The Diner

bad experience. do not go here if you are pressed on time, very slow!!! Very good food. I would recommend the tater tots for an appetizer, the mac ‘n cheese for lunch and the grilled stickies for dessert. Everything i had was delicious.

Pretty sad that this place is a «state college legend,» mentioned in books, and has gone this downhill. Or maybe it was always this bad? In the last though I remember it at least being open later at night. The hours for the past 6 months or so have been horrible, never open when I try to eat there. All I want is the grilled stickies! But the service here is bad, all non-​sticky food is pretty gross, and it’s not open late enough to achieve that *slightly drunk at a diner at midnight* level of seediness that can be charming. Apparently the Corner Room also sells grilled stickies (a la mode as well), and while I’m not the biggest fan of their food, it’s leagues better than this.

Wy wife and I had breakfast here at 8:30am on a Wednesday morning in mid April 2016. We were surprised that hardly anybody was eating there. Where are all the customers? Our breakfast food was good, the service was good, and the grilled stickies lived up to their lofty reputation. We enjoyed it very much, but it was strange that other customers were staying away.

I’ve tried going twice in my 4 years at Penn State. Each of those times my group and I sat down in booth & weren’t helped for 30 minutes plus. We ended up leaving both times before eating. If you’re looking for stickies you’re better off buying them somewhere else around town like the creamery on campus. The diner is just a waste of time. If managed/​run correctly this place could’ve been a hot spot in a busy downtown area. Until that day, I will not go back.

I hate to pick on a place when it’s down… but this place sucks! Now I see why everyone goes to the Waffle Place down the block! We waited on line for an hour then at our table for another hour. I can handle a long wait on a busy Football weekend but there is no way I can tolerate horrific food and pathetically service. …nuff said. Don’t even consider this place.

Absolutely horrible service. Never been so disappointed in restaurant service in my life! Walked in and waited for 10 minutes in line, where we were not approached by any hostess or anything, just stood there. Had to ask the waitress if there was a wait, and she said yes. When we asked if she knew how long the rude waitress said «ummm no» then walked away, even though we saw an open table that just needed to be cleaned off. Waited for another 10 minutes and was still not approached, so we left. Going to a diner I wasn’t expecting excellent service, but this was unacceptable. Would have been mad if I have them my business.

I’ve had weird experiences here. One of them, the waiter basically joined in on my me and my friend’s convo. It was very uncomfortable and awkward. Our fries were brown. Not fry colored. My friend didn’t touch her burger because it didn’t look right.
The second time I went, the food was a little better. No creepy waiter. Fries were good. Average.
The third time, I had a tuna melt and it was decent. I didn’t get sick or anything.
Their grilled stickies are really good. But over priced.
This place is a typical average diner. There will be good and bad.

This is strictly a review of the sticky buns as I had no time to stop and eat on my most recent road trip.
First, don’t be fooled. Those little boxes of delicious guy bombs are taped together — you actually get two sets for the $ 7.50. Well worth it.
If you’re taking them home, follow the directions and just toast them in a pan on each side until the sugar starts to crisp — you’ll smell that perfume when it’s good and ready.
Enjoy quickly or you’ll have t struck to your plate. Damn, I think I just felt myself gain another half pound just by thinking about it.

Due to travel, and other events it had been a solid 24 hours since I last ate. The night before I only had enough energy from a day of walking to crawl into bed and pass out. When I awoke in the morning it was time for Breakfast. My hotel managed breakfast very poorly (as in the attached breakfast place was closed) so I went walking down the street to find something to eat.
The Diner looked good so I stopped in and ordered the largest thing I could find on the menu. Sure enough I got two plates worth of Eggs, Toast, Pancakes, and Bacon. It could just be because I was starving but everything was heavenly. My only complaint was the eggs. Some people like their scrambled eggs a little runny, I do not. Staff was friendly, service was quick. I would definetly stop here again for breakfast.

Food was average, I wouldn’t go back for it. The service was appalling. I’ve never encountered such a rude staff. We waited 10 minutes to be seated, and in that time not a single person acknowledged our presence. Just an overall terrible experience.

Come for the nostalgia and the stickies, not the menu. Mediocre at best.
I don’t think anyone’s ever left The Diner saying «Boy, I’m really glad we ate at The Diner.»

Mediocre is the experience every time I step foot in this establishment. A state college tradition you think they would keep up with the other restaurants downtown but they are consistently sub par
You will wait a long time to place your order, the wait staff is rarely pleasant and the food is, well, mediocre. You’ll be lucky if they get your order right.
If you want a taste of the famous grilled stickies I recommend buying a box for takeout and putting them in your microwave. Won’t go back.

The sticky bun things were pretty good. Thats where anything positive ends. Understaffed, poorly staffed. Burnt food that came out cold on 2 entrees. RAW CHICKEN in the other entrée. People were left standing without being greeted or sat for 10 – 15 minutes… Numerous times. People walked out without being sat. Waitress barely gave us the time of day. Grab your sticky buns to go if you must. Other than that stay far away from this place. Most dissapointing service and food I’ve ever had.

