Typical small town eatery. I am vegetarian, and the only things on the menu that I could order were a grilled cheese sandwich or spaghetti. I ordered the spaghetti, which consisted of canned sauce and undercooked noodles... The salad that came with it was iceberg lettuce with a few cherry tomatoes, and two thin slices of bell pepper. The onion rings were alright. read more

See all

Good comfort food and friendly servers. The homemade root beer is pretty good. Very few vegetarian options unfortunately, but the appetizers are not bad read more

Mark Twain Dinette - Fried pickles - American Near Me - Hannibal, Missouri

Great home cooked food with courteous waitresses, I had the horse shoe and my wife had a tenderloin. We will return to enjoy it again.

Nice stop! Friendly little hometown restaurant with homemade root beer (excellent) and down home favorites. Tried the "Maid-Rite", which is a regional delicacy not unlike a sloppy joe without sauce. Good service, decent food and great prices. read more

Great maid rite sandwich. Always pairs well with their onion rings. A Hannibal Mo tradition.

This place has definitely stepped up its game in the last couple years.. I would recommend this restaurant to any tourist or out of state relatives! Food is superb and make sure you stop by to see to see the lovely woman named Britney who is as sweet as can be and will help you with anything you need! read more

The Diner is cute and fits right into the downtown Mark Twain historical theme. We ordered banana chocolate chip French toast and chocolate chip pancakes. The food was very good but the service quite slow and if I'm spending $2.50 for a cup of coffee I'd like an offer or two for refills. Still worth a stop if in the area. read more

I eat here whenever I am in Hannibal, which is only every few years. But I've been going for four decades and it never changes. Anyone coming here in search of gourmet food will be sorely disappointed, because this place doesn't intend to offer that. This is a local diner that caters to tourist and locals alike. My recommendations: pork tenderloin (thin and much wider than the bun it's served on), the ice-cold mugs of root beer, the onion ring stack, and the pie. Prices tend to be a little higher than justified, and venturing beyond my recommended items can be a dicey proposition, but if you take this place for what it is--a little peek into a bygone era--then you'll be fine. read more

The "world famous" fried chicken and homemade root beer were very underwhelming.

I wanted to like this place, but I didn't. We stopped in for lunch a couple of days ago and I ordered the grilled cheese and fries. The cheese was not thoroughly melted and the fries had a wierd coating. The service was good, but if I lived here I would not go back. read more

Very homey and exactly what you'd expect a small town diner to be. Great coffee and quick refills. Food is served quick with decent portions. Biscuit and gravy is like my Mom used to make....takes like saugage and not flour. The review from a certain poster back in October 2011 just sounds like a grouch that someone p*** in his corn flakes that day. Stay home! read more

OK, first off, not sure why this place does not have a 5 star raring from everyone. After reading some the reviews, they are totally unfair, note one is even from a VEGETARIAN. I mean who goes to the middle of nowhere Missouri expecting a vegetarian menu?? WTF?? Anyways... OMG, order the onion ring appetizer, it comes with a BOSS sauce to dip em in ! Maid rites are off the hook !!! The smoked chicken salad (keep in mind its not a salad, its a sandwich) is schmackkin too !! Everything was great on my one visit. Its a cool diner in the middle of nowhere. Best of all, its in line with ballin on a budget. Prices are BOSSome. read more

Mark Twain Dinette - American Near Me - Hannibal, Missouri

See all

I'm sad that the other reviewers had bad experiences, but maybe it's gotten better in recent years. My Husband and I went there for breakfast this morning and it was wonderful. The food was really good and our service was super friendly (and very attentive). read more

I wish Yelp allowed half stars, because my rating is more 3.5 stars than 3, but oh well. My friends and I saw the sign for this place while touring the Mark Twain House so we decided to stop here for lunch before we went to the cave tour. It offers typical diner food. All of us got a burger, which was pretty good. I thought my onion rings were good, but my friend sent his back to have them cooked longer (as well as fried pickles) because they weren't crispy enough for him (but that might just be him, I thought they were fine). Our waitress was nice and answers some questions we had about the town. The prices were reasonable and the restaurant was clean. read more

