Whately Diner

My favorite diner! When I first came here a few years ago, I must admit I was skeptical. It’s a truck stop and is casual to the max… But I quickly realized their food is really good! I always get the french onion soup. I also recommend the big ben burger which is a burger with a fried egg on top in between English muffins. The eggs benedict is also good, with a delicious hollandaise sauce, though sometimes they poach the eggs for too long. My boyfriend is a big fan of the biscuits and gravy.

I had fond memories of coming here as a kid, but today the Whately Diner’s poor service nearly ruined Christmas. We were willing to let a long black hair on the table slide without mention, but our waitress continually made us feel unwelcome. Being completely inflexible in the ordering process, slamming our drinks around, muttering under her breath, taking extra time to bring our order – it was all too much. We left money on the table and walked out before most of it came, only to have our waitress chase us out the door and try to guilt us into coming back in. Needless to say, we didn’t.
Next time, we’ll just keep on driving.

Food was very good people very nice I would highly recommend this diner if you’re into the old fashion way old fashioned food nice atmosphere he’s very good I was very happy with it

Used to be a place where we really liked to eat. Went last night with my family. Waitress #1 who took our orders didn’t write the orders down and got it wrong. Waitress #2 brought us our meals, and I informed her I ordered onion rings instead of fries. She said she would fix it and bring us onion rings. Ate my entire sub and still no onion rings, waited longer we were both done no onion rings. Waitress #1 comes back saying sorry about the onion rings and I told her the other waitress said she was correcting the order and brining them and waitress #1 grinned asked if we wanted anything else? I said no, just my correct order of onion rings. Did I get them? No, she brought the check for the full price of both our meals. Plus she wasn’t humble about it; she acted like it was a joke with a big smile. As we got up I asked waitress #2 where our onion rings were as she saw us get up and she was still socializing with the male cook in the dining area where they both stood for most of our meal. There were only a couple of others sitting at tables who were already served (around 10 pm) so they weren’t very busy. Then waitress #1 said, «I hope your night gets better» with another grin at the register. So I tell her it would if you got my order right and then actually cared to ensure it got fixed like the other waitress said it would. Who is the manager? In the evenings it’s waitress #2. (I didn’t even mention the quesadillas the other person in my party’s ordered were terrible, the cheese was bland cheese and there were only two or three small pieces of chicken in the whole thing. Again we asked how they come when we ordered it and she said any way you order it. We wouldn’t have ordered that either if we knew what poor quality they were. The cheese was even missing in large sections of it.
Needless to say from one night’s service or lack of it, it went from being a favorite restaurant to not even being on the list anymore. So sad two waitresses and a cook can in an hour have that effect by the lack of quality and service they provide.
Recommendations to the head manager and owner, retrain, prove continuously training in areas that are lacking, come in and order the food and taste test the items that don’t get high ratings and improve the quality of service. Use mystery shoppers to see what quality of food and service people are receiving from shift to shift. Hire staff who are professional, detailed oriented, write things down, follow up and provide great customer service and keep trying until they get the order right. Require waitresses stop by a few minutes after the meal is served and ask how everything it. Then care enough to make corrections immediately and don’t forget to follow through on that because that sends the message the the patron and the service the receive isn’t important.
Tonight was a classic example of what shouldn’t have happened.
By simply displaying the proper attitude, correcting my order right away, following up to ensure it was done and everything was fine, they would have stayed on my «places to visit list.»
But by not doing these things, had to provide feedback somewhere –thus on this very disappointed review.

It was quarter to midnight when we pulled into the parking lot. We hadn’t eaten anything in over 16 hours. We were tired and hungry. This place has truck parking! Yay! The diner was open! Yay! And it wasn’t big-​chain fast food or big-​chain truck stop food! Yay! Ok. So maybe my standards were a little low when we went in.
It was the first crisp night of the season and hot tea for me and hot Chocolate for Hubby. Lipton tea, good, asking if I want another tea bag when I ask for a refill?! It happens more than I would like, but it just goes to show how few people actually drink tea.
For dinner, hubby got a bacon cheeseburger and cup of clam chowder. I ordered a bowl of French onion soup (picture below) and grilled cheese. His burger «was good» but his chowder «tasted weird».
My grilled cheese really hit the spot. It was warm and melty and good. I don’t remember if the menu said «Swiss cheese», she didn’t ask me what kind of cheese I wanted, but that’s what it was. The small side of fries were very lightly salted. The big surprise of the night was my bowl of French onion soup. A standard rimmed soup bowl (not a crock), packed with unseasoned (thank god!) salad croutons, and overlaid with slices of Swiss cheese, relying on the heat of the flavorless soup to melt it. Ramsey would have been horrified! I was horrified. I took a picture!
We stayed overnight and hoped breakfast was better. They are justifiably proud of their home-​made corned beef hash. And they should be. It is good. I would order it again. Their French toast is also really good. Their hash browns are very dry and bright orange. Honestly, I think it is turmeric powder. A subtle hint. Not that bad but really really dry.
We will probably stop here again, but stick to corned beef hash, French toast, eggs and grilled cheese.

