After spending the morning at a distillery, we dropped in for a late lunch. This looks like the kind of place where everyone around town knows everyone else and you're sure to stick out if you're not from around these parts. The first employee greeted us in the parking lot and the second before we cleared the entrance threshold. Our server, Amber, welcomed us like longtime friends; she chatted about the menu and the town. We ordered Cliffside Burgers, which are thick juicy burgers with three kinds of cheese, crisp bacon, and grilled onions. You're simply not going to believe how good it is until the first bite hits your palate! We chose chili cheese fries (they were crisp, drenched in chili, topped with a large mound of yummy cheese) and onion rings (perfect crispy crunchy outside and a soft juicy inside) as our sides and their fresh brewed iced tea to drink, it really is fresh. It takes a few minutes because they make everything fresh; it is so worth the short wait! Even on vacation, it's a rare day that I get to enjoy lunch with my husband without interruptions. Amber made it happen! She never interrupted our conversation but our glasses were never empty, she anticipated what we would ask for next and just like magic, it appeared! Google Maps tells me it is 2,128 miles from my place to yours. I'll be dreaming of the next delicious bite until we meet again... in June! read more

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Great diner have been to 91 DDD's and this not one but should be great food had Philly sandwich and coney dogs finished with coconut cream pie Worth going to read more

This place is a mom and pop gem. My husband and I love to take small day trips and trying out local family owned restaurants in the area. After a trip to Frankfort we stopped at the cliffside diner and both got two burgers. If you're looking for a good greasy burger to satiate your needs, this is the place. It's a bit tight in there but so worth it. It was extremely crowded when we went but that told me all I needed to know. Definitely give it a try! read more

Always a great meal and love the Lima beans! Breakfast, lunch and dinner is all worth the trip. read more

Cliffside Diner - American Near Me - Frankfort, Kentucky

Cliffside is a old school gem on the river smack upside a cliff on a narrow road that makes for tricky parking, that warrants the risk. Food is good diner food done up fresh, hand-patty ground beef make for a great griddled burger. Delicious and I spied Heiner's bread, a favorite of mine. I opted for my own homemade meatloaf sandwich spackling with green peppers, onions making again another delicious sandwich. Then the deserts deserve an extra couple of extra bonus stars. Chocolate cake is tasty, the pies stole my tastebuds. They had coconut cream, they had butterscotch and ran out of chocolate cream. Coconut cream was understated a bit, but sometimes that is okay and it was very cold, making it the highlight of my meal. Great roadside diner. read more

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Gina rocks the flat grill. Totally understaffed today but she maintained herself like a pro.

We were traveling from Nebraska to Virginia and were tired of chain restaurants. I found this place on Yelp and boy, am I glad. It's unique, friendly, and the food is delicious! We got one of the specialty burgers on toast. It was perfectly cooked and so yummy. The fries were the good crinkle-cut ones. We topped it off with homemade coconut cream pie. It was fantastic! I don't know how many times we will make that looong drive, but if we do, we will visit every time! read more

Cliffside Diner - Coconut cream pie - American Near Me - Frankfort, Kentucky

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Must try restaurant in Frankfort. I always come back for the cliff side burger. Parking and seating can be a little tricky around lunch.

Literally a diner, located at the side of the cliff. The Kentucky River is across the road, parallel from this little diner. I'm not sure why it was called "Cliffside Restaurant" on Yelp, so I updated it to what it is, a diner. You know, some cities have Mel's Diner? Well, Frankfort is blessed with Cliffside Diner. I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere. I was still thinking it was a restaurant, not expecting what it actually was. There are a few tables, maybe five and a bar... like a liquor bar though, the kind of bar that you find at a diner, a 60s diner. When we walked in, everyone was seated up at the bar, so we followed. The ladies behind the bar were super nice, which added to the experience. I ordered the Hotbrown, which was listed as one of the "specials". It wasn't a special price, it was actually the same price on the menu. It also included one side. I chose onion rings and wasn't told that there was an extra charge. I only discovered both mentions when I received my check. Usually this sort of thing makes me mad, but the food was so dang great, I almost agreed... special. I do think they should list them as a "featured menu items" instead of "specials" though. Back to the Hotbrown... it's a Kentucky staple and must have if you've not had one. Me, a Kentuckian through and through, I've had my fair share of Hotbrowns. I will say, the Mornay sauce that they use is the best I've ever had. My picture doesn't do it justice. My husband had the Rueben sandwich. None of the sandwiches come with a side, so he added fries. He was happy and rushed to finish his meal to snag a piece of cake that sat on the bar, for us to see. Enticing to say the least. The cakes featured today, were chocolate and German chocolate. Priced at under $4 a slice, I'm still wishing that I would have gotten one to go too. read more

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Great food great service not a lot of things to do but still is great food and great service

Great breakfast We enjoyed the meal and entertainment. We will return when we are in town next time. read more

Very unique place, the food is good, the gals are very friendly and very entertaining. If you have huge crowds of people it's a very tight place, and limited drinks options. read more

What a rare treasure this place is. Small diner. Staff was great and so helpful. The food is exactly what it claims to be. One of the best cheeseburgers ever. It has been there for almost 100 years. Make a point to visit. read more

Food was very good, service was real nice too. Would highly recommend. Just be careful leaving, people drive fast occasionally

Excellent food. 5 stars despite it being very hot inside! The staff was also incredibly nice.

