Loved the place till this happened. I don't care about the $3 it comes done to the principal of it all. I ordered take out, I made the personal choice not to tip when I ordered take out the other day. Cash app notifies you when the price is updated once a tip is added. I'm used to seeing this when I go out. Since I know I didn't leave a tip I didn't expect to see the final price of my order to change. I called 3rd alarm at 8:40am Friday. I don't care for $3 but I wanted to let the restaurant know what happened and to keep an eye out for it. I was admittedly shut down and told that doesn't happen here by a girl who then says she's only been there 3 months. I was told no manager or supervisor was on that they would take my name and number call me later when they got in at 1pm. Here it is 3pm the next day and I have yet to get a call. I feel as if they just swept me under the rug. I did call back cause I was confused how they were open without a hirer up to inforce structure and help with issues like this. It shouldn't be up to me a customer to call back a 3rd time now on this issue. I wasn't going to write a review but it's the only way I feel this could be heard now. I'm upset that I will no longer feel comfortable ordering here again. The smokehouse burger had become one of my favorite quick comfort dinner. My friends live down the street so we all always order from here and never had a problem. read more

Third Alarm Diner - Diners Near Me - Sanford, Maine

See all

Excellent greasy diner that serves delicious homemade meals. The meatloaf and mashed is as good as moms. The service is friendly and efficient. read more

Absolute awful service and the servers are just as bad. waited 45 minutes to be sat and the once sat we waited another 30 minutes for our order while we watched everyone around us get there food and eat, mind you, they came in after us. I will never be back. the kitchen is nasty. no one washes there hands in the kitchen and they're absolutely disgusting I will never be back to an establishment like this again. and I haven't even got my food yet! that's saying something. read more

The food is really great...hot, fresh. Friendly service and a cute, clean place. The kids loved the fried pickles, grilled cheese with bacon. I had the best meatloaf melt with onion rings. I wish I had room to try the pie and an adult milkshake. read more

Great food an awesome service always Love that you can get breakfast lunch or dinner all day

Came in for lunch during the week, great lobster stew, bloody Mary's and Cajun fries. Small local place, which makes it fun and intimate. Fun staff and lots of unique photos ! read more

Third Alarm Diner - Really good bloody Mary's and mudslides! - Diners Near Me - Sanford, Maine

Huge menu offering, but pretty boring overall. Poorly seasoned or simply not seasoned at all. I got the steak tip dinner and it was just bland and boring. Box mashed potatoes, and unseasoned meat. The service was also not the best, not bad, just not good by any means. Would only go back for the salads. read more

They have great service and fair prices breakfast/lunch and it's always a pleasure to be there.

Just moved to Sanford and thought we would try, ordered the chicken club sandwich with fries and my fiance got a cheese steak sub with onion rings, my sandwich was amazing!!! The chicken was tender, juicy and perfectly cooked! Crispy bacon, roll was toasted and buttery, my fiance said his was delicious too, the homemade onion rings with their house sauce was really good, we got 2 slices of coconut cream pie, YUM! You have to try this diner! Little place in downtown Sanford, they are doing everything right! Very friendly staff as well. read more

We were traveling thru Sanford and came upon this awesome diner. Obviously the locals love it. H got a fried haddock sandwich with grilled homefries for $13. I got a traditional tuna melt for $11.75. Lemon pie was $4.50 - so worth it! They are fully licensed too. Great value, great service, we'll be back next time thru! read more

See all

Everything I've ever tried here has been great and the service is always awesome. Third Alarm has by far the best breakfast in Sanford! Whenever I go out for breakfast in town, Third Alarm is my number one spot. Their lunch and dinner menu is also amazing! Their burgers are probably the best in town and I love their Cajun fries and fried pickles. I would highly recommend Third Alarm to anyone wanting a quality meal with huge portions for a reasonable price. read more

Stopped in here on a rainy Monday morning and it was the exact comfort food we needed! The service was super fast and the food was incredible. read more

Third Alarm Diner - Biscuit and gravy and home fries, blueberry pancake, toast, eggs over easy, and bacon. - Diners Near Me - Sanford, Maine

