Diner Grill

Exactly what you’d expect — a diner! Simple menu, greasy grill and a bunch of stools at a counter. It doesn’t pretend to be anything that it’s not. Come here for reasonably priced, good old fashioned diner grub.
The cook makes the bacon VERY crispy, so you’re going to want to warn them if you prefer your bacon on the chewy side. I love crispy, so it was perfect for me.
I feel a bit like I’m missing out since I haven’t come in the middle of the night. #lifegoals

How did this nice girl find herself in this place on a recent Saturday night (or was it a Sunday morning?) Who knows? I’m not quite sure…but that’s the beauty of the Diner Grill. On any given night you can find a wide range of interesting people sitting at these green counter stools and ordering the most interesting of diner foods.
On my most recent visit, I was the only woman in the place. Is that what prompted two of the young men to get up, move down and give me their seat? Who knows? But I promptly sat, and with my seat mate’s coaching began to read the menu on the wall. Two more women walked in and grabbed vacated seats too so chivalry is not dead at 3am!
Behind the counter are two guys who know how to work a short order grill. Orders are being shouted out, cooked, presented and paid for. It was almost like a dance watching it all come together. And when one of the guys told me I had to have a «Slinger», well you know the saying «when in Rome. .. .…»
So happy and sated, I left The Diner. But not without a backward glance to see who had taken my vacated stool and to listen to the process start all over again!
«Whadya have?» says the one cook.
«I’ll have the Slinger». And so it begins again.

It tastes about the same as it looks like on the outside.
A fun experience with good greasy food. It is what it is. Don’t go here if you’re worried about the ingredients. Go here if you’re hungry and want to eat a burger on a counter.

Cheap and cheerful. One of a dying breed of the classic «diner experience»…

As good as a diner can get! The person behind the counter was the host, the server, the cook and the cashier! Love it! opened in 1937 an old rail car. Been driving by this place for 23 years, finally got the chance to have breakfast with my twin brother and catch up on life. 2 eggs over easy, ham off the bone, hashbrowns, coffee and rye toast buttered, my standby breakfast. Excellent one of the best I’ve ever had.

Nice atmosphere. The food is great for the price, you get a lot of it. I’ve been here a couple times at like 2 am.
Always friendly too =]

Still haven’t tried the slinger… Hopefully I will soon. But so far all their breakfast foods have hit the spot. I now have cravings for their breakfast sandwich with bacon and cheese every morning. Thank god they’re open ²⁴⁄₇!

Food was subpar and service was slow. They overcharged us 13 dollars on our 70 dollar check. When we asked about the discrepancy they were rude and ignored us. Additionally the patrons were belligerent and told us to write a Unilocal review.
Would not recommend to others and will not revisit.

The «Diner Grill»…what a perfect name. Two words together that we happily accept as normal English. It’s the equivalent of me saying, this review is «deceptively honest»!
The food is really not that good and other than the atmosphere, a far cry from quintessential diner grub. This is drunk food best served when inebriated. I would categorize this place as a 3 A.M. «Urban Legend»
I love the fact that people read too much into this place. It’s overdone & overblown for an obvious reason. Their is a niche for late night grease trap operations.
The atmosphere is enticing, the camaraderie is what you make of it as long as you realize you’re here for the show, or part of it. The food is really not that good, and I am deceptively honest!

Perfect place to go on a Sunday with your lady friend, with friends, or even by your lonesome. Especially if your visiting. Great food! Great prices! Great service! Just stop thinking about it and just go here.

I LOVE THIS PLACE. IT IS PURE. IT IS BARE BONES. IT IS SIMPLE. NOTHIN BUT LOVE.
it’s super cheap, kinda greasy n’ always easy food! burgers, breakfast, coffee in a styrofoam cup and plastic fork type of place. the chefs are hilarious, it’s good (drunk) food, there’s always nice/​funny company and it is what it is. :)

I once thought it hard to screw up Breakfast but this morning the Diner did just that.
The coffee was watered down along with the powder milk used for creamer, seriously, four stars for powdered milk!!! Be serious, I have no desire to give them one star.
The biscuits and gravy was canned crap, the ham was thin and grisly and you have to get a skillet to get hash browns!
$ 31.00 dollars for three people and very disappointed. Wished we went to the Piggery across the street!

Nothing special, but diner food that hits the spot. It’s also open 24 hours which is a plus! They serve breakfast food all day and also have sandwiches/​burgers as well. Very quick to get your order out.

