Sunny’s Diner

Consider this a posthumous review, because I wrote it back when this place was still open. I’m really sad to hear of its demise. For three years I lived in the dorm next door, and now wish I had gone here more than a handful of times. This was always the place I would bring friends for breakfast or lunch.
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Sunny’s is the quintessential old-​fashioned diner. You walk into what seems like an oversized trailer that hasn’t been remodeled in 30 years, pick up the simple menu, and see it’s just the usual basics. A few perks here and there, nothing fancy. How does that get five stars? It’s the food that comes out. This will instantly become your favorite breakfast/​brunch spot in the Boston area. P. S. Went back again this week. Pancakes were out of this world. They even have corned beef for non-​pig eaters such as myself. Where’s the sixth star?

I miss this place!

SUNNY’S HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN!!!
This is true because I asked the guys who work at the Sunoco Gas Station next to it and they said it was closed for good.
Can someone please make this right??? Why is this happening? Where can i find them? I never got to take home a Sunny’s mug. My soul will never rest.
:(

Affordable breakfast in a place that looks like it’s right out of a 1980’s Miami Vice episode? Yes please!
We walked into the modest looking Sunny’s dinner on a chilly Monday morning only to be welcomed by one of the nicest guys ever. We could have sat just about anywhere and picked a table. The counter wasn’t deep enough to accomodate our knees.
We promptly glanced at the menu and ordered away: I had chocolate chip pancakes and a Nantucket Nectar Half & Half (Arnold Palmer). My dining companion had coffee, a diet coke and a plate of eggs, meat and homefries.
Everything came out pretty quickly and tasted great. There was nothing outstanding about the food but at under $ 7 there’s no way in hell I could complain. Plus the staff was extremely friendly. They have a very simple menu but it’s executed well but don’t expect any frills here.
This is a simple, very casual dinner that basically pretty much only does breakfast. There’s pancakes, egg plates and little else but that’s just fine by me.
One note however is that the coffee is apparently pretty horrendous according to the girlfriend but that’s about the only negative thing we could find about it. My chocolate chip pancakes were great and they didn’t skimp on the chocolate which made them even more awesome.
This is the kind of place that you’d often ignore but honestly, now that I’ve been once, I’ll be returning. Hopefully not too long from now.

Sunny’s has very reasonable prices and the portions are standard. You leave satisfied, not overstuffed (unless you had their huge pancakes, which are delicious) or still hungry. The cook fit us in even though sunny’s was closing in 15 min. They didn’t hurry us and all we’re very pleasant and friendly. They have great breakfast potatoes which some reason are hard to find in cambridge/​somerville. This is a hole in the wall so if you can, avoid the breakfast rush hours!

My friends and I ended up at Sunny’s last Sunday when there was an hour and a half wait at the Friendly Toast. We used our trusty Unilocal app to find something not overly far away and settled here. The experience was overall pretty meh.
Like most reviewers point out, the place is small and pretty much what you’d expect as far as greasy-​spoon décor etc. The prices are reasonably cheap, but when you look at what you get for that amount, I wouldn’t say it is a bargain. Two of use ordered the French Toast and Two Eggs combo, and for $ 7 I would have expected more from the french toast other than two pieces of thin white wonder bread. Nobody was blown away by their food by any means and were generally disappointed that the food was nothing different than what we would have made at home with things we had laying around.
Service wasn’t all that great either. While the «waiter» took our order right away, he never came over to refill coffee and he never brought a cup of tea that someone else ordered.
All in all, I wasn’t really all that impressed.

This place is easy to miss because it’s tucked away on a side street off of Mass Ave, but don’t write it off when looking for a good cheap place for breakfast.
The low-​down: Nice little central square diner with a very classic menu and little else. No frills. If you want eggs or pancakes this is a great place to go. Tasty enough and very easy on the wallet.

I have nothing bad to say about Sunny’s! You can sit at the bar area and watch him make your food — he’s got a perfect system. Home fries are the best anywhere, and all of the breakfast food is done perfectly. Sunny is often around and is friendly and welcoming. Feels like a nice family-​owned place.
Be warned: the place is TINY, so big groups won’t work too well. It’s best in groups of two or three, though up to five might be okay. I haven’t had anything but breakfast here, but that’s what they’re best at.

