Thumbs Up Diner

I ate an early lunch on a weekday with quick and comfortable service, intimate seating and lighting. However, there is some uncomfortable glare because the inside of the restaurant is dark, and one wall is windowed without cover.
The food came relatively quickly, but the service was a little slow to match our needs, as we were nearly done, but weren’t able to get the waiters attention for a while. After trying to snag another waitress, and asking her for a couple of boxes, we were ignored.
In terms of the food, the biscuits are really fluffy and wonderful, and the skillet with potatoes, peppers, and eggs were huge. My mother got the Yukon Omelette, to me it wasn’t anything particularly special, but much smaller than my meal, but also more expensive (from the salmon). All in all its a good meal with average service.

This is a local diner that offers traditional foods at sensible prices. There were four of us and three of us had eggs and pancakes. One ordered the fish and grits. All of us were pleased with our meals. Beware of the pancakes — they are huge! My husband and I both ordered two of them and neither one of us were able to finish them. This is a CASH ONLY restaurant. (There is an ATM near the restroom.)

Service: Slow and disorganized. Half the tables were waiting to be bussed while tons of people waited. Wrong orders brought to our table. And several items forgotten.
Food: We got a scramble, French toast, and breakfast sandwich between the three of us and it was MEDIOCRE at best. Certainly nothing that I would call delicious. Lacking flavor and either over or under cooked depending on what we got.
Other: Cash only and valet parking. Inconvenient for such a poor experience otherwise.

The food here is good, but what kills it for me is the fact that the different chains don’t have the same menu. I hate that. The one on White Way has the Ultimate Seaside Platter for $ 15, but they won’t make it at this location so to get the same foods you have to order a la carte and pay way more. Ugh.
Everything else is fine. I just was disappointed that there is no consistency between locations even though they are all on the same website.

Fried Chicken Strips and Waffle is amazing

I’m giving this place 5 stars not because it can be featured in Triple D but for the value you get from this place — budget friendly, tasty food, comfortable and simple setting, and great service. This diner is right by the GT campus, which was convenient. When we walked in on a weekend morning, it wasn’t too busy looking and we were allowed to choose wherever we wanted to sit.
We got a heap (skillet) with chicken sausage and biscuit, a fried catfish, and pancakes.
For the skillet dish, The potatoes were good; soft inside and a crispy but not overly greasy crust despite the immense amount of cheese. It had a relatively small amount of chicken even though we paid an extra $ 1.50 for more chicken. There were hardly any peppers and onions in it either despite the menu description. We asked for our eggs done over-​medium, and unlike most places, we actually got them that way! The biscuits are the multi-​grain kind, but don’t let that scare you as the texture is very fluffy and the flavor is savory enough. It even tastes good without butter. The strawberry jam sitting on the table intrigued us and we were pleased by how well it went when spread on the biscuit.
For the fried catfish dish, the fish meat itself tasted very tender and the breading was crispy. The seasonings added to the breading were just perfect.
For the pancakes, they were maybe 10″ diameter in size and very tasty.
Service was good, too! We really recommend the fried catfish and pancakes if you want to brunch there. We can’t wait to go back.

After reading rave reviews and having a hankering for some classic breakfast, I decided to check this place out.
I was really excited to see free and plentiful parking at a location where such parking is scarce. Excellent start.
Fried fish and grits — hot and fresh out of the fryer. It was tender and moist, and the breading isn’t just plain cornmeal; it was seasoned to deliciousness, and I think I tasted a hint of vanilla. That last part was weird.
I don’t know if I just have really high standards for grits, but the grits here were average. Not very flavorful, but the texture was good.
Two eggs over medium — perfect! Most places over or under cook their medium eggs, but Thumbs Up had it down pat. Thanks, bro.
Whole grain biscuit. It was tender and very homemade, but I’m just not a huge biscuit person. I ate it with some warm syrup, but I could’ve gone for some homemade jam.
My boyfriend got the friend chicken and waffles. The waffle was perfectly fluffy and just sweet enough. I didn’t get to eat very much though :(but I take that as a sign of it being good. The fried chicken has the same breading as the catfish. I personally preferred the catfish because it was more moist and tender. The chicken wasn’t bad — I am a little disappointed he didn’t get the smoked chicken instead.
Standard food, not bad pricing, free parking, standard service. Nothing bad to say (except don’t believe the grits hype), but nothing exceptional either. A very welcome less greasy & more thought out than WaHo.

Breakfast was awesome!!! I had the smoked chicken and waffles. It comes with one waffle, 3 smoked wings, and 2 eggs. Let’s start with the waffle. Thick, fluffy, semi-​sweet, perfect! Wish they had warm syrup (I didn’t ask if they could, so I won’t hold that against them). The 3 smoked wings were great. To get smoked wings in the morning that taste like they’ve smoked all day was a treat, would definitely recommend those, even as a stand alone order. Eggs were good, no complaints there either. Would definitely return to this location or any other if I can have a repeat experience. Heads up though. They’re a cash only business (there’s a ATM that charges 2.50) in the rear of the restaurant, so be aware, sign is clearly posted on the door, though I missed it in the way in. Can’t wait to go back.

Service is great and the food is even better. From fish to pancakes and waffles. Anytime family comes from out of town I ALWAYS bring them here and they are never disappointed!

Take your Dad here.
Really, a parent will love it. At least as said parent has good taste.
Now that I have sampled breakfast — note, it was at 10am on a weekday so I cannot comment on promptness or such at other times/​days — I am an even bigger fan,
I wish I remembered our server’s name bc he was great. And subtly attentive. That may sound odd but it is a great quality in a server. You know, the one who pays attention but isn’t all up in or interrupting your conversation?
Love. The. Biscuits. I usually avoid any whole wheat bread but Dad wanted to try. We split (they are big!) and both devoured. We both got eggs scrambled soft (I would do mine up next time, so note that they are truly soft) and grits. All delicious. Frequent un-​asked for refills for coffee (him) and tea (me) refills. Oh– did I mention the biscuit was complimentary bc we were skeptical? We were wary and our server went out of his way to test us.
I so love that I can breakfast or lunch here — just down the street.

