What can be said about what USED to be a great family restaurant that just doesn't really care anymore. They have re-vamped their menu, gotten rid of menu items, brought them back, recreated the hamburger a few dozen times. They just don't really care anymore. The last five or six times I've been in there over the past few years, nothing seems to change. Let's just talk about the Big Boy's in Imlay City on M-53. My first recommendation is to stop at a gas station or truck stop to use a restroom before trying to use the one at Big Boy. It stinks like an open septic tank and is NEVER CLEAN. Sinks broken, Urinals Broken, Toilets broken, No soap, No towels...OH and it stinks!!! One of the constants at Big Boy's is their signature sandwich. The Big Boy. It seems that they have replaced real beef with nasty, fat filled, grizzly ground meat. Today, I spent $13.99 for a Big Boy (it comes with fries). I asked for my fries to be "well done" as I am used to the under cooked fries at Big Boy. I made it clear to the waitress who acknowledged. Of course, my lunch arrived with undercooked, cold and nasty fries. I mention to the waitress that I had asked for the fries to be well done. She offered to recook the fries, however I was with two others for lunch and don't like to wait for my food while others are eating...OR receive half of my meal 5 minutes after the first half is eaten. The answer from management was that they were taking ONE WHOLE DOLLAR off of my meal. Instead of actually fulfilling a simple request like "fries well done", they just shove the cold undercooked fries on a plate and over charge for a mediocre hamburger. Then when paying for the meal, I presented my Retired Military ID card which is supposed to get me 20% off of the meal. I don't know what they did, but the total bill was $52 and my meal was $14. The 20% discount on the reciept was $0.72....HUH? If it was 20% for the table it would have been over ten bucks off. If it was just my meal, it would have been a bit more than two bucks. Yeah...I may wander into a Big Boy restaurant again some day but it won't be the one in Imlay City. read more

We waited 30 minutes for our shakes and there was a lady who stranded by the door wating to be seated na sage stood there for 20 minutes and I heard in the back someone go seat her and everyone said no but this waitress. Went ahead and did it but they are rude staff in general read more

We were at this restaurant on 7/11/24 around 3:30 pm. There were four other customers in it. Prior to eating, my wife and I both used the restrooms. Don't worry about slipping on the floor here; our feet stuck to it. Rusty fixtures and a general air of disrepair. Our food was nice and hot, and well prepared. Our server was kind and attentive. But when it came time for desert we were informed that the Banana Split we wanted was unavailable due to a lack of bananas. This restaurant isn't remotely close to being as clean and well run as it was prior to Covid. read more

our waitress was amazing - her name is Vivian and if you visit this Big Boy I hope you get Vivian because was is super sweet and thorough with orders. She made our experience awesome at this Big Boy read more

The worst experience I've had at a restaurant. It was sweetest day and we attempted to enjoy the breakfast buffet after asking the waitress if they did special orders on eggs and she said yes. After we had our plates and was ready to start enjoying our meal the waitress came back and said they no longer do that. After our first bite we explained every item we took off the bar was cold and dried out. We notified the waitress and she had her manager come out and check the bar. The way the manager did a temp check was by taking a small amount of food out of the pan and put it in her hand. As one can imagine we didn't eat and proceeded to leave. They still changed the full amount for a product we didn't eat. The total was close to $50 for two buffets and two coffees. I proceeded to call the cooperate office and the district manager on the following Monday and they were suppose to get back me. It's now Friday and no one has returned. So as the demonstrated they have no quality control, no customer service and not a good value. When a restaurant is missing all the key points of a good experience why would any one patronize the company? I would definitely not recommend this restaurant. read more

Google says breakfast buffet. Restaurant says they open at 7 but buffet doesn't start till 8:30 on Saturday. Waitress/cashier were not on top of things and always doing something else. Frustration on my part. Maybe they need more (or different) help. read more

Food was horrible found multiple hairs in my food. service was slow for being one of the only people in there.

Never thought that I'd give a Big Boy five stars, but here we are :) Stopped in on the way home from upnorth, mostly because my son needed to use a restroom - so while we're here we may as well get breakfast, right? I was pleasantly surprised. I haven't set foot in one of these places in a very long time, and my expectations were low as my last few Big Boy experiences (not at this location) were less than stellar. I ordered the chicken and waffles, and my son had a breakfast quesadilla. Both dishes were very good. I loved the waffle, but the chicken was slightly dry - which was remedied with maple syrup, haha. Service was excellent, our server was training a new server, and she was great. I was also happy that they now sell their special Big Boy hamburger sauce by the bottle - of course I bought one! That's good stuff. Yep.. I would recommend this Big Boy location for sure. read more

