Central Diner (DTSP)

It’s a diner, folks! Fast, friendly service and the pancakes I so desperately wanted this morning were perfect! Got a happy birthday song along with my breakfast ❤️… I like my egg a little less cooked but I shoulda said so 😂. Go here to feel the local (real people) vibe!

Slim value review, we only showed one Sunday after a rain squall. Took a bit to get seated, and we got the counter like as like to see the action. Well staffed with friendly folks, busy place. Of course I was a pain and ordered a modification. Coffee is only diner coffee, but... it is a Diner after all. Tea service was above par. Their menu is majority cheese and pork, IMHO. I mentioned this, the gal steered me to order the Turkey and Cheese Omelet (no cheese) and one pancake (no side). Regrets for no photo. Nice big fluffy cake, lightly salty turkey is how it comes from the Turkey Store. JUST what I was looking for. My wife got the two eggs and grits. She weight half of me, ate almost all of the eggs, half the generous portion of grits, and some of the toast before being filled. Sort of loud. Country music playing in english. Busy with booths, taking time to turn over and clean the entire house in 20 min. just after noon when the line cleared out. Again, my main issue is, this is thousands of miles from my house, or we'd be regulars.

We visited here over the weekend to try something new and was pleasantly surprised. There is nothing fancy about the diner but the staff was very friendly and attentive. The place is bright but also dingy looking a bit. We received our order rather quickly and I was completely shocked that the pancakes tasted as good as they did. I didn't expect that at all. I was thinking, an average taste nothing to brag about. Well, I was wrong. Very wrong. The pancakes are absolutely delicious and I'd definitely return for them! It has been a very long time since I have had a good pancake. I also ordered home fries and requested for them to be crispy. They were, no complaints. Happy we decided to give them a try.

A no frills diner for breakfast. Ordinary coffee but omelette was excellent. Had the chorizo omelette. Grits was great too. Blueberry pancake was bit overdone and dry. Quick in and out.

What a great place!!!! Filled with locals not tourists. This is an old fashion diner and breakfast is amazing. Service was excellent Dawn really took good care of us. The coffee was fresh, hot and good but the best part was the Pancakes. 2 giant pancakes that were fabulous. Easy access to downtown and walking distance to most hotels.

Great local coffee shoppe with down to earth breakfast options including omelettes, grits, sandwiches and sausage gravy & biscuits. Walked in my first visit and was greeted by four of the staff before we even were seated. Such a great start to our dining experience. Clean and quaint but not overly trendy. Just good people serving great food with smiles and a fair price for families and those stretching their dining budget. Great meal and great service indeed! Thank you Central Coffee Shoppe!

A simple breakfast. The scrambled eggs are more like omelette, home fries are burned a little bit( good touch) which makes them crispy but not much flavor. Very light coffee. Price is fair.

When I walked in , I was greeted with smiles , but after fifteen minutes , my smile faded. One waitress came and asked me what I wanted to drink. Fifteen minutes later , I still hadn't got my drink because the waitresses (2 of them) took turns in the bathroom. So I just got up and left, no goodbyes or nothing. It was like I was never even there. So I Walked to Buttermilk Biscuits and had the best breakfast of my entire life.

Now Called Central Diner, this place is your typical old fashioned diner. It's been around since the mid 70"s and is filled with mostly locals, so I'm glad I stumbled on it. Great coffee with refills and delicious pancakes. Service was good too. Walking distance from most downtown hotels and definitely not touristy. It has a real 70's diner vibe.

No avocado toast here, just great eats with traditional American breakfast stuff. Speedy service, priced right, and excellent made-to-order.

STOP, DON'T WAIST your time! This used to be a local weekly place to go. Now resold several times and the food is cheap quality. Pushing out food to make money to those who visit our city and have never been there. Sad to say cleaner environment is also a consideration. They should only have dogs allowed outside it's ok but inside with such a small area? Better places to enjoy.

Everything was perfect! Our server Dawn was friendly and attentive. All of the food tasted like "home". Good coffee and very reasonable prices.

This awesome diner has been a staple in St Pete since the 70's. Not much has changed inside or on their menu. Best omelettes, biscuits and gravy and hash browns. We sat outside and enjoyed the ambiance of the sounds of the city. Skateboards, loud car music and of course e-bikes whizzing by. Great coffee too! Grits fried eggs ham hash browns all fantastic! Happy Mother's Day!

C'è qualcosa di magico nell'essere in una tavola calda al mattino con un caffè caldo fumante e un panino caldo per la colazione con buona musica in sottofondo.

This hole in the wall was delicious! The staff were working super fast and efficiently which indicated this was a good diner. The coffee was delicious which is a must for a breakfast place. Free coffee refills and waiters checked on us frequently which is nice as they were very clearly busy. The food was 10/10 the only slight downside was it was a bit pricy for breakfast but it could be because it is in a major area in St. Pete. Still super worth it to try and will be back again!

