Athens Diner

The food isn’t the best. Very bland, and pricey for the quality. We have been here a few times because we love diners and there aren’t a lot around Winooski. If you have the option to go somewhere else, I would suggest it. Staff is great, though. Just not the food

Good old fashion diner! From the 50’s style counter to the retro Pepsi style click on the wall, this place steps back in time to when the local diner was the place to catch breakfast.
Average diner food on the simple menu. Every option is good but it’s more about the experience here. You’re sure to enjoy and bring the kids for a real history lesson on the breakfast experience.

If I review a dinner place in Colchester, VT, then I need to review the breakfast place in the same town as well. Enter the Athens Diner. It’s about symmetry, equilibrium, two peas and a pod, and yin and yang. In fact, these two places, the Athens Diner and Junior’s Italian, are so intertwined in my head because they are more or less across from each other off the same exit from the interstate … and because I’ve eaten at each of them two times … and because each pairing occurred within a 24 hour period.
The Athens Diner is almost an institution in the Burlington area. It’s fairly well known and seems to have its share of regulars who appreciate the respectable food, good quantities, reasonable prices, and trip back in time. Right there, I’ve listed four good things about the place, so you can also infer I will give it four stars. The metallic diner look is present, complete with the checkerboard flooring, bar counter, stools, booths upholstered in red vinyl, and all the stuff the movies have taught you to look for. Not only that, with its being set up on a knoll, there is a view looking south toward Burlington and the foothills of the mountains. It differs from the other corner of the northern U.S. in that the sun can shine at any time during the year, so you may also catch some UV action from the south facing windows if sitting at perimeter booths, or adjacent to them, even when it’s cold (er) outside.
The meals eaten here were breakfast. The food was hearty and robust, and exactly what you’d expect from typical American breakfast diner platters. My friend at whose house I stayed eats here quite often and treated me to the Athens Diner while I took care of dinner for the kind hospitality. I believe I had the exact same thing both times — pancakes, eggs, breakfast meats, potatoes, and a hot drink. The service was also fairly decent and on point. While you won’t have Linda Lavin taking your order and you won’t see anyone like Vic Tayback cooking, it has that vibe, except that it’s not in the Sunbelt. Instead, they’re friendly, casual local folks working at this quaint, kitsch little diner on a knoll.
I wanted to add that, like diners of genre, meaning Greek-​American, the menu can be vast. You will be sitting there thinking, «I also want to try this … and this … and this.» Some of the omelettes being delivered to people’s tables definitely looked appetizing. On top of that, the choices for lunch were numerous and appeared to be good, based on the menu.
The Athens Diner can make you a creature of habit. In my visit to this town, each day looked like this — dinner at Junior’s, lunch at Dunkin Donuts (meaning two donuts), and breakfast at the Athens Diner. The restaurant is an interesting mix of «American Graffiti,» «Mel’s Diner,» and small town New England, all the while «sideswiping» Greece. If down-​home cooking and down-​home eating are up your alley, the Athens Diner comes recommended.

Over priced food & small quantity. I ordered a Denver burrito with Fries for $ 8.95. Maybe worth $ 6.95. You should never leave a restaurant hungry. Service was prompt, clean

Awesome food for a great price. I got the Hungry Athenian, a massive plate full of food for super cheap.

I have to say I love the food here. That being said the hosting staff can be VERY inattentive.
I went on a busy Saturday morning with a friend and expected to wait to be seated, cool no big deal. We put our name on the list and patiently waited for a table. After 45 minutes of waiting and noticing numerous other guests (5 groups of 2 – 5 people per group) who came in and put their names down after us had been seated I got up and asked how much longer it would be. The hostess asked what my name was and I pointed out on the list which had the other guests crossed off an our name completely skipped over in the middle of it begging to be crossed out.
We were quickly seated at a terrible table roughly the size of a bar stool that wobbled all the way in the back near the extra chairs and in the way of the diners behind us who elbowed me accidentally through out our entire meal.
Our waitress was wonderful and kind and the food was really good but I haven’t been back since and probably won’t as no apologies were made for the extended wait. I do understand it was an oversight but it was frustrating that no one was apologetic and acted as though nothing had happened.

A friend and I came here for brunch after staying across the street at the Motel 6 in Colchester. Sitting high up on the hill overlooking the mountains, the Athens Diner has that classic American diner feel to it but features authentic Greek dishes along with traditional diner food. We had a short wait for a Sunday morning but that was to be expected. I got the Greek-​inspired breakfast sandwich with a fried egg, fresh tomatoes, feta cheese, and spinach on perfectly toasted bread. It was very good and quite filling yet felt light and healthy. Whether you are just passing through the Burlington-​Colchester-​Winooski area or have lived here for years, definitely check out the Athens Diner.

Greek diner?
Stopped in for a bite before checking into our hotel because you never want to check into a hotel on an empty stomach.
I had cream of chicken orzo soup and a breakfast sandwich with home fries.
It was a hot tasty cream based soup (is it a law that all soups in VT must be cream based) would have been better if it had not arrived at the same time as the sandwich.
The breakfast sandwich was ok a decent value.
The home fries were terrible tortured little cubes of potatoes and some indiscernible
Pieces of grizzle that no one should eat.
If I happened to be driving bye again,
I would not stop

Definitely a great place for breakfast! I haven’t had lunch here but want to soon – the menu looks great!
I had breakfast here over the weekend. The service was excellent and so was the food. My only gripe was the steak (from steak and eggs) was really, really, really gristly – only 35% of it was edible – however, everything else was fantastic.
I know Athens is almost always awesome – and I will be back many times – on the last visit the steak was not up to par, but everything else exceeded, so four stars. Generally speaking, this is a five star totally amazing breakfast place!

