03/06/09

Not clean and over priced

by DS1021

This morning was my first time visiting the avalon diner and although the food was edible it was certainly nothing to get excited about. On a scale of 1-10 I would rate the food a 5. I am not opposed to eating at greasy spoon diners however when im paying almost 15 bucks for a simple scrambled eggs, sausage, hash brown and coffee breakfast I expect to at least get a little eye contact and maybe even a simple smile from the waitstaff. If you want to be treated nicely and get your day off to a positive start then I do not suggest getting that positive boost from the avalon diner. The hostess/cashier did not even speak to us when entering the restaurant, she just stared and we had to ask if we should just seat ourselves. We sat down at a booth near the short order grill and unfortunately that seat gave us views of things that I would have rather not seen. I saw two different servers move food from one plate to another with their bare hands and then serve it to people. These are the same hands that are touching everything else in the very filthy restaurant. In summary, the food is extremely over priced, the restaurant is extremely dirty, and the service is extremely unfriendly.

• Pros: Food was edible but nothing to get excited about
• Cons: Dirty, and unfriendly waitstaff

10/04/08

Great Way to Start the Day!

by januaryford

Everytime I stop in and have an omlette at Avalon, my day just goes better. The food is hot and flavorful and served quickly. The waitresses are personable and informal--just the right level of service for a diner. Whenever they greet me with "How you doin', this mornin'?" I feel like Im at my Grandma's house. So what if the waitresses are eating breakfast with you at the counter? You're at home here!

08/30/08

great breakfast, great people watching

by seanandolivia

Waiting in line to get a table at Avalon is exactly as stated...a line. Sometimes you have to fight it out with other people who cut in front of you. Avalon should shell out the extra cash for a hostess of some sort. I realize it would take away the tradition, but tradition sometimes has to give way to modernization. There are few things less pleasant than practically getting in a fist-fight with someone before breakfast, Once you get a table, the service at this Avalon is outrageously bad. It is shameful. I actually had one of the waitresses put a pile of silverware and napkins down on my table (not gently) and then stare at me for about 30 seconds before I broke the ice and asked her if she was ready to take my order. Since they closed the location on 59 a few years back I am forced to endure the horrendous service at this location in order to have what a consider to be one of the best breakfasts in town. Plus, many of the citys movers and shakers eat here, so I do enjoy the people watching. Most of the customers are river oaks residents who all know each other and there are many times people get up and move from table to table saying hi to friends neighbors or coworkers. That is fun to watch as well. The food is great. The hashbrowns are crisp on the outside, moist and hot on the inside. The pancakes and frenchtoast are super good. BUT THE SERVICE BITES. For many of these ladies, they have worked at Avalon for 20 years I'd bet. It's time to retire. Please help me and others have a better dining experience by either trying to be at least less rude if you can't pull off plain old nice.

• Pros: great food
• Cons: service, service, service