The Dining Car

We decided to stop here for brunch during our trip, and it turned out to be an excellent decision! The place has a really nice atmosphere with a classic look that we absolutely loved. The service was outstanding, and the food was delicious. We would definitely recommend it and would love to come back if we get the chance!

A real diner from back in the day. Opened in 1961. Great atmosphere. Our server was very nice. The food was yummy. This is a great diner.

What truly sets The Dining Car apart, though, is the dedicated staff. Many of the servers have been with the restaurant for years, and their genuine friendliness and professionalism add a personal touch to each visit. They take the time to remember regular customers’ preferences and ensure everyone feels welcome, creating a sense of community that makes you want to return again and again. The combination of homemade comfort food and a long-serving, loyal staff makes The Dining Car a rare find in today’s fast-paced world. It’s not just a meal here—it’s an experience filled with warmth, tradition, and heartfelt service. Perfect for anyone looking for a comforting and memorable dining experience.

Our server Chris was fantastic and the staff overall was friendly. The food was delicious as well. We had cream chipped beef, Oreo pancakes, cinnamon roll french toast, avocado toast, and potato pancakes. Everything was hot and fresh and came out rather quickly. Overall, it was a great experience, and we'll definitely be back!

First time coming back after the new management. Place still holds true to being a staple in northeast Philadelphia. Orders the French onion soup, boneless wings and a Ruben for desert had a slice of the day Elvis cake which was suggested by the waitress. If you like peanut butter, this is a must try.

Everything on the menu is delicious. Try the Fat Elvis cake slice. You can get it for a $1.99 upgrade on the summer specials menu. It’s the best piece of cake I’ve had in my life. Peanut butter, banana custard layered between yellow cake with this yummy praline icing. So good!!

This spot was ok..wasn’t a big fan of their food & flavors. The burger tasted bland & the bread is too big for it. My bf got the turkey sandwich with gravy , tasted good but was too messy. You’re literally just touching the gravy with all your fingers because they pour it on top instead of serving it in the side. Also I think their prices are a bit over the top for basic food. Paid $60 just for this. In my opinion not worth it. Overall was an ok experience & staff was very nice.

Usually, we are fans of diner breakfast experience, but this one was a huge mistake! I wouldn't recommend it. First service, waitress was absolutely not attentive to my order, she was super slow, and I never received my coffee refill, nor we were asked if evth was okay. Second, food taste and quality. Our order took forever to be delivered to our table. Food was tasteless and absolutely terrible. I quite honestly don't remember the last time I had such a bad breakfast. We ended up paying $43 bill and leaving hungry. Terrible experience.

Very crowed ! After mass crowd, but not bad , have 5 of us got seated in about 15 mins . Ordered French toast with scrambled eggs , sausage n bacon. Nice ambiance but noisy, because of the crowd , but it was find . Server was very pleasant and attentive

One of things I love about going home to Philly is going to neighborhood diners with my friends and family. My friends and I went to the Dining Car this past Sunday and were happy we did. The food was delicious, the staff were helpful and friendly. No one rushes you out which is awesome when you have catching up to do with your Besties :0) We all enjoyed the butter cake, I enjoyed the French toast, and my friends enjoyed the Apple Crepes - they were so happy they weren't made with canned apple pie filling. The wait staff are always going around to see if you want more coffee or tea. Next time, I want to try one (or more) of the tasty treats I saw in the bakery. It's a nice diner feel with plenty of conversation happening all around. Check them out!

If you have not been here in the past few months since the new owners took over, you are really missing out. We have come here for years... Mostly because my wife loves it. But I have to tell you, the place was sold to a nice young man named Brandon. Here is a person raised in and around food service. Ever since then the menu has expanded and changed, bringing more modern offerings and always something new to try out. I cannot say enough about the chicken stirfry which is my favorite. The old owners had the same menu items for years. The new owner seems to really enjoy changing things up. The staples that people enjoy are still there, but there is so much more available now. The portions are plentiful and the food is fresh and delicious. Also a shout out to.Mason at the front register who is always helpful with the app and such a pleasant person. You can earn rewards on the app to use when you return. It's a very generous program and we've used it quite a bit. Really, if you haven't been here in a few months, you really need to check this place out. Kudos to the new owners.

