The Shack

Omg this place is hands down best breakfast and you can feed two on one plate. .
This place reminds me of a cracker barrel atmosphere but the food is so much better like grandma’s cooking.
People are family friendly
So everyone should come by eat and enjoy. Wish they had this in TN. But I guess that’s why it’s so good. It’s not a chain restaurant

Twice I’ve left this restaurant because of rude staff, usually before we’ve seated. If I’m a paying customer then I would expect to be treated like they actually wanted my business.
Food is subpar from visits from years past

Decent food at a decent price. Not as cheap as some diners, but it’s the sides where it can get expensive. Meals themselves are reasonably priced.
Food is typical diner fare & quality. French toast & home fries were good. Wasn’t crazy about the scrambled eggs. Coffee was decent.
Servers were all very friendly and attentive.

Absolutely love this place. It’s always clean, the staff if friendly and the breakfast menu is my all time favorite. What is in the waffle to make it taste so good. I’m so sad I moved half an hour away. Now we have to make it a special occasion.

I’ve given the shack about 4 visits before putting in my 2¢
On each occasion, I brought my daughter who loves their milkshakes (but $ 4.25?!). Wanting to grab a bite while out running errands we’d stop by either Waterford or east Lyme. The service has always been great but the prices!!! I’ve read several other reviews to see if anyone thought the prices were way too high for the food/​atmosphere quality but have been pretty surprised they’re none. Dinner for 2 at a diner should NOT cost $ 50. If don’t care if the fries are dipped in 24k gold. $ 2.50 for a side of mashed?! I was also charged $ 11.98 for 4 pancakes, the menu stated ‘$ 6.99′ and when I pointed that out, it was corrected on my bill but told to ‘hang on’ to my copy in case I was charged double, WTF?!
I’m all for supporting local businesses but not for frozen foods. Not going back & pay prices like that for food I could create better and WAY cheaper at home. Silly me.

«I want to cry tears of joy» just came out of my cousins mouth and I couldn’t describe it better. This place is adorable and the food is amazing! I had the Popeye scramble and my cousins got the mess and eggs Benedict. All were amazing!!! I don’t agree with the other reviews bashing the service. The service was great! As a added plus, they serve bfast all day!!! I will definitely be coming back here!

Great place for Sunday brunch. There is usually a line, but it usually moves quickly. The service is great and food always good and reasonably priced. I get my weekend pancake fix here!

This is a quaint little hole in the wall where locals congregate to solve the world’s problems and where you’re likely to run into an old classmate or teacher.
The décor kind of reminds me of my grandfather’s garage as the walls are lined with all sorts of interesting household items from yesteryear like irons, egg-​beaters, tools and signs. It’s like someone emptied out the attic and brought it here, but it’s done in a decorative way.
The food is good, reasonably-​priced, the portions are decent and the service is friendly and down-​home.
I had the Turkey BLT Wrap which was a delight. It came with a choice of sides, so I had the steamed broccoli which was cooked perfectly and came with a cup of whipped butter.
After eyeing the tempting dessert case filled with an extensive collection of home-​made pies, I decided to send my cholesterol level through the roof with the chocolate chip pie. It arrived at my table warmed and doused with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. It was good, but on the rich side, and the crust was a bit chewy. Next time, I would head for the Dutch apple, cherry or blueberry instead.
All in all, a pleasant, homey experience where both your tummy and wallet leave happy!

Very good comfort food. Good service with a smile. I really like that this place is the United Nations of restaurants… every kind of people come here to enjoy the food and laid back atmosphere.

At first glance you might think you mistakenly walked into an AARP meeting. Don’t let the customer demographic deter you, this place is a great little eatery. I see some negative reviews about the service, which is bothersome. Jr’s Shack is an adorable DINER! Do you expect your eggs to come with a butler? In my experience the service was great, our coffees were never empty and we left with our bellies full (what more can you ask for?). The food is delicious and reasonably priced. No complaints here!

I come here on occasion when we’re visiting my boyfriend’s family. It’s an old standby and for good reason. They can serve an astonishing number of people at quite a pace.
There is generally an obvious line at the front and they tend to it as frequently as they can. From what I can tell there is no designated hostess so a little patience goes a long way.
The staff are friendly and charming, and I always expect them to call me darling or sweetheart.
It’s a great, and expansive, diner style menu. They do their eggs superbly and their toast is deliciously overly buttered just the way you expect. My boyfriend loves their hashbrowns, and I’m pretty sure they deep-​fry their bacon. So unnecessary but so welcome.
You get a huge meal at a great price and super friendly service. It’s a great down home diner, so don’t expect city service or you’ll be greatly disappointed.

