Hathaway’s Diner

Great downtown diner. I ate there twice during my Cincinnati stay. The first morning I had the pancake, egg, bacon with a side of goetta. Good!!! The next day I had the goetta omelette. Good! Great spot for and inexpensive breakfast downtown. I’ll be back.

I am so glad I found you. My eggs were cooked perfectly. My coffee was always full. I was in and out in 20 minutes.
You are a hidden gem.

Hathaways is a diner located in the Hilton Hotel complex. It was actually difficult to find since we weren’t actually from the city, but have to say it wasn’t worth the walk around. it wasn’t bad, but there is nothing spectacular about it. The coffee was good, but nothing I would sell my first born for. The food was average diner food. It did it’s job and filled us up.
If you’re close by and know where it is and needs some eggs and toast this is a fine place. Nothing to hunt through the city for though.

A cincinnati fixture since I was a kid.
Try the crispy corned beef hash and perfectly poached eggs. Or any of the
Sandwiches. Brings back memories of shopping with grandma. Good old fashioned real food!!!

We tried the Guetta. Tastes a lot like white pudding! Service was great! Omelette was yummy!

This place barely gets to 2 stars. We went at about 11am and had three plates. One of us had the tuna salad sandwich (pretty good… fresh lettuce, a poorly trimmed tomato, and nice tuna salad. .but the tuna had a subtle taste of cinnamon — I swear Cincinnati has a fetish with cinnamon given their Skyline chili and all). Another in our party had the steak and eggs (the toast was limp, but the eggs were done right and the little steak was tasty). The last had an omelet (not good at all… once again limp toast but the eggs were so cold the cheese wasn’t melted).
The wait staff is a bit over the hill. but they make up for it by never checking back. On the bright side the coffee was very good. Oh well… while this looks like a delightful old little diner with counter seating and all, they just don’t bring it with the food

We stayed at the Hilton next door and needed a good, hearty breakfast before leaving town. Hathaway’s fit the bill nicely. It is a Diner, capital D, partially because our waitress was named Geneva and had a magnificent bouffant. But also because it is a classic short-​order kitchen that cranks out perfect eggs, pancakes, and even grits (yes, this is the South). We left satisfied by both the food and the experience.

If you’re staying in the Hilton Netherlands Plaza, The Hathaway Diner is an inexpensive alternative to the hotel dining room or room service for a full breakfast i.e. bacon and eggs/​pancakes. Our waitress was friendly and the breakfast was served promptly and while still hot. In the morning, it’s about all I need. Oh, yes, real silverware and plates, not plastic.

This is the real deal — a diner from the fifties, just like things used to be. Many of the wait staff have been working there for decades and have items on the menu named after them. The service was great and our church group kids loved the food. It was also very reasonably priced, something that’s hard to get in a downtown area. I highly recommend the goetta omelet, the coney’s, and the burgers. This is a hidden gem in downtown Cincinnati and if you love diners you shouldn’t miss it — it’s what all the other fifties-​style restaurants in the world are trying to be, but you just can’t beat an original like this!

I’ve had good service (mid morning). All the breakfast basics, plus Goetta. Pancakes of large circumference. Old time diner layout, with two large U shaped counters. Plenty of tables and booths as well. If you want something extra, just ask.

This is a great little dinner with very tasty options. It’s a convenient quick option for downtown being that it’s in the Carew tower. I was introduced to the new owners and they were extremely pleasant. They have the best omelettes in town. If you’re looking for value, I recommend going to Hathaway’s.

Breakfast was good, but no rest rooms. Being from Chicago service seemed a little slow for my normal pace but being on vacation it was fine.

