The Liberty Elm Diner

Had breakfast here. Johnny cakes were bomb. I’m really sad they closed. It represented diners in the best traditional way.

Great breakfast spot. I got the Johnny Cakes and Grits (what can I say, I have a thing for corn meal) and both were delicious. A tad small inside and I hear they get busy so I wouldn’t go with a group of people. We sat at the counter.

Dope spot for breakfast. I wish I could have loved this place. Food is average at best, I think the lure of this being a diner is what really makes this place a go to spot.
One gripe I had is that I am a HUGE fan of home fries (hash browns don’t cut it for me) and these were not good at. My theory is its hard to mess up home fries and they did.
It’s a good place to visit, but definitely not worth going multiple times. But I will say I haven’t tried their Johnny Cakes yet, and they are suppose to be great here.

My wife and I went to the Liberty Elm for breakfast. «Nice little local place.» we thought. Boy were we wrong. After we were seated it took 45 minutes for the waitress to come back to take our order. In the time it took for us to get our food, the table next to us was seated, ordered, received their food, paid the bill and left!
My wife went back with a friend to give them a «second chance.» Again the service was terrible. She didn’t leave a tip. When she balanced her checkbook later that month, they had added their own tip!!!

I really wanted to like this place especially because my SO was so excited to get breakfast there, but, I just can’t.
I will start with what I liked, being:
Friendly and quick service and they had vegan options. They DID do the migas for me with no onion even though it is usually pre-​made with the peppers and what not.
The things I didn’t like:
The coffee I had there was probably the worst I have ever had. I’m not sure if it was the cup or the actual or coffee but it tasted like burnt plastic. I couldn’t even drink it. Second, the food was alright but nothing special. I have had far better breakfasts elsewhere. I liked the drawings on the walls but it looked dingy inside. I am a huge fan of little diners but this place just didn’t do it for me.

We’d heard so many great things about the Liberty Elm Diner, we decided to break with our brunch-​at-​home weekend tradition and head out to experience it for ourselves. One, and we’re done.
The bricks and mortar place is highly authentic, old school Americana (hell’s yeah, Boraxo soap in the bathroom!), and with johnnycakes and Yacht Club soda available, it’s definitely a slice of Lil’ Rhody history. But the execution is thoroughly modern, Providence hipster style. It feels very much like a counterculture diner version of Julian’s on Broadway.
Being a Sunday morning at 11am, the place was unsurprisingly packed. With a 30-​minute wait for a table, we opted to sit at the counter. The staff is very friendly; we became fast friends with our server, Amelia and her fiancée, James, who sat beside us at the counter. Thank goodness for their friendliness, because the service is achingly slow; it’s recommended that you arrive 45 minutes before you plan to be hungry.
The kitchen ran out of bacon — bacon! — around noontime. Luckily, we got our food right under the wire. My boyfriend jokingly offered his remaining bacon to anyone interested, for $ 5 a slice. Certain key brunch staples are missing, such as corned beef hash and eggs Benedict.
Every cup of coffee tastes a little different from the last; there is no continuity in quality. The first cup was great! The second and third cups tasted like a whole gym sock had been run through them.
The homemade hash browns were yummy, and I was told the breakfast sandwich on a grilled bagel was very good. My breakfast burrito was rather bland. Overall, the quality is not worth the wait.
I’m not big on brunch out, as a rule. To me, nothing’s better than sleeping in and making your own leisurely omelet and enjoying bottomless cups of coffee at home on a Sunday, your own music playing, no shoes necessary: socks or slippers only. In order for me to put on real clothes and head out in the car, a place has got to deliver on all counts; and in my opinion, the Liberty Elm just doesn’t make the grade. I’ll happily return to keeping the home fires burning, and enjoy a comfortable seat with a back, next weekend.

Hell YES!
Fantastic breakfast, mad respect for the art of the diner and hella cool wait staff.
Johnny cakes are brilliant but far more impressive is the respect the staff has for the legacy of their craft.
If you are reading this post, get your vanilla arse out of the same old same old and come taste America.
I only wish this was closer to anything I frequent.

It looks like a hole-​in-​the-​wall in a crummy neighborhood. But in reality, it is fine dining served in a historic setting.
The food is diner fare with a bit of a «yuppie upscale» twist. Delicious. The setting is the stuff of nostalgia and evocative of an America of times gone by.
The staff is friendly and welcoming. The wifi is free.
I’ll be back.

This is a dying art in RI! The Diner was invented in RI and all but a few remain. This place is great! I went here for breakfast recently and had my diner usual; 2 eggs, bacon, toast, and homefries, LOL. ¿Yeah boring? but each diner does it different, trust me. There are also many more lavish menu items like the across town Modern Diner but some how this place stays off the radar.
One Rhode Island throwback favorite they still serve, are johnny cakes (fried cornmeal pancakes). I still love a side order, and so few diners still make them.