Needed a quick lunch/​brunch before hitting the MIT museum which can literally be seen out the window from this place.
I got a combo thingie; it included scrambled eggs, home fries, and a chocolate chip pancake. The pancake was great and the home fries were INCREDIBLE.
Reasonably priced. Be aware that on weekends, they only serve breakfast. Also, it is really, REALLY tiny. So don’t bring eight friends or a pal on crutches.
Great place!

After living in the central square area for almost 7 months and never having been to Sunny’s, decided it was about time. Came here for the first time last weekend, and since I was solo took a seat at the diner bar. Immediately liked the vibe– no nonsense, no frills, 2 employees, and the grill/​food prep area in plain view.
Service was friendly and low-​key. As many other Unilocalers have mentioned, it’s amazing to watch one cook prepare food for the entire diner at lightening speed without so much as breaking a sweat (or a glass, or a plate).
Food was solid, I went for Sunny’s special (couple eggs, fantastic home fries and toast). The pancakes also looked good and I’ll have to try them on a future visit (perhaps even tomorrow). The portions (at least what I got) are not absurdly large as they are in most diners, but you definitely aren’t going to leave this place hungry.
Overall, recommend checking out sunny’s if you find yourself in the area.

I love this diner! The breakfast is hearty and cheap (especially for cambridge/​boston!) and the atmosphere is homey. One of the very few places where I feel like I’m in a small mom-​and-​pop business in the middle of a large city. Helps me forget the stress and just enjoy my food and conversation. And you often see Sunny walking about the establishment — he is very friendly! The waitress is nice too.
The seating can be limiting, especially for more than 2 people and during brunch time, but overall just a great place with tasty eggs and fries. And if you come alone, you can on a bar stool and be entertained by their cooking. Love going there!

Their breakfast taters are great and the coffee is good too. Excellent and cheap, I go here all the time before work. My only complaint is they dont turn up the heat when it is cold out.

Would you like a show with your breakfast for under $ 7? If so, hop on over to Sunny’s!
My boyfriend and I came here for a quick breakfast and, while waiting for our orders, enjoyed a very entertaining Iron Chef cook-​off: 1 man…1 griddle…10 orders. Seriously, the cook, Irvin, was amazing! I swear he had eight arms and they were just flying everywhere, toasting bread, buttering chocolate chip pancakes, flipping omelettes, beating eggs, etc. A one-​man cooking machine. It was awesome.
The food was pretty good – standard diner fare. I had the Mushroom and Cheese Omelette, which was very well-​done and the boy’s Salami and Cheese Omelette was also tasty. The home fries were great, made from freshly-​cut potatoes, appropriately deep-​fried and perfectly seasoned.
There were only two people working: eight-​armed cook and a waitress. She was very nice.
All in all, a great place for a quick bite. Grab a seat at the counter if you like being entertained by fast cooking. It’s pretty motivating, too!

Sunny’s is my favorite go-​to breakfast in Cambridge, but definitely not on a weekend. The place only holds about 15 people and has a staff of two. The food is cheap and always made just right, and Sunny will most likely be the one cooking your food.
Warning: the food is very greasy. Also, all food is made on the same skillet so take note if you are a vegan/​vegetarian. Since there is only one cook, only one order can be made at a time. On a weekend between 10am-​2pm give yourself at least an hour and a half for brunch at Sunny’s because that is how long you will wait after you order.

Thanks Unilocalers! After a failed plan to go to Craigie on Main (no brunch on Saturdays!) I was in need of a quick back-​up breakfast plan. This place is right around the corner and definitely hit the spot.
This is a small two-​person diner, with the food and prices to match. Be warned, the stools for the counter are set really close so you might want to wait for one of the tables if you or your companion are tall.
I got two eggs, over medium, with white toast and home fries. The eggs were a bit overcooked, I would order over easy next time, but the home fries were soooo gooood. Honestly, some of the best I’ve ever had. I also got to try some of my husband’s french toast, and that was really good as well.
I would definitely try this place again, if only to have the home fries.