This is an old school diner that's been around a long time. You wait in line to be seated. It went quick. The hostess was very friendly and efficient. Our server was super nice. The food is very good! We had one of the specials for fall. The apple crepes that also came with a piece of butter cake! The butter cake was delicious and very rich. It is definitely big enough to share. The apple crepes were also yummy so was the French toast. The cups of coffee and tea are endless! We were not rushed by the waitress at all. Several times we were offered more tea/ coffee. Prices are much more reasonable than a typical brunch spot. We tipped double since we sat for awhile.

In my early 20's, going to The Dining Car at 2am after a night out was the move. The breakfast always hit the spot. It's been several years since I visited and the food quality and service has not changed. We arrived around 10:30 in the morning. There were a couple people ahead of us, but it didn't look like too long of a wait so we stuck around. Once seated, our waiter took our drink orders while we looked over the menu. I was surprised to see avocado toast, which isn't an item I remember being available before. All in all, it had great flavor but the bread was too soft/soggy. I think it was partly due to the abundance of EVOO drizzled on the avocado. I loved the sun dried tomato flavored bread, though. Definitely a nice touch. I asked for scrambled eggs, and while they were good, I should have requested cheese mixed in. The home fries were hot and crispy. Unlimited refills on coffee and excellent service. The bakery items looked exquisite, and I'd like to come back to purchase a cake for my next special occasion.

New owners are horrible. It took our party of three over 1 hour to get the food we ordered and it was room temperature (not hot). Was told by employee that male owner was yelling at employees in kitchen and refused to allow wait staff to warm cinnamon rolls so they was forced to serve cold! In addition, they were short-staffed. This never ever happened with prior owners in over 30 years!! New owners should be ashamed of themselves for not carrying on a Philly tradition of prior excellent, service, and food. No new owners were found walking around to welcome and introduce themselves. They have mighty big shoes to fill and are desperately failing : (

If you see a woman with red hair, RUN to her. She was so wonderful. Her company I enjoyed so much, it definitely added to the experience. I had a bacon cheeseburger with a vanilla shake. Didn't disappoint, classic and lovely time.

Sorry, but things not moving in the right direction under the new owners. Greeted by a heavily tattooed waitress with the "oh so warm and welcoming greeting," What are you drinking? " Strike one. This tells me management hasn't taken 15 seconds to require that servers actually pretend to care about their customers. Next, cinnamon rolls STALE. Vegetables COLD. When informing the server that an item wasn't hot, did she give Even a half-hearted apology and say that she'll take care of it away? No, instead she simply grabbed it turned and walked away and then minutes later came back and put it on the table without a word and walked away. Did she come back a moment later to see that it was better? No. Nothing. After getting the check before we were actually finished possibly ordering anything else like dessert or coffee, did you return to see if we actually wanted anything else? No never saw her again. Good were the string beans and turkey, but the stuffing was pretty bad and never used to be. Go back to the old recipe. We'll try it again, but this icon of Philadelphia diners is not heading in the right direction. Note to new management: you'll quickly go the way of Tiffany's (once a great diner, now with its million dollar garrish makeover and overpriced mediocre food and scores of loyal patrons who never return) if you don't right this formerly beloved restaurant quickly. The best thing you could do is nothing at all but continue to serve what we all loved about the Dining Car for decades. Spent a few minutes and teach your servers the basics of customer service. They can't greet a table warmly and provide attentive service, tell them to get a job across the street at McDonald's where they will better fit in. P. S. I'm a bit disgusted in the fact that you have only a 91 out of 100 due to multipke health and sanitary violations, as reported here on Yelp. Absolutely no excuse!

Food is spot on. Service is very good, waitresses are attentive and refilling drinks as requested. Prices are reasonable and I'll be back.

Too long to explain my horrible experience but waitress forgot my French onion soup, service was horrible, food really was a greasy mess, then they tried to charge me for soup I did not get, never will go back, really went down hill

I stopped in for takeout today... chicken croquettes... the waitress was quite nice and the food was amazing! chicken croquettes just like my mom used to make!!!!

My wife suggested that we go there for breakfast. Great idea. We had the best Ham & cheese Omelette ever. New owner changed something to greatly improve on them. Also had a lot of perfectly sliced ham pieces. Even the hot tea was best in class. Glad to see they keep the nice young women working at the bakery take out. The cinnamon rolls, cookies are so delicious. We purchased two packs of the cinnamon rolls and froze one of them. New owner made the place better.

