Gus Balon’s Restaurant

The only reason that I went here is because I have heard for like forty years that this place rocks. I am here to tell you that it doesn’t. Home fries suck. Over medium eggs are delivered barely cooked. «Homemade Toast» falls apart into 4 pieces as soon as you pick it up. No one greets you at the door. You have to wait in a 6×10 area and depend on the kindness and honesty of strangers to be seated in a fair manner. I saw a woman seated at the counter who had a huge purse plopped on an empty seat for over 15 minutes. If she’d had the courtesy to place her giant purse somewhere else, I could have eaten 15 minutes sooner. No one even suggested to her that maybe she should move her stinking purse. Unless her purse ordered pancakes. There are about 50 places that are better than Gus Balon’s. You’d be better off at Denny’s or Waffle House.

A family friend had told me about this place so we checked it out… unfortunately it was not a good experience at all. The food was overpriced, the restaurant has a foul sewer smell and our food sat in the window for couple minutes so when we did receive it my fries and burger were cold. It took about 20 mins to get our food. I would never go there again I’m guessing there is newer management because family friends had told us they have been around along time … I will not be returning

Excellent food and excellent service with one key drawback: The limited seating and crowded atmosphere forces the staff to almost push you out the door when you’re done eating. … If you’re after a great, quick breakfast, this place is excellent. … But don’t plan on sitting around for a while sipping coffee and reading the paper.

My family and I LOVE this place! Everyone is extremely welcoming and the food is made from scratch. Everything my family has tried, they have loved. This is an old style diner filled with the charm and delight of one. The hand breaded Chicken Fried Steak is to die for. They have daily specials that never let you down. All bread is made by hand, and I mean ALL the bread they use. We order bread from them often. I love it! They have pies that once again were made by hand. My kids love to sit at the bar and watch all the movement going on around them. The waitresses are very attentive, polite, funny, and ready to help with whatever you need. If we get there early enough or they have a couple left we order one for everyone to share. It is that big and delicious! If you go to Gus Balon’s and only order one thing, it would need to be the Cinnamon Roll. Oh, and my picky eater always finds plenty to eat here! I can’t brag enough about Gus Balon’s. This is definitely a must try! Our family has created a tradition to go the first Saturday of the month. That is how much we love this place. Keep up the amazing work Gus Balon’s!!!

If you’re looking for a good breakfast this is the place for you! Love the small classic diner look and feel. The food and service are both great. Go here and you won’t be disappointed.

Excellent food, excellent service! I’m not sure how they keep their staff so happy, but whatever they are doing works! I’ve been going here for 10 years, it’s always been great. Anything baked or bread is superb.

This morning was my first visit to this infamous diner, and I have to say I was pleasantly impressed. The staff was attentive without being annoying, and the price is right! I ordered #10 which is a classic 2 eggs, 2 French toast slices, and bacon… The French toast was wonderful and made with home made bread! The coffee isn’t anything special, but no one expected it to be. Everyone at the table loved the pancakes! We finished the meal with a piece of coconut cream pie and it was amazing! I give this place a thumbs up! We will be back!

I came here with my Dad when I was little and I swear the place has not changed which is a great thing. The family has kept the same recipes and high standard of cleanliness. If the waitresses are not serving they are cleaning. I love stopping in when on the east side and it makes me remember sitting with my Father eating some delicious pie. Thank you for great food and memories Gus Balon’s.

I’ve been here twice now and I just can’t seem to find what people like. The first time I went I ordered the legendary cinnamon roll but it was hard as a rock. The second time around I chose to go with something tried and true (eggs, ham, hashbrown). There was something not right about the ham. So much so that I wasn’t able to eat. The hashbrowns were mediocre.
I wish I could get what the rave about this place is…

Love, love, love this place. My first visit was definitely a lasting one. The food was delicious. My husband and I had to ask the waiteress to come back twice because everything sounded so good. The waitress was friendly and helpful, sharing her opinion when asked. Of course the cinnamon French toast was fantastic and the pancakes were nice and fluffy. We also appreciated the old schoolsy feel of it all. Will come again.

The best. Homemade pies and bread to die for. Oh the coffee is wonderful. Every portion is plenty. Happy place. Great food.

We’re from San Diego & let me tell you, this place is absolutely amazingly delicious! We were in town for a week and came to eat here 3 times during the week. Before leaving we made a trip to Gus’s just to buy a loaf of their fresh home made wheat bread. I wish they had a place like this in San Diego. The service here was also A++ Very nice & friendly. Thank you!

This is an old standard in Tucson diners. They’re well known for their outstanding pie and particularly their large cinnamon rolls, but, if today’s brunch was any indication, it’s not the gold standard of breakfast foods.
The selection of omelette fillings isn’t huge. I chose spinach, cheddar, and green chilies. These three egg omelettes come with fried potatoes and toast. The eggs aren’t bad, but they were quite thin and greasy. The fillings were ok but not fresh or special. I really don’t believe there were three chicken eggs in my omelette. Maybe three quail eggs. It felt overpriced for what it was compared to similar restaurants in town. The potatoes were fine, although not standout, and the serving was also pretty small. The toast looked really good, thick and buttery, but somehow it wasn’t crunchy at all. It had brown parts like it had been toasted, but it was soft and chewy instead.
The bacon was almost black. You can get crispy bacon without annihilating it! One person in our party thought it was OK. The other person was so grossed out that it put him off bacon for the day.
Service is fairly fast and very friendly. This is a good place for a sweet breakfast, I think, but not really for a savory one.