Dried egg goo on your fork that is supposed to be clean. God help you keep your menu for more than 5 min, they come over and talk about their menu shortage to only take your menu and put it on their stack of menus a foot away. The staff should lose their fake tans and over done make up! Seriously you feel like you are at a circus! Food is ok if you are too lazy to make breakfast for yourself.

Best Gyro in town. I have now officially tried every place that served gyros including the food carts, and this is my new favorite. I had the lamb. The meat was cooked and sliced perfectly, and the bread was warm and soft. The flavor was definitely not rivaled by anyone except once I found a food cart in a grocery store parking lot in Germany that was equally good. Yes, I’m obsessed with gyros. It’s weird.

Solid diner, great hashbrowns, large portions. Old school diner with attentive staff and large menu of diner favorites. The Vermonter special came in a mini-​skillet with hashbrowns, corned beef hash, 2 eggs and cheese, plus a gi-​normous biscuit on the side. Worth a stop!

Ordered 2 breakfast sandwiches on a bagel for my first time ever eating food at Athen’s, and was honestly blown away. It was great!
Very flavorful meats and eggs, great seasoning, VERY filling!
At a glance on the interior, very old school diner feel to it, with the clientele to match. Granted I was here on a Sunday morning around 10, so that was to be expected.
Give this place a chance, and I get a feeling you won’t be disappointed!

Not Libby’s but pretty darn close. Hearty food, good prices. They even have some Greek choices. You won’t leave hungry.

The customer is always welcome and right — unless you get Shelly as your waitress.
After getting your order incorrect twice (and blaming you for it), you will ask that your order be cancelled because it has taken an inordinate amount of time…
She will then badmouth you to customers sitting at the counter, so you can overhear her, and then she will tell you that customers like you are disliked by all of the staff and that people like you should not come back to the diner.
Hey Bill — you are the owner — is this how you want your regular customers to be treated???

Great service, I mean everyone was super friendly, and really cool atmosphere. Loved that they brought my kids a coloring book and crayons. Great looking menu with a ton being prepared in-​house, and we had a hard time deciding between everything. Unfortunately, for the prices I would have expected either a lot of food and/​or to be really WOWed by it, which we just weren’t. It was solidly good which puts this place at pretty pricey. Kids French toast for $ 6 should really come with more than one slice of bread.

Great assortment of breakfast and lunch specials. This is classic diner food for people who enjoy a greasy spoon type joint.
Greek gyros here are a specialty. Breakfast skillets are equally as delicious.
If you are hungry, order one of their specialty dinners. The amount of food you will receive could tame a bear.
Counter seating is great for single diners, while tables can accommodate more. Be careful of asking for a booth as they are on the smaller side.
My only complaint is that they are not open for dinner.

This diner was across the road from where I was staying. Decided to have breakfast here, which ended up to be an amazing idea.
It’s a diner, but a Greek influence to it by the décor, and menu items.
Our server was friendly. The one thing that I thought was weird was when my boyfriend had ordered «coffee, black, no room for cream,» the server looked at him funny and then blankly. She came back two minutes later with a cup of coffee, and a plate full of cream. Odd.
Food was great. It came out quicker than I have ever gotten any breakfast. Everything tasted fresh also.
The view of the mountains was pretty neat. I wish it wasn’t as foggy but you could still see.
Neat place. Very decent price.

This is more to my liking.
Perched up on a small hill, the view here from any of their booth seats is great, you can see all the Green Mountains of Vermont in the distance. This is a real diner, with the chrome, formica tables with grommet chairs, a counter with round chrome stools and of course, typical diner food. You’ll find all the old stand-​bys here, burgers, fries, pancakes, eggs and bacon breakfasts, sandwiches, soups and pies.
However, as you can see by the name, there is a bit of a Greek twist here and items from Greek menus can be found here as well including loukaniko, the traditional Greek sausage and omelets with Greek feta cheese. If you look around, the diner is also decorated with pictures of iconic Greek historical sites like the Parthenon.
I came and had breakfast here one morning and it was wonderful. The waitress was super-​friendly and chatty, the skillet breakfast I ordered was tasty and extremely filling. I didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day. With great food, very decent prices, friendly, down to earth service, great views and easy parking, what more do you need?

My go to place.
This place is very consistent in all things. This is a scratch kitchen and the vast majority of their offerings are hand made. The corned beef is done in house, the soups are all to die for. Look for their corn chowder or Greek lemon chicken soup to start your meal. Athens’ diner sodas are also available. The wait staff here is also to be commended. They are all attentive and get your food out to you in short order. Where they really shine is with their sense of humor and ability to give and take good natured kidding. Final thing, they are eager to do whatever it takes. Whether it ‘s grilling a morning breakfast sandwich or doing a patty melt or Turkey Monte Cristo that wasn’t on the menu this place delivers the goods.