Big Boy - Chicken and waffles - Diners Near Me - Imlay City, Michigan

At 4 pm, placed an online order for 5:45. 2 Olga's sandwiches, fries and snackers. When I arrived at 5:45, they stated they had to remake my order because they had made it at 4. I thought that was great that they didn't try to give me food that had been sitting. Waited for the remake and drove the 5 minutes home. Sandwiches were fine and fresh but the fries were ice cold and the snackers were hard and dry. Both were so heavily seasoned, they were inedible. read more

We went this morning for breakfast and was delicious! farmers omelet was very filling and they topped up coffee and hot water for tea without having to ask them to. Waitress was very friendly!! read more

Under new management (thank god). Food and service are both vastly improved over last couple months. Also working on cleaning the place up after some neglect over years. read more

Horrible Service or actually NO service. We went because we like the buffet, walked in and sign said to wait to be seated (HA HA) no one even acknowledged us so hubby decided to seat himself, someone behind counter said it was fine for us to sit. We sat down near the buffet and were looking forward to it. Sat and sat and sat, no one ever came out. We were literally one table out of 3? Finally got up and walked out. One lady walked in before we left, went to counter said "I'm here" went and sat down and they actually got her coffee and tableware. meanwhile only person from restaurant we saw was a bus girl and other than that NO ONE. Pathetic and we will not return. read more

Went there today and they tried to trick us. They weren't supposed to tell us that they were out of God in the fish nuggets Resen anybody goes to big boys because of their fish. read more

Went in this afternoon for dinner and left happier than ever. The service was amazing, the girls were helpful and kind. The food was amazing. Saw the general manager taking care of the store and cleaning the bathrooms.Such an amazing experience!!!!!!! read more

Wish I could rate zero stars. Salad bar had zero meat not even bacon bits and was $12.00. I got the chicken stirfry and it had no sauce, I asked for sauce and I swear they were trying to be funny, because it was so spicy I couldn't even eat it. I got broccoli and cheddar soup and it tasted sour. I left hungry, because I couldn't even force myself to eat. $45.00 meal and couldn't even eat it! I'm mad and annoyed! Get it together or close, because damn! Worst restaurant ever! Server was nice, but slow took 10 minutes to get our drinks. Will never ever go back! read more

I've always enjoyed Big Boy but the Imlay City location has gone way down hill. The salad bar was not stocked or clean, the soup was so low that that pots were burnt. Our food was ok but cold. The service was not good. Only 3 other people in the entire place and we had to ask for refills since she NEVER came back to the table. The entire place was dirty, the bathroom didn't look like it has been cleaned in days it was disgusting. This place was extremely slow so there was no reason for it to be dirty, no reason the soup/salad bar was neglected and absolutely no reason we had to flag out waitress down while she was chatting to get something we needed. We will not be going back. read more

We really wanted to like it as we have been going to Big Boy restaurants since childhood. It was probably the worst restaurant I've ever been to. Food was horrible. The salad bar had items on it that had obviously been sitting there all day. I went back up to get some salad and there was no lettuce. We had to tell the waitress so she can ask. The waitress was nice but she forgot a couple things including a sandwich we had ordered to take home. It is very obvious that this restaurant is not managed well at all. It's a shame because there are not many Big Boy restaurants around any longer. read more

Service is never good, food is never good! The breakfast buffet used to be good, but this place has gone downhill! Not missing anything if you drive by! read more

wish I could give it zero stars. The macaroni and cheese is boxed Mac and cheese and the noodles were hard and stuck together and cold. I got my salad after my meal. We waited 5 minutes to be seated in a near empty restaurant and we waited 20 mins for boxes, the bill, and out to go desserts. We will never come here again! read more

Went there with my Son and grandson for breakfast today. We decided to get the breakfast bar, big mistake! I don't have a word to describe how awful it was. There was about a tablespoon of eggs when I went up and the sausage gravy was watered down that I couldn't eat it. There was no bacon when I went up either. It was just a really bad experience. Definitely should have went somewhere else! We all said we would never come here again. read more

Stopped by for a classic Big Boy and they nailed it. Hard to find a good Big boy nowadays.

Not expecting much because it is big boy, but awful service, food wasn't good. Waitress asked if we wanted dessert and brought out our bill before we even received our food. All of the employees were sick, coughing, and saying how sick they were. read more

We were really craving good take out and were both very disappointed in the food that we picked up. The jalapeño poppers were undercooked and needed to be microwaved. My husband ordered the Big Boy and was bummed out. There was barely any dressing or lettuce. The bun was soggy and seemed like it was warmed up before it was wrapped up. My chicken sandwich was good and my daughters kids spaghetti was very cold. I understand that it's hard right now, but for a business that traditionally does carry outs this shouldn't be the issue. read more

Positives: -Great Service -Good Food -Great for Groups -Great for children Negatives: -Dirty Restrooms I do recommend for family's and groups! read more

the service was amazing!! the food was fresh!my food was amazing, the waitress was super nice

Didn't even give a one star rating. I love spaghetti it was under cooked and I barely got a salad to go. Will not go here again.

