G & A Restaurant

Love this place! First came because I like visiting places that have been on Diners, Drive-In’s & Dives. However, the small diner experience, the friendly staff and the food has had me coming back every time I go up to Baltimore. I have been at least 4 times and looking forward to more visits. Go check them out!

An absolutely classic Greek diner.
My brother and I were passing through and stopped here. The ambiance is straight out of the first half of the 20^th century, and you wouldn’t want it any other way. This is authentic workingman’s food – though it can hold its own among any foodies that might stop in.
In any event, my brother had what he said was the best brisket sandwich he has ever tasted in his life. I had a chili dog and chili burger. This is yet another iteration of my yiayia’s kima (ground meat) sauce (ok, every Greek’s grandma’s meat sauce) that is basis for both Cincinnati chili and Detroit «coney islands.» The seasoning is a little different here, but it is still very good. The burger was almost like a Greek souzoukaki. The gravy fries were different for someone from Indiana, but still great. The pies were good, but next time, I’d try the rice pudding, which is homemade.
Great stick to your ribs food. The owner is a really interesting guy to talk to…
Also, like any Greek restaurant, they served us even though we walked in 10 minutes before closing!

The owner from NY has been a staple here in the same location for years
Came here often when living on East Baltimore and South East Ave, a diner!
Coney Island up hold the tears or whatever lingo they used
Well today, I had a Fish sandwich fried on the fly. Now, beer battered to perfection, juicy. Flaky. Moist.
As featured on Food Network’s Guy’s Drive ins, Diners and Dives. Also in his book along with another Baltimore staples, Sip and Bite and Mother’s Grille

Don’t get too snobby over your Coney Island hot dogs folks, by nature they’re supposed to vary slightly. But here the Coney Island dog is done traditionally; very fine ground-​beef based chili, a hefty portion of onion and an all beef frank. It’s only $ 2.30 and plenty of bang for you buck.
So check your hot dog snobbiness at the door and enjoy a classic hot dog made deliciously. It won’t knock your socks off but it will leave you full and satisfied.
Side note:
If you drift from the basics on the menu the prices take a sharp upturn so stick with your Coney dog ($ 2.30) and Coney burger ($ 2.95) to keep your stomach and your wallet happy.
Cheers.

They have great coney island style hotdogs and burgers, along with a full diner menu. Everything I’ve tried here has been really good, and the prices can’t be beat either.
The service is always fantastic, the owner who I’ve met several times (can’t remember his name) is super nice and you can tell he’s passionate about what he does and this restaurant. Support local businesses, especially when they’re this good, go check this place out!

Great food and service. Brisket a must-​have! Wouldn’t hurt to try the fries with gravy, hmm hmm hmmm.

I have been coming in here since my mom was pregnant with me. love the staff as much as the food the chicken Gordon Bleu sandwich is a must try. i recommend it with honey mustard. Oh and getting fries with gravy is a must hun. My mom may she rest in peace, myself, and my kids all love my. yhe cheeseburger sliders are my kids favorite

I took my daughter and we had a great experience, in every sense.
The waitress was very nice.
Service was quick!
Food was fantastic! She got the sliders and fries, I went with Coney Island dogs.
The owner even took time to chat with us and answer some questions from a very inquisitive kiddo.
We will be back. It’s over an hour away, but worth the experience.

Took the girls there last Friday had a great time girls were skeptical about the city but the food made them forget that, they enjoyed it all, including there bottled root beers, hot dogs and blt, and my burgers and dog as well, and don’t forget the fries and gravy worth the trip to eat and enjoy the sites, stop and say hi to Andy when your there, great guy, been going there since I was a child and that means 45 years ago

I went here with a friend, who saw them featured on the Food Network, over the weekend. We almost passed it because its storefront doesn’t stand out. When we went in, we were greeted right away and promptly seated. I don’t remember our waitress’ name, but she was so friendly and personable.
My friend ordered their Coney Island burger and hot dog, while I ordered their beef brisket sliders with gravy fries. The gravy was probably over-​the-​top, but I feel like I HAD to do it because it was free AND it’s gravy! The beef brisket was moist and was cooked nicely. It was well-​seasoned and the sliders were perfectly portioned. It definitely presented on the plate much better than my friend’s order. I gotta say that these beef brisket sliders were infinitely better than any of the ones I’ve eaten at Mission BBQ. Probably better-​priced, too!
The restaurant was so old school and I had never been to place like that before. It’s not fancy, but it was so homey. My friend said that she’d never eaten at a place where everyone was so nice and welcoming. Plus, all the food was priced so reasonably! I will definitely be coming back to this place.

Great grub & friendly service! Burgers, brisket, gravy fries & disco fries were all very good. We took some crab cakes to go. Would definitely return when we are in the Baltimore area.

Thanks for sending us off with the cheese fries with gravy yesterday! They were so delicious! (I wanted to come back for more)

Andy was the best host and the food was incredible… I will make that drive again soon!!! The Hand cut gravy fries and hot dogs are great… he gave us a sample of the brisket omg best I have ever had!

Went with the Family and really enjoyed the food and the friendly staff. The Coney Island was amazing and the gravy with French fries were to die for. Definitely will be coming back.

This has been on D’s list for quite a while, ever since we saw it on Diners, Drive-​Ins, and Dives.
The service is quite attentive and friendly, which is encouraging to see — it’s nice to have a real family-​run restaurant, it’s quite a nice experience. The food is not quite up to the standard that we’ve come to expect from something being featured on Food TV.
D tried their famous hot dogs and found them a bit bland, and the meat sauce watery. I had pancakes and bacon. The pancakes looked great but were kinda gummy in texture, and of the three bacon slices, one tasted great and the other two were a little chemical-​flavored.
Our waitress was really friendly and the coffee wasn’t bad.

