We love this spot for brekky. Their chicken fried steak is ridiculous, the chicken Ortega omelette comes in at a close second. We always have the best, most friendly service. Bloody Mary’s are great too. Can’t go wrong here.
Fernando M.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Los Angeles, CA
I love hitting up local eats and mom and pop spots. There is nothing better than supporting your local shops and community rather than the big box spots. I have been to the Diner on Main before and had a decent experience, but today’s experience I think is why I will not be returning. Let me first say that the food(Breakfast — I had the California Omelet) is ok, not amazing, but just good food, nothing that you wouldn’t find at a place like ihop or Dennys, but like I said, I like to support local. The service from our server today was great. She was kind, kept up with the refills and was smiling and seemed to love her customers and wanted them to have a good experience. The problem came when I received my omelet. I had ordered it without Sour cream, and it came with sour cream. It was the Manager or owner(Not sure, but older woman with short hair and glasses) who had brought me my plate and was the one who took it back for me when I told her it was suppose to come without sour cream. She said not a problem, she may have grabbed the wrong one, so I said no problem.(Now, let me just put it out there, No sour cream was a choice, I am not allergic or anything, but if I was, this is where it became a big problem) About 2 minutes went by, and another omelet was brought to me, or so I was to believe it was a new one. But what had happened was that they half assed wiped it from the omelet and then flipped it over so I couldn’t see where the sour cream had been, but the whole underside was covered in sour cream. Now you may say, that I’m just complaining or wining, and that’s fine, but when a manager or owner of an establishment takes an item away, and is «replacing it» because of an ingredient that was not suppose to be in the food was in it or on it in this case, and then pretends to fix the problem, or the kitchen pretends, there is a major breakdown in the protection of the patron. What if I had been deathly allergic? What if I had become very sick in the restaurant, or on the way home? Like I said, it’s simple and to many of you might not be a big deal, and it didn’t have to be, She could have easily said would you like me to just have them take it off, would you like a new one, are you allergic to it? Any protection for the customer would be so much more valuable than the ingredients lost if they needed to make a new one. Now I am not one to waste food, so I would have had them scrape it off any way rather than make a new one, but the fact that they tried to deceive me is the problem. If your customers can’t trust you with the quality of your food, then you should not be in the restaurant business. What’s next, saying something doesn’t have nuts when it does? Taking a hair out of the food and then serving it again? Like I said, it may be simple to some and no big deal, but if you’re willing to try and deceive customers on something so small, what extremes would you go to when it’s a big deal? Second time here, but certainly last.
M A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Los Angeles County, CA
I loved how fast and friendly the service was. My whole family enjoyed their meals they ordered. We were all satisfied.
Brennan W.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Thousand Oaks, CA
Dora is an amazing server! I awoke in a field. There was a man there, old and withered. His eye sockets were empty, cracked pits. He snarled at me as I weakly pulled my body across the dead earth. My legs were useless. How long was i I there? Where was it? I scraped myself along until my nails came off in the soil. I couldn’t go any further. As I looked at the cruel sun, felt it’s heat boiling every cell in my body, I knew I would die here. The man began to cackle. Dora really helped us out. Thank god for Diner on main.
Vic V.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Rosemead, CA
Jessie sat & waited on us; she was both vibrant & super accommodating! Love the burgers & a sure pleasure bacon fried rice with Portuguese sausage & extra bacon a rocker every time I go. On tap great IPAs that will tickle or rock your socks off(thank God I wore my boots). Really this place both pleases your appetite, quenches your thirsts & love the service! Cool bar– open til 2AM& the music is a great throwback to old beach & oldies classics. Hey good food, drink & music it’s like being home with great table service & cool crowd clientele. A must visit fir anyone in Alhambra area! Vic & Ana
Lisa D.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Alhambra, CA
Great place to enjoy some good food, music and spend time with the family. The service is great and they even have pineapple beer not to mention they have breakfast ALL day! Thanks you!