Went here on a Saturday morning for breakfast, they weren’t busy but dishes were being cleaned by the same rag and hand washing so sanitary was worried. But the food looks and is a basic breakfast & sandwiches. The biscuit & gravy was too salty but my friend had the slinger which looked good.

At 1something this place was mostly/​relatively empty. Come before 2am/​where almost all other late night stuff closes and get a prime spot when the show starts. Inebriated people are pretty entertaining to watch, but the best part is the lone short order cook serving the whole now-​packed diner (which is just like maybe 10 – 15 bar seats). Such coordinated swift actions. It’s so fast paced he probably has to literally plan out every action in your head and execute them without missing a beat. Or he looks like he’s done it for so long it’s all just second nature.
Anyway, the food is what you’d expect. Hashbrowns, mediocre quality burger patties, fake American cheese, boring white bread buns. But late night greasy food… what more do you expect? It’s cooked as well as it can be and in front of you in minutes.
The Slinger is NOT worth it though. It’s just hashbrowns + 2 cheeseburger patties + egg + really mediocre chili. I don’t even think the combination works, and it’s especially unimpressive if you ask for the chili on the side.
I’d definitely come here again, but only under pretty unique circumstances. Or maybe order a burger and watch the show. Nothing I’d crave or go out of my way for, unfortunately. Might explore other 24-​hr diner options before returning…

I gotta tell you, no one was more surprised than I was at what an incredible meal I had here. The best food I’ve ever had from (what is essentially) a trailer, that’s for sure.
Fancy dining, this is not. A counter for ten and a menu that covers the basics; burgers, eggs, bacon, grilled cheese. Straight up diner food, and they do it right! I had a double cheeseburger with bacon and added a fried egg to it, and it was incredible. The bacon was crisped up right and the burger was cooked perfectly. The fries were nothing short of incredible. They dropped them right when I ordered, so they came out fresh, hot, and crisp. My friend got the Haystack and I have never regretted not ordering something more in my life. It was delicious! Hash browns, gravy, eggs, sausage, and biscuits. Heaven in my mouth!
We went on a Saturday around 12:30 and there were about five other people there, but I hear it is packed to the gills if you go in the middle of the night on the weekends. Cash only and they have an ATM in the doorway. Seriously, I am so in love with this place and I cannot wait until my next trip back!

I usually come to Diner Grill late night since it’s the only place open at the time that has decent food. Yesterday I went and I noticed something that I haven’t noticed the other few times that I have been here. The cook never washes his hands. Ever. He touched the raw meat, patted down the hash browns, cleaned up dirty plates, gave change to one of the customers, and not ONCE did he wash his hands the whole HOUR I was there. Decent food just doesn’t justify the fact that he is violating all health guidelines. It was mortifying to watch and I’m disgusted.

Don’t think I’ve ever ate here other than after The Long Room at nighttime for whatever odd reason (I’d guess this place would still be fine even when I wasn’t drinking?), but this place is always enjoyable. People watching is fun, and I’ve always enjoyed the same late night cook/​cashier they have had for years who works during late evening/​early overnight hours. Hash browns here are actually the closest I’ve found to Waffle House style ones in Chicago, except that they don’t offer the options to add things to them like you can at an actual WaHo (‘scattered, topped, chunked, etc.). Google Waffle House hash brown lingo, if you wonder what some of those terms mean btw.
Finally decided to try the Slinger on my most recent recent, and wow was it great. If you ever miss the Tamale Guy while at Long Room or other nearby bars (I unfortunately have sometimes narrowly missed him), I’d say this is your best bet for eating afterwards. Cheaper and tastier than Golden Nugget IMO, even if the menu isn’t as long. And like others have said, I’ve always enjoyed the people watching here, and the conversations you overhear.

It is a 100% diner and I am a fan. Nothing fancy, frilly, or over the top… well maybe the Slinger is but everything else is straight up Diner food and could not be better.
Had a Hobo Skillet and a cup of coffee, delicious.
I can see this as a good place to go when having the bite before bed after a night of drinking or the place to go in the morning after.

After a night of drinking, breakfast sounded awesome at 4am at Diner Grill. Like a moth to a flame, my body gravitated to the Open 24 Hour sign.
Think greasy old school diner food where everything is cooked on the grill. It would be the perfect truck stop but instead, it’s the perfect hangover joint. We ordered the Slinger — hashbrowns topped with two beef batties, two slices of cheese, two eggs, and chili. It was the perfect hangover meal but it was the most expensive item on the menu for $ 10.50. Next time, I’ll do the single patty version on a bun. I guess they call it the Slinger since it slings its way out after digestion.
It’s cash only but most of the items on the menu are between $ 3 – 7.