I like to eat a diners when visiting an area to get some home cooking with a local influence. This eating establishment if I can call it that failed in many areas. The food was bland, greasy and lacked any presentation. Don’t waste your money in this place keep going farther down the road… and the prices are more than the value you receive. Also, the place and the bathrooms looked unsanitary. One star is generous please avoid this tourist trap.

Living in New York City, I haven’t been to many diners but this particular one I just ate at a couple hours ago. Their food is fresh and amazing. Staff is attentive as well. I love the old school type classy décor and of course the music box! Definitely would recommend it to everyone.

I have been here twice so far and I do plan on coming again. This place is a relatively normal and typical truck stop diner. The food is cheap, modest and good and the service is fair. They run 24 hours a day which is great because should my friends and I get hungry at 3 AM, while most places are closed, we can always count on this place being open. The place does look like it could be cleaned up a bit more, but that does not mean it looks grimy or unclean in the slightest. All in all, 4 stars because the service is good, they split up checks when requested (and don’t complain), they check in while food is served, the food is cook well and service is nice. Only down side is that food can sometimes take a while to come out (which i expect, even if there are only a couple people in the restraunt) and that it could use a little more cleaning. It would only take a couple more times coming to raise this to 5 stars the way they are going.

I stopped in last week for an early dinner and it didn’t take long to regret that decision. I ordered a bacon cheese burger with a side of onion rings. I thought that order was a no a brainer. Doesn’t every restaurant offer a burger?
The meal couldn’t have been worse. Although we were 2 of the 6 customers in the restaurant, we had a hard time getting the attention of either of the two waitresses.
The food was really dreadful. My bacon was burned and my burger was overlooked. The onion rings were amazingly awful. I couldn’t create such an awful meal if I tried!
It’s too bad that a classic diner is missing the mark in such a profound way.

After driving most of the day, unloading and reloading way up in Vermont, and driving back out, I had one goal… getting to a decent truck stop so I could get a much needed meal, a shower, and some sleep. My plan was to truck on over to Maybrook, NY to a decent place with plenty of parking, 32 clean showers, and a decent restaurant. As I crossed the Massachusetts state line I realized I was destined to hit Hartford smack in the middle of the after work traffic parking lot on the freeway and was in no mood for it. I had exactly enough available hours to make Maybrook, but only if I could drive the speed limit and that’s not possible in Hartford at that time of the day. I remembered seeing this place as I was headed north, so I set my sights to find it.
There were two parking spots open and I thankfully parked. It looked like a cool place, I was eager to try a meal at the diner and possibly get a shower. Everything went downhill like a loaded truck without brakes from this point on.
The showers are incredibly filthy. Even with my can of Lysol and flip flops, there was no way I could use them… absolutely disgusting. So scratch the shower and break out the wipes until I get to Maybrook.
Well, I was practically starving, so I walk over and sit at the counter. There are 3 waitresses working and for a solid 15 minutes they took turns giving me looks of disdain. Normally after about 15 minutes of being ignored, I will walk away. I’ve grown rather accustomed to not being served by female waitresses in truck stops, but I hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours (fridge in truck became possessed or something… so bye bye food) and I was not leaving without eating.
Now here’s what really jerks my frog… after I had sat down, I’ll say that again… AFTER I HAD SAT DOWN, a male customer came in and sat down and one of the gals immediately took him a menu, took his drink order, brought him his drink, and took his food order. Then another male customer came in and sat down, and once again the waitress practically fell over herself rushing to take his order as well. I stood up (not too impressive because I’m a small female) but I have a voice that carries… I was not very kind, and I was given a menu and asked what I wanted to drink (with a nice eye roll from the waitress). I received my drink 6 minutes later and she started walking off. I told her I was MORE THAN READY TO ORDER SOME FOOD. I opted for the half order of spaghetti (figure the northeast is the best place to get spaghetti with a decent sauce). After a while (I had stopped timing things by now) a plate of spaghetti came sliding towards me. Guess it was too much of an inconvenience for her to actually set it in front of me. I ate every last bite of it because I was frickin starving. Was it good? Meh. Sauce was very bland and pasta was more than chewy, but by then I didn’t care. I did receive a hamburger bun with butter brushed over it (not toasted or tossed on the grill… just straight out of the bag, but there was a bonus… SOMEONE HAD ALREADY TAKEN A BITE OUT OF THE TOP BUN.
I was never asked if the food was ok, if I needed anything else, or if I wanted dessert (I didn’t want dessert, so that part was ok). The waitress walked by and laid the bill on the counter. I put the money on the bill and walked out.
If you are a single female trucker… I’d advise against stopping here for food and I know that no self respecting lady would shower in that filth, but if you need parking… it’ll do. Nobody bothered me and the lot didn’t have the overwhelming urine smell like a lot of places do.
I don’t care how bad Hartford traffic is… I won’t ever drive a tire into this place again. It’s their loss… when I find a good place, I become a repeat customer… and while I am not be the least bit interested in having a female waitress flirt with me or shake her ass in front of me, I do like to make friendly acquaintance with people whenever possible, and I believe in good tipping.
I doubt anything will improve there… simply because truck stops and truck parking is the one thing that is near impossible to find in the northeast.
One star for a parking spot. Zero for the diner.
UPDATE: I spoke with Lisa in customer service relations about my experience here. It is encouraging to know that this business does care about their customers. I was assured the situation will be addressed in the hopes that this doesn’t happen to another customer (especially a single female). I applaud Whatley Diner for these efforts.