Yasmin is a great waitress the food is ...F.A.N.M.I.N.I.L. They have salad on the kids menu?! That is so cool no one else's restaurant that we have been to dose that. BTW there are a lot of options on the normal menu the cat fish was amazing. You should go there it's on 400 3rd st. Try the strawberry short cake it is magnificent. You should try the booths next door if you are thinking of a yummy, delicious, magnificent, stupendous dinner go there the servos is great go here this is paradise than do something else but this is what you call good eating. - Eva age 9 We found it from this web site and so did you. Go here and try the wonderful things people say to get people to come and write a review and see what I mean read more

A rather quaint restaurant in Hannibal, the Mark Twain Dinette has both indoor and outdoor dining options. It can get quite busy at certain times, but one generally can find be seated quickly. The breaded pork tenderloin is very good, and is quite large. The fried chicken is also quite good, as is the Maid-Rite (a loose-meat sandwich). The fries are definitely mediocre, but the fried mushrooms are good, and the onion rings are very good. The root-beer, served in a glass mug, is excellent! The service is usually good, sometimes excellent. Overall, I highly recommend the Dinette; it is a must-go for me, when in the Hannibal area. read more

This place was great! The atmosphere is so homey and comfortable. They have the BEST onion rings I've ever had. And the chili ranch sauce was to die for! The woman that made it happened to be sitting across from us. So cool! And if you're a fan of malts...I highly recommend the chocolate one! You also shouldn't skip the homemade root beer! It's amazing! read more

S L O W. Paid $8.75 for a burger that McDonalds wouldn't sell. The floor was wet EVERYWHERE. Do yourself a favor and find another place to eat. read more

Absolutely loved this place! They without a doubt had the best rootbeer I've had in a long time! I had the patty melt and it was so delicious. Our server was super friendly, I loved the atmosphere of the place. I would without a doubt go there again! read more

Mark Twain would roll over in his grave because the food in this diner is so dire. It was off the charts greasy. The bacon was something I would not even put into dog food and it was smothered in sugar, as if that would make it all better. Portions were small and the price was high. This, in the middle of America's food basket! Avoid. read more

Having not been here in years was excited to stop through and share the experience with my son.... Food is subpar, almost frozen taste read more

From out of town went to the restaurant website says open at 10 ... open now !got there all the employees sitting at a table doors locked looking at us saying they don't open but the website said open now 10 am no one comes to the door or anything how rude so we all walked down the street to another diner . No way to run a business read more

If you're a Mark Twain fan (and you should be), you really do need to see Hannibal. When you go, you might want to try some of the excellent fried chicken at the Mark Twain Family Restaurant. Also, the homemade root beer and the fried mushrooms are pretty good. The rest of it, though, pretty unimpressive. And the no-smoking section didn't really live up to its name. Meh. read more

Loved the Mark Twain Dinette and Family Restaurant. We arrived shortly after 9pm. We were quickly seated and our drink order taken. The restaurant is famous for its homemade root beer so obviously we had to give that a try. Jack ordered a root beer float. Refills were free. We ordered onion rings while we studied the menu. There was a very wide selection of food on the menu and very reasonably priced. The Welsh in me was pleased with that. We opted to share a pork tenderloin sandwich with fries. They were very accommodating and served our sandwich on separate plates along with a good size portion of their hand cut fries. Our dinner was excellent. The service was great. Wes was our server and one could tell he was a wonderful young man. He was very attentive and checked several times throughout our meal to see if there was anything we needed. Wes was great about keeping our root beer mugs full. If you are ever in Hannibal be sure to check this restaurant out. Unless you are one of those exceptionally crabby people who finds fault with everything I promise you will like it here. read more

Food was fair at best. Service poor. Decor is outdated. Many items on menu......our Hot roast beef sandwich wasn't. Chicken tenders were reasonable. read more

Limited menu because there was festival in town for the weekend. Dining room wasn't half full on Saturday night. Son wanted fried chicken but we were told it would take 20 minutes- so he ordered something else. Our order took more than 20 minutes (should have gotten the fried chicken). Mashed potatoes were cold. Vegetarians have only spaghetti as an option on the limited menu. read more

We stopped in Hannibal Missouri on vacation and the lady at the local museum suggested we try the maid rite at the Diner. We try to check out local specialities while we are on vacation so we set off to the Mark Twain Dinette. My husband wanted to try the homemade rootbeer that is served there and he enjoyed that. drink. We both had maid rite sandwiches and they were very good! I will be trying to replicate them at home! read more

The fried chicken is worth the wait. The staff are friendly and wonderful. I am in love with maid-rites now!!