Everything about this experience was terrible. We were sat down, no silverware, napkins. Waitress begged us to only take drink orders first. We were fine with that. Bathrooms had no soap or toilet paper. Ordered 3 burgers and fries, it took over an hour to get our food. Had to ask for napkins. Took another half hour to get the check. They don’t «split checks on weekends or holidays». I understand it was a busy weekend, but they should prepare for that. Also I noticed that there were about 15 plates of grilled stickies just sitting out. They pre-​made them. No food lamp or anything. Overall a terrible experience, someone needs to buy this place and redo the whole thing. It’s sad that this place used to be THE place to go.

I came here just for their stickies. For that, I will give it 4 stars. There are soo many bad reviews on the food and service but I knew better than to come here for anything else but sticky buns.

As much as I hate to say this, avoid the Diner. If you really want stickies, get them to go. The service is terrible, and the staff is surly. It wasn’t busy, but we stood waiting to be seated for over 15 minutes, without being even acknowledged by the staff that passed by. That includes the woman who stood on the other side of the counter from us, who was more interested in wrapping silverware in napkins and sipping her soda than seating customers. When I approached her to ask when we could be seated, she told me it would be a few more minutes, and that she was «off the clock.»
The diner has always been a favorite of mine, but it’s clearly been taken over by staff that is completely apathetic. Very disappointing.

No sticky bun is worth waiting this long for. This diner has worst service I’ve ever experienced. It took almost 30 minutes to even get a cup of coffee. At least I was lucky enough to stumble into a seat. Some folks who came in to the diner after my party waited for nearly 45 minutes t s without so much as a hello. You could go next door, order breakfast eat at a leisurely pace, come back, and your food still wouldn’t be ready.
Bottom line: steer clear

Ugh. This was the worst experience I can remember. While driving home we decided to take a little detour to State College, one of the few towns (and by town I don’t mean a Denny’s and a gas station as Pennsylvania has a lot of those) along Interstate 80. While driving through town, my girlfriend spotted this diner which looked to be a great alternative to the chain restaurants that flank rural highway exits.
The place was empty which was an early sign of «don’t go here» but I chalked it up to their lack of serving alcohol in the middle of a college town. Upon walking in, we were greeted with «sit anywhere with a menu». I’m not sure why but that was the second thing that didn’t feel right. After sitting down and getting our drinks I asked for another minute, which turned out to be ten minutes because the waiter disappeared for a time. After placing our orders we waited for about 30 minutes for our food. We ordered mac n cheese, eggs and toast, mozzarella sticks, and cheesy fries — nothing that should take an extended amount of time.
We were literally seconds from walking out the door when our food arrived. The waiter said «Sorry, we had to make some of the food fresh.» What?! What followed was the staff acting like the place was their personal hangout, not doing any actual work. I had to call over another employee who happened to be walking by to get a box.
All in all, The Diner turned a quick stop for food into a 90 minute headache. I have no idea what stickies are so unfortunately for them my terrible experience couldn’t be salvaged by what are apparently a Penn State staple.

LOL
Came in here because of the fried stickies, which are apparently a State College tradition. We ordered them first, as an appitizer for our meal. Ten minutes later, the waitress took our orders, and my friend and I got mac n cheese because it looked delicious, and apparently they are famous for it (at least that’s what the sign said in the window). Fast forward 15 minutes, our stickies aren’t out yet, AND the waitress comes over to tell me they are out of mac n cheese. It’s 8pm. I’m starving. WTF. Our stickies finally came out, and were delicious. However, it’s probably not worth the 45 minute wait. If I’m ever back in State College, I’ll just buy them to go.
Some of the worst service ever.

The Diner. This place is a staple of State College dining, but that doesn’t mean that this place is any good either. This place must have been here since the beginning of time, because it definitely shows. The booths are old, utensils are bent, and I swear that I’ll catch something once I sit down. Nonetheless, people still come here, if anything, for the grilled stickies. These grilled stickies are a force to be reckoned with.
To start off, the Diner is right on College Avenue. For a diner, you’d expect this place to be always open, but I’ve seen it closed a bunch of times for some odd reason. This place tends to be pretty empty, especially during the day because of the Waffle Shop and other restaurants scattered downtown. I really can’t imagine why you’d really want to come here for dinner or lunch, because there are just so many other places where your money is better spent. But then again, you can’t get that coveted grilled stickies anywhere else. Sure, they sell them at the local grocery stores, but it’s just not the same. It’s just something about that grilled cinnamon bread combined with the vanilla ice cream and grimy décor.
Now if you’re still adamant about coming here, then be warned of their shoddy service. I had heard that it was pretty bad, but it actually is horrible. Even when I went, there was only one other table there dining. Still, the service was horrible. Perhaps the waitresses are getting paid in The Diner food, so that’s why they have no motivation nor incentive to work. As far as food goes, they pretty much have the standard diner-​type food. From burgers, to sandwiches, you can order all that here, but whether or not it’s edible is another question. I was smart enough to just come here for dessert, and made sure that I had some decent food for dinner. For under $ 6, you can get the grilled stickies ala mode. If ice cream isn’t your thing, then you can also get it without. I honestly didn’t care too much for the ice cream. What sealed the deal for me was the crunchy parts on the grilled stickies. That little char combined with the sugar makes an amazing taste.
The Diner might be one of those places that will forever be associated with State College, but nowadays there are just so many other places to get better food. I recommend just coming here for the grilled stickies and do your stomach a favor and get dinner somewhere else.