serve, but let me tell you it was one of the best Rueben's I have ever had. The service was great, the people at the bar were great. I can't wait to go back. The sweet potatoes fries actually tasted like sweet potatoes. Thanks Karen for having a sweet spot to stop in at. The place was clean, the ambiance was so friendly. AND A CLEAN RESTROOM. read more

Karen's has amazing traditional diner food. You will feel at home while eating here. The staff is amazing. It's hard today to find a diner anywhere, let alone a traditional diner, and Karen's won't disappoint. It's a great place to meet up with friends and family for a great meal. read more

Not much in this little town . Karen's is a gem! Friendly staff and great food! The fish and chips were amazing!

We happened upon Karen's while traveling from St Johns NB to home in Massachusetts. What a find! The overstuffed omelets were full of good veggies, ham and cheese and the home fries were crunchy and flavorful. Coffee and brewed iced tea were tasty. The service was friendly and efficient. Thx to all who served us! read more

This is the"Greasy spoon" of my child hood, simple food cooked perfectly served by a very sweet staff and good coffee don't be in Calais without having breakfast here read more

We went here for breakfast, coffee was good , food was yummy and plentiful and the service was quite good. They were busy and the place itself was a bit shabby but I'd still go there again. Basic diner ambience read more

We went into this attractive looking diner expecting a pleasant small-town meal. The food itself was fine, but I am sorry to say that we had a quite unpleasant experience. The server, for no known reason, made it quite clear that we were unwelcome. Not sure what this was about as we had been nothing but be polite and respectful. It will be a long time before we go back. read more

Stopped in for Sunday breakfast at Karen's Main Street Diner in Downtown Calais. It was seat yourself and the waitress arrived with menu and specials. The atmosphere inside is casual and has a very hometown feel. The dining area has booths, tables, and counter seating, kitchen in the back. They serve up homecooked breakfast (all day) and lunch. The breakfast offerings include egg dishes, omelets, pancakes, French toast, sausage biscuits & gravy, cereal, muffins, and breakfast sides. The lunch offerings include sandwiches, wraps, clubs, burgers, salads, chicken fingers, reubens, baskets with fries, fried seafood dinners, and sides. They also have posted specials on the board. The prices here seem fair, breakfast and most lunch items are under $10, seafood is $9.25-$13.95. For breakfast, I started out with fresh brewed coffee ($1.50) and ordered the Western Omelet served with Toast ($6.25). The food arrived in 10 minutes. The omelet was a thick fluffy folded egg over plenty of diced green peppers, onions, and thick ham pieces. The buttered Texas toast was thick and soft inside. Breakfast tasted pretty good and it was filling. The service was good here and I was also offered more coffee refills with my breakfast and even after I was finished, thank you! I had a long day of driving to complete and a good breakfast was the way to start off it off! read more

Great home cooked breakfast and friendly waitress. The only reason I'm not giving this place a 5 star is that I think they could spruce up the inside. Even just a good cleaning and or re-organizing would help. The food was cooked perfectly and was 5 stars for quality. I always ask for over-hard poached eggs and very rarely do I actually receive them as requested. The cook took the extra time to make sure they were cooked right. I had my meal with ham, which was cooked just right and of high quality. Fabulous homemade hashbrowns, pan-fried with onions. Good coffee as well. read more

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Really cute diner and nice location before crossing the border. Steak sandwich, onion rings and pancakes were awesome. Wish the menu had advertised the Reuben came with mustard so I could have asked not to have that, but meat was good. They didn't have any turkey bc they there roasting one so that was a bummer and wish they had some fresh fruit to substitute as a healthier side, those are only reasons for a 4 star. My son said their biscuit was the best he's had and was very light and fluffy. Waitress was wonderful even though she was the only one working the tables! read more

Quick lunch before the dentist. Good Reuben with very nicely done crispy french fries. Only soft drinks are from Pepsi. Physical plant just this side of shabby. Service was prompt, as was the food. read more

Had some good grub and had some great customer service. Went with a group of people when I was visiting Maine. I had a mushroom burger and it was really good! read more