Met up with a friend who was in from out of town. There were four of us for breakfast on a Sunday. Waited over 45 minutes in line to get in at 8:45am. I was surprised at the line that early. We also had to wait a while for our food but it was ok, we were talking and catching up. I got the fancy French toast. It was very good! I love the never ending coffee too! I didn't get any pictures of the food because we were all so hungry!

I just had a bad experience with the new ownership. They wouldn't honor a gift card that I purchased from the local church. I guess I'm out $25.00. The manger Jamie wasn't very nice either. Why would you not take a gift card with "Dining Car" on the front? The manager said any gift card purchased before February is void. Why didn't they just change the name of the diner? If it's the Dining Car then honor the gift cards. At least put a sign on the door or menu stating that before ordering. Why are they still issuing the same gift cards too? Literally exact same gift card, same color too. How is a customer to know the difference from one purchased a few months ago. Change the name of the dinner if you won't take the gift cards. Not a neighborhood diner any more. My family have been going there since1990's. No more!

It's on Frankford Ave not torresdale ave and the food is outstanding there I love it there

I found this place heading back to the airport. From the outside it looks like a typical diner, with ample parking. Same for the inside, older decor and plenty of booths and tables. I had the open face Reuben and it was a lot of sandwich. Good thing it's open-faced otherwise it would certainly be a mess to eat. Plenty of shaved corned beef, kraut and just the right amount of cheese. The slaw was good too, without being heavy on the cream. It's a great place to eat.

the service is the only good thing. Food is horrible. Cold and flavorless. The owner has no idea what she is doing at all. She treats her staff more like objects than people. One of the customers near me actually pulled a piece of sharp ceramic from her food. No fault to the waitress she was the one who caught it in the nick of time. Ambiance is old fashioned.

Have not been here in a while, but updating some overdue reviews. I have been here many times over the decades (since living in the Northeast in the 1980s till now) and I try to stop in every time in Philly for business. Class act and very well run. The wait staff and everybody I see there is friendly, courteous, and efficient. Much better and tastier than the Mxyxxxr Diner down the street. (smile) Oh, and the food is very very good. Most of what I like is NOT on my current lifestyle diet, but I get a bit of amnesia and slight cheating because at "The Car" is that good.

On 11/27/23 Went in for a late breakfast with my wife,seemed she got the waffle which she said seems squishy and I got a western omelette which was really mushy I guess is the word it, was really terrible and didn't even finish it. Kind of surprising, we eat there once or twice a year and it's usually good

Doing great things Under new management. Lots of updates to menu that was limited. Food comes out way more quickly than used to be. Place is clean and updated physically in so many areas. Keep it going guys!

Went here a few weeks ago for brunch. The service was friendly and the food arrived at our table quickly. All of the food was visually appealing and it tasted great too. Definitely plan to return.

This place has really gone downhill this summer in my opinion. Can't get a decent ham snd cheese omelette in months now...three times you're out in my book The staff is wonderful but the food has not been good so I guess I'll have to go further from home to find a better diner...sad bc I've been going here about 40 years

The service was good. The staff was busy but when she could, the service was good. The place was CLEAN . . . now . . . . let us get to the food!!!! Not sure where I should start? It was a simple order of Eggs up, well-done potatoes, and scrapple. You, know it's going to be bad when the waitress walks up to your table with towels in each hand holding your plate of food because the plate is hot. Now for those who don't grasp my concerns. That means your breakfast has been sitting under heat lamps for who knows how long. What we do know is it was LONG ENOUGH that the plate was too hot to handle. So, what did I get?????? Eggs up that were hot but with that dry crusty top from sitting under the heat lamp to long, scrapple, and homefries which were both DEEP FRIED and had the favor of EVERYTHING else that was fried in that grease. Under toasted rye bread or something that was supposed to be rye bread and with something called butter, but I knew better. In a nutshell, it was a HORRENDOUS breakfast. It's been over an hour since breakfast and all I can taste is a thousand items that were all cooked in the fryer for the past few days or weeks for all I know. Whatever happened to cooking home fries on a grill top? Grilling a slice of scrapple on a grill top? I know it takes time but the outcome is so much better than the food you served me on this day 8/7/23 The only reason I gave it 1 star is for the service staff. The cooks and the owners should be ashamed of serving such horrible food. Last time I'll ever come here.

