Dots Diner – by Central

Honestly, this place is fine. This is the kind of place where you go when your cat just died at the vet’s office down the road or you don’t have time to deal with breakfast because you spent the night in the ER with someone battling a drug-​resistant, allergy-​triggered migraine.
The coffee will always be black and a little rough, like diner coffee should be. The doors will always be open, like diner doors should be. The menus will be a little bit sticky because so many other fingers have paged through them. The breakfast, lunch, and dinner will always be a little blurry in terms of times because diners are supposed to blur time into one long, slow, welcome day.
If this review sounds a little desperate, it is. What would be a 2-​star review is a 3-​star bonus because they actually have some interesting and unique menu items that I appreciate. Someone obviously put a little love and thought into the menu here, and I can get behind it. At the same time, they serve canned corn.
I’ve never had a bad meal at Dot’s, but I’ve never had a great meal, either. It’s always solidly «just fine.» And that, my friends, is just fine.
Accessibility notes: Doors open out. No Braille menus. Dim in some parts of the restaurant. TVs are distracting. High counter to check out. Bathroom doors open out.

Great food crawfish bread as always !!!

It’s an okay enough diner. I stayed at the hotel down the street and had breakfast here. I had the Queen Creole, and it was decent. The wait to get food on that Sunday morning was long, since it was a full house in there. However, the ladies did their best to make sure I was attended to. The waitresses were nice and the people I sat with at the diner bar were friendly and animated, as many of the residents in the NOLA area typically are. They didn’t have fresh fruit, which was disappointing, but I take it the usual customers do not eat out at a diner to eat fruit. It’s certainly a neighborhood joint where I bet the waitresses know everybody’s name and can smell an outsider. They treated me like I was at home as best they could, and I appreciated that.

I will never eat hash browns or biscuits anywhere else… To die for. And brought me back to life after a rough night.

I love Dots. Best breakfast in all of the greater New Orleans area. This Dots, in particular, has my heart. The waitresses know us when we come in and always ask if we want «our usual». Gotta mix it up sometimes, but man do I love that corned beef hash and eggs over medium! Real beef, fried up with delicious hash browns. I pour some steak sauce and hot sauce on them!
The coffee is strong and plentiful and you can get a HUGE meal without breaking the bank.
It’s truly a greasy spoon diner, outfitted with retro tables and booths. You can easily pull up to the counter or wait for a table if it’s during a rush. I’ve never had to wait more than about 15 minutes, even though the place always seems busy!
Plenty of parking onsite and the bathrooms are clean. There’s video poker, but that’s not a deciding factor for me for breakfast spot, so I don’t pay much attention to it. They always have some old movie playing on the 20 inch TV above the counter. It’s one of my favorite things about the restaurant.
My only complaint is that they’re not open late-​night. Man, this would be such a great spot after a night of bar hopping!

I love Dots. Friendly and homey. The food is exactly how diner food should be. Consistent and basic. Plus free wifi! Can’t beat it!

This is a dependable diner (and local chain). Very affordable and great for breakfast. They all seem to allocate a great deal of space to video poker, so they are all pretty cramped. However, if you want to talk with friendly local New Orleans residents, this is a great destination.

Stopped off at Dot’s when I spotted it as I passed by from dropping Max off at the Ark Vet Clinic. Small diner, some might even call it a hole in the wall. But what they lack in tables, fancy napkins or stuffed shirt waiters, they make up for with a friendly staff who always seem to be in motion and you can watch your order being prepared on the flat top while chatting with the cook. Even the other patrons will chat with a total stranger! Had the meat lovers 3 egg omelet with a side of bacon, grits and toast. Also had OJ and coffee with free refills on the coffee. Definitely worth stopping in of you are in the area!

The lumberjack with gravy is a big with me. The wife likes the 123 with a side of toast. But anything on the menu is good and is always fresh and hot off the grill.

BANANA NUT WAFFLE!!!
It’s not a destination spot for me. It’s a last resort for breakfast when I’m too hung over to make eggs at home. I roll out of bed, cross the street and flop down at a booth. They serve really buttery biscuits. Anything on a biscuit is decent. My favorite is the Banana Nut Waffle, which is made with their waffle batter, fresh banana cut into chuks and pecan. I have the waffle bc a. it’s great on its own b. the fake, yellow, liquid butter in the clear squeeze bottle looks like it’s gotten squeezed by too many diners and screams «fake» and c. the maple syrup is also artificial. My neighbor eats dinner there every day with his wife at exactly 6pm, which is cute but I have only ever tried breakfast items and their BLT (it’s ok), so I have nothing to report on the entrees.
Ambiance: a tiny, greasy American Diner that serves classic diner food along with unlimited strong, hot coffee by a bunch of waitresses that can definitely tell you some hard stories about life. They are always nice and always working their butts off, even though I obviously look like a weak, hung over mess who just needs another nap. Watching them work at the grill/​serving coffee makes me want to work harder so I can take care of my mom. I don’t want my mom ending up serving greasy diner food at the age of 60 with no retirement ahead of her.
No table manners necessary, it’s definitely casual.

We had breakfast at this classic roadside diner and loved it. The biscuits and gravy were fantastic, and the seafood omelette with the crawfish julie sauce was one of the best I’ve ever put in my mouth. We’re definitely coming back again!

What you see, is what you get here. It’s a no nonsense and no frills kinda place. Though I do like coming here because the ladies working here are always friendly and love to chat.