Terrible service. Went today with my daughter at 3pm. I stood and waited 3 – 4 mins before even acknowledged. and was the only one waiting. Then, she said to just «pick a clean table». I clearly had a toddler in my arms and had to seek and find a highchair. So, after we got ourselves settled at a table, it was another full 5 mins before the server came to the table at all. We had no menus, no water… it was dead… not busy.
I’ve eaten here 4 times and the food is always good. Two times out of four the service was very good. It was so terribly bad today, even after the server knew I was irritated and was met with an apathetic excuse, I picked my daughter up and we LEFT without eating.
I called and asked for the owner to call me at his/​her convenience. I was given a manager instead. He said «Im sorry» without as much as asking the first detail of what happened. I was trying to let the owner know this was the second time I received ridiculously bad service but it seems as if this place is staffed with people who just really don’t care. Go somewhere else where they want your business. Greasy spoons are a dime a dozen anyway.

Best breakfast in town! Everyone’s always been very friendly towards me with good service. French toast is delicious!

I love the breakfast there! Haven’t tried lunch or dinner yet…

I gave the Shack 2 stars. The breakfast food is very good, ample portions, in fact generous portions, and the prices are reasonable. However the service just is NOT good. It seems to a trained observer, the servers are all over the restaurant, splitting the counter. The servers obviously take care of booth patrons because of the high check/​tip than the joe shmoe sitting at the counter. So if you go to the Shack and luck out with a good server for breakfast, it’s an amazing experience! If they would simply fix the service concern, this would be consistent four start place. The service truly is a concern as pointed out numerous times here on Unilocal

I’m a little bit torn giving the Shack in Waterford 2 stars. It does not reflect the food, for sure. The food is done very well and is always tasty and filling. The reason why this place gets only 2 stars is because of the service. To put it very bluntly, if you are not white, service is awful. I have now observed this on 4 separate occasions. And it’s not just one waitress, it’s at least 3 of them. However, if you go to the Shack in the other locations, service is spectacular. Such a shame — I live very close to the Waterford restaurant and it is more convenient to go there. However, my last few experiences have just been so awful, that I will not be going back. And not only that, I will direct my friends elsewhere. No one should ever be ignored like that.

Nothing great about their food and their waitresses are either bitter and snotty or completely untrained. I have been there a couple times and was never impressed with anything and would surely not go back

I gave the Shack 3 stars, but that is very misleading. let me explain…
9 times out of 10, the service (in any of the locations, although honestly we haven’t been to the Groton one) is TERRIBLY lacking… that 1 time in 10 it’s GREAT…
I have never been impressed by (or even liked) the food off of the lunch/​dinner menu. frozen crap served by a crappy server.
Breakfast (which they serve all day) is another story! Best breakfast dishes in the area! If I could give the Shack stars on just tasty breakfast, I’d give them 6!
So if you go to the Shack and luck out with a good server for breakfast, it’s an amazing experience! Otherwise, not so much. I should note that we go there about twice a month (again, today was awesome, last time not so much).so good luck and I hope you have an awesome experience there!

I’ve been here quite often on the weekends. The wait in line is usually quick for us which is about 15 min.
It’s diner food with typical diner service (not that this is bad). We never had issues with service. It was usually prompted unless they’re really busy. Breakfast is always consistent and that’s a plus. The toast is never burnt and the eggs comes out the way you requested it. Coffee is frequently being refilled in your mug without being asked.
I’d definite recommend for breakfast/​brunch. (I haven’t had lunch or dinner here yet.)

This is a favorite of ours for breakfast food. You really can’t beat it. The staff is fast and friendly. The food is great and the prices are excellent.
There’s typically a line waiting — but don’t be discouraged — it moves quickly. Or you can skip the line altogether and sit at the counter. We almost always get the french toast and the pancakes to share. The french toast is some of the best that I’ve had in a local restaurant, and the pancakes… I don’t know how they make them so good and addictive… The only thing that I’ve had there that was not «excellent» was their eggs benedict (the sauce tasted strange).
It’s definitely worth a try if you’ve never been. Their restaurant in East Lyme is just as good. Watch out for holiday weekends though because the line will surely be out the door.