I’ve been here twice since moving to Hielandtoon (Highlandtown), and really want to like the place since I have fond childhood memories of it. Alas, times change, people change, and places change. The service is subpar and appears to be poorly organized. As a patron sitting at the counter last time around, I was far from pleased to see my youngish waitress being unattentive (can I get a coffee refill here?!) and doing her own personal thing in plain sight. And no, she was not on break!
The food has been about average, with some things done right and others not so good. Scrapple should NOT be mushy, people, and you should know better! Finally, this place is truly a traditional greasy spoon. With that proud classification — and trust me, I appreciate and love greasy spoons — comes a responsibility to be below average in pricing. Not so here. The food isn’t special or particularly high grade, the wait staff is not superior, and there’s no need to jack up the prices because your in a premium real estate spot or sunk a boatload of money into upgraded décor! I simply shouldn’t be walking out if there paying in the range of $ 14 including tip for a basic and unspectacular breakfast platter with a side of toast and basic coffee.
So, I’m pretty much done with my walk down nostalgia row, and will be pursuing my breakfast options elsewhere.

This place is located right in the middle of Eastern Avenue and if you weren’t looking for it you may walk right past it. One way you can look for it is to search for a gentleman in the front window, in front of the grill, slinging hotdogs, it will act like a beacon in the night. I have been here numerous times, but realized I have never reviewed it. This place just screams old school diner; from the front counter to the old fashion booths. The owner is probably one of the nicest guys I have ever met. He is so set on making sure you’re comfortable and enjoying your meal. He definitely puts a lot of pride into his place. My favorite Spot is just bellying up to the bar so I can watch all the action. Pro Tip: if you want dogs to go, just walk in, walk up to the counter and order. Your coney dogs will be ready in seconds. I haven’t had a ton of items off the menu as I like to keep it simple. The dogs are great and affordable, the French fries with gravy are hand cut and delicious. I have also had the sliders, burgers and cheese steaks. All were solid and you can’t beat the price. I have also had breakfast items including the scrapple. Delicious. Overall, this place is great for a quick, affordable meal made with care. I love coming here and hopefully you will too.

So after the last Diners/​Drive-​Ins/​Dives debacle, I think I prayed the entire way to Baltimore while we were en route. God is clearly still in the prayer answering business.
I was kind of nervous about the place being crowded and parking in the area during the lunch hour but again, Divine Intervention was in full effect. There was only a handful of ppl there, and clearly they were regulars as there was lots of funny conversation among the patrons and staff.
The sweet tea was amazing (so good that my honey opted for a tea instead of a refill on his Coke). Our gravy fries came out first and man were they GOOD! Our waitress had explained that the Coney Burger was steamed and that it would be soft (I expected that); I ordered a platter with the burger and the dog. My honey ordered a Gringo (Burger with ham and nacho cheese and he added bacon). His burger was cooked to perfection. The portion sizes were perfect, we stayed full but didn’t feel like we were going to explode.
Andy came over to greet us and talk to us for a little bit, which was a great touch. if I had anything less than glowing to say it’s that I”m mad I didn’t know about this place when I LIVED in Baltimore. Definitely worth the drive tho and we WILL be back.
We did not have dessert. I don’t know where they source their baked goods but things looked homemade/​delicious or at the very least local. :)

My brother moved down to Maryland this past year and after seeing this place on Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives, I thought it would be a good place to go when visiting him. The food is good, but not amazing. It is a very low key place with a friendly staff that felt very similar to a diner.
When we arrived, we were told to have a seat wherever we liked and they brought us menus shortly after that. We tried the regular burger, the coney dogs and the sliders. The sliders came with a side of fries and we asked if we could put chili and cheese on the fries and they were happy to oblige. The coney dog was very similar to the ones you would get at Coney Island so they were good. The burger was an average burger that did not stand out too much. The sliders were my favorite. They gave you three small sliders that were full of flavor and were cooked perfectly. I was glad I added chili and cheese to my fries as it was my second favorite thing we ordered. The chili was all meat chili with no beans. It must have been simmered down for hours as the flavor was great and had the right amount of thickness to it and adding cheese to anything makes it better.
I really enjoyed my visit to G&A restaurant. The food is not amazing, it does not try to reinvent the wheel, but what they do offer is normal burgers and hot dogs and they do them right. I would go again.

Follow That Guy #7
Of all the DDD restaurants that we visited today, I enjoyed G&A Restaurant the most. Not because the food was vastly superior (it’s rather ordinary) but because G&A felt like a time capsule. I’d say that the restaurant is «retro» but the reality is that it probably hasn’t changed. It’s not one of those shiny, metal and neon soda-​hop diners of the 1960s. It’s more of the working class «Boulevard of Broken Dreams» diner of the 1930s.
What’s makes something a «Coney Island („CI“)?» Onions and chili. The pricing is what you expect from a diner. $ 2.00 for a Coney Island hot dog and $ 2.50 for a CI Burger. The burgers are quite unique in the sense that its steamed (think White Castle) instead of being purely grilled. I’d say that the CI cuisine is an acquired taste, but we just kept eating and ordering more. At first, I only had the stomach for a CI Burger. But then we ordered a CI hot dog. Then we ordered the pecan, apple, something-​granola pie.
What makes G&A a worthwhile destination is the waitstaff. Friendly is an understatement because «mothering» is more accurate. There’s something welcoming and warm about this place that we simply couldn’t stop wanting more. The conversations reflected genuine interest as opposed to routine banter.
Bottomline: If you’ve got time during your busy schedule, why not drive the extra mile to check this place out? [Original Visit: November 27, 2010]