Good old fashioned diner. Club was huge. Burger was a little over done. Happy faces. Good prices. Surprisingly clean for the age. And yes, you go down the road that is closed to get there. read more

We love Cliffside. It is our towns diner and greasy spoon. We haven't tried the Cliffside special so we have it a whirl. If you are a cheese fan, this is your burger. American, pepper jack, and Swiss. The burger is so big I can barely eat half! The staff is always entertaining. Singing, teasing each other. read more

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Had breakfast here on Saturday before visiting some local distilleries and had some of the best food ever. The breakfast hot brown is amazing as well as the cheesesteak omelette. Gina and Kristen and the rest of the staff are awesome. We loved it so much that we went back for breakfast on Sunday and we will always go back whenever we are in town. Solid food and service as well as great people. Can't ask for more than that. Thank youCliffside! read more

Just a small hole in the wall diner with excellent food and wonderful service! Came in for breakfast and will be back to try lunch/dinner!

Great food in a traditional diner. Burger was great and the pie selection was superb.

Best cheeseburger and coneys in town! A Frankfort Institution. Been going here my whole life. Locally owned and staffed with characters.

Cliffside's quality of food does not let me down, after all these years. Their deluxe cheeseburgers are STILL the best in town. The crinkle fries are hot, crisp, and fresh. The coney's have a great meaty recipe that others don't come close to. The restaurant has an expansive menu which includes fried chicken, hot browns, chili, bean soup, open hot roast beef sandwiches! They even have some homemade desserts! This restaurant has been around since the 1950's!!! read more

Love having breakfast here. Staff very friendly and menu with lots of options. While waiting for our food, we happen to notice the beautiful pies...they look yummy!! Who says you maybe can't have pie for breakfast, too??!! read more

Cliffside Diner - American Near Me - Frankfort, Kentucky

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I may have to agree with my teenage son, the Cliffside burgers may be the best in Frankfort. I'd hate to upset my restaurant owner friends...just sayin". read more

Cliffside Diner - Valentine's at Cliffside in Governor's backyard - American Near Me - Frankfort, Kentucky

Amazing food and amazing service will definitely come again. The place is very friendly and the portions are big enough to fill you up.

We enjoyed an outdoor lunch the summer of 2022. Excellent food, great service, fun atmosphere. I look forward to another visit next time I'm in town read more

This place was a surprise! Little skeptical at first but I knew with the number of cars it had to be good. Definitely will be a repeat! This place had the best mushroom Swiss burger I've ever eaten! read more

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We had a great meal at Cliffside. We were in town visiting Buffalo Trace and wanted to grab dinner at a local joint before heading back to our b&b. Our Yelping friends didn't steer us wrong in recommending Cliffside. The whole table ended up ordering burgers - the cheeseburger delux, which comes with lettuce, onions, dill pickle slices (long ones, not coins) and mayo. I asked them to grill my onions and hold the mayo...I've lived in Texas long enough to know mustard is the way to go for a perfect burger. My native-born Texan husband lost his mind and ordered it as is. Then he declared it Good with the mayo. When Hell freezes over you know who to blame. Anyway, the burger was greasy juicy, the grilled onions peppery and sweet. I'm guessing the patty is around 1/4 lb. Not super large at all, and neither is the tender bun it's served in. (BTW the bun is dairy free if you are allergic like my dining companion.) I had onion rings on the side. The batter is crunchy, like the crust on a crunchy fish fillet. The rings were crisp to bite into but not over cooked. Based on recommendations I ordered a chocolate malt to go with extra malt. Perfect! Thick (spoon and straw provided) and delicious. My husband ordered the same but with a request to go light on the malt - perfect for him as well. The shake was honestly too much for one person (12 oz cup) but order it anyway and just enjoy what you want. Our waitress was fantastic - answered a billion questions and gave great recommendations. In fact everyone in there was super friendly and even regulars weighed in with their opinions on what we should order. Just what you'd expect from a local joint. read more

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Little hole in the wall place on the side of the road. Don't let it fool you - food was down home style southern cooking. We had chicken fried steak and a country ham sandwich. Cornbread was extra special. Try it! read more

