We LOVE to find a local diner when traveling and this fit the bill! Sunday morning was a bit busy but we quickly found two seats at the counter. Ice tea, a senior breakfast special and an omelet, were delivered quickly and reasonably priced. I can see why it is a local favorite. read more

Wow oh wow! The hashbrowns! The pancake! The omelet! Biscuits & gravy! Just to name a few fabulous breakfast choices! Next time we'll try the lunch menu. Awesome diner!! read more

Carpenter's Diner - Half order Biscuit & gravy and hash browns - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Waterloo, Iowa

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Excellent family run restaurant that is remarkably consistent. Their Country fried steak is top notch, the servers are always friendly and attentive, and the coffee is from a local business that knows what they're doing. Exactly what you're looking for in a classic Iowa diner. read more

My wife and I were visiting Waterloo and ate here because it was close. It was wonderful!Friendly staff, everything cooked to perfection and my wife said it was the best omelet she had ever had in a restaurant. Also, the biggest pancake ever! You will not go hungry. read more

Carpenter's Diner - Gargantuan pancake! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Waterloo, Iowa

Love Carpenters! The best hash browns around!! We go weekly! Don't hesitate! Great coffee from Fat Cup! read more

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Stopped for breakfast because I had saw their reopening news announcement. Was a good place when was open a number of years ago. It didn't let me down. Had the Farmers Omelet with Hash Browns and Toast. Was very proper good ol' Midwest Diner cooking. Portions were sizable and the service was polite and it was clear dedication to the Diners success was important. The place is in the heart of Old Downtown Waterloo across from Five Sullivans Convention Center. It was clean and yet had the Diner ambiance. Deserves a 4 Star rating of 5 read more

Carpenter's Diner - Breakfast Menu also have a Lunch Menu - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Waterloo, Iowa

It's is always a great breakfast here. The wait staff takes your order soon after you seat yourself. Food comes out shortly even when busy. (9 am on a Saturday...) read more

Carpenter's Diner - Wife loves the 'platter-size' single pancake. A 2 meal treat. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Waterloo, Iowa

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Pretty average diner with longer than average service time. Don't expect anything grand. Their biscuits and gravy are surprisingly bland.

First impressions walking in. The place still has the remains of the SubWay that was there for many years. This is a good thing on using existing materials to keep costs and overhead down. Personally the tables they did add, I would consider removing one to help with the flow of the place to help the wait staff, it is a tight fight once the place is full. Since being seated, my coffee has been topped off thrice already. I ordered the Farmers Omelette. It was pretty darn good. But I cannot believe I am putting this to print, their hashbrowns are better than Morg's. Overall: I say stop in and be open to it. read more

Monthly Business trip to Waterloo. My customer suggested breakfast for lunch. We avoid any chain restaurants when we meet - support local only. The Carpenter's Diner was great! Clean restaurant. Great smells as well entered. Friendly, attentive service. Food was served fast, hot, and very tasty!! All the ingredients were plentiful and cooked to perfection! We ordered omelets. Ham and cheese and a Supreme omelet. Delicious, done right! We will be back!! Support The Carpenters!! Drinks were brewed iced tea - great also. Constantly checked on us great service!! read more

Excellent food, great service and off-the-charts ambience! If driving by on the interstate, forget fast food: pull off here!

Staff is super friendly! The food is amazing! The gravy is so flavorful and everything came out hot and delish! read more

Carpenter's Diner - Half order biscuits and gray and farmer's omelette - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Waterloo, Iowa

This was recommended to us so we tried it. Very very nice! Exactly what we were looking for, a nice little diner with good food! First off, the coffee was stellar, not that weak stuff a lot of places served. My husband and I each ordered the "senior" medium pancake and bacon, adding eggs on the side. That medium pancake was plate-sized! And oh so good! The bacon was perfect and the fried eggs done perfectly. We told the waitress we wouldn't brag on the place because we didn't want it to get so busy we'd have to wait for a table! This little place will make our rotation for certain. Highly recommended. read more

Not sure what the craze about carpenters is it's simple breakfast with nothing special as a matter of fact the hash browns were burned on the outside and uncooked throughout, the biscuits and gravy were paste and flavorless, the oh slightly warm and the server (male) was worthless thankfully the other server on duty took good care of us other than that recommend not wasting time or money. read more

Great diner with prompt service and friendly staff! The food was delicious! Coffee was great. The gravy was so good and the hash browns were crispy perfection. It was packed the entire time we were there but it seems no one waited to be sat! read more

Carpenter's Diner - Country Fried Steak, 2 Eggs, Hashbrowns & Toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Waterloo, Iowa

A very small local diner that was packed with a short wait. Hostess was sassy an a little crabby. The food was decent enough.

The food was good and the staff was friendly but I'm really surprised the health department hasn't shut them down. When we got there, there was a wait so we went to stand at the back of the line by the bathrooms. The waiting line goes right passed the kitchen so I noticed that no one was wearing a hair net or gloves. There was a young girl with long hair handling food directly with her bare hands. She took toast from the toaster with her hands and put it directly on plates. I watched her make an entire cold cut sandwich with no gloves handling every ingredient. And no one in the kitchen seemed to notice or care which tells me this is normal for them. Maybe the locals don't know any different but someone traveling from out of state would definitely take notice. We had already been waiting a while and we were starving so we decided to stay and just try not to think about it but it did put a damper on our overall feeling about the restaurant. I only hope the girl had just washed her hands before touching that food. read more

Ok - they over did the butter and undercooked the English muffin my wife ordered. She's always disappointed at my breakfast choices. I seldom am disappointed. Carpenters was just as I expected. A cozy, noisy, busy, neighborhood diner filled with locals at 10:30AM on a Saturday morning. Eggs were perfect, hashbrowns too! Sausage Pattie just the right heat. So, if your wife is picky, be prepared to be just what YOU wanted for breakfas‼ read more

Everything was very good . Arrived early before the crowd. The service was quick. And there was lots of seats for everyone to seat & if anyone has a walker you can tuck it in the hall towards the back so it not in the way of other patrons when they are trying to get around the restaurant. read more

Yeah buddy this is the real Deal let me tell you! This is me and my Co workers second day in a row! read more

Carpenter's Diner - Pancakes sausage and Eggs! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Waterloo, Iowa

Just had a late breakfast at Carpenter's Diner. What an awesome meal; 2-eggs, sausage, raisin toast, and hash browns the way I love them; extra crispy with peppers and onions!!!!! Clean, fast, affordable, and a local small business. Thanks!!!! read more

Omelet, biscuits & gravy, eggs overeasy. Fast service good as I have ever eaten. 28 years military retired, I know good chow. Thank you Matt and Company. read more

Great place for breakfast with an Irish coffee. Great service also. Nice "mom&pop" shop.

Great Food and service. Our pancake was huge and one of the best I've ever had! Nice portions and reasonably priced.

Great food , great service and friendly staff ! Every town in America needs a cafe like Carpenters. Highly recommend

Have eaten there twice each time the food was good pancakes were delicious I usually don't eat pancakes bacon was cooked perfect need work on coffee not hot enough for me and crank up heat a little bit it's cold in there!!! read more

Great food. Not terrible on the wait-pretty decent sized place w/ decent table turnover. Simple concise menu. Service was ok. We enjoyed our experience! read more

Such a breath of fresh air. Staff super nice polite curtious always checking on you. The food was really Good zero complaints! The food came very fast nice n hot and my eggs were cooked to perfection. Also knowing this is a family business for generations is heartwarming! I wish them much success and will support them with my continued business. read more