Big Al’s Diner

I have tried and tried to like this place. I’m done with it. The food is ok, the servers are nice, but it is way overhyped. The final straw — Twice tried to meet someone for breakfast (about 6 months apart) and both times the cook didn’t show and so even thought the sign said «open» and it was an hour past opening time, the lady had the door locked and wouldn’t let us in! Go to Yours Truly or Michael’s on Shaker Square.

Wow what a pleasant surprise to eat here the food was excellent service was good but they need a better dishwasher lol overall great diner food and reasonably priced.

I can easily see why there are so many mixed reviews for this place: it’s divey, it’s crowded, it’s got cheap if basic breakfast eats, the service is just fine, and – in all honesty – you could probably say the place needs a deep clean (I say this because I slipped and slid all the way to the bathroom in my can-​handle-​icy winter boots). BUTTTTT it’s perfect for what it is. We showed up at 9am on a Sunday, beating the church brunch rush, and had our food within 10 minutes. I was a bit worried about vegetarian options, but I needn’t have been: they had plenty. My veggie omelet was good, if basic, incredibly HUGE and came with a massive side of onion-​topped potatoes and two slices of toast. The potatoes were perfect, just the right amount of crisp. My husband’s biscuits and gravy were less impressive: he got maybe a quarter cup of gravy atop both of his biscuits… why so little? And then the woman next to us got about two cups atop hers… why so much more? We asked if she ordered extra and she said no, so don’t expect consistency with food ratios at Big Al’s, is the lesson here. Overall, we got out of there with very full bellies for very cheap prices and my husband has already suggested going back. If you’re hesitating, definitely give Big Al’s a try and see for yourself. You won’t have a bad experience, just a basic breakfast diner one – but what more could you honestly expect?

NOT impressed. Service is ok — Staff with plain faces. Not a single smile, but never mistreated.
The food is just ORDINARY, I believe you can have the same exactly kind of food in many other corner diners around.

My soulmate and I came here on a brisk Saturday morning this past weekend. She suggested it earlier during the week for the phenomenal food, but ever since my experience with some sad diner in Maine 14 years ago, I have been quite skeptical of the whole diner scene overall. Fortunately, I am here to tell you today, folks, that my skepticism of diners has been fully released from my massive egotistical diner-​hating mind, thanks to Big Al.
She parks in the parking lot and commences to full sprint towards the front door. I thought this could be attributed entirely to her being hangry, but after whipping out my Nike Free 5.0’s and chasing after her inside, I witness a scene straight out of Club Obi Wan in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom… tables flipped, patrons lying on the floor unconscious, food mysteriously becoming clothing for many. I look in the corner and see the beautiful gleaming smile of my boo waiting patiently for me beyond the apocalyptic scene of destruction. Oh, how I love her! I sat down and waited for the scene to normalize; she told me that table selection is given entirely to the patrons of this establishment. Suddenly her destructive tendencies were quite understandable.
After normalization was established within our environment, I proceeded to take it all in. I noticed a picture of the Three Stooges. I do enjoy their crazy antics… and look! They were golfing! I also like to party. Already Big Al knew me all too well! Smiley faces were glued onto the window sill next to us… fuzzy too! I do love me some fuzzy smiley faces, their tender touch and eternal happiness just gives me goosebumps on my raging pecs.
My darling ordered the corned beef hash combo, I placed an order for the country fried steak combo and a side of fried green tomatoes (that movie, still to this day, gives me major feels… oh Idgie!). I see that people complained a lot already about the servers in this establishment… let me just tell you right now, this is how it should always be. Take my order, bring the food/​check, and hella leave us alone! PERFECTO! We received our meal at relatively the expected pace I would assume this food should be cooked to order with.
The corned beef hash was AMAZEBALLS. The country fried steak was AMAZEBALLS (true or false story… this may be pork. It also may be beef steak. The answer may be in between). The eggs were AMAZEBALLS. The toast was AMAZEBALLS. The fried green tomatoes (along with the movie) were AMAZEBALLS. Tears started swelling and falling down my cheeks and I may have made a mistake in my pants… honestly I didn’t check them the rest of the day as my mind was on the food from this point onward. My love looked to have the same thing happen… I believe we truly found God on this day — maybe temporarily, but the magic is still there as I write this today.
We received the check and proceeded to pay. It was a sad moment, thinking about leaving this little nook of a diner, but all good things must end at some point in a day. I noticed a food tray in the counter that had a pretty fine looking woman on it, we do have quite the fetish for such things… of course after the right modifications. I attempted to haggle with the cashier over this treasure, but ultimately I only was offered a tin of Borax. Maybe this is the cause of all the angst over the working staff in this fine establishment? The world may never know, but surely I know one thing… Big Al definitely knows how to create food ecstasy!

Where to start: my girlfriend and I came here because we’d heard such great things. I should have read some reviews. It took 5 minutes just to wipe down a dirty table. Our server had the nastiest attitude and mumbled everything making it impossible to even understand her. We were never asked about drinks and when my girlfriend ordered a diet coke, a diet Pepsi was finally brought out towards the end of our meal.
As far as the food goes, I ordered an omelet and my girlfriend ordered eggs and biscuits and gravy. My omelet featured a cold and what appeared to be pre made egg patty and half melted cheese. The biscuits were hard and the gravy wasn’t very good either. On the plus side, the home fries with onions were pretty good.
Overall, our experience was pretty awful. We will not be returning in the future.