It’s school vacation week, which meant my parents made a mid-​week trip down to see the grandbaby and spent an afternoon at the zoo. You can only enjoy zoo food so many times in a week, so my mum mentioned going here instead. It was a great choice.
I love diners as much as the next person, but generally, it’s not exactly top notch stuff. The Liberty Elm is a wonderful exception to the rule. I had the portobello swiss melt and, hands down, it’s the best I’ve ever had. My stepfather confirmed this, as he had it too. My mother’s grilled tofu was immediately usurped by my daughter, snapped out of her temporary picky funk. Her grilled cheese came home with us and she cheerfully snacked on it all evening. I dragged my husband back today and the food was just as good. My husband’s only qualm was that he could only get bacon as a side order, but you can’t win them all.
It’s not a huge place, but if you’ve been to a real diner, you already know that. The inside is eclectic and either maintains or has painstakingly restored the interior to mid-​century glory. The added on room is a sea of colourful formica tables and chairs. They do have a modern high chair, an old fashioned aluminum one, and I spotted a booster seat in the mix. There’s a basket of self-​serve kid entertainment (books, crayons, paper), which is a huge plus in my book. The staff is very friendly and made me feel like a regular both times.
The diner is woman-​owned, which is a definite bonus for me and a lot of the food seems to be sourced locally. The prices are quite good, especially since I’ve found that a lot of places use local food tend to charge extra for it. The only real downside is that the parking lot is a bit small.
I’m certainly hoping to become a regular here.

I’m sad right now because I realize I’ve lived an entire year in Providence without ever having gone to the Liberty Elm Diner. This Sunday I was deflowered and it was amazing. I don’t think I could ever tire of this place. It’s a train car diner with a room built on back. It’s filthy but the staff does their due diligence with thorough wipe downs between customers.
The bread, oh the bread. Yum. Thick cut, slathered in salty butter — a real throw back to preschool for me. I ordered a special of sweet potato hash mixed with blue cheese and spinach. The hash was more of a mash and the flavors didn’t quite come together but I tasted of my companion’s meals and they were delicious. Fresh squeezed juices were a real highlight. And I love that they partner with local farms for a casual farm to table breakfast/​brunch/​lunch. Will certainly be back again and again.

I had heard a lot about the Liberty Elm, maybe it was on a TV show (DDD?) or something. I love these old fashion diners that have become cool hip trendy etc. mostly because the food the serve is 100% what i like and its usually an assortment of characters running the place.
Décor at Liberty Elm is old dinerish, simple. Clean enough, but maybe not if you’re a neat freak. The food here was all around goodness. I had a tofu scramble which isn’t usually what i get when i see pancakes on a menu, but this morning i broke from the norm for tofu, homies and toast. This is one of those places that i need to go back about a dozen times before i can decide what the best thing on the menu is, and hopefully i can do that soon.

I went to the Liberty Elm this weekend on the suggestion of a friend and I was very happy I took her advice. This is a really neat and funky diner.
It is a little out of the way to get to from the East Side, but it was well worth the travel. When we got there, our party of 5 was seated very quickly. The coffee is really good, they use New Harvest Roasters and for $ 1.95, you can get a bottomless cup. I had the Monte Cristo Sandwich with the Fried Egg. It was literally all the best combinations of breakfast flavors a girl could want. The french toast was nicely spiced, the country ham and swiss was decadent and the fried egg, perfect. The real maple syrup was a great touch! All my friend’s food looked great too!
I will more than likely be back because this place has great service and great food!

As many times as I looked at the menu online and heard about this place, I just couldn’t conceive of local food and a diner. All I kept thinking was that it was going to be a greasy spoon type of place — as most diners are. That misconception stopped me from trying this place for way too long. I finally took the chance and tried it, and boy am I glad I did.
I can’t wait any longer to tell you about the freshly squeezed lemon-​limeade. When I say freshly squeezed, I mean they squeeze the lemons and limes, add in some water, and give it to you like that (that means no sugar). If your mouth is watering from the sourness of that idea, it should. They serve it with some simple syrup on the side so that you can sweeten it to your liking. I loved this idea. It was so tart and summery, it just made my day.
The food was great too. Lots of bacon (on the BLT and the grilled cheese with bacon). The waitress was awesome in that she knew what to recommend for bread and she even suggested a herbed mayo for the BLT — ummm. yes please! Both choices were spot on.
The sandwiches were served with chips, no fries options, though you can order home fries if you desire, but really the sandwich is the main star.
I had to deduct a star for service time — it was very slow and this is during the week, not even the weekend.
I will definitely be back for the parasol (there’s a story there) and the food :)