Angie R.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Los Angeles, CA
My second time here, both times I had their breakfast. I got the California omelette which had mushrooms, green peppers, cheese, and avocado topped work sour cream. It came with a choice bread and I chose an English muffin. I had the has brown as an alternate to the fresh fruit. Omelette was ok, it tasted better as a reheated leftover since portion was pretty big. It didn’t have any flavor even when I added ketchup and hot sauce. English muffin was drenched in butter which could be a positive for some. Home fries were tasteless and came cold. Service is slow. Waitress was quick to take orders but food took awhile to be brought out. Don’t come here if you’re have to somewhere soon. I think part of the appeal of this place is nostalgia of the old 50s diner that you find much anymore. Prices are cheap which is a plus, especially for ordinary food and slow service.
Jeff T.
Rating des Ortes: 3 San Gabriel, CA
Been here a couple times. The food is a step up for Denny’s. Typical diner food. Their breakfast isn’t bad. They have bacon fried rice which is interesting. It’s a tad on the sweet side. The last time I came, the server was very nice, but it took a while for her to take our order and the food also took a while to come out.
Sklar T.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Monterey Park, CA
Came to meet a friend for a quick bite to eat on New Year’s Eve. The menu has a large variety of dishes to choose from. I ordered the Chicken Taquitos from the Appetizers section. Taquitos were nice and crispy, without being heavy or greasy. However, they used chicken breast/white meat instead, which was dense, dry and flavorless. Had they used marinated ground beef, or even seasoned dark chicken meat, the dish would have been a hit. The only other complaint I have about the dish was that the guacamole was piped over the 3 taquitos. It would have been nice to have a dollop of it on the side, just in case. Service was decent.
Dorcas L.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Arcadia, CA
I would not recommend coming to this diner on new years day. It was crowded and the line was a bit long. The service was slow to accomedate to the customers. The food however was impressive for a low key diner and the price to portion was on the more generous side. Despite having to wait a long time to be served, the food was great. Just don’t come here on a major holiday.
Teresa B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Pasadena, CA
I should check-in more because I’m here every Sunday for their phenomenal breakfast along with the exceptional service that goes with it. In fact, even though there is generally a wait, my boo and I prefer counter seating, which seems to always be available. It’s a casual vibe and refreshing to see the Alhambra Farmer’s Market taking place across the street, each week, while I read the LA Times and enjoying my scrumptious protein breakfast. Being that I live in Pasadena, I don’t come here for other meals. I think I’ll have to re-evaluate that decision. When I peer into the bar I get a sense that this is a hotspot for locals at night too! I love a good Happy Hour!
Kim H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Los Angeles, CA
It’s a diner. Not much more you need to say. Comfort fast food at all hours. Why people would expect gourmet dining at a diner for the price is beyond me. Set your expectations and expect to get fed quickly.
Guillermo C.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Los Angeles, CA
We have been here for breakfast and most recently for dinner. I will echo what many other reviews have said about this place. The food is decent and I have no complaints, but it definitely does not stand out. They have some decent beers on tap, which is a plus, but I rated it a two star due to the service. The waiter seemed like he was too busy dealing with other things at work and was not very attentive with us. Had to get up and grab ketchup myself and also asked for water twice. Decent little spot close to home. Will be back when I am feeling too lazy to cook or don’t want to wait in line for something else.
Angela R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Los Angeles, CA
This restaurant is a family favorite. Mom, Dad and sis alike all agree that this place is the bees knees! It’s a 50s themed restaurant, and has really cool vintage inspired décor. It’s located in a hotspot on Main Street, and you can’t miss it. The quality of food here is really on point, and they have such a diverse variety of options. They even have fancy stuff like steak and sautéed mushrooms on the menu. I usually go for something casual like a burger and fries or tuna sandwich. Sometimes the prices seem a little steep, but it’s not too expensive. I also noticed the service doesn’t seem consistent. Sometimes we’ll get a really cool server like Will. Other times we’ll get a tired chick who looks fed up with life, and forgets to bring little extras like my Ranch on the side. I recently received an email that they are premiering a new Autumn Menu. It features delectable looking dishes such as pumpkin squash ravioli, pumpkin pie and more. I can’t wait to go try it. This place is fun and tasty. I’ve been coming here with my friends and family since high school. If they had a few more affordable specials on the menu, and all the servers were like Will, it would be a five star joint for sure.
