The Normal

If you are short handed, you should hire more staff, right? Came here by myself at around 8am, and was basically forgotten about. Every «I’ll be back in one second» by the server turned into ten more minutes before being acknowledged. Food was decent, but the service makes me not want to come here. Unfortunately if you’re staying at the hotel without a car, it’s the only thing walking distance so you’re shit outta luck. Service staff, get your act together

Haley was our server. She was extremely attentive and watch the table. The food was good. We started with the cheese curds. They were good, but oily. For dinner we ordered the chicken and waffles and the breakfast sandwich. Both were good. My only issue with the menu is that it is extremely limited. The place could have a dinner menu for when events are going on at Gammage.
Maybe a blue plate special or call it a devil plate.

AVOID! I never had a chance to try the food. I put in my order, turkey sandwich and a water. 25 minutes later no sandwich. The waitress brought me a hamburger, well done. I told her that wasn’t mine. There were only two other tables with people and they all had their food, so the waitress walked around with a confused look on her face. She eventually put the burger in a to go box and offered it to the other tables, meanwhile, I still had nothing in front of me. Another waiter asked me if I needed anything and I said I’d just like the sandwich I ordered more than 20 minutes ago. He went into the kitchen and the waitress came out asking me what I ordered again. At that point I told her «the exit» and walked out.

The owner reached out and apologized for the experience I had and offered to buy me lunch (thanks!) so I’m updating my ranking from one star to three because of him. I’ll update my review again, after my next experience.

After my sister heavily recommended over time cause of the good food my wife and 2 kids finally went for it (bypassing our current favorite Snooze). After 10 – 15 minutes at our table with zero service, no acknowledgement, not even a glance, we walked. Sorry but we tried.

Discovered on Unilocal.A bit of a drive for me but worth it. Tried both the breakfast and lunch menus and liked everything that I have had. They have some very interesting variations on some of the food selections.

Normal diner environment but nothing normal about the food! It was delicious and you have to try the bloody Mary, the little mini slider was yummy! A little pricey but worth every penny! We went around 11am on a Monday it was very chill and our waitress Leah was very tentative and polite. Will definitely be coming back.

First time here, the décor is nice, but the service left much to be desired. Our server seemed less than thrilled to be there, and basically had no personality. The food was a bit overpriced for breakfast. The breakfast came with 2 eggs, potatoes and toast, but only 1 slice, for 8.25 The potatoes were spicy, cubed potatoes with poblano peppers. I asked for jelly for my 1 slice of toast and what came out was a delicious real berry jam of sorts, it was very good.
They have a coffee and pastry area too for walk up and take out.

So I had a late breakfast/​lunch yesterday around 3 and noticed my burger was somewhat pink, although I had ordered it well-​done. It was too late, I had already eaten too much of it. I also ordered the fruit instead of fries and noticed the fruit tasted funny, but couldn’t put my finger on why.
Fast forward to the evening around 6 hours later, it begins. I believe I was food poisoned. I have been on the toilet every 30 – 45 min since 9 or so, and it is shooting out. I’ve had food poisoning two other times in my life, once from Filiberto’s and once from Buffalo Wild Wings. I know what it is like, and I am in that painful hell right now. The Buffalo Wild Wings was by far the worst, I was hospitalized from that and needed an I.V. This is bad and I have chills, am aching everywhere, but I haven’t thrown up yet because I’m not drinking anything until this passes, but if I were to start hurling, it would be equal to Buffalo Wild Wings.
I just finished another round; it’s almost 7am and I’ve gotten no sleep all night. I am angry because I should have checked the burger and left. I also think something is up with how they store food because the fruit tasted odd.
There is absolutely no way I will ever step foot in that place again. As far as it being a generic diner concept it is exactly that on the inside and outside, superficially. But the food is not normal. It is like having a ghost in my ass that needs an exorcist.