A small old-​fashioned diner experience.
Dot’s staff are generally older, with that friendly style memorialized by Mel, Flo, and Alice in the TV series bearing the latter’s name. They’ll talk to you, make recommendations, and chat about the Saints whether you’re sitting in a booth or at one of the stools at the counter. (Actually, it’s easier to chat ‘em up in the booths because once behind the counter, they’re all busy slinging plates, ringing the register, pouring the coffee, etc.)
So the talk is good, what about the food? No surprises here. There are good biscuit based options, including the Dotwich that makes for an economical but satisfying meal. Omelettes are as expected. The hash browns, the short-​toothpick style frozen-​then-​fried variety that Waffle House serves, are something of a disappointment. Pancakes are hot and fluffy, but don’t expect 100% maple syrup as an option. (I can hear you screaming at the screen: «Why, then, did you come here? If you want that, go to „breakfast café“, pay $ 20 for your stack, and get your Grade A Vermont fix there.»)
The coffee is unlimited (yaay!), served in proper thick walled mugs, and refilled frequently. As the the maple syrup, don’t come in expecting to find latte macchiato on the menu. It’s a cup of coffee – fresh, hot, and strong.

I LOVE YOU DOT… even if you’re not my mama!
Dot’s Diner slogan:
«I’m notcha mama, but ya always at home at Dot’s Dinah»
… the best New Orleans slogan since Frankie & Johnny’s ‘Let her have it’! It’s not so much what she says, it’s her wonderfully illustrated NOLA accent in their radio ad that charms me so! I have to say, I’m usually unimpressed with diners. But Dot’s makes me smile. The service is always very friendly (even if sometimes slow due to the crowds that pack each location). And the food is always delicious. Greasy, spicy All the Way hash browns… my fave! Crawfish Creole Biscuit with Crawfish Julie Sauce… don’t get me started! And their signature Dotwich. (Dot’s version of the Egg McMuffin, but BETTER!!!) Everything here is legit. I always leave full and happy!

Friendly home cooked meals, great food great prices always busy when we went in. All the waitresses at each of the diners we went to offered service with a smile. The sweet tea was great, loved the chicken fried steak. The grits were cooked to perfection and the pork chop was awesomely seasoned. Dots Diner Definitely pleased and should be tried when you go to NOLA!

Foods good not a lot of choices in the area and read the reviews would stop again menu has deals and prices are good for a diner similar to a Waffle House

Solid 3-​star rating after my 2^nd visit here in a week. First, after a spontaneous Monday night at Maple Leaf Bar, this morning for a late breakfast. The first thing I tried was the loaded hash browns (drunk food!) and they were yummy but a little salty. The fiancé got a ridiculously loaded breakfast sandwich and biscuits and gravy. The biscuits and gravy were seriously amazing. I’ve never had that good of gravy at a diner, and I’ve certainly never made that good of gravy at home.
Today, totally sober, I got the country breakfast with scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage and gravy (I opted to omit the biscuit — you know — to make it healthy ;-)). The service was friendly and they kept our coffee mugs filled, but it took a looong time to get our food! It was probably 85% capacity on a Saturday at 11:30 am, but the parking lot was packed. The price is right, the gravy is well-​seasoned, and the hash browns are shredded — I’ll be back!

Typical greasy spoon diner with typical menu, the one exception being the New Orleans crawfish omlette… filled with something they call «Crawfish Julie» sauce, (it seems to be crawfish, mushrooms, and cheese) it is absolutely fantastic and one of my favorite sure-​fire hangover cures. They have several locations, all of which are close together and none of which are any where near downtown, but it’s worth the drive and they have parking.
The service here is excellent… there always seems to be a «Flo» type behind the bar, taking orders and talking it up. The staff remembers their regulars, and keeps the coffee hot and fresh.

Tried Dot’s for the first time on a Sunday a couple weeks ago for breakfast. The space is very, very small — about five booths and four tables squeezed in where there is really only room for about three and three. There is also a counter with about eight seats.
While waiting for a table, I kid you not, of the six parties within view, at least one person at each table was talking with his mouth full or chewing his food bovine style. It was disgusting and I cannot figure out how people never come to realize that that is just NOT OKAY.
The food was decent and prepared as requested. Prices are very fair. The servers go out of their way to be friendly and accommodating.
Only major sticking point with me — besides the oafs with zero table manners which Dot’s cannot control — was the melted «butter» in a bottle. Not the kind you can buy at the store that I think says «Parkay Squeeze» or something — no, it’s just a plain see-​through bottle filled with liquid yellow. You want me to believe it’s butter? Hmmmnnnn… I’ll just have syrup on my French toast, thank you though. Oh, and the syrup is not warm, but our server gladly nuked it for few secs.
I would go back if I happened to simultaneously be hungry and on Jefferson Highway, but I wouldn’t make it a destination.

My husband and I are in Kenner every year for business, and we always look forward to breakfast at Dot’s. «Big portions, good values» is their motto, and they deliver. The service is typically Southern, which is to say hospitable and relaxed, and the food is terrific. We both like the New Orleans Omelette, which is described as «Crawfish Sauce Julie» on the menu, and is rich enough to make you think twice about getting lunch later. I also like The Cajun Omelette, which has hot sausage, green peppers, onions and cheese. Dot’s offers up some heart healthy and Atkin’s choices on the menu, and they serve lunch and dinner. If you sign up to get their emails, they’ll send you coupons.