It could be better, service is slow, cause, too few waiters for the number of people visiting in restaurant at the moment read more

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so freaking slow. and the roof is leaking like crazy

Ordered drinks. Took my daughter to use the bathroom, left immediately after. The condition of the bathroom spoke for the rest of the service. 0 stars. Can't believe this place is still open to the public. read more

Someone back there doesn't know what a Brawny Lad is First off, they're "all out of cole slaw" which is 1 cent with a classic burger order for "anniversary." Oh well. (I forgot on the way out to check and see if there was cole slaw on that salad bar, so can't say). The real detraction was the Brawny Lad. A thin hacked up partial (end) slice of purple onion on a burger is NOT a Brawny Lad. A Brawny Lad has a full complete, approximately 1/4 inch thick slice of sweet onion, raw, placed in the bun. That slice of onion is about the same diameter as the burger itself (which, btw, has gotten to barely larger than a White Castle). That slice of onion is 90% of the dish - there are no other condiments on it...so it has to be right. Someone in back doesn't like raw onions, but tough... that's what people order a Brawny Lad for - the onion. Tons of fries, but those fries are too bready - they don't even taste like potatoes. Go back to crinkle cut fries. I know for a fact, crinkle cut fries are easier to prepare (I co-managed a restaurant, once), and they taste better. Service is Ok, nice newly renovated restaurant. read more

I love this Big Boy. I don't know what it is, but this Big Boy is easily one of the better ones I've been to. The burgers are delicious, the Belgian waffle with strawberry sauce is delicious, the spaghetti is delicious. Everything I've had here has been pretty good. The plates/cups have been replaced with the new anniversary ones and they're way better than the old ones. Another plus? The waitresses here are super friendly, along with the host/hostesses. You're usually never left waiting to get a table for too long. read more

If I had a Zero rating I would use it. I have not been to a big boy in 10 years. They gave me a raw hamburger. And only filled my onion ring tray half way. 6 onion rings. If your looking for a big boy ......hopefullly this place goes out of business before you get there to save the brand! read more

This is one of the nicer Big Boys we have visited for breakfast. It appears to be newly renovated. The staff was very friendly. The manager came out to visit with some of the frequent guests, which was a refreshing sight. The breakfast buffet was well maintained and looked delicious. The family was pleased with the options. Coffee is excellent. However, I ordered off the menu - corned beef hash and poached eggs. Yum! Highly recommend this big boy location for a satisfying breakfast. Best option in the area. read more

Big Boy - a cup of coffee on a table - Diners Near Me - Imlay City, Michigan

Food was good. Waitress was very attentive. Bathrooms could use a good clean down. We like going to this Big Boy when we visit my step daughter who lives in town. read more

went to Big Boy in Imlay City this morning for Fathers day breakfast. Older women seated me saying someone would be right with me. After 15 minutes of watching people that came in after me get served, I decided to go somewhere where I could actually get some breakfast. 2 different waitresses had waited on people seated close to me but for some reason, I seemed to be invisible. Maybe it was the motorcycle gear. Anyway, I would never TRY to eat there again! If I could give it less than 1 star, I would. Jack read more

Stopped for lunch. Would never go back. The place is dirty. The bathroom is filthy. The tile around the floors look like they are corroded with filth and the sink area is possibly the worst I've ever seen. Just awful. Had the fish and chips-- fish was greasy and couldn't see anyone to get extra napkins to sop up the grease. The fries were weird. Just an off taste. The catsup looked like it was watered down and tasted like it too. Health Department should pay them a visit--just for the restroom alone. read more

Normally a great big boy. On my last visit the food was not good however I was informed the cook was out sick. Never had a problem before

This restaurant use to be one of the better in imlay city. Everything seems to have changed after a major staff change last fall. There was a long time manager named Robert (I think) who was always very friendly and welcoming, I have not seen him since then, along with a few long time waitresses. The service is iffy and even more important the food has definitely suffered. I will go to Davison if I want to go to a Big Boy. read more

I love this Big Boy. You just can't beat the Slim Jim sandwich plus the waitress was super sweet and quick with beverage refills.

Food is very good! However service seems to be lacking in the past probably 18 months. There was a longtime management team that I see has been replaced and there seems to be a lot of turnover (maybe contributing to the service issues) read more