SunnySide Diner

Great little diner for breakfast. Plenty of good old fashioned food for decent price and nice wait staff. Very bright and cheerful place. They didn’t blink an eye when 2 strangers walked in for breakfast which was nice. Sometimes little local places give you weird looks when you are not from area… been there and have had that at other places.
Will definitely go back next time in area.
Probably the best meal we have had since arriving in Boston. But then we both love a good old fashioned breakfast.

Love sunny side! The atmosphere is always fun and welcoming! The eggs are always made the way I order them and perfectly pouched! Parking is easy on the street and the place is always clean.

We go all over the Merrimack Valley for breakfast and have visited many of them from Al’s Diner on up. Some are dirty but good food and some are sparking with ordinary offerings. Sunnyside in Lawrence combines great foodwith diner ambience. It’s kitschy 50s. They have over a dozen booths and stools facing two hard work663ing cooks. I had the Spanish omelet and Laura is into egg white stuff. My omelet was perfect, layered like I had never seen before. And I complemented in person the cook who made. It. Michelle was our server. Excellent. She, and others like her, make for a great breakfast experience. It gets crowded early on the weekends but you will be happy you waited.

LOVE THIS DINER!!! Food is good, service is awesome… Pancakes are HUGE!!! Clean place, love to go & hear how many years some regs have been going to eat here. Bottomless coffee is a plus, the sauce for the home fries is GREAT!!!

I was very impressed by this diner. I love how everyone speaks like my Grandparents did. Ask them if it’s ok to park across the street. It’ll make you smile.
The lady said it’s been around since 1920 or something, I was a little busy devouring my breakfast. Ham and eggs. No grits here, it’s baked beans or potatoes. Eggs prepared expertly and served HOT and friendly.
Ask about the gold rush.

I like SunnySide. The coffee is good, the food is good, the prices are good too. If you order the «side of home fries» they come on a big plate, more than enough to split between two people. The pistachio muffin is Ward’s favorite.
The waitress we usually have is GREAT, keeps the coffee coming, remembers «my usual», we get excellent service here.
If you are in the area it’s worth the stop for breakfast.

Great place! Food specials are on point! Cheap with great portions! Man on the grill is great to talk to when you sit at the counter, never ending coffee flow. I always get a breakfast sandwich, he’ll make it however you like! I think the only down side is the limited seating with a line out the door. I have yet to try there lunch menu since I’m always working! This is the best breakfast in Lawrence!

I love this place!!! The food and service are great and the prices are more than reasonable!
Eggs are awesome and ORGANIC!!! Coffee, uhm uhm uhm!!!
The service quick and efficient! Do not come on the weekend and expect to get seated right away! It gets really packed!
I come here often… A little sad my favorite waitress has left the building! I have heard some guy speak not so nice to the waitresses :(from the kitchen staff!

Stopped in mid-​week for lunch and thought it would be more busy. We were greeted immediately and told to sit where ever we liked. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive but didn’t know answers to some menu questions since she doesn’t eat meat.
My friend decided on the marinated chicken plate with fries and side salad, my hubby the steak tips over salad with two eggs sunnyside up and home fries. Me, the two egg omelet with mushrooms, onions and spinach, home fries, toast and a garden salad. When we asked about dressing choices, our waitress said all salad dressing comes pre-​made in packages except for the homemade dressing made with lemon sumac seasoning and olive oil so we opted for that.
Since the restaurant wasn’t very busy (maybe three other tables) we thought the lunch would arrive fairly quickly; however, it took longer than expected. We assumed the side salads would precede our lunch but they arrived at the same time.
My friend thought the chicken was «ok», nothing special and she preferred the home fries over the french fries that came with her order. My omelet was also «ok», it’s hard to mess up an omelet. Home fries were good and not greasy, salad was a typical garden salad of iceberg lettuce, bell peppers, onions and tomato. The homemade dressing didn’t have much of a taste. Oddly, my hubby was never asked how he wanted his steak tips cooked but they came cooked medium and he was content with it. Thought it was also «ok» but nothing to brag about.
Towards the end of our meal, one of the cooks came out with samples of the soup of the day … the stuffed pepper soup. My friend tried it and thought it was also «ok» but probably not anything she would order.
Total including tax $ 36 but not tip. An «ok» experience but probably not enough to return.

Coffee was great and the service/​atmosphere was awesome. Bacon was good but the eggs seemed microwaved and couldn’t cut the pancakes with my fork, always feel weird about that lol and wish they had real potato homefries.

This is a good affordable place to eat. The food Taste home made. My bacon was partially burned, the place needs updated décor. Overall it’s good.

