Mason Depot Diner

I have been a repeat customer here for years, food and service is great. Cash only is great for me, people need to realize if the company takes credit, or debit cards the price of goods and services will cost you more in processing fees. 2−7% depending on which company does your credit card processing. This is set in a small town, in an old tram station built when cash is how you paid for meals.

I’d like to begin by asking this, can I give zero or negative stars? If possible, I would. Honestly, everything was acceptable until my friends and I cashed out at the end. As I handed the waitress the bill and the money she asks me «done camping?». I’ve been in the service industry and I know this terminology. She used this as reference to the fact that my friends and I stayed for an hour or hour and a half after we ate. I observed the flow of customers in the restaurant throughout our stay and I can assure you we were not hurting any of the service staff by «camping». I find it absolutely repulsive that someone feels it’s okay to speak to a customer in such a manner. Needless to say, I will never step foot in this restaurant again! So if you love yourself a subpar breakfast and having your server treat you like s**t, come to Mason Depot Diner!

What a nice place to have Breakfast or Lunch. My wife and I were in Mason and decided to check this place out and it was great. The portions are large, the food is excellent and the Amy our waitress was great. Kathy makes the soup and it’s delicious. This is going to be a regular lunch place whenever we’re in Mason.

We have always wanted to visit this place as we heard it was a quaint place for breakfast. I wish we could have had the experience others have had — This was the FIRST and LAST time we visited this breakfast diner. The menu was limited, dated, greasy and heavy– the food was not palatable. The service horrible — where was the nice waitress others talked about in their review– she certainly wasn’t there today. (Limited hours, no debit/​credit cards).

Tried the Mason Depot Diner with my DH this morning. I can honestly say that it was well worth the wait. We were previously disappointed that it was closed over the Labor Day holiday. The only notice we found was a note on the door. Unfortunately they do not use social media to their benefit. But I can accept that as it maintains their small town feel and allure.
As we entered the lovingly restored depot we were told to seat ourselves by the regular patron entering before us. Another charm of being in a small town. Everyone is family.
After seating ourselves, our waitress pointed out a board with specials, and allowed us time to go over a menu while she poured our ordered bottomless cups of coffee. For breakfast my DH ordered the sausage skillet, and I went for the Mulligan. The orders came out quite quickly, and were most generous. Former reviews stating that the meals are plentiful are no understatement. They were also a bit breakfast potato heavy. The breads served were divine. My meal was layered with a light as a feather biscuit, and DH’s came with buttered sourdough toast. There is no wonder the biscuit was buried under sausage and egg. If left on its own I’m sure it would float away. Kudos to the baker who has the biscuit touch!!! After one bite of DH’s toast I was hoping for more. Loved the structure and texture of bread. About ½ way through my plate I realized my eyes were bigger then my stomach. Thank goodness for to go boxes!
All in all I was very pleased with the food and experience of Mason Depot Diner. So happy to have an excellent breakfast joint to share with out of town guests. We will most definitely be back.

Pros: Friendly service, good food, tasty coffee, daily specials for breakfast and dinner, decent prices, cute train depot decorations, right next to train tracks.
Cons: Only 12 – 15 tables, tight space, Cash only. No Checks, No Debit or Credit Cards.

Good service, generous portions, unique omelet combinations, yummy American fries (not precut and frozen), large yummy pancakes. Great stop on our way up north!

Cool set up and location, but food is just okay.
I love breakfast but I feel like I could make my own better. They have HUGE portions and are extremely cheap so that is a bonus. It is a town favorite though, and their cinnamon roll is delicious but otherwise it just feels like typical diner breakfast food.
Also, they only take cash

I always get the same waitress and I love her. If you order the pancakes just expect
Huge dinner plate ones that no seems to be able to finish th.

I came across this place when I worked for a company in Mason. It is in a beautiful old train station. The place is very quirky and the service isn’t very good, but the food is AMAZING! Everything is delicious.
The bacon is thick cut. They give you the choice of hashbrowns or home fries. The pancakes are super delishious. I can go on and on.
One of my favorite things is that they have a zillion different mugs and you never know which one you will get when you order coffee. It’s not just the standard plain white mug.
If you’re in the East Lansing/​Mason area and you don’t want to wait in the crazy long lines for Golden Harvest, come to Mason Depot. You wont be disappointed.
Prices are also very reasonable.

Antique train depot stuffed with décor of antique curios and pretty gardens around the parking lot let you know this is Not Like Home. Which is the point of going out of course.
We have been there several times for a hot breakfast before a day of errands. Friendly, slightly scatterbrained service — we never got water although every other table did; it took several minutes to get the attention of waitress to ask for butter and syrup for our pancakes. After the second time we asked, she brought syrup but no butter. By then pancakes were cold. Omelets and pancakes are good and a good value. Toast was haphazardly cut and haphazardly greased, some pieces dry and some pieces sort of «buttered».
Coffee! It’s awful, why? Coffee should be a reliable staple in this type of restaurant. Regular is weak gas-​station quality. Decaf tastes like paint remover. I didn’t care that I was never offered a refill because I couldn’t drink the first cup anyway. So nearly died of thirst, because water never arrived, see above. Next time I will avoid the coffee, or bring a thermos of my own.

Went back the other day for breakfast. Yes! Pancakes, eggs, bacon. All good and at a great price. My friend had the blueberry pancakes. We were there as they were closing but no one rushed us and we didn’t realize how late it had gotten until we left. Sorry!

This is one of the best places to eat in Mason. It’s one of the oldest restaurants in town. It was the old train station, and at some point many years ago, converted to this little diner. In high school, my teammates and I used to come here after Saturday swim practice. We loved Mason Depot because they fed us a lot of food, for really cheap (prices have prolly increased some by now), and everything tasted great! Also, they have really strange hours; most days they aren’t open past 2 – 3 pm. So get here early :)

What a quaint little, out in the middle of nowhere place! If you are an antiquing fanatic, you’ll love Mason, MI. And, after many hours of exhausting antiquing, the Mason Depot is a great place to energize your body for yet more antiquing.
My sisters and I popped in on a Tuesday afternoon about half an hour before closing time. We quickly decided what we wanted. One sis got a hamburger, bag of Lays and a can of Coke. All for just over $ 3.00. $ 3.00! My other sis and I had their homemade mushroom quiche. The pieces were huge. I think we got the last two pieces as she wiped it off the dry erase board after we ordered. Said sis got soup with her quiche for $ 4.95.
All in all, lunch for three for about $ 13.00. Very cordial service too. They don’t take Visa, but they will take a personal check. I don’t fault a small, independent business for not wanting to give their earnings to Corporate America.

Cool place, love the old train décor and setting. Walk in, seat yourself and pick from the menu.
The menu is pretty small and it seems their prices have went up a bit over the years (more than other’s) but the food and service is good and it’s a very quaint setting. Imagining the old days of passenger trains is very cool while enjoying breakfast. They also serve soda from cans. (Gigantic failure!)
Be prepared with cash as this is a CASH ONLY ESTABLISHMENT!
I really believe being cash only is bad service, there is no reason to NOT accept credit considering their prices do not reflect any type of savings on the customer. This establishment would have received five stars if it accepted credit!

Charming atmosphere and a hometown crowd make this an interesting stop in the mason antiques district. Service has been marginal on every visit but the food is terrific. Love the homemade roast beef hash in an omlet for breakfast. Lovely depot décor and outdoor plantings!