The homemade root beer is awesome. It's our family tradition: when we pass through the wonderful town of Hannibal, we stop for a root beer.

we come home often ... but find there's no consistency in the quality... perfect One time... The next time greasy... Next time under cooked... keep racing fees...And then this time their sign is posted on the car hop yet we are charged a dollar and a quarter more for the sandwich and were told... UPDTE your sign or honor the prices!!!This is not ethical and not good business practices. we will get a tenderloin from louges on next visit ! thanks for all the great memories!!! read more

We ordered the fried chicken. It's cooked fresh to order so expect to wait about 25 min. It is worth the wait. Crispy exterior and moist interior. We also splurged on the root beer float. It was a wise choice. The home made root beer is smooth and not too sweet. Our server made sure it was a bottomless glass. Sides were so so. The canned green beans were dressed up with bacon and the mac and cheese was more cream sauce than cheese. Our server was attentive and helpful. We will return. read more

This place is a classic for me... but if it wasn't for the nostalgia, I don't think I'd rate it quite so high. Still, there are a couple of items that I find quite tasty and haven't been able to find anywhere else. First and foremost is the Maid Rite. It's basically seasoned ground beef, mustard, pickle, and onion on a soft bun. It's a bit dry and needs more mustard that what comes with it, but the flavor is special. Next is the Tenderloin - a thinly sliced, breaded, and fried piece of pork on a bun. Again, lightly dressed and a little dry, but otherwise tasty and different from what I get near home. I also like the root beer, onion rings, and biscuits and gravy (for breakfast, of course), but they're not anything to write home about. read more

Wait staff was friendly. The food was just a step and a half above fast food though. I would eat there again.

We were caught in a torrential pour and glad to find a good place to eat. Very traditional setting but nothing spectacular.

The service was a little slow, but not terrible. The root beer floats are delicious. The sundaes are big and tasty. The onion rings are delicious as well, try the homemade chili ranch dip. Sit outside in their shaded patio and play some checkers while relaxing. read more

Great home cooked food, fast service and wonderful root beer made right on location. I'd never heard of a maid rite before eating one here. They are like sloppy joe's without the sauce. The onion rings are wonderful too! read more

To start this place is located roughly 2 miles away from where I'm at. The food I ordered not only took an hour to get here but it was cold when it arrived.not even a bit warm. Had to re heat all of it in the microwave. Adding to the fact that a entire meal and side was not in the sloppily packed bag that my food was in . I called manager said it'd be on the way in 20 mins. From what I understand dining in is great.. take out is a joke. And for sure won't be doing it again... Final thoughts - should have gotten dominoes read more

So just had our first visit to this establishment, and it was awful. Got both of our orders wrong, forgot to bring my fiance's drink, waited for about 30 min for our wrong orders, and to top it off when my fiance went up to pay our bill that was $19 she was told, "Oh no, that bill is wrong, you owe $30." Needless to say, we will never be coming back. read more

This is perfectly serviceable diner. I had a salad and soup which were fine, and the mashed potatoes were delicious. My husband ate the onion rings which were good as well. Overall, the place was clean, and the service was good. It's diner food, so don't go in expecting gourmet quality or vegan options. It a good place to bring small kids. The root beer was yummy and they gave free refills. Nice deep sassafras taste and not too sweet. read more

The onion ring stack and home made dips were excellent! Homemade root beer was also good. Staff was friendly. Atmosphere is a bit dated but clean and comfortable. We are vegetarians so not a lot of options but spaghetti was good. A bit pricey for what it is but good option for a Sunday night when other places were closed. read more