Fast service, great food, fun atmosphere, all the things I want from a «diner» experience. Here is what I LOVE about this place. I’m from Texas. This diner is in New Hampshire. I’m far from home, folks. Seriously. But we looked it up and stopped in for breakfast one Sunday morning and first thing– Sam the cook says good morning to us. Acknowledges us, smiles and says good morning. Now in the scope of things, that may not sound like a big deal but it is. Especially when you’re miles and miles from home. We were made to feel welcome, wanted and appreciated and that was before we even got a bite of the food– which was, in a word, crazy awesome. The Gold Rush sauce is a secret concoction that Sam created and of course it’s amazing and of course he won’t tell us what is in it– and that is his prerogative as creator but OH my goodness… is it good. Coffee was hot and strong (like coffee SHOULD be), home fries were perfection, pancakes were generous, eggs were perfect. So, you’re saying I was home sick and that is why I give it 5 stars? No. I came back the NEXT day. Monday morning. Busy time for any working person. Great food, great service, there is Sam again behind the griddle, saying good morning, wishing a good day to departing customers, debating with is regulars who like to give him a hard time– clearly I’m not the only one who sees this as an excellent place. Folks come back. How do I know? He calls them by name. A little girl gives him a hug, working guys tell him they’ll see him tomorrow, someone comes in and he already starts cooking what he clearly knows they are going to order. Why? Because they come back. And the staff is awesome– the waitresses are sassy and smart and efficient and friendly called me «honey». There are no Texas twangs here. I’m in New Hampshire. I can hear it all around me. And you know what? It’s pretty sweet. Thanks to Sam and the crew– wish you were closer!

The service is very fast, the food was fresh and delicious. The homemade hot sauce is delicious, must try. The ketchup they use must be the cheapest, it’s sour and watery.

The staff at this location is what makes it great, they are extremely helpful and generous with portions. This place is a winner all around and a new favorite.

My boyfriend and I come here all the time for breakfast and we’ve been a fan from our first time in. They have the normal breakfast selections and don’t really have anything too different as far as breakfast goes. We are really big on our potatoes and while SunnySide’s potatoes were great the first few times we went, they are getting a little old now. They are diced up, fried, and then heated up on the griddle when you order them. I wish they’d offer a variety in potatoes which is why I gave them 4 stars. Otherwise, the guy at the griddle is quick and there 7 days a week. Very good breakfast!

This review should really be a negative 3 star. My wife and i LOVE to eat out… Do it all the time from Gordon Ramsey’s Maze in NY to any diner we can find since diner eating is easily our favorite breakfast. We also are always cognisant of our surroundings; if food is served cold, waitstaff’s fault, if it is cooked wrong/​poorly… Cook’s fault, if the place is a dump, management’s fault… The latter two are NEVER reflected in our tip since waitstaff typically bust their butt and have a tough enough job without having to compensate for the other two areas.
Ill start by saying my wife and i have gone to this location for about 8 years now, overall 10 times? Recently (maybe within the last two years?) they blanked out the part of the sign that said ‘Eric’s’ Sunnyside and the ‘loud’ guy that was ALWAYS at the griddle out front who appeared to have been ‘Eric’ is no longer there.
So we pull in along Broadway to park across the street from the diner as im receiving a call that i ignore because i didnt recognize on cell phone (time stamp 10:40).
Sunnyside is a small, quaint 50’s style diner with about 20 booths/​tables plus the stereotypical bar with maybe 10 stools. We wait MAYBE 5 minutes and are seated by 1 of what appears to be 5 waitresses. It’s Sunday am so of course the place is fairly busy.
Our orders for eggs irish (benedict with corned beef hash vs. canadian bacon) and texas french toast with sausage links are taken inside 5 minutes. Drinks arrive in another 5 minutes. The first thing that caught our attention was the prices while not what i would call ‘excessive’, aren’t the typical ‘you’re kidding’ diner cheap prices… anymore.
We wait about 30 minutes give or take (since as i said, it’s Sunday am and they’re fairly busy. While 5 waitresses seems a good amount, we weren’t expecting a miracle fast food delivery), and my wife’s eggs irish and my sausage arrive, looking great… But no texas french toast. At the same time, Another family is seated at the booth behind us. The waitress tells us just another few minutes on My texas french toast. After maybe another 5 minutes my ‘texas toast’ arrives looking like 3 pathetic slices of almost over-​cooked sandwich bread (the tiny square style that is always 2 loaves for $ 1). Disappointed i poke at it and turn it it over, the bottom side is bone-​dry, white, NEVER touched a griddle or egg-​wash. Now my wife has been ‘poking at’ her breakfast out of courtesy trying not to eat without me, so her food is MAYBE ¹⁄₃ eaten (and for the record hers is really good). I get up and go to the counter to show them since i dont want to just sit there and make my wife wait longer to eat her food as it gets colder. The waitress (and a second one looking) are both HIGHLY apologetic and seemingly embarrassed and assure me ill have another plate right away.
20 more minutes go by and no food for me… During this time i nibble at the sausage (which is also good) and our waitress checks in in us a couple times, one of which she assures us the french toast will be free, ALL of which she seems surprised we havent gotten it yet. At this point, (again… 20 or so minutes later, 45 minutes in) the booth behind us is served a table full of food, most of which is griddle food (pancakes, eggs etc)! My wife and i are looking at each other in amazement. We discuss our options at this point… Approach the waitress again and ask where my food is (of course risking ‘what could be done to it’ if we are a tough customer, simply leave. We opt not to make more of a scene since it is tight quarters and at least 4 tables would hear us complaining… We leave with ²⁄₃ of my wife’s food un-​eaten.
As we get into our car, we hear our waitress yelling at us about our unpaid bill and her writing our plate info down to call the cops… Shocked to see SHE is going to this measure and has the audacity to suggest WE are in the wrong, we return… Words are exchanged to the point I call the cops so we can resolve things before leaving the premises…
Being 1^st) in customer service myself in customer and 2^nd) having waited tables in the past i am typically a good customer… Tip 20+% depending on service, 15% only if the experience is REALLY bad. Unfortunately due to the worst service ive ever had eating out, we will never step foot in this place again… And recommend no one else does either.
The ‘Methuen Family’, and ‘Country Kitchen’ restaurants are literally a mile away.