3 ½ stars — Unilocal we need half star options.
3 for food
4 for ambiance
Wow, this place has come a long way since it was a HoJos and we used to sneak in from the ASU dorms circuit 1983 to use the pool. Shhhh, did I say that out loud?
I was lucky enough to visit this place twice last week. Once to eat before the show at Gammage. They give a same day discount which I did not even know about. A few days later I visited the hotel for a cocktail reception on the rooftop which got rained out. The reception was rescheduled to the conference room. We did end up on the rooftop later that night after the rain stopped. (lovely view)
The Normal diner is pretty funky and retro. I love what they did with it. The food is average but an upgraded, funky kind of diner food. Nothing to write home about but not bad either. I had a Cajun chicken sandwich which was okay. The fries however, were cold and not great. At the reception I did have their red velvet waffles and fried chicken and they were actually very good. These are also on the Normal’s menu thus why I mention it.
The gals working here are the best. Young and students of course. Go Sundevils.
I might add on show nights you might want to get there very early. I was busy reading and eating and did not notice about an hour before curtain time people were eyeing my table, and me, like hungry Zombies. By the time I had arrived to find an empty restaurant to the time I looked up from my meal and great book the restaurant was packed.
Speaking of books. They attach the bill to a book. LOl and yeah! I adore that idea.
I want to go back to try all their drinks, treaties and other food items. Not bad. Check it out.

I only ate one thing. AND Iit was a special… but it is the kind of food you want to recreate at home! The Breakfast Special changes daily. This morning it was a grilled cheese sandwich uing hearty whole grain bread with provolone, a fried egg, tomatoe slices, substantial avocado wedges and a guajillo mayonaise. YES. The potatoes were exceptional as well… nice spicy chilis and tomato yumminess mixed in. The diner is CLEAN, open, uniquely decorated with throw back yet modern feeling. Great service… we were offered a to go cup without requesting it.

How convenient to have this cute retro diner attached to the Graduate Hotel. I’m used to hotel restos being overpriced and underwhelming, but the Normal was a step above. The breakfast menu is really big, with tons of eggy, starchy, even fruity options. The malted waffle sandwich was fabulous: eggs, ham, cheddar layered between thick waffle slices. So filling. And only $ 10! Not bad for hotel pricing.
If you’re trying to be healthy, the «smoothies» were, sadly, disappointing. Too icy, they need a better blender or something. But coffee was strong and refills plentiful, and the staff are very accommodating with substitutions and large groups. Quite pleased!

A pretty solid breakfast option, especially if you’re staying at the neighboring Graduate hotel. My large group of thirteen had no trouble finding seats for breakfast on two consecutive weekday mornings during Spring Training.
For me, the standout on their menu is the Gringo Burrito. I usually have an aversion to anything in burrito form until after noon, but the mouthwatering description of chorizo, yukon potatoes, white cheddar, spinach, salsa verde, and eggs in a fresh warm tortilla was like a siren call to my stomach. On my second visit I ordered the minimum wage breakfast — a well-​rounded, classic breakfast dish hat didn’t live up to the burrito. I should have gone gringo twice.
the service was on point as well considering we took the place by storm when they were otherwise almost empty. Any spot that brings out the food for a party our size hot and on time is on its game.

I’ve had breakfast here the last 2 days in a row for a work function (We were staying at The Graduate hotel). I ordered the minimum wage breakfast both days {eggs any style, bacon or sausage, potatoes, and toast}. It was good, not GREAT. It was pretty basic, but hey, I guess it suits its name! It definitely hit the spot and gave me fantastic brain power for a day full of meetings!
The potatoes were little small squares and I usually like extra crispy, hearty taters so they weren’t the best that i’ve ever had. I also tasted a green smoothie and it was SUPER icy, they may need to invest in a new blender to get their smoothies the right consistency.
I didn’t get a chance to try their famous Bloody Mary but it definitely looks like it warrants 5 stars (…with a hamburger coming out of it and all!). I will be back to try that, for sure! The service was great and for a group of 14, quick!

I love this place! The food was absolutely amazing and the atmosphere had a very cool but laid back vibe. We were in Tempe for 3 days and ate breakfast here both mornings because we were so blown away the first day that we had no desire to eat breakfast anywhere else. The first morning I had the gringo burrito and my boyfriend has the breakfast burger. We both had mimosas. He had the typical with OJ and I had cranberry. Both excellent. Second day I had the breakfast burger and he had the green chilie omelette. Everything was so good but we agreed the breakfast burger with the poblano potatoes was out favorite! We also agreed the cranberry mimosas were bomb.
Our first waitress wasn’t as outgoing or friendly as the second but she was nice enough. We will definitely be visiting this diner again next time we are in Tempe!

