Penrose Diner

Rumors that their French onion soup has old cheese on the sides of them from the other customers before because the cheese was «too hard» to scrap off so they keep it on there.

Went here with my mom while I was home and ordered the south philly omelette with two eggs instead of three and it was still HUGE. It was the best omelette I’ve ever had. They were heavy handed on the fixings and the cheese and I was thrilled. Our waitress was incredibly sweet and made sure we had everything we needed while checking in on everyone else in spite of it being busy. A true gem. The only thing I wasn’t happy with was that even though I reduced my omelette size by ¹⁄₃ it still costs the same. I wish I could give it 4.5 stars.

This place was amazing!!! My boyfriend is still talking about the wings he had there and how he can’t wait to go back to Philly for the wings alone. I loved the place as well … Everything i had was great the only reason i am not giving 5 stars is because the hostess was MIA every time we arrived to be seated … but as for the food and the rest of the service AMAZING! We didn’t eat any place else the entire time we were in Philly!

Large parking lot. Open late/​early but doesn’t seem the safest, especially if you don’t know the area. Close to the Philadelphia airport. Staff is pleasant and friendly. The food was really good, especially for dinner food.
We had a sausage omelette, which was a fantasticly large portion, a turkey club with very fresh turkey, Asian wings, and a cheeseburger. The wings were cooked well and the sauce was different. Coffee was decent and properly hot.
I’d come back but likely at a better hour. It’s a bit sketchy at 530 in the morning.

Great place for brunch. A really warm family restaurant with good food. Service is very tentative and fast. I’m here for New Year day breakfast/​lunch with my. This is really busy and there was a line. But it was now more than a 5 minutes wait even for the group of 5 ahead of us. Got to get the disco fries and the steak and eggs. I will be back.

I had the chilli cheese steak hoagie which tasted bland and lacked flavor. I needed to douse the pancakes with two packets of syrup to be able to convince myself they were any good. The strawberry cheesecake which was apparently their best seller didn’t have any crust on it (why not tho???). The mozzarella half moons didn’t seem to have any mozzarella in them… To top it off somehow the bill turned out to be $ 50 for two people. The water might have been the best part of my meal. If your looking for fast late night food and you’re drunk this would be okay but anything else don’t waste your time.

I will only eat at two diners in the city. Little Petes in Fairmount & Penrose. I actually loathe diners.
This one is pretty good.
South Philly hospitality from the waitresses, cashiers and hostess. They are so sweet to my girls. Desserts to go and everything. We actually just had what my husband referred to as «the nicest waitress ever», Grace. She was outstanding!!!
And the place is pretty nice. Nice wood floors and tile bathrooms. And the sunset in the right side of the place is actually beautiful.
My hubby gets a Reuben the girls get soup and I get a salad. I have had their eggplant parm years ago before I went vegan and I remember it was awesome. Huge and perfectly crispy and thin. A portion could feed a family. All of the portions are pretty large.
They give a nice basket with dinner of not only Italian loaf but spice bread too.
Breakfast omelettes are huge and they have oatmeal! Woo hoo!
Prices are fair.
Desserts look amazing! I’ve never tried any but people I talk to love them. That red velvet cake looks to die for. The cannolis are STUFFED with chocolate chips and covered in powdered sugar. The tiramisu looks banging and the brownies are as big as my daughter’s head.
They have daily specials and just recently when we went they had a whole pumpkin menu for fall… pancakes, bread l, muffins, pie, cheesecake and more. Unfortunately we didn’t try anything but I love the seasonality.
A great spot for a quick bite in South Philly when you don’t need anything too fancy.
Parking lots in the city are alway nice too.

My friends and I come here… Often, and late. Features of this diner that some other Philly diners lack:
Semi-​secluded back room for us queer folk*
Friendly service
Ample parking
Delicious dessert variety
Cheese whiz.
* note: this is where we like to sit. I am not saying they put us there for any negative reason. Just to clarify.

For Milkshake aficionados… This is Mecca. They also happen to have some seriously awesome hash brown/​home fries. I know that’s a weird combo, but that’s all I had.

I came stumbling in at 2 in the morning after a night out in Philadelphia and Penrose Diner provided all I needed to end my night. First off the staff was wonderful, they treated a group of loud, buzzed fools with nothing but class and respect. The waitress was helpful, friendly and more than accommodating.
Food was good, standard diner menu, ranging from classic breakfast items to steaks and burgers. I kept it simple a nice order of eggs sunny side up, potatoes and corned beef hash. All cooked to perfection and so tasty.
Worth a visit at the end of a long night especially if you’re staying in the hotel across the street. Buzzed comfort food at its best.

Went here on a busy Sunday morning. The seating arrangement was pretty disorganized. The host sat us down at a booth and then a few seconds later said we had to get up because another waitress was keeping the table for someone else. Overall the diner looks renovated and is also very clean and spacious. The food tasted great and service was friendly. Would go back for breakfast.