I went to The Dining Car and Market today for breakfast, and I was pretty satisfied. There was no trouble at all with the wait time, since we barely had to wait at all to be seated. Staff was very nice, and waitress was even nicer. Service was great, and even though it was a little crowded, there was still plenty of room to relax and eat. There was also no requirement to wear a mask, unless you wanted to of course, and I was completely comfortable with that mandate as well. Overall, I believe this is a perfect little diner to have a quick and filling breakfast, lunch, or dinner for the family or friends!

We went on a Tuesday night around 6:00. It was fairly empty. It took us almost 15 minutes to get seated bc there wasnt enough waitresses and but plenty of empty tables. We got seated right next to the soda machine and sink so first off, the entire time, staff was back there rinsing cups and filling sodas. We did ask to move however, the host told us there was no other open section. Our waitress came over and took our drink order 15 minutes after we got there and it took another 15 minutes to get our drinks. Lets remember, we were sitting directly next to the soda machine. She came back and took our order and I happened to look up and saw her nose was running down almost to her lip. She did one big sniff and sniffed it all up. She took our order and it took 15 more minutes to get our rolls and appetizers and another half hour to get our food. When she comes with the food, she has a thick dirty towel that our food plates are on and as she is putting them down in front of us, her thumb goes into every plate. Mashed potatoes, creamed chipped beef, hot turkey etc. Then the towel keeps going into the rolls and the marinara sauce. Her fingers were FILTHY. At that point, we kindly told the waitress what was going on. I didnt want to tell management bc she was older and very nice. She kept apologizing and offering to make us new food which I told her no bc at that point, we didnt even want to eat there anymore. She explained that since new managment took over, they are no longer allowed to use trays to deliver food and the plates must be delivered to customers immediatley when they are done and they are so hot, they have to use towels to carry the plates. I suggested gloves when delivering the food and she agreed and stated that the staff raised that to the owners and they said absolutely not bc the cost of gloves for them to constantly change from writing down orders, delivering, cleaning would be too much for them. Dining Car has been a staple in my life since I was a kid. I hope the new owners fix this bc its completely unsanitary and you will lose a ton of customers.

I have been to The Dining Car a lot. My wife's family makes a stop every Friday. The food is good. It is one of the only diners I have been to that has a cocktail menu, and the drinks are inexpensive. There are a couple signature entrees - chicken croquettes are very good. The only thing holding this review from being 5/5 is that the interior needs an update. Other than that, The Dining Car is a great place to get a good meal for an excellent price.

Excellent food excellent service for years and years we really enjoyed. It hadn't been there in a long time, and I am glad to say that nothing changed.

I have passed couple times & saw it on DDD , this was chosen spot my work chose to go for out purchasing team breakfast.& It was pretty decent. Look the coffee was excellent & prices were good..Packed & food good. Would I have come here on my own- no! But now I know!! Return factor- sure if have inkling for good coffee& food.

Visited last nite for dinner with a friend. Meal was great and service was impeccable! That bakery room was also very tempting but I had already eaten my full,

Outstanding service. Great food. Servers very kind. Plenty of free parking. A real home feel place.

The waitress Erin and chef Ed were amazing. My son has multiple food allergies and they were very careful about communicating with all the staff and preventing cross contamination, as well as helping us find food on the menu that would be safe for him. I can't say enough how grateful I am that they took such care to help keep him safe and provide a delightful dining experience for everyone in our party. The chef even came out to help us choose from the menu and Erin made sure to give him the complete list of food allergies. They were very friendly as well, and the food was exceptional! We can't wait to go back.

On our diners, drive ins and dives: Fieri tour--(stars are based on five in family!! I was a 'thumbs up' but 2 were a definite thumbs down. It was crowded. You walk into their bakery-case room, which is cool. Server was fair but not great-no water refill. French onion soup was solid. Crust on chicken pot pie was one of the best ever! Croquettes were disappointing--if they were smaller the crust to filling ratio would've been better. The pork scrapple was not to my liking but DH and DD13 liked it. Jewish apple cake was just alright. I would go back for the apple walnut pie--like I might drive 3 hours to Philly just for that it was so good.

