I fucking love this place, and I'll tell you why: the Bigger Better Breakfast. For $5.99 during the week and $7.99 on the weekend, you get two eggs, hashbrowns, six pieces of meat (I always get two pieces of bacon and four pieces of sausage) and two pancakes. These aren't mini pancakes either, they're the huge, plate-sized ones. I eat a lot so I never share any with my girlfriend, but I'd imagine it could feed both people in a lot of couples. I usually have trouble moving for a few hours after. Most of the people giving Norm's negative reviews are the weirdos who come here and order something like steak or shrimp. No shit a diner isn't going to have good seafood - you deserve an unsatisfying meal if you order that at Norm's. Get the breakfast food and you'll be happy. Pro tip: Google "norms coupon" or go to the restaurant website to get a $2 off coupon. They're always available. read more

The BEST DINER EVER! The hot chocolate was absolutely AMAZING with unlimited refills. The food was incredibly amazing. Every single part. I had the Orange Skillet or something like that. The waitress was so attentive and pleasant. She definitely got a great tip from my man and me. I highly recommend this Norm's because it is now our favorite restaurant experience to date. read more

I have been dining here in the late night hours for several years now. It is one of the few places in this particular area of the OC that is open late at night and usually can satisfy the majority of people in the group that we go with. I have always came after 10:00pm and usually with a party larger than 3. There are some staff here that do go above and beyond with top notch service such as the older red headed lead and the dark haired waitress and some who waiters who have a hard time with large groups and large orders. This one particular night the waiter was off his mojo by messing up my order, forgetting to bring over steak knifes, not being up to date on refills and the big kicker he forgot to put in one of our orders blaming it on the cook. After more 45 minutes of waiting, speaking to a team lead and everyone else done eating we cancelled the order of one of the meals which arrived about an hour after we ordered it. read more

It wasn't my idea to come here. Really, it wasn't. It was my mom's idea. For some reason, she likes this place. And since she was paying, I couldn't really argue. This place is open 24 hours. Which is sweet if you need a 2am dinner or breakfast run and nothing else is open. That's a plus 1 in my book. Also, their deals are nice. I ordered the soup, salad and half a sandwich combo for $6.99--which is fantastic. Another plus 1 in my book. My dinner salad I had was basically lettuce smothered in dressing...which, I don't mind since I love dressing. Ask for the dressing on the side if you don't like too much dressing on your salad. Split Pea soup was actually really good. I loved it. My half BLT sandwich was decent, the bread was just a little stale though. Overall, ok meal. Another plus 1. The one thing that really bugged me about this location is that they didn't have enough servers on staff to accommodate the high volume of customers they had. I was there at 8pm and the place was literally packed (we had to wait 10 minutes to be seated). The poor girl that was serving us had about 10 tables, most of which had 4 or more people sitting at each. She was running around with her head cut off. It took me about 10 minutes to flag her down to refill my Diet Pepsi. The restaurant should really hire more people because this isn't right for the staff or the customers. Overall, just an OK place. I probably won't come back unless my mom takes me here. read more

Norms reminds me of ditching class in high school to go shopping, or whatever it was we did ten years ago (boo to getting old). Norms is also the late night choice for crappy, greasy food. When you're not ready to go home, or too drunk to get there, Norm's will comfort you like that nice friend who always has food when you go hang out at their house. They have crazy dinner deals too. I recall getting soup, salad, an entree and like 3 other side dishes last time I was there. Some people HATE Norm's, but i disagree. The food isn't amazing, but it will do the trick ("the trick" is not being hungry anymore, i assume). Plus, it's fun to go and imagine what it will be like to be old. Those senior citizen jerks get the best deals. read more

