Al Smith’s Place

The light, clean, uncluttered interior of Al Smith’s was packed with people when I stopped in for lunch last week, but I still got a table quickly. Ordered the greek salad w/​chicken and liked it a lot. Lettuce actually was a little sparse, but it was crisp, the dressing was zingy (note: you probably won’t need the entire cup of it that comes on the side…), the chicken and feta were generous. Smaller overall than the greek salads I usually get at diners, though also a couple bucks cheaper.
Service was quick and friendly. The menu looked large, with lots of familiar diner items but also some novel sandwich offerings. I plan to return and try some.

Had dinner there last evening. Excellent service as always. However, the food has not been up to par since reopening after the fire. My wife could not eat her cheddar broccoli soup or her breaded shrimp, my beef liver was like shoe leather. It was our last visit. Used to be a good food place but quality ha gone down to the unacceptable level.

Great service and good food. I normally would not stop at a strip mall off the road location but the Unilocal deal drew me in for breakfast and I will definitely return to try lunch.

Al’s Breakfast Special was bland and boring. The hash browns were very good, but everything else lacked luster. The sausage was bland with little flavor. The biscuits were good, but very cake like and a bit spongy. The sausage gravy had very little gravy and way too much flour. Almost paste like. My search for good biscuits and gravy continues…

We were in Toledo for a few days and used a Unilocal deal and the positive reviews to select Al’s for brunch on the way out of town. I’m glad we did. This small unassuming diner in a strip mall had some very creative dishes that really worked. Prices were truly reasonable and with the Unilocal deal a steal!
That they serve lunch in the am and breakfast at lunch time topped off the pick. I had the Mexican scramble with a cucumber sauce that was surprisingly wonderful. And Deb’s pulled pork skillet was great too! They need to open a place in Chicago so I can go more often!

Great service and great food. The cheeseburger was hand patties beef that had a wonderful flavor. The staff were very attentive and polite.

So let me start off by saying, I really wanted to like this place because it’s a 5 – 10 minute walk from my home. I heard from neighbors that the food and service was great. Unfortunately, I was completely let down. Our server was decent, but when questioned about a couple items on the menu, she was very unhelpful. Her comments were «yeah some people like it» or «I don’t know what to compare it to.» So I ordered what I think was a «Spanish chorizo omelette?» With home fries and a biscuit. The salsa on it was sour like it had gone bad, the huge glob of sour cream and salsa were piled on top of it and there was nothing appealing about this concoction, it looked like a mess. I gave it a chance and took a couple bites… the only thing I ate was the home fries and a bite of my girlfriends biscuits and gravy. Then when I went to pay the bill, the young girl at the register didn’t bother asking how my food was, she didn’t smile or say have a nice day or anything. They weren’t busy, I didn’t make it known how displeased I was. I may give them another shot but it will be at a much later date. I’ll stick with one of the pancake houses, Kasleys, My house diner, etc.

The 5 star Unilocal reviews combined with the 15% off for Unilocal checkin brought me in to the restaurant. Walking in, the décor was updated and clean and at 1 pm on a Thursday, there was several other tables seated. However, there was some confusion as to who was our waitress as we may have come mid shift change, but we still got good service. I ordered off the specials menu — Irish Benedict with hollandaise on the side (poached eggs on top of corned beef hash), home fries and multi grain toast. The eggs were slightly overcooked but there was some yolk and the hollandaise sauce seemed homemade and was delicious. Unfortunately, the sauce was the best thing about the meal. The hash was definitely canned and mushy… think salty Alpo. The toast wasn’t really toasted and didn’t have much flavor and the home fries had brown spots and straddled blandness. On the positive side, the coffee was fresh and tasty and the service ended up being on point. This place flirts with goodness but ends up taking home the ugly cousin called mediocrity.

Just passing through and decided to stop in for breakfast. The food was great and the staff was friendly. The biscuit and home fries were delicious. The prices were affordable.

My family often gets the bean soup to go with cornbread. It’s always really tasty! I recently went in to get breakfast for dinner. The omelet I got had a hollandaise sauce that wasn’t the right consistency. It seemed too thin. The taste, however, was decent. I wouldn’t order the hasbrowns again though. Our server was extra attentive and nice, and the prices were reasonable.
I probably won’t get breakfast there again, but the beans are phenom.

Great food. Hearty portions. Good value. Friendly staff. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve ever ordered. The home made pies are great!!! Great place to go at the drop of a hat either alone or in a group. Hidden gem.

It’s a shame that I have to give this place 1 star. I was looking forward to the chicken skillet, which I ordered. The waiter brings me my meal. I dig in and am surprised that there is no chicken in it. I ask him if this was the chicken skillet and he responds you ordered the country skillet. I’ve been there @20 times and ONLY order the chicken skillet so I know what I ordered. So this «waiter» tells me that he will order some chicken to put on the skillet if I want. I tell him no I want to speak with the manager. I speak with the manager inform her what happened and how many times I’ve been there and it all could’ve been avoided if this «waiter» just said oh I must have heard you wrong and I’ll get that chicken skillet in for you. Well her customer service skills were on full blast as she charges me for the coffee!!! A shame. Never again.

A bit misleading by the look of the building, but we had a great experience here. Nice outdoor seating, looks recently renovated, good prices, plenty of food (we got breakfast), delicious french toast, friendly and prompt service, and accommodating staff! Exactly what I look for in a great breakfast spot!

Its open again! It looks a lot nicer, great irish omlet! We will be back soon!

Love the food! Chicken walnut salad is super yummy! Also try their pies!!! Im not sure how people could say anything bad about this place! Always enjoyable when i come in :)

If you are looking to get salmonella by eating raw eggs and under cooked sausage, then this is the place for you! Was actually served an omelette with the eggs running out of it, the cheese ice cold, and pink sausage! I have been here twice, the first time the omelette arrived with the eggs running out but I thought I would give it another try. My mistake. I suggest sending the cook to a safe food handling class.

Best place o it’s kind. Great food always served hot and a cool dessert display. Big dish of Broasted chicken and sides 9 dollars. Gotta try this place

Does anyone know if this place will reopen? I just read the story about the fire back in March (
) and when I drove by the other day, I saw what looked like brown wrapping paper over all of the glass. This place has a great breakfast and super efficient and friendly staff. They also have the absolute best bread pudding on the planet, and being the badass I am, tend to mix breakfast with dessert. If you haven’t decided yet, PLEASE REOPEN!

Here with my sister for a good homestyle dinner for my birthday. Love the pies here. Used to go to the other location on Lewis Ave. A goood place to go to when you just don’t really know what you want then and there.

I work just around the corner from Al Smith’s but I avoided going in. Many years ago I had been in here and been less than impressed with the quality of food. I am so glad I finally gave in and tried it again!
Server was funny and nice and did a great job. I ate breakfast and my food was cooked wonderfully. Judging by the plates, everyone else was pretty darn happy with their lunch as well.
We ordered banana cream pie, and bread pudding to share. Fan-​freaking-​tastic!
Great diner with great prices for lunch!