Found this place while on vacation… went 4 times in a week. Wonderful friendly staff. amazing food. Definitely recommend!

This is the second time I happened on this classic diner. A truck-​stop eatery, complete with showers in the bathroom. Both experiences here were good. The food was good — even with one traveling companions special order — and the prices are very reasonable. All of it is framed inside a chrome, linoleum, & vinyl diner that shows its age but, to me, is part of its charm.
I never expect white glove treatment in a diner of this type, and you won’t get that here either. You’ll get casual service and some home made & home style deliciousness.
My most recent trip here we took advantage of all-​day breakfast with a pancake for my 2 yo. It was fluffy & he devoured the entire gigantic thing. My hubs went with classic franks n beans. The beans were typical canned beans, but the franks we’re huge & tasted like all beef goodness. He also ate the whole plate. I opted for grilled cheese & ‘hearty tomato’ soup. The grilled cheese was super buttery, golden crispy & perfectly melted… In other words, it was perfect. The soup was well seasoned, hot, and a delightful companion to dip my grilled cheese in. The fries were hot & crispy. I devoured my meal, too.
I wouldn’t make a special trip to this place, but I certainly would stop again if I were in the area.

Both my car and I were in need of nourishment before turning in for the night, so after filling up the vehicle, I searched Unilocal to find someplace for myself. Reviews of the Whately Diner aren’t very good overall, but it was right down the street, and how bad could it be, I thought.
I’ll keep it simple, a tuna melt. What could go wrong? Just about everything. Flaccid fries, rock hard tomato slices, and a tuna salad that tasted fishier than it should have, and was strangely pink in color. I piled all the above onto my plate and was left with a fishy smelling grilled cheese which I just couldn’t bring myself to eat.
Back to the gas station to stock up on chips and jerky. Ah, the joys of travel!

Food was good kind older waitress (Julie), but the young waitress gave us the bill after 10min of our food coming to the table. As if like saying get out. I felt like there is a Lil racist in some employees. I believe that’s rude. a customer should ask for the bill when done eating. not get it thrown at them while they still eating!

It’s been about half of a year since we have last visited this diner and I have to say that it has gone a bit down hill. When we walked in we were greeted by their polite staff, but the restaurant was dirty and our booth smelled a bit rotten.
The jukebox at our table was busted, which is one of our favorite parts of this diner, and when we went to go select from the jukebox by the door, we found out it was broken too.
The food here is still decent and the wait staff was great, we just wish this place got a deep cleaning and fixed their jukeboxes.

Awful. …food was terrible. Service was terrible. A bunch of college kids running the diner talking about drinking and ignoring the customers. Rude waitress. Do not waste your time.

I was in Deerfield this past Saturday just before a snowstorm started raging. On the way out of the Yankee Candle Store, we took a wrong turn to get back on the highway, and I’m really glad we did. We spotted the bright neons of the Whately Diner and pulled in for a quick bite before the treacherous drive home. In the darkness and the snow, it looked like we’d stumbled upon an episode in the Twilight Zone. It was such a perfect diner-​looking diner, so perfectly retro, like time was standing still, or like if The Shining was set in a diner. That’s not a bad thing, by the way.
We had burgers, fries and a chocolate shake. Perfect diner fare, well-​made and for very low prices. The waitresses were friendly and outgoing. The jukeboxes at each booth actually worked.

Nicest thing about the place is that it is open ²⁴⁄₇ and the staff is friendly.
Small booths, dirty bathrooms and mediocre food quality. My table explored omelette, grilled cheese, chicken tenders and French onion soup.
The omelette was standard, but the toast was burned up while the potatoes were raw.
Grilled cheeses were good, but the fries were not cooked.
Chicken tenders were tasty, but overcooked.
Nothing special, but its open 24÷7…

This place has really gone downhill. It used to be a decent if not amazing diner, but now it’s just gross. Bad pancakes, old tasting bacon, $ 2 coffee, and just plain strange and weirdly seasoned hash browns. Add bad service and filthy bathrooms? Never again. Do yourself a favor and keep driving to Denny’s Pantry or the Brass Buckle in Greenfield, or Shady Glen in Turners.

Diner food… Great! Breakfast all day. Very clean and the staff was awesome! Fast service, too!
Free Wi-​Fi and a jukebox at every table.
I am super picky about cleanliness and let me tell you– this passed the test!!!
An odd note– its perfectly air conditioned!!! Not freezing like a lot of restaurants!!! It was awesome… Kind of place you want to just hang out for awhile!!!
Super happy– wish I lived closer so I could go more often!
This is a definite stop you need to make!!! It’s super easy to get to– right off 91!