Good food friendly atmosphere!!!! Hot brown was delicious!!!! The open faced roast beef was great!! Recommend

Stopped in on the way to Louisville. Not right off the Interstate, about 8 miles or so. I ordered the 3pc chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. It also came with 2 cornbread cakes. Outstanding! The chicken was deep fried. My wife ordered the Cliffside burger with fried potatoes. She said the burger was seasoned like her dad used to. That's a big compliment. We will find our way back. There are 6 booths for 4 and 14 bar bar stools. read more

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The team of 4 ladies running this old-school diner are awesome. The food was prepared on demand, and worth the wait. I had the bacon and beer burger and it ranks in my top 5, the beer cheese is killer! My 17 y/o daughter was not defeated by the Hot Brown, but advises that you "will sprout a food baby". Stretchy pants advised. Great comfort food, unique local dishes, read more

We were passing through the area on our way from NC to IL and decided to stop in here based on the reviews. It's definitely one of those hole-in-the-wall places, but clean with a charm to it. The server was friendly and prompt. I ordered a fish sandwich and onion rings and my husband got a burger and fries. He thought his burger was pretty decent. My fish was a triangle, which is fine but it was just ok. It wasn't a very flaky good quality fish- more like something you'd get from the frozen section at the grocery store where the breading kinda slides off separate from the fish when you bite into it. I'd stop in again if we were passing through, I'd maybe just try something different. It was 2 days before Christmas and they had a ton of pies stacked up on the bar for pickup. I'm sure they must be good, but I didn't try it during this visit. read more

We were in town last weekend, visiting Buffalo Trace and we're looking for somewhere to have breakfast, happened to find this gem, and I cannot say enough good things about it ! The food was delicious, the service was great, but the absolute best part was the ambience. We sat at the counter and bantered with the cook Gina, who was an absolute hoot! The amount of love that goes into this food really shows it's just good old fashion, diner, food, we had such a great time that the next day we canceled our reservations for brunch at the place we were going to and went back to Cliffside. It hasn't and I were talking about our next trip and instead of discussing what distillery we wanted to go to. He said he couldn't wait to go back to Cliffside. read more

Excellent little diner with the nicest staff ever! They were so polite and nice to my daughter, who absolutely loved the fried chicken. Next time I need to save room for the pie which looked amazing! read more

Homemade deliciousness!!! We just had the most delightful lunch here. The hubs had a gigantic loaded cheeseburger with potato salad and I had the meatloaf sandwich with a side of lima beans. Everything tasted just like the food my mother used to make when I was a kid. We took a slice of strawberry swirl bundt cake with us to enjoy later. The cafe is small but charming and has a wonderful, friendly atmosphere. Our server was so lovely, too! Thank you for your kindness and the delicious recommendations, Renee! read more

Hardworking folks putting out a tasty breakfast. Husband had the chicken fried steak and eggs with house potatoes. Steak is good and potato crispy on outside and soft on the inside, white gravy just the right amount of pepper. I opted for the fried bologna sandwich and it did not disappoint. Friendly staff and we enjoyed sitting at the counter and watching the food being made. Would definitely come back again next time I'm in the area and give the burgers a try. read more

We took a spring break road trip to Colorado from Greensboro, NC. We stopped here on our way out as it was a local well reviewed spot on our route. It was so good, we also ended up stopping again on our way home. Folks, this is a roadside diner that oozes character. This is not a fast casual restaurant. If you don't appreciate local flair then this is not the place for you. The diner is small so for us (family of 6) we had to wait just a bit to get 2 tables. Service was very friendly and efficient but the food was the star their burgers are some of the best we have ever had. I had the mushroom swiss burger (both times) and I can't think of another burger I have had that was its equal. Plus, you can't beat crinkle cut fries and fried mushrooms. Not to mention, the prices were exceptionally reasonable. I hope we make another cross country trip soon just to pop in again to this great little diner. If you are in Frankfort, lucky you. If you are driving through (or near) Frankfort you owe it to your stomach to check it out. read more

This isn't a fancy-pants gastro-pub, but if classic American diner food is your jam, it's a destination. Well-known for their various burgers, I had the country ham sandwich on white toast with a little mayo and some fresh sliced tomatoes to go with the delicious saltiness of the smoked meat, a couple of grill-fried pieces which fell out of the stuffed sandwich and onto my tongue. I had perfectly crunchy onion rings and a side of bean soup to complement the ham. And sweet tea, of course. read more

Loved this place! Amazing food and very friendly staff. The corn pancakes that came with the meal were incredible...as was the Country Fried Steak and the Fried Bologna Sandwich. read more

Cliffside Diner - Fried Bologna Sandwich - American Near Me - Frankfort, Kentucky

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