The first time I saw a Norm's Restaurant commercial, my reaction was "Cool! A Denny's alternative for when my sleeping schedule is way off." Looking at their online menu suggested a large variety of food that would probably be half-way decent, even with my lowered expectations for late-night dining. Fresh out of groceries and pumped, I drove over to the place with my girlfriend in tow. The parking lot was filled with creepy people, which I can't really fault Norm's for; I just parked a bit out of the way and skirted around them to the entryway. After standing there for a few minutes, I motioned to an employee, who was in the middle of cleaning, and asked if it the location was self-seating or if we should wait to be seated. He ignored me. Straight up. He made eye contact, but just kept cleaning and did not respond. Thinking he was maybe not a server, and assuming that it was self-seating, I began heading for a secluded booth. At that point he spoke up to gruffly say that section was being cleaned, and that seating was limited to a small corner of the restaurant. While being that close to some of the also-creepy patrons was not ideal, I understood and didn't mind all that much. On my way to the only booth still available in that area, a mentally ill woman driving a motorized wheelchair asked me if I knew what the health effects of smoking were on the central nervous system. I'm not kidding. I don't think she had a table or ordered any food there; she just drove from table to table, directly tried (loudly) speaking to patrons about completely random stuff, just to be ignored, and eventually drove out the front door. Finally seated and having had menus handed to us, I marveled at the variety of foods, and made some selections to split with my girlfriend, figuring that the creepiness would soon fade after we gorged on some late-night food. And then we waited. And waited. Looking around the restaurant, we counted two people working in the kitchen, and two people vacuuming. I presume the two people cleaning were also our servers, and after about fifteen minutes, it became clear that they had no intention of even taking our order until they were done cleaning. The group of people sitting next to us were waiting for their bill to arrive the entire time. The table further ahead of us, however, had two patrons literally asleep, so I don't think they minded the wait. Having had enough, we decided to head home and instead wait for the grocery store to open. What is wrong with the service industry? The founder(s) of Norm's Restaurants probably thought they had a neat establishment idea, put their hearts and souls into investing, paid tons of money for TV advertisements, only to have soulless, uncaring employees ignore potential customers for so long that they eventually just leave and head straight to Yelp to rip into the place. You'd think that with a bad economy Norm's would be choosy enough to hire people that actually gave a damn. Maybe this is a problem endemic to any employee that does not have any stake or ownership of a company; they're just there for their paycheck, and unless an incentive is provided by the employer for them to perform well, they will do as little as possible before clocking out for the day. Avoid this place. Worst service ever. read more

OK, it's Norms... I had an hour to kill recently so I thought I would do breakfast (it's always better when someone else makes it!). I had made an error in my timing for the morning and had already stopped at S-bucks, so I just brought it in with me. When the waitress approached my table, she asked if I wanted coffee, and I said that I already had some, and pointed to my cup. She said, "That's probably a good idea." Leading me to the assumption that their coffee's not up to snuff. I ordered breakfast (Denver omelet, toast and fruit) and it came quickly and just how I ordered. I liked that my omelet didn''t have that, "soaked in butter taste." Don't get me wrong, I love my butter, just in moderation. My waitress did a nice job of checking on me, chatting occasionally, but not hovering. Good hearty food for a pretty low price, and the servers are all pretty friendly. read more

The food is fresh from the dumpsters of Denny's, but it's 24-hours so what the hell, right? When we were done, the server (a rotund fellow named "Will") brought my friend a to-go box for his pile of grease. I asked him if I could have one, too, and he responded with a curt "No." We thought he was joking at first, but then he didn't come back. So fuck him, and fuck this place. (one extra star because the hostess, one "Ashley B." was extremely nice for working such a shithole, and a better establishment should hire her) read more

For a no frills steak dinner- complete with soup salad and potato you can't go wrong. It's tasty, tender and inexpensive. The eatery is always clean and the service friendly. Not much more to say. There's a reason that Norms has been here forever. They have the diner experience down to an art form. read more

NORMS Restaurant - Diners Near Me - Orange, California

We moved out of state 15 years ago. I remember Norms as a reasonably priced restaurant with decent food. We are visiting and decided to eat at Norms. I was much disappointed. The food is not as good nor as inexpensive as I think I remember. That's a shame. I may never return. read more