This is what I would refer to as a classic diner. The food was reasonably priced and came out in a timely fashion. We also happened to be in a bit of a time crunch, and we got our food quickly. The food was very good, but you get a very good size portion. Enjoy! read more

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This is hands down the best breakfast around. They are doing great handling the Covid restrictions. Each time I've been here I've seen one badass waitress handling the whole front of house herself, and she does an awesome job. Their coffee is so much better than most breakfast places in Washington county. Their pancakes are huge, cheap, and delicious. Check them out. Order a pancake. And tip heavy, they deserve it. read more

Nice spot right on Main Street in Calais, and a great place to stop when traveling across the border from US to Canada. We have been here a few times for lunch, and it is a casual place with a good variety on the menu as well, and I really liked that they serve breakfast all day. Service is very quick and friendly, even though it was rather crowded when we were there. The omelets are excellent, and the Fish sandwich was outstanding as well. Prices are very reasonable, and I would definitely recommend Karen's for great food in a relaxed atmosphere. read more

All I can say is "WOW!" The food is amazing. Breakfast is like my Grandma used to make and it's perfect! I have never had a bad meal there whether it was for Breakfast or Lunch! Stop by for great food and people! read more

By far one of the worst lunches I have ever had!! I took my son there today and I had fish and chips (undercooked and rancid oil), my son had a cheeseburger (inedible as it was completely hard!!). We only ate a couple bites and the waitress asked how it was, umm disgusting but I just said fine, it was not her fault. We were the only customers and it took almost an hour to get our food. I live locally and will NEVER return. Nasty. I should have known it would suck after going to the bathroom in a closet that had no toilet paper and broken faucets. We try to support the small local restaurants but give me a break, it was $40 to make me feel dirty and sick afterwards. read more

Great food. Friendly service. Reasonably priced. We stopped here for lunch. My wife had the meat loaf special and I had fish and chips. Both were excellent! read more

Delicious breakfast! Cozy little spot on main street with very nice folks. I expected lower prices from a small, local spot but when I received my plate I was amazed. Huge portions and great quality. Blueberry pancake was delicious but get one and share it because it is the size of your head! read more

Stopped in after crossing the border from Canada, looking for breakfast because they serve all day. Unfortunately they close at 2 pm and we got there about 2:30. But next door is a Karen's bar and grill. Same owner but no breakfast on the menu. Turns out the cook was still there and offered to make us breakfast!! How nice was she?! The veggie "omlet" was great with home fries and onions. Excellent food and great service! read more

Tiny little place with BIG flavor! Went for breakfast and we weren't disappointed. Try the cinnamon pancakes.

Stopped for lunch after a long wait crossing the border. We were starving and Karen's delivered. The fried fish sandwich was fresh and delicious. The burgers and sandwiches were also good. French fries were crispy and soft on the inside. A perfect place to have lunch. If you are hungry in Calais you should try Karen's diner. read more

Food was outstanding and the wait staff friendly and accommodating. Good prices. Not too busy at 130 in the afternoon so the long wait to get our food after ordering wasn't explainable. Overall, a good lunch if you are not in a hurry. read more

Cute little diner food. I had the haddock Reuben, my husband had a burger. No complaints from us!

Came across the reviews on Yelp, thought we would give this place a try after crossing the border. I really loved it, especially the fries and the onion rings. This will be a regular stop every summer on our drive home. read more

Karen's is a classic diner, with homestyle cooking and agreeable prices that remind you of the good ol days. We stopped at Karen's at the start of our Down East Maine bike tour and were fueled up with good coffee and breakfast for cheap. The service was quick and the staff was as friendly as it gets in Maine! read more

We discovered Karen's breakfast diner after having dinner at her next door pub. We enjoyed our dinner so much that we came back the next day for breakfast, and the next! Well prepared, standard breakfast fare included loaded blueberry pancakes and a hearty burrito. The coffee is Green Mountain. Karen the owner is personable and hardworking, closing the pub at night and opening the diner in the morning, I'm sorry we didn't have a chance to sample lunch, read more

Delicious lunch, yummy strawberry-rhubarb pie (and I don't like rhubarb :-), sweet server. :)