When visiting Atlanta I kept hearing about thumbs up… so on my last day I decided to give it a go and I must say I was definitely pleased with everything… the portions of food the price and the setting … I would definitely recommend it… and my partner had the smoked salmon and I’ve never had it especially with breakfast but I must say it was AMAZING!

One of the BEST spots for Breakfast/​Brunch. The Fried Fish and Grits are to die for. LOVE, LOVE this spot!!!

I had the smoked wings and a waffle. The wings were great. I just wish they had a little sauce or seasoning on them. The smoke is on point and they are old school drum/​flat connectors. This place is pretty consistent all over the city. Its cool that they have slightly differing menus but sucks that you can get the cornbeef hash at this location that the Roswell one has. Still a great ATL original chain.

Thumbs Up Diner has several locations, but I got the chance to have brunch here on Sunday around 1pm with a group of 8 friends. They were pretty busy.
*CASH ONLY*
Definitely an inconvenience, but there’s an ATM inside the store. I guess it gives ya a throwback feel to the days when we didn’t have credit cards to use.
PARKING
Very limited parking lot. I don’t even know where you’d park if you couldn’t find a space. Maybe somewhere along the street or paid parking.
INTERIOR/​EXTERIOR
Very diner-​style. Lots of booths that sits 2 and 4. Only 1 large table inside that sits larger parties. There’s also patio seating.
WAIT
Coming with a large party sucks. Again, there’s only 1 large table to sit a large party. My friends and I arrive and there was a group occupying the table already and a group infront of us. Wait time was an hour, but that all depends on how long it takes for a group of people to eat, chat, etc. We ended up splitting out group into 2 booths to expedite the whole situation.
FOOD
–Smoked Chicken Wings and Waffle ($ 12): This entrée came with choice of eggs; I ordered scrambled. The food was delicious. Definitely a big portion. The chicken was smokey and tender. Right amount of crisp on the skin. YUM!
–Coffee ($ 2)
SERVICE
Excellent. All the waiters kept their cool and were attentive.

This place was OKAY. I ordered a pancake and the cheesy hash browns. The pancake was yummy. It definitely could have been more fluffy. It was heavy and thick.
The cheesy hash browns weren’t so great. They tasted like they cooked them the day before. PERIOD. Not good at all.
The only reason I gave this place 4 stars is because it really everything you could hope for in a diner. It’s cheap, and the variety is massive. I would recommend it because I’m sure there is something on that menu for everyone.

After a beautiful Saturday afternoon bike ride I decided to stop by this place for brunch. The place was jumping with a lot of college kids so I decided to grab a seat at the bar. I ordered a pecan Belgium Waffle, with French Toast, chicken sausage, and two scrambled eggs with cheese. The waffle was a tad bit overcooked and hard, but once it was saturated in syrup it was good. The French Toast was not my favorite and the eggs tasted a little under cooked as well. My server Morene was very nice. Overall this place wasn’t the worst but it wasn’t the best. I could see myself coming again and maybe bringing my children for a quick bite to eat.

Definitely an economical, delicious breakfast!
I love this spot primarily because of the the menu style.
They allow you to either choose some type of main entrée or you can make your own plate and all of it is fairly cheap.
I chose a special omelet that was available that day with some French toast and strawberries. I couldn’t finish it. The parking was tight, as is any breakfast joint on a Sunday morning, I think they usually valet. It was a nice place to eat not fancy at all just casual!
I’ve been here a few times and enjoyed it for a cheaper breakfast place.

The only drawback to this place for me at least was the fact that the only thing they take his cash and while they do have a ATMs seen inside it only processes banks not credit cards thankfully my friend had $ 20 on him so we were not out of luck but I really think that that should be displayed as soon as you walk into the door not when you’re sitting down about to eat after waiting in line for 20 minutes. I highly recommend the strawberry French toast with the cream you will not be disappointed.

My friend is always raving about Thumbs Up. So, I finally remembered that this guy was located down the street from me, so I gathered my family and drove down for a bite.
Totally lucked out and grabbed the last parking spot. Yeah… parking sucks, but there’s free street parking around the back on an off street. But, still… parking lot is a cluster fuck. Ha! Sorry!
Staff takes a while to warm up I learned. A customer waiting in the door way told us to sign in on a clip board after we had been standing there for a hot minute. So, no greeting or anything. Not an awesome start to our experience.
After 15 or so minutes, we’re seated and we get a plethora of different waiters and waitresses. But, all were pretty chill.
The menu has all the standard southern breakfast options and pretty inexpensive. I got my son and myself the «Select Your Own» breakfasts.
My favorite thing above all was the French Toast! I cannot talk up this french toast enough! It’s awesome! It’s made out of challah bread. which is awesome its self! But, this french toast is dipped in a tasty custard and toasted up. YOU NEED TO TRY IT!
Also, totally kid friendly! High chairs galore. And if your kid loves breakfast, they’ll love this place.
Looking forward to future french toast endeavors :)

Great diner not far from downtown. Whole wheat biscuits were a surprise and not too heavy. Very tasty coffee and the chicken sausages were outstanding. Fresh juice, omelettes, waffles, make your own biscuit stack, grits and other familiar southern diner fare. This is not your greasy waffle house. Everything tasted fresh and yummy!
We always enjoy visiting a diner when in the south and ThumbsUp hit the spot for us. Keep in mind that this is a cash only restaurant (with an ATM on site).