I always come for breakfast so my review is based on breakfast. It's your standard dinner menu. They always have 3 daily specials usually one eggs potato and toast, a pancake or French toast & a oatmeal or cereal. They are all $3.99 and comes with hot coffee or hot tea. This is a great value or deal! They also have your standard regular breakfast menu. Nothing is overly expensive. I do like that you can order potato pancakes as your potato instead of home fries. The food is just ok. Nothing spectacular but it's not awful either. One of these days I should try the lunch/ dinner menu. They also have a bakery on premise and you can buy fresh bread or cookies or cupcakes or whole cakes. The selection varies so if you want a specific cake I would call and order ahead of time. The bakery is 5 stars. I love their vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing! Always fresh & never stale. * cash only, there is an ATM inside but there is a surcharge

Breakfast is a favorite any time of day ~ and at The Dining Car ~ they know how to do it right every single time. The absolute best potato pancakes I have ever had ~ crispy, delicious on the outside, moist potato perfection on the inside. The omelettes are finished with a nice choice of fillings, the pancakes are light, fluffy and their French toast is wonderful. If you crave a different twist or two on your breakfast favs, they offer specials that are sure to please. We never feel rushed, the servers are angels and the diner is always clean!

The Dining Car is an old style stainless steel diner on Frankford Avenue, Northeast Philadelphia. It has a small private parking lot behind the structure, with much more space available in the Mealey Furniture lot next door. There is a dining room as well as a large counter for folks like me who are eating alone and enjoy watching their employees as they work. The staff is friendly and efficient. I had menu in hand and a mugga joe before me within a minute of sitting down. Traditional diner fare, with a few things for which they are noted - chicken croquettes and Jewish apple cake - among them. It even had a moment of fame when it was the subject of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show on the Food Channel. Of course, Guy is all about spiked hair showmanship and excessive exuberance, and not necessarily honest assessment of the food he is mugging for. Here, his enjoyment was legitimately entertained by the urban nature of this part of town having its own stainless palace, but also likely uninformed by the other Philly Special joints in the same neighborhood that far outshine The Dining Car (The Clown House, for example). I was there for a French Toast breakfast, although I was tempted to see what the fuss was all about with the apple cake. Doubt it was better than grandma's. Still, I enjoyed my morning repast, even if not outstanding. Two slices of decent white loaf seemed a bit light if it wasn't a short stack. Although advertised with "maple syrup," I'm fairly certain that the sticky sweet colloidal liquid pouring out of the container on the counter was not from a maple tree. Tasted a lot more like a generic Mrs. Buttersworth. Still sweet. Still a decent companion to the fry bread. Just not Grade B Dark. The coffee was strong, hot and free flowing from the Bunn brewer. The place was humming on Thursday morning. A definite community gathering spot.

We love the dining car and the food is great, but this night was something special. Our server (I am so bad with remembering names but I think I remember her saying "Shar"? Picture to confirm!) was incredible. From the moment we sat down, she was so attentive to my 4 year old and 18 month old. She was incredibly kind, was on top of everyone's needs, she was so friendly, I have never met a server so wonderful. We wanted to talk to the manager after dinner but we couldn't find her. I wish I had asked for her because she deserves some praise.

Food is very good .. if you like diner ( comfort ) food. Service is excellent. Lots of quality food for very reasonable prices. Con = only cash($$) .. & .. their hours of operation. But ... aside from those 2 minor things ... I would definitely recommend.

always love that this place is always open for a late night munchie feast with the girls!

Food was ok. We had breakfast but wasn't exciting and good to go again. The restaurant itself was cool and has history

The dining car has been one of my favorite restaurants in the Northeast for years. I'm so happy they reconsidered their original decision to no longer be a 24/7 diner, but rather just 24/7 on the weekends. The burgers are real beef, but don't expect them to cook it rare even if you ask them. The only reason I'm giving 4 stars is because no matter how many times I've been there, they never cook the burger as requested. If you're going to cook the burger well done, that's fine, but don't ask "how do you want your burger cooked" when taking an order. Just don't bother. Other than that, I've never had anything bad at the Dining Car. All of their dessert they make in their bakery, so you know they're legit.