Now called "Central Diner' this place never fails me: good food out fast and a lively vibe! There is no seating for party's over 4 so keep this in mind. Could do without the person cleaning tables and openly burping though. That was not appreciated.

Best home cooked breakfast! Staff rocks. Place is cleaning. Chef and helpers rock the eggs.

This is your good old fashioned coffee shop. The kind we went to back in the day but you don't see a lot of in downtown St Pete today. Friendly service. Straightforward and simple breakfast menu. Great food...eggs, grits, pancakes, sausage, bacon, biscuits, omelets, etc. They also offer a lunch menu with hamburgers, club sandwiches, salads, patty melts, grilled cheese, etc. Great prices compared to all the places here in St Pete. Small parking lot on side of building and Metered parking along Central Ave.

Classic diner breakfast food. I can't comment on lunch as no one at the table ordered lunch food. Everyone was happy with what we ordered. I had an omelette with sausage, peppers and onions and Swiss cheese. Very tasty! Thank the lord the eggs were not over cooked! That's the saddest most disappointing experience am I right?! Anyway, it came with potatoes, the thin sliced kind that get all crispy. Yum. Only disappointed for me was the corned beef hash is canned, especially since the top of the menu indicates they only use fresh ingredients. They do add green chilis which spruces it up a notch. Overall breakfast was tasty and enjoyable and great if you want that diner breakfast experience.

Well, they had CREED playing.. while I ate CATFISH... What is life ? Life's good. 11/10

Food was delicious, love the old school diner vibe and our server was a sweetheart! Great local downtown restaurant. (Four stars instead of five because the bathroom situation was less than ideal).

Food is great, service is fast and friendly. Ambiance is old time 50s diner. I drive across town to have breakfast here

Love this hole-in-the-wall local diner. It is perfect. The food is excellent, service prompt and courteous. If you like diners you're going to love going here

Small space and quite loud, if you don't mind this, but food service was fast and it hit the spot!

This review is based on a 5 minute experience attempting to eat at this establishment. Of the 95 reviews I've written, this is the 2nd 1 star, by far the worst, and hopefully the last. I just got back from a 4 day wellness retreat last night so was blissfully calm and relaxed. So much so that I walked into this place thinking it was City's Bistro, which is 1 block further down central! Whoops. Had ordered from City's on Yelp so hadn't been inside either storefront and confused the two. Nonetheless, I sat outside and a friendly gentleman sat me and offered me a water. I then noticed that the sidewalk was sloped to the point that I was very uncomfortable so I told him why I wanted to move and check out the inside. I sat at a booth and heard him tell the waitress bringing my water outside that I had moved. She was visibly annoyed, even taking a prayer like moment with her eyes closed to what seemed like center herself before bringing my water over. She looked very annoyed and smacked the water down but I took it with a grain of salt as I can understand how that could be annoying! Another waitress walked over to show me the menu and I told her that I needed a moment to decide if I was going to stay as I noticed staff weren't wearing masks and place was busy so wasn't sure if I wanted to stay. I didn't intend to eat indoors so needed a moment to assess. Ultimately, I told the 2nd waitress I was going to leave and apologized. Left a $1 on the table for the water they had brought me. In hindsight, I could have done this before sitting down but I do not think this 4 minute exchange warranted the extreme response that came next. As I was walking out, waitress #1 yelled angrily "THANKS, NOW THAT YOU'VE TOUCHED EVERYTHING". I popped back in and said you're welcome and I did not touch anything actually. She began walking away screaming about me touching everything. At this point, the zen left my body and I yelled back that I had not touched a thing, that I even left a $1 for the 5 minute inconvenience and if she was so concerned with my touching things, why wasn't she wearing a mask. She then yelled at the top of her lungs that she didn't have to wear a mask, obviously missing the point I was trying to raise. I was shocked by this outburst and tried explaining myself to the gentleman I first encountered as she continued to scream. His response was basically that I can choose to eat there or not but didn't seem surprised, shocked or embarrassed by her outburst (perhaps a bit proud) which was very telling to me about the culture of the establishment. Just from a basic human decency perspective, that attack was quite vicious and while I try to remind myself that we are all fighting our own battles, what surprised me most was that none of the other staff seemed rattled or apologetic. I did ask the gentleman I first encountered for her name which he declined to give me (which I never would have mentioned here btw) but wow what a horrific ordeal for myself and probably the other diners that all stopped and watched the scene unfold. It wasn't until I left and walked down the block a bit that I realized that I walked into Central Coffee Shop and not City's Bistro!!! I ended up walking to City Bistro when the owner greeted me and asked me how I was to which I just broke down crying! I didn't mention the name of the establishment I had this horrific experience at and she didn't ask, she was just kind and comforting, which is exactly what I needed in that moment. Moral of the story - I won't be back.