The food isn't spectacular. You can't expect much from a 24 hr. restaurant. That being said, it is open 24 hrs so when everything else is closed this is the place to go. They have their days, though, when the food is good. read more

After being told the wait is 10 minute on a Tuesday morning when there were plenty of empty tables and bar seating we decided Screw this and went down the street to iHop. It was obvious Norm's was understaff. read more

Thank you to Norms for 70 years of service. Enjoying a 70 cent breakfast . It's a packed house. The wait was only a minute. There is a sense of excitement in the air. The workers are hustling about offering excellent service as always. Vicki was our server today. She offered great service! read more

NORMS Restaurant - Celebrating Norms 70th Anniversary!! - Diners Near Me - Orange, California

Oh Norms. You're basically a Denny's or an IHOP, but with a really strange menu. You may serve brownies the size of my head, but they are always brought by the world's worst and freakiest waitresses. I know how you stay open, as you are a Chapman University Film Student tradition, and I think you put that "freshmen ten" on me in about two weeks, but I will always love you anyways. read more

I got an early bird dinner special which run Mon thru Fri 2-5 only. I got fish and chips, with soup AND salad and a drink for $9.99. The fish was large, and if you break it down $2 for drink, $2 for soup that means I got fish and chips and salad for only $5.99. It was basic, but thats all I wanted. Really quiet on a weekday too. read more

Oh, Norms. When will you expand up to the Bay Area to satisfy my greasy spoon cravings? For those who do not know, Norms is Denny's better quality but cheaper cousin. I ordered the Bigger Better Breakfast, the equivalent of my usual Denny's Lumberjack Slam. Not only is it a few bucks cheaper than the Denny's equivalent, the ham steak isn't some thin little thing like at Denny's. The boyfriend got a T-bone steak. Came with a Caesar and soup. It was a pretty tasty gumbo for a diner. Server was attentive and our drinks were always full. Unfortunately our server went on break and her replacement was a little flaky about getting a to go box for us. Shame, Norms has better service than Denny's too. Knocked off a star for that. read more

The restaurant was clean and our server was attentive. Being it was late at night when my friends and I went, we thought the food would take a while to come out but it didnt take that long. They had great options and the quality of the food was great. read more

Norms is the kind of classic diner that exists only in movies. No really. Norms in Orange is the kind of place where dreams are born. Dennys is too corporate, too uptight. Shari's has a pretense of respectability, like some kind of wanna-be TGI-Fridays. But Norm's is the happy medium, the real deal diner chain. The Platonic ideal of a diner chain. The Ur-Diner chain, like some kind of dream image of what a chain diner should be. Am I kidding? No, indeed. Norm's is the best. Nothing better on a late night than Norms pancakes. And this I hope will be the final word on Norm's. For all time. Amen. read more

If only i was a senior.. It's norms, it's 24-Hours, it's good food without a nutrition guide on site or elsewhere! I enjoy their specials, it's always a good meal at Norms regardless of the time of day. Plus it's a good deal, dinners are cheap and have soup AND salad! read more

Holly crap!!!! Never saw this coming. I have seen the commercials and so forth but I am wondering why I didn't come sooner. The food is amazing!!! Fresh and hot and the quality was excellent. My son and I ate like kings for under $20 and it was excellent food. The thing that will get us coming back is the service. Fast and courteous and my coffee never saw rock bottom. We are coming back soon. read more

This must be the worst experience I've ever had at a Norms EVER!! We were seated within 15 minutes which was great and then it was all downhill from there! Food was late, order was wrong and the manager was no help when it was brought to his attention. Terrible !! Will never return !! read more

The prices are a little high, but there is always specials and the Food is always Good and Lots. The servers are for the most part efficient and nice. I'd like to give only 2 ** stars for their iced tea though, the menu says Fresh brewed, but the taste of it makes me question when it was brewed, surely not daily. I'd recommend them, but don't order the iced tea! read more