We were on our way to Nick’s for breakfast this morning when we drove up and found out they were closed… Recently our friend suggested the Liberty Diner to us so we decided to try it out since our favorite breakfast place was unreliable.
The Liberty Elm Diner is a hop, skip and a jump from Providence. While driving out there, I was certain that we were not going the right way, but the diner sits a little further away from the road and the sign blended in to its surroundings a litte, but as we approached I recognized the red diner car The Liberty Elm is famous for.
The inside is small, but once you are in there it seems to fit a lot of people and not be crowded. We were told we could sit where we wanted and chose a table in the back room. It is painted with blue and yellow metallic paint with a silver strip running through the center of the wall. The diner is known for placing little umbrellas in all the food they serve so in the second room there was some photographs paired with some poetry depicting some manipulated umbrellas. It seemed kinda cheesy, but I guess it was cool that they had some local persons work up. There were a lot of hole in the walls so it looks like they change out the wall décor frequently.
A nice lady with pig tails served us and I asked about the house roasted turkey sandwich. She told me the one on the menu came with lettuce, tomato, mayo, etc– the typical sandwich stuff. Then she told me that their diner was featured on the Food Network with Guy Fieri and the sandwich that was featured on their was a turkey sandwich with cilantro mayo, tomato and a baby lettuce blend. Never one to shy away from cilantro, I went for this one. I was puzzled as to why it wasn’t listed anywhere on the menu since apparently it is what they are famous for, but whatever…
The sandwich was good, but nothing to scream and shout over. My hubby had the grilled cheese with bacon. It tasted exactly like it sounds, cheesy bacon between two pieces of bread. The bread on each of our sandwiches was a little too crispy and it kinda hurt to bite into. Our sandwiches were served with chips. In the end, our bill was $ 26 for two coffees and two sandwiches. I thought that was a little pricey. In the end, we decided that since it was a bit o a drive from our house, we probably won’t come back but that won’t stop us from recommending it to others. If someone suggests that we eat there, we would go. But I can’t imagine we will go out of our way to eat here again. It was good, but not really worth the drive for us…

Came here with the roommie on a rainy day. We had a groupon and heard so much about this place that we had to check it out.
Cute little diner. I got the Johnny cakes and she got the ginger bread pancakes. She TOTALLY won. The Johnny cakes were bleh. I’d never had them before, but since moving to RI I knew I had to try them. Maybe it’s not Liberty Elm’s fault, maybe I just don’t like Johnny cakes. Who knows? Anyway, since I wasn’t enjoying my breakfast too much I snagged some food off my roommie’s plate and it was DELICIOUS! so good!
Oh, fun thing. They give you a little paper umbrella with your food. I can’t remember the last time I had one of those. It was fun =)
Overall, the experience was okay. Probably wouldn’t go back when I can hit Nick’s or Julian’s for breakfast.

Just what I needed! A cheap breakfast place with great food. It is a nice change of pace from our usual breakfast ventures, where we usually are waiting 45 mins and feel like we should have been wearing ripped tights…
We took the motorcycle down to the Liberty Elm Diner one cloudy morning, and immediately were welcomed to sit at the bar. Families were enjoying their breakfasts, and the clients at the bar were incredibly friendly to talk to. Nice, simple breakfast, without having to break the bank or wait in line for 45 mins. However, I do miss my irish coffee with Jameson!

Yummy. I definitely agree with Chris, the waitstaff is super friendly and nice. They have a hipster delicious menu with plenty of meat, vegetarian, and a few vegan options. It’s awesome when menus just tell you what is vegetarian instead of making you interrogate the poor waitstaff about chicken broth and lard.
Inside, it is pretty small but there are plenty of tables. It’s seat yourself which seemed to backfire as couples were sitting at tables for 6 and 8 people. It would be better to seat two groups at the larger tables.
The menu is small but there are all the basics. It was reasonably priced especially for the high quality ingredients. Only $ 54 for a group of 4, not bad at all. I had the migas but with scrambled eggs with cheese, onions, and jalepenos not the migas mix. The home fries were the only mediocre item. They weren’t very flavorful and a side of them was very small. We also got two kielbasa omelets and the veggie quesadilla. Everyone was happy and full when we left!

The best breakfast/​lunch in Providence by far.
If you are tired of snooty hipster waitstaff who act as though you are ruining their day by requesting a glass of water, this is the place for you. Somewhat hipstery itself, the Liberty manages to provide incredible food and great service. I stopped a few times last week and each time the food was great and service friendly and fast. On top of everything, most of food is locally sourced.
Both breakfast and lunch are worth trying, the burgers were amazing, and this is the only place I can ever remember going that actually cooked a burger «medium well» (most places do not understand the «medium well» concept and just sent it out «medium rare»).
Roger Williams Park and zoo are right down the street so you can take a nice walk to burn off your meal.

A beautifully restored classic diner delivering traditional staples and innovative healthy twists — nary a greasy spoon in sight. I bellied up to the counter [this word usage always makes me think of a beached whale] and took a stool near the door. It was a little chilly, but I think seating on the sides or in the back would be more warm and comfortable. Service was on the slow side but I wasn’t in a rush. I’d be conscious of any time considerations before hopping in on your lunch hour.
I had the pumpkin pancakes with cranberry toasted pecan butter and a tall glass of milk and I’m still thinking about them. The stack delivered was plentiful and more than I could handle, but they held up well on the ride home, courtesy of an artfully packaged to-​go box with aluminum foil and a sweet drawing of big-​chinned snowman. Good people doing good things.