Went here for a late breakfast. I'd say mediocre food - not bad but not crazy good either. I will say their French toast was great! My boyfriend didn't care much for his steak and eggs meal - mostly fat on the steak and a weird cut of meat. The potatoes were not cooked enough and we didn't eat them. The bacon and eggs were just that - hard to mess up. Unfortunately there is no alternative creamers to the half and half so I couldn't get coffee with creamer since I can't have dairy.

Good food very nice service, reasonably priced Some outdoor sidewalk seating fast service

Service was above and beyond! The owner came up to the table to ensure our visit was going well. The coffee was refilled several times and the food was inexpensive, fast, and delicious. Highly recommend this spot for your next breakfast sit down

At a time in St. Pete where there are so many trendy restaurants, it's refreshing to have an old school joint serving up good food with great service. Prices are reasonable coffee is acceptable and food is honest. I ordered the corned beef hash with eggs done perfectly and rye toast that was even buttered. Not a great picture but it will do.

Exactly what a diner should be. Unpretentious, fabulous service, decent coffee, and very consistent food. There's nothing gourmet or trendy about it and that's fine. One of the best breakfast options downtown.

Thank you for a wonderful breakfast! Clean, pleasant, and inviting! If you plan on coming out to St. Pete', then this is a must go to start the day!

my husband and I went to the cutest little diner yesterday morning for breakfast! The food was amazing and the service was great. We will definitely be back!

I forgot to take photos because I was so hungry but I got the veggie omelet which was great! My bestie got the biscuits and gravy which he said was a little dry but otherwise tasted great! It's a little expensive for what it is but considering its location, not bad at all. Will def come back.

This could become a daily ritual, as long as I keep up the miles with my dog. Great traditional diner... the food is good, and the service is friendly and fast! If you've never tried it, I recommend the fried catfish. While it might not be the most traditional diner breakfast (at least it isn't in the NorthEast, where I'm from), it is so good! Highly recommended!

The title of this business is a little misleading. My sister and I came in thinking it was a traditional coffee shop, but it was more like an old-fashioned breakfast-only diner. We have a ton of these up in Maryland, so the concept was not lost on me. While only offering one type of coffee according to the menu, it did offer a ton of affordable breakfast options. We came in the middle of the week around 10am and it was pretty packed. The coffee was decent, but the food was quite good. We got a power breakfast sandwich and an everything bagel with cream cheese. The egg options looked great and don't get me started on how much I wanted to order the more southern-style favorites - but calories... Coffee: 3 out of 5 Food: 4 out of 5 Service: 4 out of 5 Overall: 4 out of 5 for me!

If I could give you a zero. I would. Whoever heard of a coffee shop with NO HALF & HALF? Then you want to argue with me about Coffee Mate being half & half. No self respecting coffee hound would ever come here. Can't comment on the food.

Traditional, affordable, delicious!!! I like to sit outside where its so relaxing in the early morning before st pete wakes up.

Perfectttttt! I didn't want anything fancy or trendy, just good in a casual comfortable environment. This place was exactly what I wanted. Great prices and friendly staff. My omelet was literally everything I wanted and cooked perfect. Loved my grits and basic toast. My boyfriend got an omelet that I saw for maybe five seconds because he ate it all up quickly. Good coffee, great food, definitely a place to recommend. If you like home town diner feels, then go here. Little televisions and Marilyn Monroe decor. I would come back here again anytime.

Don't be fooled. The corned beef hash really isn't homemade. They just doctor it with green peppers and onions.

Food is amazingly consistent! Best short order cook in DTSP! Billie and the entire staff give the best service. Inside and outside seating! Great friendly place like DTSP!

Sunday morning breakfast is often a challenge in any city before 8am. Not so much here. Coffee was good and hot and refilled. Steak and eggs with a side of grits. Steak was rare, the eggs were sunny, and the grits were firm and not runny. I sat outside in the morning sun and thoroughly enjoyed an early breakfast on Sunday morning. Their a lively bunch and never boring if you like to converse over a hot cup of joe. 42 year and they just changed owners. Still great for breakfast!

I have been a frequent customer for years . In the last year or so some of the servers became quite rude at times. My last encounter with this rudeness was about 6 months ago . However today I was confronted by a server named Libby who abruptly told me right after she took my plate that She wanted my table because I was looking at my computer. Libby was not my server. I indicated that I had just finished and wanted a drink refill and did not intend to stay much longer. She accused me of using the table as my office. I had only been there for no more than 30 minutes. Other tables had been there much longer talking with friends even though they finished eating over a half hour ago. She singled me out by saying this not an office . I responded by saying that I believe I was entitled a half hour to complete my meal and that looking at my computer while eating was not out of line . She abruptly walked away mumbling obscenities. I tried to be nice to no avail. I know of other customers that have had issues with Libby. I like the food and atmosphere and I hope management can talk to Libby about proper customer service. I hope it works out for Libby.