This NORMS, like so many, is the epitome of cheap, awesome, late night eats. It is awesome, delicious and comfort food beyond imagination. Kevin made our experience wonderful with his kind, patient, friendly and welcoming personality, and answered all questions perfectly. Good stuff Norms! Make sure Kevin is happy keeps making us feel awesome here. Cheers! read more

In the present time of having hard things to deal with it is a comfort to have people like the ones at my local Norm's. Changing their once a week Senior discount to EVERYDAY is a blessing for my pockets. Thank you Norm's for continuing to really care about the silver haired customers. read more

Came into Norms for breakfast this morning, stood there right in front of 2 greeters. The first one totally ignored us completely! She saw us, asked how many. We said two, she then walked away.... so.... we stood there again waiting. Up comes "Adriana" she asked "How many?" We again say "Two" Then like as is we weren't there she proceeds to become extremely busy shuffling the menus Playing with paperwork at the podium and Time goes by... When I say "Excuse me". And the lady behind us shakes her head, Adriana looks up but continued to shuffle her menus. Again I say "excuse me!" Nothing.... I guess we suddenly became invisible!!! We were ready to turn and leave when she finally again asked "Two" We again say "yes". She again shuffles, grabs two menus and says this way.... Did she think we were going to multiply in front of her eyes? More than likely, she wasn't paying attention to us from the get go... This woman should not be working with the public! Keep her in the back!!! No customer service training. wondering how this meal is going to be since I already have a bad taste in my mouth! We "Love, love Norms ". But this one is now off our list! The only saving grace was Viki our server was up to par. read more

always a long wait for a table. I have seen poor treatment towards the employees from management. These servers already deal with a lot of rude customers and on top of it, they deal with poor management. Food is mid. read more

Bottom line....SERVICE SUCKS! And they are open 24 hours a day and then customers are told they don't have enough staff. In addition, the restaurant was filthy and tables were not getting bussed so they could sit more people, EVERY employee and I mean EVERYONE walked by like it wasn't their job. read more

Ok, I realize Norm's isn't supposed to be gourmet cuisine, but I would much rather go to IHOP, or at least Denny's. There you'll at least get better quality mediocre food. read more

FAMOUS FOR: - Open 24/7 (really?! that's it?!) I TRIED: - Buffalo Chicken Deep Pan Skillet (6/10) - Pancakes (5/10) - Coffee (3/10) I started this review last night, and I'm finishing it this afternoon. What I've found out in the last 12 hours or so is that a 24/7 place isn't all that common in Orange County. I'm from Chicago, where it's hard to think of a Denny's or IHOP that isn't 24/7. So, I guess their being famous for being open 24/7 is really a big deal. :/ BUFFALO CHICKEN SKILLET I actually did not order this. I got some sort of normal bacon, egg, and sausage type of skillet, but they brought this instead...how's that for service? :/ Not to mention this food took forever to come out. :/ Well, I'm not one for waiting, so I decided to eat this anyway, since I was actually contemplating this. The buffalo chicken is fried breast meet cut in cubes and doused in buffalo sauce, outside of the skillet. There's a ton of hashbrowns with shredded cheddar in between, and 3 eggs however you like 'em. It actually wasn't bad. I asked for a cup of buffalo sauce and ranch dressing. I'd dip my fork in one sauce, then the next, then scoop up a cube, then the rest of skillet, and that would be 1 bite. By doing that, the flavor's fine and the seasoning's fine. All in all, a halfway decent skillet However, this skillet is too much for one person! And no, this is not an 87 lb skinny model telling you this. I'm a 275 lb bull. Even if the skillet wasn't deep, it'd still be too much food, what with the pancake and everything. PANCAKE Not a good pancake. Being chewy is one thing, this pancake was bordering on rubbery! The pancake itself had no flavor at all, and was purely the drowning in syrup that made it edible. In comparison, it's not even close to an IHOP pancake (not that IHOP's are all that great), and it's probably on par, if not a smidge worse, than Denny's. COFFEE Wow. I've had instant Sanka coffee that tasted better. I suppose it fits under this category that coffee service was not good. After receiving my coffee, they asked if I wanted them to "warm it up" after my first sip, but then after that, came back once before the meal. Whatever, I didn't want it anyway. SUB NORM-AL So, I guess if you're one of the few establishments in Orange County that can survive just by wearing the 24/7 badge, then you've made it. But man oh man, if this place was in Chicago, Norm's would not have a chance. On top of the food being mediocre, the service was slow too; however, our waitress was very courteous. She came by twice to apologize for the lateness of the food, and I did appreciate that, but a normal diner would then pay the same kind of attention when it came to refilling coffee. I'd rather go to Denny's. read more

