Lyon’s Restaurant

So the award of the first meal that I had in 2012 goes to… Lyon’s Restaurant! The food is very similar to Denny’s and it’s your typical American diner food. I had the Monterey Chicken Sandwich which tasted great and the French Fries were satisfactory. The service was actually prompt and food came out quicker than I thought, that’s definitely a step up from Denny’s.
Supposedly it’s a chain restaurant and there’s one near my area which I had no idea about. The food at Lyon’s Restaurant seemed better than the food I had at Denny’s considering what I tried. I just wish I tried some of the other food they offered but that will have to do next time. I had a good experience at Lyon’s Restaurant and it was better than what I initially expected.

What I like about Lyons is the friendly staff, the consistency of the food and the late hours! Enjoyed a meal here this evening using a bogo coupon clipped from the paper a week or so ago.
I had the french dip sandwich which was loaded with yummy beef… comes with a cup of au jus and your choice of a side including fries or potato salad. I enjoyed the freshly made, piping hot fries…
Now on to the not-​so-​good news…
Lyons as we have known it for lots of years, will cease to exist the end of March. Seems like the corporation that ‘owns’ the Lyon’s name, wants their name back. The franchisees will no longer be allowed to use the name. Sooo… Lyons is closing the end of March and will reopen soon thereafter under a new name and freshly remodeled… but will retain the current employees. Now that is great news, since the employees are an institution here!
The new restaurant will be part of the Lumberjack’s chain. The new restaurant and menu can be previewed here:
I wish this new venture as much or more success than Lyon’s has enjoyed over the past few decades!

A total throwback to past diner style. The waitress calls you «hon» and knows the names of 90% of the people in there (and is willing to gossip about them to you as she takes your order). They have a lot of options and their breakfast was great! I’d come back.

Back when I was a kid, I remember these dark restaurants with panelwood covered walls, waitresses with writing utensils in their hair, a doorbell with illuminated numbers to tell waitresses to pick up food, and the tile entryways and stained carpets. They always had low, tobacco stained ceilings, and the best all-​you-​can-​drink hot chocolate with a big mound of whipped cream on top. I used to LOVE those kinds of places! They just don’t exist anymore… Wait, scratch that… One still does– Lyon’s.
Yep, it’s all here– the sweet bread that looks like chocolate cake served with that whipped butter, mounds of hashbrowns falling off the plate, oatmeal that looks like whipped butter, coffee strong enough to peel paint, and waitresses that are truly glad you are there.
I have this love-​hate thing with Denny’s, and all restaurants even –like– Denny’s, but I don’t get that same feeling at Lyon’s. I’m not saying Lyon’s is much better (or worse) than Denny’s, it just isn’t the same for me. I know a lot of people like to compare Denny’s and Lyon’s, but there are some key differences.
First, Lyon’s is less expensive than Denny’s. Yep, Denny’s has raised their prices almost monthly (it seems) while Lyon’s is still about the same week after week for years. Denny’s employs some people of questionable citizenship that always get my order wrong, Lyon’s employs the ladies that you used to see working at the greatest truck stop diners years ago, and they all speak english as their primary language. Racist? I think not!- Get my order wrong, and I could end up in an emergency room! Someone who perfectly understands my order is essential.
Lyon’s has the same low ceilings, and the illuminated numbers/​doorbell for kitchen pickup is still there, but they apparently don’t use the system anymore. I just feel better seeing it is still there.
The food is very good, and pretty consistent. Any-​time breakfast is a real treat, especially if you like pancakes. Lyon’s pancakes and waffles are 10x better than IHOP, and cheaper. For lunch, they don’t have many choices for vegetarians (mostly burgers), but you can still find something to eat, even if it is just a gardenburger for $ 7.99. Their burgers are all «tall» and require squishing to fit into your mouth. Yummy!
I haven’t eaten dinner at Lyon’s in probably 10 years, but I have ordered some dinner items for lunch. Always fresh greens, and terrific salad dressing. Doesn’t taste like that sour bottled junk at Denny’s.
The wait staff is top notch. You can tell they don’t have any corporate agenda pushing them to make you order stuff you don’t want, and if you go there a few times, they remember what you like and make sure you get your food cooked right. I absolutely love the Americana dining experience, and so few places have that anymore. A lot of places went all «trendy» or God forbid, «European». To heck with all that garbage! I love America and it’s history of terrific diners, and Lyon’s rates right up there. At least as best I can remember.

Can always count on a decent meal at Lyons. A good spot for a late night meal. Staff is always so friendly and welcoming.

Always get decent food at Lyon’s. The waiter tonight wasn’t on his toes. Other times we got good service.