Awesome little hole in the wall diner in Sanford! If my local friends hadn't vouched for it I would never have stepped foot inside because the location (downtown Sanford next to the burned down and abandoned mills) and appearance leave much to be desired. But I am so glad I gave it a chance! The service is top notch, nice down to earth quality people working here. They make you feel welcomed for sure. The inside is pretty small but they make the most of their space, they have several tables as well as counter service. The food was excellent. I got the homemade corned beef hash Benedict and ate every single bite! We also got free fried pickles because The Mariners won the night before (apparently that's a thing they do)! Prices are reasonable and portions are large. Totally worth a stop if you're in the area. read more

If there is a ´no star' option, I'd chose that. We stopped by for a brunch and we're seated. The lady said that our server will take our order soon. After an epic wait of 25 minutes, we asked for our check for the coffee and left. It is not that the server was serving 30 customers at that point in time. Just poor customer service. Please stay away. Take your business elsewhere!! read more

My boyfriend and I go here almost every weekend for lunch/brunch. We love it. My absolute favorite is the Eggs Florentine. It's so delicious. The staff are very friendly and the service is really fast. We are usually in and out within 30 minutes if it's not too busy. Parking can be kind of tricky but there is space across the road to park. read more

Great diner, was an hour early and a little hungry when I saw their open sign. Place Was clean, staff very friendly. Quick with coffee refills. I just got fried eggs, w sausage, and a side of French fries w gravy. They offer two kinds of sausage, links or patties. I got the links, they were huge, almost as big as a hot dog. Fries and gravy were perfect too. Would definitely go there again if I was in the area read more

Third Alarm Diner - Diners Near Me - Sanford, Maine

We have had this restaurant many times for take out the chicken sandwich is honestly very good there onion rings and the dip are out of this world only once more then likely ordered onion rings got French fries did not complain I dealt with it. We order there often the cheese steak was not bad but I got once it's not a great sandwich but it was ok served on a hot dog bun surprisingly I got full but I'm not putting it down it was good just I guess I was thinking sub I did eat it and I have tried many items there pies are great the waitresses and workers are all very friendly nice and polite it's a very good place to eat always get take out but no complaints there cheeseburgers are alright once good once under cooked but the prices are very good and it's a place we will continue to visit or pick up food read more

Great staff. The food was delicious. Its a small space but don't let that discourage you from waiting for a table.

I consider myself a breakfast expert and have tried almost every place in Southern Maine. I wish I could attest to more than the homemade hash Benedict with grilled homefries, but sadly I can't because I've been there about 50 times this year and haven't been able to muster the willpower to order anything else. It's stupid how good it is. It's just stupid. read more

Best steak and eggs I've ever had, wife was not impressed with the BLT. Staff was friendly and fast. It was much smaller than I expected. It was the definition of a hole in the wall dinner. Open early and you can get your food to go. read more

We stopped here for lunch on our way up to Maine and I'm glad we did. We did a google search for a nearby diner and Third Alarm popped up. Extra bonus is that hubby is a firefighter and we got 10% off! It's a very small "hole in the wall" as the saying goes, but the service was amazing and the atmosphere was nice with the fire paraphernalia. The food was delicious. I had the Rueben, but had them use turkey rather than the corned beef. Was so delicious. We will be back when we're up in the area again! read more

See all

A diamond in the rough....a little piece of heaven. I had the Friday night special, prime rib and boy was it good. Cooked exactly the way I ordered it. Our server Kayla, was so friendly and always with a smile, she made sure we were satisfied with everything. We got to sit outside due to state regulations but it felt like a bonus, the setting was even a little romantic. I would definitely go back and would love to try their breakfast, and maybe even a lobster roll at lunch time. The menu was great, a little something for everyone, even kids. The owners have gone out of the way to ensure that the customers leave satisfied, and wanting to go back. You can tell that they have put their heart and soul into their business. read more

If I could make it a negative rating, then I would. The food has only gone down in quality and up in price. Also, ordered take out on Sunday and was charged $23 and change for a breakfast burrito with home fries and a ham and cheese omelet with home fries and toast. On my way out I realized I forget to write the total after signing and today when checking my bill I was charged an extra $5.00. This place will never have my service again with their sketchy practices and not-worth-the-price food. You're welcome by the way for the extra tip you got! I take full responsibility for letting your staff take advantage like that, but never again will I recommend this place or give it my business. If anyone is looking for a great breakfast or dinner experience, you are better off going to Sunnyside or Sweet Memories right down the street. read more