They staff here are really great and accommodating. There’s an amazing selection of main dishes, beverages and baked goods. I wanted to try it all. Went in the evening.
I went with a hamburger and fries. The steak fries were a little soft unfortunately. The burger had a cool croissant bun but I wish they toasted it more because it made my burger soggy, which was a little pink although I asked for medium well, I’m assuming I’d have to ask for well done to be medium…
I tried the house coffee black, which was excellent, and Noreo house made oreo, was like a sugar cookie without sugar and cream paste, was really cold after sitting out, but dipping in coffee helped. Although I still didn’t like it. I used the check in Unilocal deal which I was told they had never heard of…
The wait staff asked if we were good, refills, whatever, but the male at the bakery counter was kind of rude and matter of factly. The woman I’m assuming is the manager was lovely, very kind woman, there were also fire fighters taking care of an elderly man who seemed to have been there before so that was nice of the restaurant.
I look forward to trying their refined drinks, they have a lot of older drinks I’d think young people aren’t familiar with which impressed me for an ASU area establishment.

In love !
I love the décor of this diner. The booths are very comfortable.
Service was great. The food was great. The Bloody Mary was great !
I had the Cobb salad and my husband had the eggs Benedict. He said it was the best he has had — and he has had many !
Can not wait to go back ! So many things to try and love ! This restaurant is a great addition to Tempe.

Part of what once used to be a house of pancakes in a hotel, off of ASU, this eating establishment has been turned into a hipper, cooler environment that is an homage to the culture of the 70s with a retro look which includes a display of 8 track tapes on the back of the eating area and framed photos of people dressed in 70s clothing. Fo those born int he 90s, which I assume is much of the current student population at ASU, this probably feels like a trip back to an earlier era.
I took my parents (who lived through the 70s, and I did as well, but as a child) as it was interesting to have an actual diner in our area. I tried the old fashioned on the menu, a bit watery but it was $ 6 — I would probably adjust this a bit but for a late night pancake session at the diner, probably not a bad drink and it did come with three alcohol soaked cherries. After the cocktail their is a nice selection of local beers.
As for the food, while most of it didn’t wow me the grilled inked sausages were amazing and I believe they are made by a local provider. We didn’t try the pancakes though and the waitress said those are especially good. What they do well with though, is the baking — I had the chocolate chip cookies with sea salt and they were amazing — comes with a glass of milk that you can also get warm (quite homey). They also bake their own pies and they change so look forward to coming back for a slice. However, they don’t post the pie type on Facebook — might be a good idea to do that and have a twitter account as their pie could be their trademark as not many places I know, make their own pie, at least in this area.
As for the service, as others have mentioned, a bit more laid back than it should be. The wait staff may want to be a bit more on top of cleaning dirty dishes off the table and checking on empty glasses. I think that is a training issue more than anything else. i also like that they have a daily special — so that provides something new to the mix. Final thought — have a weekly newsletter of upcoming specials and pies — it would not cost much and helps to develop a following and of course, work on the cocktails — raise the bar (pun intended) on them a bit and I think this place will be headed in the right direction.

Wanted to take my oldest out to eat, and she didn’t feel like going anywhere fancy, so I convinced her to give The Normal a try, so off we went!
She is a picky eater, and even she was able to find something she liked, she ordered the cheeseburger plan, just meat, cheese and bread and some sweet potato fries, she loved those fries!
I went with the crispy spiced chicken breast sandwich and swapped the fries for the roasted poblano potatoes, delish! The chicken was perfectly cooked, tender and juicy, it came with Applewood bacon, Swiss cheese, siriacha aioli on a roll, and this was a great tasting sandwich! And the roasted potatoes went will with it!
Since that time I went with my daughter, I did wind up back at The Normal before I could finish the last update, so I am combining both on this review haha, this time it was on a Friday night before a show at The Gammage, and I have to say this place was poppin! I did learn from my program at the Gammage that if you show your tickets you can get 15% off your check at The Normal, I didn’t know this, so I didn’t, but next time you bet I will!
I can say The Hash is still on point, that is just a great tasting dish, but what was the winning dish that night was the red velvet waffles and chicken, that chicken is amazing! Tender, sweet and perfect! Even though I had The Hash, I had plate envy and had to give it a try!
The Normal is fast becoming a favorite of mine, and I’m sure I will be back soon!

Décor — 5 star
Service — 2 star (Waiter was friendly but looked like he never combed his bedhead hair. He also looked and sounded stoned.
Food — a big disappointment! Eggs Benedict were supposed to come on a LGO English muffin. NOT! It wasn’t even a Thomas’ English muffin. Portion size was small and the chorizo tasted like the kind you squeeze out of a pouch.
Both my friend and I were really disappointed with our experience here.