The waitresses are pleasant and the food is really good.
Cinnamon roll French toast is the best idea I never thought of. The cinnamon roll is delicious and then when they make it into French toast it is EVERYTHING! This is my second time eating here in just as many weeks. #CantStopWontStop

Too be honest I wanted a big basket of hot wings, a bottle of ranch dressing, sweats and my fingers, but I let my bf take me here anyways. Upon walking in, I got the «old diner» feeling. I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not but that could have been the hot wing haze I had over my eyes. We sat down and had the nicest and sweetest waitress. I ordered the chicken strips meal with fries and mixed veggies. I asked for mashed potatoes & gravy for dipping but I didn’t really mind the mistake. My bf ordered the half chicken meal that came with dressing, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies and a roll. We munched on rolls as we talked and laughed away. The rolls were actually heavenly. I was like «whaaaaaattttttttt» with the widest of eyes. Our meals came and his meal looked absolutely delish. My meal wasn’t bad but it could have been better. The chicken tenders could have had more seasoning on them. My fries were good. The mixed veggies were a little bland and the peas looked a little gray to me, but I’m blind so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. The food was piping hot and the company was enjoyable. While eating, we saw one of the employees walk over to the thermostat and he buffed and cleaned the living hell out of it. Which, in turn, made me inspect the restaurant. It was amazingly clean. Like even the windows were free of dust and fingerprints. They even buffed the bar the old school way. I was impressed. We ordered a chocolate and butterscotch crème pie afterwards. I’m not a pie person. I like to have cake… and eat it too. Get it? Lol it will come to you. Anywho, it was actually pretty good. I even tasted his butterscotch pie and it was better than my chocolate pie. For a nice sized meal, drinks and two nice sized slices of pie the total was around $ 25. KACHING! Me being a cheapie, this made my day a productive day and I feel like I had accomplished something. We left a big tip for the waitress and I paid on our way out. We left out with full tummies, smiles on our face and the look of the «itis» in our eyes. Go try this place out!

I’ve been coming here for years and years, since I was a kid. I even came here 15 years ago for my senior high school breakfast. The place has aged and so has the moral. The place has a lower than average moral/​excitement feeling inside. The food is amazing and the price is right on!

Great on their feet servers. I walked in alittle unorientated, found a seat and the view of an traditional American breakfast diner came into view. The local crowd of mostly retired folks with visiting smiles, and one gentleman reading his morning paper at the counter, had a most warming feel of dinners I knew as a kid in the late 70’s. With worn counters from years of service, and the home made bread; this place is has an outstanding breakfast. Eggs over easy and bacon that was cooked to my perfection. Traditional charm, and food priced to the local economy. A whopping 6.99 ticket for a full on breakfast with three cups of coffee. To drive past here hungry is taking a punch at American tradition.
5 plus stars!
Frank Papp

Went her for my first time today. I love a good generic breakfast. I got a coffee and French toast. The coffee was great the French toast not so much. It was just like eating bread, no cinnamon what so ever, very bland.
As for the service, not impressed. I walked, a couple sat outside, then 2 ladies came in after. Well, the 2 ladies were treated and served drinks before anyone said anything to me. Ok, fine I’m not a regular… but still. When I was served my food the waitress said she would get me more coffee, 10 minutes later she finally came back with more. During that time any other waitress was complaining about the couple sitting outside, seriously if you are going to complain about your job, don’t do it in front of patrons.

This place makes their own rolls and bread!!! If that is not enough to draw you in I don’t know what is.
It’s just a classic old diner with great food and super great service. The waiters are just so nice and accommodating. The chocolate cream pie was so satisfying and I can’t wait to try the other favors. Yum!

THE GIANT CINNAMON ROLL WITH ICING IS DELISH. Talk about fresh homemade good prices. Hubby and I are big fans of pop and mom shops. But WOW this place is AMAZING. BREAD IS HOMEMADE CRISPY BIG THICK SLICES AND YUMMY !!
Hubby had the corned beef hash plate that came with homemade hash 2 eggs 2 pieces of homemade toast home fries and coffee he practically licked the plate. He knows about hash and its the real deal .
I myslef had the willie omelet which came with hardy amount of steak onions mushrooms and cheese it aslo came with 2 pieces of toast and homemade fries plus coffee. We spent $ 20 that is all best money i spent this week… coming back again forsure!!!

I absolutely loved this place. Real food served by real people, and provided to real customers. I loved the mix of clientele. The country music on the radio. The prompt and caring service. And, of course the food.
I was there for breakfast. AND I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THE SWEET ROLLS so I ordered a full breakfast + a sweet roll «for dessert.» THESE THINGS ARE BIGGER THAN YOUR HEAD, people. And, better than what I can make at home — and I make pretty good sweet rolls from scratch.
Unlike other reviewers, I actually did *not* like the hash browns. I felt they were inconsistent. But since everyone else raves about them, I’ll chalk it up to my particular plate on that particular day.
I went. I ate. I bought a coffee mug. What else can I say?