Love this place!!! They serve good ole SCRAPPLE!!! They're open 24/7 , service is great and oh did I mention the food is oh so delicious ...... on my last visit, I craved for pancakes and was very, very satisfied! Couldn't finish my food, but I left extremely full and happy .....one more bit of information, they have they own baked goods!!! Let me just say, the Jewish Apple cake is to die for!!!

Came here again for lunch and nothing to say but WOW they are amazing. I never had any bad complaints coming here the service is Excellent thank you Mena you did a great job with the service today. The food was delicious I had chicken fingers fries and Cole slaw and my mother in law had the torresdale cheese burger onion rings and Cole slaw. She loved her platter too it was perfect. I will continue to come here to eat this is one of the best diners around. THANK YOU Dining Car!!! I reccomend this diner give it a try.

Visit March 23 2017 12:30 PM. Been here probably 20 times in 10 years- at least five times in the last three years. The previous visits were better than this but the place was mobbed today So I opted for counter seating. Counter seating might as well have been sit there and be forgotten seating. By the time I sat down the entire counter was full of people and there were at least two servers covering the counter but the service was really lacking. They seemed to be involved with restocking and things elsewhere. Menus were plopped down on the dirty counter in front of me and I had asked for my area to be wiped. Then the set ups were put right on top of the totally soaking wet counter. I had to wipe it dry. Waitresses seem to be frazzled. I don't know what was going on. I was waited on promptly after closing my menu but it really wasn't a friendly greeting. I wasn't asked once if anything was OK or if I needed anything else before the check was put down. If the meal was great I probably would have have been happier. My roast beef sliders were really just ho- hum. Tiny bit of Roast beef with a little coleslaw on tiny little buns. Nothing exciting. But, The potato salad was great. Still giving it three stars because I know this place is generally better than this. Hopefully I can upgrade the stars on my next visit.

Everything was perfect. Great service and delicious hot food. I had the chicken croquette and my wife had an egg dish. Both were delicious. The potato pancakes were also good. They gave us two pieces of very delicious bread.The waitresses did a great job. I highly recommend this joint

This place used to be the spot... Now they are hardly ever open. It's truly a shame because they would get a lot more business if they had normal operating hours. I hopefully they get new management in the next few years so people can start enjoying the dining car again

OMP Omlette was so nice. Great for those not eating dairy or gluten. Not many gluten free sweet breakfast options, but there are plenty of meat/egg options. Lunch there are a few gluten free options as well. This is not a gluten free establishment and depending on your server/kitchen staff when you eat there - the carefulness of no cross contamination varies. Not mad at it though, as I'm not too

I have been coming here for the last 20 years, always liked the place. I haven't been here since the pandemic , so over a year and 1/2. It was a dreary day and my Buddy and me got done work early and were in the area and decide some French Onion soup was in order. The staff, and our server were great, she was very attentive, although we were there for lunch, was a bit taken back being sat near everyone else when most of the diner was empty! Ordered the French Onion soup, it was served in a metal dish, I really thought this took away the flavor of the soup! Then my entree came, I had the "Thanksgiving on a roll" and my bud got the "Chicken Croquettes" (aka World Famous) ! About halfway through the meal I asked my friend how it was, he was not happy, and neither was I, food was very bland and tasteless! Normally I would be okay with this but, while I was looking at the menu , I thought the prices were extremely high, especially for lunch! Which may explain why the place was empty. Maybe it was an off day, maybe a new cook , but I will think twice , and probably not come back here! Sad , cause I really did like the place! Also. The generic ketchup brand at the booth was very watery and didn't taste very good!

I ordered an eclair from the dining car today...not sure what this is but it looks like a rock hard roll with chocolate sauce spread on top and cream shoved in the middle..was really looking forward to getting it but this is not even edible.

Best diner around and they have the best GF bread. Here you can expect to try something unique from their specials menu while counting on the traditional diner options as well. The service is great and you're coffee cup stays full! Cash only, ATM on premises Open all the time! My favorite so far was the Caprese omelette from the specials menu. The Mozzerella was that really thick white fresh mozzerella :) mmm and the basil really added a nice round sophisticated element. If you get there early enough try the grits, delish!!! Not sure if these are GF, but the potato pancakes are amazing!! I had them once but def double check.