I don't know what all the reviews about the staff not being nice are all about. I walk by this place every morning and no matter which staff person is outside they are friendly to me and my dog. I have witnessed many interactions with customers and never once did I hear anything rude or unkind. Today I swung in for an egg sandwich and home fries. Both were tasty. The place is clean and the staff were ALL FRIENDLY to me.

Was looking for a local breakfast joint near my hotel in downtown St Pete. Found this spot on Yelp and good thing that they open very early at 6:30am even on a Sunday. Plenty of street parking. Liked the nostalgic diner feel to it. Its not a big place but enough seating inside and also have 3 or 4 tables outside. Staff was very friendly...knew all the locals by name. I ordered French toast w/ sunny side eggs & sausage patties. Not sure about the quality but my meal was served w/ no frills, cooked the way it should be. For less than 10 bucks, this place satisfied my breakfast craving. Again, I'm a big fan of cook to order eggs so this is better than going to BK or MD & eat microwaved egg sandwiches.

This diner ROCKS!! Amazing, home-cooked, fresh food that tastes wonderful! Service is extraordinary, especially during COVID! Just an amazing place at value prices!! A must-vsit!!!

Idk what happened to this place. I used to come here almost everyday. I think the owner sold. It used to be my favorite place. Now the food sucks and the servers are rude. RIP to the old central coffee shoppe we knew and loved

If you are sick of the whole mask thing, THIS IS THE PLACE. The staff is maskless and the clientele is maskless. The breakfast is good.

This is a great place for breakfast or lunch. They have a friendly staff and always keep the place clean. They are conveniently located in the heart of the Burg.

Very good breakfast and coffee, it's definitely a good place to stop in and grab some eggs & joe. I've been to this restaurant many of times and the open kitchen, diner design adds to the atmosphere. Service is down home, nice, and swift. You can definitely get in and out in a jiff

I got eggs with smoked sausage and grits. What they called smoked sausage was really kabasi and I feel like that should have been mentioned on the menu, because I never would have ordered kabasi with eggs if it was. I've only had grits a few times and they're usually good, but here they served them plain with a slab of margarine on top of it. This might be normal for grits, I couldn't say. But they just weren't very good. My husband said his breakfast was okay. He got corned beef hash. There was supposed to be sauteed peppers but there were only a couple bell pepper slices that were barely cooked. And for a place with coffee in its name, you'd think the coffee would be better.

Great experience!! Seated quickly, fast and efficient service and delicious food! Highly recommended!

New favorite spot for breakfast on Central... across street from the old Dome restaurant. Fresh made food - friendly staff! How a coffee shop should be.

My companion and I had breakfast this morning at Central. It is a classic diner much like you find in many small towns. Many locals are regulars....as we noticed by the foot traffic. I ordered the Greek Omelette and my companion ordered a John's Special. We were very pleased with our meals. The portions were generous and everything was perfectly prepared. Service was good too. A good meal at a good price!

amazing food amazing service so quick so yummy! my food was cooled to perfection and came out in two minutes! love this place coming back everyday

Been here a couple of times. Great diner with good service. Plenty of breakfast options for great prices and fast service. I highly reccomend this place if you're looking for a diner, somewhere affordable to eat in downtown, or for a quick meal.

If you're a dog person in st Pete, which pretty much all of us are... this place sucks ass. Went in with my pupper just to grab a coffee before our doggie social, guy at the counter was a total assface. Didn't even greet me, first words out of his mouth is that a service dog? Of course he is, and I'm a disabled vet, but inappropriate question. Indicated I just wanted a coffee once he was done accosting us. Screamed to some lady in the back coffee to go didn't even get the chance to explain what kind of coffee I wanted. Dog owners beware and honestly all st Pete residents beware. This place sucks and there's a million coffee shops here, you'd think they'd realize that and would try and provide at least some basic customer service. Big fail. Highly recommend any other place than this to get your coffee.

Central Coffee Shoppe is a gem in hiding in St Pete. This is a great little diner with a local feel. If you pay attention you will quickly pick up on the regulars and their friendly banter with Mike, the restaurants manager. The food is fresh and well prepared. The pancakes aren't just huge, they are fluffy, lightly sweet and delicious. There aren't many places where you can get two enormous pancakes, two eggs, and bacon for $7.95. If you are looking for a great meal at a reasonable price and the company of some genuine nice people, give Central Coffee a shot!