As other reviews have stated, Hathaway’s has your typical diner atmosphere, which I love :)
…but as soon as our waitress started taking drink orders it was apparent we would probably not have a good experience. We had to ask for EVERYTHING over the course of our meal including silverware, napkins, refills on coffee and water.
Our coffee cups were empty for 15 minutes until we finally asked for more. Our waitress seemed like we were inconveniencing her at every request, and we felt bad for having to ask for everything… but seriously! Prices were overall fine, but somehow 1 egg is listed as $ 4.00 randomly. weird?
Anyway, it’s listed in the menu that a Spanish omelette comes with salsa… and when it wasn’t on my omelette I inquired about it because I love salsa with my eggs. I was told, «the boss tells us not to include the salsa unless people ask for it, I don’t know, he’s mean». What!!! Your boss is that cheap to gip customers from getting what they ordered and paid for?
Also, I ordered sausage links and they didn’t come out with the meal. Since I assumed they were forgotten I just said forget it. Right as we are about to pay the waitress threw the plate of sausage on the table and said, «these take longer to cook» and walked away. Wow.
I think this diner has a lot of potential, and it goes to show how big of an impact the server’s attitude has on the customer experience and whether or not they’ll be back. I love Cinci and I will be back, but I will eat elsewhere for breakfast for sure!

Archetypal diner: simple, tasty food at low prices with fairly bland décor. The pancakes were very good. The coffee was better than average for a diner — very smooth, moderately bitter, and well-​made. They could have used another couple waitpersons (it was very busy when we were there) but the staff was very efficient and worked very hard.

Everything you’d want in an old school lunch counter. Atmosphere is literally frozen in time in a way that is not trying to hard. This place is the real deal. The food… its diner food and it’s good. Turkey club and fries, just what you’d expect. The atmosphere certainly outweighs the food, but the food ain’t bad!

Delicious coconut cake. The coke had just the right amount of carbonation. Can’t wait to come back and try the milkshakes.

Was just passing through the Carew Tower when we saw this diner. We heard they serve goetta which is «must-​try» in Cincinnati. They have combo meals/​specials everyday for about $ 6.50 which I think is cheap especially if you are in the city. Their serving was in good and tummy filling size. Food tastes good. Our first taste of goetta didn’t disappoint us! We loved it!

Hathaway’s is on the ground level of Carew Tower. I’m told it is one of the last restaurants in the tower. There once were a lot of options but most have shut down or relocated.
Hathaway’s seems to have a lot of potential; the interior looks like a great, traditional diner. However, there is a ways to go before reaching that full potential. The service could be a little more attentive and more able to provide recommendations. The portions could be a little bigger and the dishes could taste a little fresher.
This diner is A-​OK and if you’re not looking for anything special.

We ventured down to Hathaway’s for our Unilocal Cincy Breakfast Club Saturday morning and I have to admit, out of everywhere we have visited the service, and food was a bit underwhelming, but the atmosphere of this place was as old school as it gets.
I’m not sure if every diner tries to nail that old school diner look at feel, but this one literally looks like it is straight out of the movie Grease, if anything just pop by here to order a soda fountain ice cream! YES! One of the few remaining that actually still have these.
Now once the charm of this aqua colored antique wore out it was time to eat. The menu is super weird in my opinion. Their weren’t a ton of breakfast options. At every diner we have went I usually order a standard breakfast: Toast, two eggs, choice of meat & hasbrowns. This place didn’t have anything put together all ready you had to order something weird you didn’t want and add to it.
The food all came out at random times and honestly I think something funky was going on or they were just super busy because I thought to myself I would have rather eaten at home today. My breakfast was around $ 10 but at a diner I consider that high. My bill has been literally $ 5 at any other place we have been.
I love this place for nostalgia, but unfortunately this time the food was just OK.

So, I’m not the biggest diner fan. It seems that I only visit diners at breakfast time, and being that I’m not a big breakfast person — I think that is where the diner phobia comes from. That being said, this place is pretty darn good. Went in with a group of 12 including kids. Our waitress at Hathaway’s was extremely attentive and friendly. We were served up front and our food came out very quickly.
I went with the biscuits and gravy, which had a very generous portion. It was really good and really rich. I also ordered a side of goetta, which was a special treat for me as I do not live in the Cincinnati area. I would definitely hit this spot again for a quick and good breakfast in downtown Cincy.