On one of my solo days in Philly, I wanted to grab myself some breakfast but didn’t want to haggle with parking or heading to downtown. I found Penrose Diner, just a couple miles away from our hotel. Decent parking lot, so not sure why others had such negative comments about it.
The restaurant is spacious, reminiscent of old school diners. No hipsters or fusion type food here. Just good ol fattening comfort food. I was seated quickly and was warmly greeted and served by a very nice lady. MInd you, many of the servers here were elderly ladies, friendly with their patrons, who appeared to be regulars. I like that kinda vibe.
The menu is extensive so I had to do my best to narrow it down so I didn’t end up ordering three plates for one. I got the deluxe waffle plate which had a full slab of ham, bacon, sausage and a belgian waffle. I also got a hot chocolate cause c’mon, it’s hot chocolate.
The hot chocolate was yummy, it probably had three packets of that chocolate magic, some milk and a shitton of whipped cream. My waffle was good, though slightly undercooked. Bacon and ham were good. Wasn’t a fan of the sausage.
Not a bad meal at all. I would come back another time and opt for pancakes instead.

My go to place to hang out after a late night event at the stadiums. Awesome place to go with friends and hangout or grab a quick meal on the run. Staff is always friendly and service is generally very fast. Hands down one of my favorite diners in the Philadelphia area, and I am a diner fanatic! Make sure you try one of the amazing cinnamon sticks or buns!

If you’re hungry and want some down home food, Penrose is the diner for you. I had roasted turkey smothered in gravy on top of Apple stuffing. The mashed potatoes were average but the gravy covered up some of their shortcomings. I will say the turkey was good and not at all dry. The menu will take you 15 minutes to get through… so I guess I will have to stop by on a future trip to Philly.

I was pleasantly surprised by this place. I thought this place food wise would just be a glorified Denny’s, but it isn’t exactly. The breakfast was tasty. I ordered the Greek omelet and my husband ordered the french toast and both were great!
Service– Top notch service. Our server was a really sweet lady and she was very attentive. Great customer service.
Ambiance — This place was so immaculate! It was extremely clean and tidy. I used the bathroom and it was a beautiful bathroom (hey these things matter!)
Price– Very reasonably priced and the portions were generous
I wish they offered cappacinos/​lattes, but they did not. I could see why because the clientele did not seem like they would order stuff like that. Also, the juices were not freshly squeezed or anything like that. Overall, I would come back to this place if I were ever in this area and looking for a decent breakfast.

Someone at the American Swedish Historical Museum recommended this diner and it was a good option. The portions are really large and the food is good. We went mid-​afternoon and it wasn’t overcrowded but still quite a few people there. I started with the crab cake appetizer which was really big-​lots of crab meat and tasty. Then I had the Greek salad which was easily a meal in itself and wasn’t able to finish it. The service was good. I was too full to try the pastries but they certainly looked tempting.

Good diner overall. Interior is upscale, staff is friendly, prices are reasonable, and the food is pretty decent.
I stopped in after visiting the American Swedish Historical Museum and left satisfied. I ordered the farmer’s omelette (ham, peppers, onions, potato, etc.), which was very tasty. Thankfully, not overly salty as is unfortunately the case with a lot of diner omelettes. The portions were substantial and the service was highly efficient, almost excessively so… my omelette came out about 5 minutes after I placed the order! It tasted fresh, so I’m going to assume it was cooked to order, but they must have set a record for turnaround time there!
For those unfamiliar with the area, expect some difficulty when pulling into and out of the lot, and to have to jockey for parking with a great deal of effort. The diner is located at a very busy (read: dangerous) intersection, the lot is cramped, and the establishment is quite popular.
I would definitely consider returning, though only if I find myself in the immediate area (likely before/​after a Phillies game, given the proximity to the sports complex).

Best diner in South Philly, hands down!
Ever since I was in high school, Penrose is the place to be. Kids loved to hangout there after school/​sport activities. Few of my classmates worked there too.
I finally visited Penrose again after some years, and the quality of their food and service are still stellar! Wait staffs here are sweethearts. And the food are generously served in large portions. Lunch/​Dinner specials are always the best!

Relaxing atmosphere, spacious, clean and seating area.
Welcoming staff and our waitress Maryann was very friendly.
We ordered the Belgian waffles with Canadian bacon, farmers omelette, and pancake. Our food came out surprisingly fast and price was beyond reasonable for what the portions were. As far as taste, the food was delicious.
I would come back here again.

During my second visit to Philadelphia with my boyfriend, we revisited Penrose Diner since we liked it a lot on our first visit.
Our waitress wasn’t friendly nor did she look particular happy. We ordered two entrees that both came with a soup, salad, and a bread basket
My boyfriend had the chicken noodle soup and it didn’t look too appealing and bland. I got the garden salad instead of soup and they doubled up on the dressing. It was refreshing, crunchy, fresh and I enjoyed it very much.
For entrees, the boyfriend ordered a Chicken Francese and it sure looked a lot better than my dish. His dish was a lot tastier than mine. Everything was up to par. The chicken was moist and delicious.
As for myself, I ordered the chicken marsala and it looked appealing at first but as I was half way through eating my entrée, it just became too much. There was too much sauce and the sauce was way too salty! I wasn’t pleased with the dish at all.
In my opinion, our experience at Penrose Diner this time around wasn’t great. The food was a bit of a letdown, not sure if we’ll be returning next time or any time soon.