Hannah T.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Temple City, CA
Delicious, hot foods available here. I’m not really the sort of person who goes to new places much, so I stumbled in half in confusion — not overly sure of myself. It was around 3:20PM when I came in and it wasn’t really crowded. A woman beckoned me to find a seat anywhere(«For one?») and offered me a menu. It was nice and friendly enough to make me feel a little bit more at ease. I ordered a Monte Cristo(a large house specialty sandwich with parmesan garlic fries on the side), which seemed safe at the time — though I’ll likely try other things(perhaps the Sampler) the next time. The sandwich came really hot, with the pile of fries next to it. After a few attempts, I managed to pick up the hot sandwich to bite in. The bread was sweet, and the hams/turkey a bit juicy. The cheese was melting out between the layers. I tried the parmesan garlic fries first without the ranch, but I actually enjoyed dipping it in the sauce. I was a bit too full to finish the entire pile, so I asked for a box and it was given to me promptly, along with the check. All in all, I had a nice meal and fair service.
Sally M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Alhambra, CA
Haven’t been here in awhile. Last time I was here food was good(better than Denny’s imo) and service was meh. but today we got an awesome server Laura! Thank you for the wonderful service this morning =).
Francine L.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Los Angeles, CA
I have always saw this Diner on Main in Alhambra but have never eaten here before until a night brought us to this location. We had around five friends and a wonderful, funny server that I really enjoyed. It made me like this place a lot. We got seated towards the right on a booth area that was semi a secret hidden spot compared to the rest of the place which I loved! I like being hidden so you get to spend your time talking with your friends and not overhearing other peoples conversations. This diner place opens late till 2 am and has a lot of different food options that you can choose from. Our table ordered chicken quesadillas, tower of onion rings, pot roast and a Reuben sandwich. All of us really enjoyed the dishes and the tower of onion rings was quite a large order and pretty cute. They also have dipping sauces of ranch and BBQ sauce with it. The pot roast was a meal split between two people and the Reuben sandwich was pretty large but tasted like how a diner should make it! Can’t wait to go back to try all the other menu items!
Annabell J.
Rating des Ortes: 2 South Pasadena, Los Angeles, CA
We try food this restaurant first in my life. I ordered samplers and my friend eat tay food . Samplers is not that good, it looks like re fried everything, especially chickens. Thai food is not bad, quality is just like noodle world, except price is more high. Not bad restaurant, if you think fast food restaurants.
Robert A.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Whittier, CA
I’m all about the local diner, the mom-and-pop spot, that place that’s been here forever. With that said, this place doesn’t have me yearning to go back. The appetizer sampler we got was decent — your standard diner fare, if you will — but my meal was blah. Like, literally, blah. It lacked any flavor, any kick, anything that made me say«Mmmmm!» I felt like I was sick and really couldn’t taste anything. It was, for lack of a better word, boring. My brother’s food was better but still not round-up-the-family-we’re-going-to-dinner-at-the-Diner-on-Main worthy. I came here as a last resort(the other places nearby we wanted to eat it at hour-long waits) and that’s probably the only other time I’ll come back: as a last resort.
Christine H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Pasadena, CA
I am a huge fan of their sister restaurant and diner«Shakers» in South Pasadena so a friend of mine decided to bring me here. I am a meat and potatoes kind of girl, so of course I ordered the Avocado Bacon Cheeseburger with fries, and topped it off with their warm deep dish Apple pie(a la mode, of course!) The ambiance is great, the service is superb and the efficiency of the staff is top notch! Our waitress Jamie was the sweetest thing, and very attentive. Five stars! The food was great, but unfortunately the fries and burger were super soggy. It was still good, don’t get me wrong, but I order the same dish at Shakers and its a little bit different, crispier. Maybe will try the sample platter or sliders next time I’m here. The apple pie was so good! SOGOOD! I have never tasted a dessert so delicious in my entire life(I frequent House of Pies, and this pie was much better!) The crust was so delicious, and had sugar crystals baked right into the top! It was so yummy that even my dessert-hating friend had to have a bite and absolutely loved it! So of course I am going to write about parking, I always do. They have their own spacious lot right in the back, and there is always lots of free parking on Main to take advantage of, even on the weekends!