Decided to try the famed corned beef hash. I should have paid more attention to the other reviews. I walked in and seated myself at the counter for a takeout order. No one acknowledged me. Waitresses were talking to each other and eating. I had to ask a waitress if she would take my order. She obliged but that’s it. No asking if I wanted a drink of water as I waited for my food. The corned beef hash was bland typical greasy spoon type of food. I could definitely do better in my own kitchen. I won’t be going back.

We came here because it was voted the best diner in Ohio. I demand a recount on that vote. Horrible service, waited over 10 minutes just to order, never got a refill on coffee, can’t cook over medium eggs, and then had to wait 10 minutes at the counter to pay. Nothing redeeming about this diner, and can’t understand how it became the best diner in Ohio. Ever.
And the other reviews are accurate, very unhappy servers.

I love the food here. Always great. My complaint? The attitudes of a few of the waitresses. Seriously eating and ignoring customers while it’s busy. Extremely crappy and rude replies. Rolling of the eyes, dirty clothing and nails too long.
There are a pair of servers that have been there for years. Pray you get one of them. Big Al… Please screen your new employees and hire kind people that care about your restaurant. Cleveland loves your food!

The service needs a major overhaul however, the Pecan Waffle gave me life. I just wish the service was better but overall the diner’s food gets 4 stars.

Three weeks and they have yet to actually be open when their hours state. They supposedly open every weekday at 6:30am. Each of the last three weeks I have attempted to stop in at 7:30am and none of those times have they actually been open. One time I called and actually got an answer from one of the cooks, who told me that «the waitresses aren’t here yet» try back in 10 minutes. 10 minutes later, no waitresses.
The food is great greasy spoon fare, but this lack of consistency is getting ridiculous. I will also echo others that when you are actually seated service can be downright awful. Most of the staff their treat you as if you are a task to be dealt with and not a customer.
Love the food, but they need new management stat!!!

Ive been here a bunch of times. Its good but I dont understand all the hype. Its a little divey place on Larchmere that are known for their breakfasts which are reasonably priced and the locals rant and rave about the corned beef hash. The coffee is good. Breakfasts are good. Meh Nothing special. I go in all the time.

The past few times I’ve been there, the service was horrible. So, I stopped going. I tried again today and again the service was terrible. After waiting 10 plus minutes and not being acknowledged by a server, a server waited on the table next to me with people that just sat down. I finally had to ask for service.

I had high hopes when we found such a charming diner near our new home, and we came several times. The food was forest and the prices were alright, but the service is consistently terrible.
The drawback of having customers seat themselves is that often we went completely unnoticed, and this last time we waited 20 minutes, during which we were visited by a server twice to check in on us, and told we would be gotten to shortly.
It was disheartening to say the least, as I had planned to continue coming even with the long wait, but that level of disorganization and customer neglect will not warrant another visit.

I will be giving this another shot, so that is a good sign. So today’s experience was not overly great. Mainly because we it took the server close to 45 minutes to take our order. Then it was about 30 minutes to get the order. I will add that it was only happening to us. Folks all around us were coming and going just fine.
So, to the food. It is a pretty good breakfast menu. The prices are reasonable and the quality is in line. I loved the homey atmosphere. It s very ‘small town’ feeling.
The corned beef hash is pretty good. It had great flavor, onion and bell pepper. Only issue for me is the potatoes were a little on the too chunky side.
So I will need to come back and see if things are better a second time around. I have an eye on the coconut cake.

Big Al’s is a no-​frills, hole-​in-​the-​wall diner when you’re craving greasy but satisfying breakfast. Don’t miss their corned beef hash! Pancakes are aiite. The french toast is also solid. Eggs don’t always come out the way you requested. For instance, my friend’s over-​medium were more over-​raw, and my poached eggs were over cooked. I am a serious egg aficionado so stuff like this really grinds my gears. You also just have to be okay with the hit-​or-​miss service. We had to ask a few times for our coffee and cream. Regardless the servers are friendly enough and the breakfast is pretty gratifying. Definitely a good option after a night of debauchery!

Classic diner. The western omelette with cheddar, peppers and ham was delicious. The home fries with onions on top were addictive. Theres often a wait to dine here.
The portions are enough for sharing. We split the omelette which comes with home fries and toast among two of us.

This is one of the BEST breakfast spots in Cleveland! The servers are akways friendly and smiling. The corned beef hash is the top notch.
The pancakes are thick and fluffy and hard to finish, you will not be disappointed.

I learned of Big Al’s Diner on Diner, Dives and Drive ins from the food network and the reviews were accurate. When visiting the diner, make sure to seat yourself at an available booth/​table and beware, it’s a very SMALL location.
The staff is friendly, but busy taking orders and making sure the food is served, so service can be considered slow. They are a mom and pop shop, this is not a typical chain where they focus on customer service, but the food if worth the wait! The french toast, eggs and sausage were very good and seasoned just right… ENJOY the experience of Big Al’s Diner!

Sorry to see the previous reviewer have such a bad experience… maybe it was an off day?
I have been here twice, and had great experiences both times. Big Al’s Diner is truly a small «hole in the wall» type joint, but don’t let that deceive you… their food is rock solid.
My favorite dish (both times there) for breakfast has been the corned beef hash, a plate piled high with potatoes, onions, green peppers, shaved corned beef topped off with two eggs (I go over easy to enjoy the runny goodness). Coffee is endless and tasty and the service prompt and attentive, but not overly so.
Would eat here again without question.