Eating at the diner bar at Sunny’s is like standing with your face smooshed to an aquarium tank with your entire 1^st grade class behind you. The wonder of it all!
The two-​party staff works this joint like you wouldn’t believe. Never stopping. One’s waiting on patrons, pouring coffee, ringing you up, and cleaning the dishes, while the other is flippin eggs, pressing bacon and deep frying your browns (yep, your hash browns). The cook, he’s seemless and he cooks up perfect eggs. As we waited to order, I witnessed a phenomenon — cook cleans off the whole grill and spreads out the oils and proceeds to pour like a PINT of scrambled eggs onto the sizzling grill and scrambles them up. I’m thinkin whoooaaa… who ordered that?! Then a third individual behind the counter (let’s call him, the mystery man) informs me that they’re cooking up breakfast for a private school behind the diner. AMAZING.
So the food. Well, it’s a diner, so you can expect diner-​type foods. Eggs, french toast, dense fluffy and LARGE pancakes (plain, blueberry, or chocolate chip), omelets, coffee (splenda upon request), and corned beef (usually my selection but I opted to be «healthy» and go for the 3 egg tomato olive n feta omelet … mmmmm). The prices are good, the music makes me move, the décor is simple (yet the Simpsons characters are a surprise) and it wasn’t too packed (despite the tight space). Quite possibly my second fave breakfast place in Central Square (and there aren’t many that are open before 8 AM).
Will need to try for lunch and will obviously return for breakfast.

Greetings fellow Cantabrigeans. Ever find yourself wide awake at 5 am with your mind alight with thoughts and ideas? This morning was one of those mornings. Although my wife could have used a few more hours comingling with the sandman, she was beautifully understanding about my state and we talked the vital hours away. This of course is hungry work so I suggested we get up and find a diner that was open early (I told you my mind was alight!)
Collectively we came up with a whopping two diners that we knew of and both in the land that rains parking tickets (Boston) so we consulted Unilocal and up pops the Sunny Diner.
The Sunny Diner is a modest Central Square nook of a place tucked away on Landsdowne St. in the shadow of what used to be the old Necco factory (now Novartis [boo]). I have passed this place a hundred times and have only afforded it a passing glance. Inside is cozy, clean and colorful with the classic diner stools and counter on the left and a row of four tops along the right. It is everything you wish a diner to be — classic and simple menu, cheap, relaxed and friendly. We had the sunny side special — two eggs any style with wheat toast and homefries. It was straight up and simple and, to my surprise, Sunny Diner has taken the ‘greasy’ out of ‘greasy spoon’. The toast was only lightly buttered, the eggs unadulterated, and the homefries fresh and dry (a good thing). The only criticism from our table was the use of paprika for the homefries. Although the use of paprika has always been a head scratcher for me, I have never really had a big problem with it, but my wife dislikes the taste so her potatoes went uneaten. The coffee was good and the friendly waitress kept it coming without having to ask. Sometimes a diner is just what you need and Sunny delivers.

Finally made it to Sunny’s. For a while I was on a diner streak, then it kind of died. I always remembered wanting to try this place and never got around to it. So today I had perfect timing to stop in for breakfast.
I entered a tiny storefront and sat at the bar. Besides several bar stools, there are a couple other small tables.
I chose 2 eggs, home fries and a pancake for $ 6.25. The coffee was pretty good. While my food was being made, the owner (I think) made some small talk with me. He even offered to go put a quarter in the meter outside for me! The other people around me were friendly too. He seemed to know everyone coming in.
My food arrived right off the grill. The home fries were delicious. The real deal thin sliced potato style, just done perfectly. The eggs were kind of crumbly and the pancake was warm and buttery. I devoured almost everything.
Service was diner-​friendly. The menu has a lot of other options like omelette’s, breakfast sandwiches and lunch specials. Make it in for breakfast or lunch. If you like diners, you will not be disappointed!

I want you to know that the potatoes I had here were the best breakfast potatoes I have ever had in my life. In. My. Life. Not only did I watch the guy younger than me make them, he put them on my plate seconds after they were done. I think I blacked out at some point because I don’t remember what he put in them, but I suddenly looked down and they were gone.
I had the Sante Fe omelet (maybe the Mexican, can’t remember) basically it was green peppers, tomatoes and onions sans cheese. Very fluffy, fresh ingredients and overall just super tasty. Prices are amazing as well. I think my dish was like $ 5.95.
I wish I could go back every week.

Great french toast and scrambled eggs, which come with home fries (a pleasant surprise). The guy who owns it introduced himself when I went for brunch on my birthday. He says his name isn’t Sunny. And he offered to have the staff sing for me, but I told him it definitely wasn’t necessary :).
Small, cozy, and affordable. Not too crowded on weekday mornings if you can make it!