The Usual

Food was great, service was better, and atmosphere, amazing. Miss you guys, Mike and John, and crew!

The Usual is closed! We came all the way over for breakfast after not having been in a while and their space is up for rent. Sad face.

Love the usual! Too bad its now closed. Great service, cool atmosphere. The Led Zeppelin backyard is really cool. If you want great diner food this is the place.

So sad that they have closed. This was a great diner that provided that neighborhood feel and hospitality that is vanishing from Brooklyn (especially this area). Kind of glad I’m leaving the neighborhood soon, since there’s no more room for an actual neighborhood.

I fear that The Usual may be closed! My favorite diner in Brooklyn unfortunately is closed every time I walk by, and their number is turned off. I’m hoping this isn’t the case.

I really like this place a lot. Super down to earth. Great breakfast. Love their French toast.

If you don’t know what Canadian hospitality is (no this isn’t a joke about denim, beavers, or hockey), you need to drop whatever you’re doing and go here now.
Mike is the embodiment of Canadian awesomeness. I wish he was my wacky uncle.
OH AND THE FOOD IS SOLID. This spot is awesome and I’m going to invent weird reasons to be in the neighborhood.
P. S. Poutine!!! If you don’t know what that is, please go to this diner now and eat some.

Can’t beat the prices here. I got an omelette with bacon, sausage and cheese. It came with homefries and toast and it cost less than $ 10. The atmosphere is cozy, the service is very personable and includes neighborhood small talk. In an area where it’s hard to find any place to eat that provides true value for what you pay, this place is like an oasis in a desert.

Cute place for a breakfast date! Had something small since I knew I was going to lunch soon but even the bagel and cream cheese was good. The egg and Sausage platter was yummy. The atmosphere itself is what’s attractive, a very relaxed non crowed area.

I am heading down to grab breakfast there today. I love the omelettes and grits. Always warms me up and puts me in a great mood. The attitude of the owners are suitable.

Cool little diner on Vanderbilt! I arrived early on a Sunday morning and had two eggs with home fries and veggie sausages. Coffee is complimentary before 10.30 which is a nice treat!
Good service as well. Quite a few young families came in and the staff were really accommodating and helpful, getting them organized with booster seats etc.

So I came here for Mother’s Day with my mom and aunt. My intentions were to go to the milk bar right across the street, but to me, it’s so small, it was busy, and not
Much to chose from the menu. I decided to go for the usual.
I came in, the staff was friendly and there was lots to chose from the menu. I have to admit it’s probably my favorite place to eat now. I always order French toast but I came one time for lunch and ordered and avocado burger.
Boy it was yummy!
It’s very mellow and I like the neighborhood it’s in.
No complaints at all.

This place is garbage.
I’ve had a hankering for some pancakes as of late and was looking for a nice diner-​food breakfast spot to scratch my itch. I didn’t feel like Toms cus it’s not that good and Café Shane has a ridiculous wait time even when empty. So I logged on to Unilocal,read all of these lovely reviews and The Usual seemed right up my alley.
I shambled over there on a late Thursday morning with pancakes on my mind. The pancakes were over-​cooked and heavy, like Plaster of Paris was folded into the batter. I ordered the pancakes with a sausage patty that brought the price from $ 5.00 to $ 7.25 and was literally inedible. I mean I have no idea how to describe the taste cus I’d never tasted anything like it before. It was downright inorganic.
The staff was warm and friendly and there were flies everywhere. I’m convinced that all of these favorable reviews are folks pining away for something «nostalgic» or «real» as a counterpoint to all of the late-​gentrifier brunch spots. Don’t kid yourself though, cus this ain’t it.

We moved to DC 5 years ago and when we pulled up today after a wedding last night in Brooklyn it was like we never left! The owners Mike and John are amazing — and the food is delicious. If you want to be treated like a regular and are looking for a regular breakfast shop, this is your place! I highly recommend the grits — they are what drew me in over 10 years ago…

Love this place! It was my 2^nd time here and as «usual» the food was excellent. My sister Rita was here visiting from Maryland for the weekend and wanted some good breakfast food so we went here for yesterday. She was very pleased and loved the hospitality shown to us by Mike (owner). He was awesome!
She had pancakes with fresh strawberries, turkey sausage that was tender fresh and just down right delicious and eggs. I ordered the salmon cake which was sooooo good. I am definitely going to be eating here more often.

This place is pretty awesome! I came here with my friend while I was pretty hung-​over from bar hopping the night before, and I was seriously craving some diner food & figured I’d give this place a shot since it got such good Unilocal reviews.
The atmosphere and décor of this place is pretty cool — «antique» memorabilia and a cool open brick wall, along with a cool tile bar area. The employees there are SO SUPER nice, they had a smile on their face the whole time :-)
I ordered the Philly cheesesteak wrap and a chocolate milkshake. The milkshake was TO DIE FOR, the Philly cheesesteak was above average but not incredibly awesome. My friend got a western omelette and a strawberry milkshake and he was blown away.
I really like this place and can’t wait to try it for breakfast some time… and even if the food wasn’t all that good, the people who work there are a big enough reason to come back.

Good, family-​owned diner that’s a nice alternative on the weekend if you want something straightforward and don’t want to wait an hour for brunch. Had eggs, grits, bacon, and toast. Very friendly service and relaxed: you don’t have to deal with the next table crushed against you.

I was hanging out with a friend on MLK and EVERY restaurant that I wanted to go to was closed that day. With help from my trusty Unilocal app on my iPhone, I stubbled upon this diner. Everyone who knows me, know that I LOVE breakfast food. I had no expectation whatsoever coming in, but this place truly blew me away. I had the BEST sausage links, egg, and cheese on wheat bread I have ever had in my life. I was surprised how juicy it was! And it was super cheap! Friendly staff too!
I knocked off a star because I just noticed that many places in Brooklyn don’t accept credit cards. Boo! They do have an atm machine in the front though. Their sandwiches also don’t come with side so you might want to order some sides if you’re really hungry. I had the curly fries and I thought it was ok.

++
Owner is extremely nice, jovial, colloquial
Vanilla egg cream is delicious
Cheap prices
Breakfast all day
Free WiFi
+
Super huge portions; one sandwich can easily feed two people
+/​-​
Hot pastrami sandwich was extremely salty (but what else should I expect? right)
I still don’t know if I liked the pepper steak, I need a second try
-
The ‘homemade’ lemonade is definitely Country Time
TIPS:
Don’t forget to lave your cards at home; CASH ONLY

Decent fare and no wait. 4 stars for the friendly service. The food was fine. Not amazing, but hit the spot. Nothing pretentious about this joint. Food presentation was meh. Portions were large (as they generally are in a diner).
I came with a friend and I ordered the «fluffy» French toast, which wasn’t really fluffy or very eggy for that matter, but wasn’t bad either.
I seem to only be able to use double negatives regarding this joint — take that or whatever it’s worth.
Note: Don’t forget to head to the used book shop across and up the street after. That place is the perfect combo with any meal or Ample Hills!