Love their homemade muffins! Great service. Small diner. No parking except street and lot with the green room. read more

For those of you from out of town, this place is a quick drive from the hospital. Delicious shakes and breakfast all day. I had a mushroom Swiss burger with a side of breaded mushrooms. They were not frozen, they were fresh. It was a nice surprise. The burger was cooked perfect and the bun fresh. This Place looks like a hole in the wall, but it is very clean and kitschy inside. The waitress was fantastic. Very varied menu with set specials every night. Monday night was New England boiled dinner, which I haven't had for years! There aren't many choices for food in Sanford, this place is unassuming with homey style food. read more

Great food, all fresh! Steak bomb is the "the bomb"!!! Mac and cheese is creamy delicious! Hamburgers are juicy and cooked just right!

Perfect for what it is, homemade comfort food with a welcoming atmosphere and lovely staff. Mac and cheese is crazy good! Onion rings are crispy and not at all greasy. Had a spinach soup that was delicately flavored and warmed me up. My companion had the meatloaf melt and he loved it. I had the veggie burger bomb which was ultimate comfort food. We were too stuffed for dessert but it all looked glorious! Highly recommend. Thanks to the nice people there for a terrific lunch. read more

Had a yummy lunch here today. Tried the fried pickles- very good if your a pickle lover. Had an enormous burger which came on a buttered grilled brioche roll (which was excellent). Nice handmade patty with melted cheddar and a lot of crispy bacon. Homemade thin crispy onion rings were the bomb. Cute little diner vibe. Will definitely go again when in town read more

I'm so surprised with the 1 star reviews for this place! I go here all the time and every time it's great food and INEXPENSIVE. I don't know where these people are eating who say this place is expensive but they may need to get out more? :/ Just sayin. This is one of my favorite spots for breakfast and I know numerous people who feel the same. It's great home cooked food for a great price! Definitely check them out. read more

Ordered cheese burger well done side of onions rings and coke cost 15 dollars with tip. When I told them that the burger was still raw in the middle I was told I would get 10 percent off! No offer to cook another one. Trouble is I'm a senior so I would of gotten a 10 percent discount anyway. Onion rings were good but I won't be back! I'll go to a burger joint always cooked and cheaper read more

Sorry but this place does not have homemade pies they are from hannafords. Siting at a table you see into the kitchen what a mess, dirty and untidy. I am surprised they are still open and nobody got deathly sick. I will fill a report with health inspector things crawl. read more

food was good but portions were small....we had been warned about this. what was worse was the noise. small, small place and one guy sat at the counter and carried on a conversation with some one sitting behind us. they were about 15 feet apart and it was aggravating. read more

Came here on vacation! Cute little quiet diner and we had one of our favorite meals .. breakfast for dinner!

We have gone to Third Alarm Diner twice. The first time was great. This past time we went my boyfriend ordered a ham and cheese omelet. They did not put any cheese in it. My boyfriend was going to ask the waitress to remake it but she never, not once came back to our table to ask if everything was ok or if we needed anything. He waited 10 mins before he actually just decided to eat it. She never came back near our table. After we were done a different waitress came and dropped off the check and walked off. Nobody asked if we needed anything else or how everything was. My breakfast sandwich was good except that they put a cold piece of cheese on it and it never melted. Mistakes happen and I would have considered trying it a third time if we had had good service. read more

The food here is delicious. Been for breakfast and for dinner and no complaints. Food has a lot of flavor and it's all reasonably priced. Would definitely recommend. read more

A terrific find for that quick burger or dog. Quick service good food pleasant staff. I'll be back.

Horrible food. Stopped by to get some chicken tenders for my hungry child - tenders and fries were both disgusting. How hard is it to make a decent chicken tender? read more

My favorite place for Breakfast in Sanford and all the surrounding areas. The Lunch and Dinner menu is also excellent. The food is delicious! Generous portions that are reasonably priced. I have had nothing but great service and always found the diner clean as a whistle. read more

I asked for Mac n cheese with fried chicken. You guys couldn't do that so I tried the grilled. And it was so bland and slimy. There was almost no cheese either and it was super milky. Disappointed. read more

I love this place it has some of the best breakfast menus of anywhere around it's always fun to be there you park a cross the street very convenient prices are right I highly recommend it to any of my friends. I love that chili omelette! read more