While I was getting my car windows tinted I decided to walk down the street, after walking nearly mile and half I stumbled across Sunny Side.
Luckily.
The service was awesome, the food came out fast and the prices were low!
Thats all I need in my breakfast places!

Been back a few times since my initial review and nothing has changed. Food quality, service and speed still exceptional. And the prices are the best bargain in the Lawrence/​Methuen breakfast scene.
If this were closer to my house, I’d probably go there more often. Breakfast all day, and staying open an hour longer would help, but those are cost factors so I don’t see that changing.
My rankings:
1. Three Dogz for freshness and quality of food and friendliness of owners and (most) staff. Can be slow, though, but they’re open until 3. Also closest to my house. I like the coffee.
1a. Riverside (Dracut): Excellent food and lots of inventive specials. Friendly owner. Staff sometimes friendly, other times no so much and often over their heads, despite it being a pretty small room. Good atmosphere — quiet. Experience is a bit better if you can snag one of the few counter seats. Excellent coffee. No view at all, despite proximity to the river.
2. SunnySide (for all the aforementioned reasons). Decent coffee, plus pineapple juice.
3. Carleen’s: Friendly owner and pretty friendly staff, though you still have to wait a while to get your coffee refilled most days. Counter (fancy new granite c-​top, too) has one too many seats to be comfortable. Cheap, and lots of different specials. So-​so coffee.
4. Vic’s Waffle House, Tewksbury: Some very good food and inventive specials, but staff can be hit or miss. You get Mary and you’re glad you made the drive. You get some others and, well … nothing bad, really, just occasionally inattentive or distracted, even when the place isn’t banged out. Friendly and enthusiastic owner, though. Prices the highest of the lot and, of course, the farthest drive for me. But the only place that knocks out stellar waffles, so if that’s your thing. (If they have the cornbread waffle, get it topped with chili.) Occasionally terrible coffee.
5. Methuen Family Restaurant: Cheap, but not the place for breakfast. No cheddar cheese? C’mon, man! OK coffee. Older staff, usually, and a mixed bag of friendliness. But a good place to read the paper (they have a couple house copies of the Boston Herald, usually). OK burgers and if they have the chicken avgolemono soup — and they almost never do – it’s a cup of heaven. Coffee OK, nothing special.

This place is totally awesome! A few coworkers and I went for lunch one time. The waitress was so nice and chatted with us while we waited for our order. Food came pretty quick and the servings were more than generous. I had the eggs benedict with a side of hash browns and toast. It was delicious and my eggs were poached perfectly. The food was also pretty cheap.
Will definitely eat here again. :)

Now, I already have my favorite diner, but decided to try others out. I don’t food-​e-​gate, I treat all foods equal.
But when I came to SunnySide Diner, I’m sorry to say it did not become my favorite diner. HOWEVER, whenever I am in the area, I am always more than happy to come here and grub; you can say it is my locative go-​to place!
The inside is very retro (it makes you feel like you’re in the 50’s, especially with the juke box chillin in the back).
Coffee doesn’t taste burnt, the butter is more real than IHOP, the pancakes are HUGE and delicious when you add chocolate chips into them (at an extra $ 2.00 though — CAUTION), and they give you three whole slices of toast to an order. NOT BADDD!
Definitely my go-​to place whenever I am in Lawrence!