Not a bad place to grab a meal. Very similar to a dennys, carrows those type of places. I have not been here for a while now, but i remember getting late night meals here.
Of course those late night experiences are based on me being pretty annihilated and at that point, everything taste bomb.
Dont get me wrong though, I have been here sober, and everything is the same, good food and service. Their surf and turf is alright, sometimes they have specials.
Overall: a fun place to eat and chill.

Another good business in Stockton that was open on Christmas Day.
Seriously where are you gonna eat if you want to eat out on Christmas? This was one of the few places that was open. Apparently they had gotten the word out because the place was pretty darn full with people.
The waitress that helped us was friendly and had a downright great attitude for working on Christmas. She was even joking about how she was happy to get away from all her relatives for a little bit at work. It was so nice to have someone have that great of an outlook for working on a day that most people have off.
I got the prime rib special. To be honest with you it was ok… nothing too amazing but it totally fit the bill as far as good food to fill me up goes.
But who cares? I am not going to remember the prime rib in the future… I am going to remember the great customer service on my favorite day of the year.
It will bring me back in the future.
:0)

I was in Stockton with a group of around 10, and at dinner time I used the Unilocal droid app to find somewhere nearby where we could grab some grub. As we were already on Benjamin Holt Dr, and needed to get back to I-​5 to get home, Lyon’s seemed like a logical choice.
The prices were good, the food was good. The selection of items was enough so that everyone could find something they liked. Our server, Emily, was very courteous, friendly, and helpful. However, when I asked for nutrition information, they didn’t have it available. I was able to guess how many carbs were in some of the items on the menu, and ordered within my carb budget, but it’s so much easier when the data is there for you to read.
I had the steak flat-​bread sandwich, which was really good. Steak, peppers, and cheese all in a nice, warm flat-​bread. Swapping out the fries and getting fruit instead also helped me keep the meal within the range of what I can eat. My Diet Coke was kept full.
All in all, I’d call it a 4 star experience, but they loose half a star for not having nutritional data available. 3 ½ rounds back to 4, so there you go.

Is this the last Lyon’s Restaurant left in the whole wide world? Could be. The one across from San Joaquin Delta College closed years and years ago. The one in Lodi closed a couple of years ago. I know there were some in Sacramento… Are they still there?
This one on Benjamin Holt Drive has been here 40+ Years… and it looks it. All the signage needs to be refreshed or replaced. And the varnished Oak throughout the restaurant is sooo 70s 80s.
I Biked here to meet a friend… Lyon’s has to be the only restaurant where a person can sit for hours and hours and hours nursing one cup of Coffee!
On the menu…
Coffee (**** $ 1.99) Strong Coffee, not Burnt… Even though there were not that many customers around 3pm. Refilled about six times!
Chocolate Cream Pie (** ½ $ 4.99) A VERY EXPENSIVE piece of Cream Pie which was very ordinary in flavor. Got about a sixth of a whole Pie… but, overall, was not worth the price.
Value (***) Expensive Desserts… every Dessert was $ 4.99! But was offset by the Coffee refills.
Humorous anecdotes…
I guess, from over-​hearing a restaurant staff conversation… there was an accident with the Chef last week where he had to be taken to Emergency because he cut himself pretty seriously while he was dicing some Onions…
Waitress to Chef: «You served a lot of Red Onions that night, huh?»
Same Waitress to Chef: «Just toss it in the Chili. No one’s going to notice…»
Another Waitress to Chef: «You’re lucky you didn’t cut off an Ear!»
Ha, Ha! Insider restaurant humor… Don’t forget this was not intended for public consumption… Oops! An unintended Double Entendre… Sorry!

A great place to sit back and enjoy the meal. Wait staff are really great. Friendly and helpful but not pushy. Meals present a great variety and the preparation shows a lot of care.
We’re regulars, and have been since they opened. We enjoy the fact that there are so many like us — and anyone new to the place is bound to feel «at home» very shortly. Easily worth all 5 stars.

Open 24 hours, you can always feel safe at Lyons. There is a continuous supply of local Stockton police grabbing a bite in here. Very nice staff. The fries are good — they use to be thick slabs a decade ago — but now are the «normal» uniform thick fries. Make certain to request ranch dressing on the side.

Lyons Restaurant is a great little place right off the 5 freeway in Stockton. My wife and I were driving back from the Thanksgiving holidays, and stopped in for breakfast. One struck us was the calmness in the place. The crew was pleasant, relaxed, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were chatting with the «regulars», making sure that their cups were full. The plates were not only abundant, but were tasty and inexpensive.