Dino’s Diner

Two areas to cover, the food and the service. First the food, if you’re a foodie looking for a culinary experience you’re in the wrong place, not they’re business model, they’re a diner whose consistency is remarkable, always good, hot and quick. The cook obviously takes pride in his work, as a regular I can tell you he gets a bit upset when food is returned, not because he disputes the claim, but because it wasn’t his best (though in his defense, there has been times if he had disputed the claim he’d be right).
As for the service, other than for a few newbie issues on occasion, the service is always above average, the wait staff is friendly, attentive and aware. The long time servers are especially good, one in particular can take my wife’s or my order pretty much before we’ve thought about it. They make dining there as enjoyable as much as any other factor. There is one exception of course (as always), when the owner (s) is in the house the place takes on this whole negative air, the staff becomes quite and robotic. The smiles are no longer genuine, it’s like they’re smiling to cover up something. Don’t know what that’s all about, but you can sure tell the difference — immediately, it’s like «can I come back later when it’s not so dark in here».
All in all I enjoy eating there and see no reason to stop, even when the suns not shining inside.

Don’t expect avant garde culinary masterpieces at Dino’s, but, they DO have very good food.
When eating lunch, I’m usually in a hurry. No problems here. The service, at the lunch counter anyway, is always fast; I’m in and out in 20 minutes.
Chili, pop and BLT/​fries for 9 bucks.
Good food, fast service, good prices. Owned and operated by a very nice family.

I made another stop at Dino’s for breakfast. As usual, my coffee cup was kept full and the very friendly owners came around to make small talk.
What wasn’t usual is this: I took a chance and ordered their Eggs Benedict.
I’m not saying that I expected anything less than delicious from Dino’s, but I’ve ordered Eggs Benedict at a few other establishments in the area and the eggs have either come out over done and hard or the hollandaise sauce has been from a packet. Not this time — they were perfect! Nice runny yolks, buttery/​lemony sauce — delicious!
Dino’s definitely gets four stars for consistency. You can count on friendly service, reasonable prices and a delicious breakfast every time you visit.

This place used to be Don’s Drive-​In for years. I’m guessing all the patrons remember the good old days of Don’s. Chicken parmigiana was pretty decent for a diner. The sauce was thick and they used the thin noodles that I like. The chicken was a good quality piece. Green beans were right of a can with a spray or two of butter. Applesauce came right out of a jar, salad right out of the bag but what do you expect?. Ended our meal with a cherry pie alamode. The service was quick, the customers a little surly, and the food decent.

I stopped off here for lunch on my journey by car from Montréal to San Francisco. It wasn’t my top choice but I couldn’t find the other one I tracked down on Unilocal and decided to take a chance.
As mentioned, they have a board which mentions the specials of the day at the entrance. Most of their customers appeared to be regulars and old (average age maybe ~55, more than twice my age). I sat at a stool and got to watch all the action first hand.
Afew things stuck with me despite the stopover taking place 2 months ago or so: tasty bread selection for sandwiches (I went with rye), dynamite potato tots, small glass of juice (thankfully grapefruit juice was served though to mix it up) and the owners worked there rather than hiring others to take care of business.
Everyone was friendly and I chatted briefly with some regulars. The big downside was that the tuna in the actual sandwich, the meat of the sandwich so to say wasn’t that great. Too sweet and tasted funny. As others mentioned, this is symptomatic of their food being simply average at best. Perhaps a regular could let us know what they usually order (assuming it’s the best Dino’s has to offer?).
Good for a quick stop but if I were a local this would be my 1 and only stop here.

Three words in describing Dino’s…“Just. Order. Coffee.” The food is pretty lousy, but I think it’s more of a gathering place for most of Maumee and Perrysburg, especially while waiting for your prescription from Rite Aid (formerly The Pharm).

One of my first memories of Dino’s is leaving the place with my grandparents, who were in a huff because Dino’s was serving shoe-​less hippies. True story, and — yeah — I’m getting on in years.
Seriously, our family ate here at least once a month while I growing up, mostly on our way to and from Put in Bay. I can still taste the spiced apple rings they served with their ribs and steaks.
I know, I know, this isn’t a current review as much as it is a stroll down memory lane. But I’d eat here again in a heartbeat, if nothing else for the nostalgia.

I want to like this place, I really do. It is the type of place that I’m guessing 98% of the customers are regulars and know everyone there. The waitresses seem to be plucked right out of the 1970s via a tear in the space-​time continuum. A classic diner.
Having said that, the food was extremely average. The type of food that makes me think, «I could have made this exact thing at home». And that isn’t a compliment. I left here feeling like I just stopped at home for lunch and made myself a mediocre meal. It actually reminds me of cafeteria food.
Long story short: not terrible, but you can do lots better. If you are just plain bored of everything else in the area, give it a whirl; maybe I stopped by on a bad day. Actually, I hope that is the case, because I generally like this type of diner.

Dino’s is one of those great American restaurants where the waitress still greets you with a smile & calls you «honey». They have a great menu of American & Greek dishes, and breakfast is served all day.
When you walk in, you will see a sign board right by the door that features their daily specials as well as soups of the day. All the soups are homemade… the best beef barley soup I’ve tasted in this area (thick, meaty & yum!). There’s a good variety of sandwiches, entrees, salads & Greek specialties. I like their patty melt (with or w/​o bacon) and beer batter onion rings.
Desserts are also homemade daily-​you have to try the rice pudding, warm with whipped cream & cinnamon!
They’re in the Golden Gate Plaza in Maumee, off of the Trail & Conant Streets (in front of the old Pharm-​now Rite Aid).