Anik is a good waiter very polite and respectful and positive and very thoughtful of his customers

Now I am not a big fan of diner food at all but as far as diner food goes, this place is pretty good. Better than Denny's or IHOP, in my opinion. The prices are great and they have some really good healthier and vegetarian options. We came here late one night and I got the veggie burger with a salad on the side. It was actually really tasty. And of course the other members of my group really enjoyed their french toast and burgers. The service here is also great. Our waitress was very friendly and easy going. Definitely a good late night or breakfast spot. read more

Ay yi yi tried to walk out the womens restroom and they was roaches crawling on the door!

To start with, the service is not desirable and then the All you can eat is not accurate. You can only choose two of of 3 - ribs, shrimp or wings, not all 3 as per the poster! read more

Better than Denny's? Cheaper then Denny's? Old school decor? What is there not to like? Norm's is pretty much Denny's. Similar menu and open 24/7. The only difference is Norm's is much cheaper. You can get steak and eggs for $7.99 or steak, chicken strips, and fried shrimp for $13.99 (comes with soup, salad, and dessert...pretty awesome right?) if they're on special . Their steak is pretty meh. Not too juicy or flavorful. It's just a strip of new york steak so plan on using a lot of A1. When your consider how much you're paying for it, it's a pretty good deal. If you want safe picks, go with their breakfast food. Honestly, breakfast is almost impossible to mess up so you'll always have a solid experience. Get the Bigger Better Breakfast. Eggs, sausages, bacon, hash browns and pancakes for a great price. Honestly, check it out. It can be pretty crowded at times though, especially at 3 a.m. on weekends (clubbers getting hungry). Food - 3 stars Service - 4 stars read more

Have always been a fan of Norms and miss the days I used to go in on a weekend and order the best huevos rancheros anywhere. Tonight I had a pretty bland chicken caesar salad but got full and fed two guest with me for under $40 You will have to try the steaks or filet fig non specials they are running. Would have but I was trying to be healthy. Yay Norms! read more

Very attentive, great food. I love norms and their amazing deals! I have to say though your employees should be mindful not only of what are they speaking about at work but what they are saying in a family environment. There is no real wall dividing workers from customers, merely sort of an island if you will. I heard a co worker talking (well rather yelling) to my server about her bf and how he gives her the best sex she's ever had and his endurance is incredible and so on and so forth. Does she not hear how loud she or does no one want to let her know everyone can hear her?! I was in the middle of the restaurant and could easily hear her without even wanting to listen. Please bring this issue up to your employees. Children should not be hearing these types of conversations! read more

Love coming to Norms when we come to visit California. I love their pomegranate lemonade and their lumberjack breakfast.

I've always loved coming here but the last two times eating there the food was horrible! I was given a steak that was greenish purple tint that was obviously meat that was bad. Top of that it was completely raw. Kinda scary the kitchen would even send that out. Will sadly say never being going back to that location. read more

Great service and great food. That's why we keep coming back. Breakfast is always perfect. Can't get enough ribs!

Delicious food for a great price. The staff is friendly and the restaurant is well clean kept.