Hated it. I gave them one star, but only because there is no "black hole of nothingness" rating.
I went there with my dad and my 8 year old twins. Usually I am sympathetic and understanding to wait staff, as I spent a few years cooking at a Perkins. Mostly I have a LOT of patience while dining out. But the Gretna Denny's is terrible. Only slightly worse than that garbage pit off I-80 on 84th.
We were seated. Shortly after that we ordered our drinks. Coca Cola for dad and I, chocolate milk for the kids.
The drinks came and the kids ordered their own meals. The kids menus that we were given instructed the kids to pick an entree from a list of choices and then a side from another list of choices. my daughter ordered chicken nuggets and a salad. My son ordered the little pizza and grapes. Hooray for healthy choices, right? I ordered a burger and fries because I feel I'm entirely too healthy (lol). My dad also ordered a burger, but asked that he get sauteed onions on it and onion rings instead of fries.
So we wait. the wait time was a little long for as busy as the place was (like I said, I used to cook at Perkins, so I know what an acceptable wait time is). But that's okay. I don't mind waiting a little. The kids were in a good mood, so it was fine.
My dad and i drink our cokes. the waiter says he'll bring some refills (spoiler alert - he never did).
The food comes. The salad for my daughter is HUGE with cucumbers and tomatoes and everything (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but more on that later). My son's pizza got dropped on the floor, so it would take a few more minutes to make a new one. They forgot to give my dad onion rings or sauteed onions, but he didn't want to make a fuss. my food was pretty good...Sriracha burger. We asked again for drink refills. The waiter says they'll be right out (spoiler alert - we would never receive these drinks).
Finally, my son's pizza comes. No grapes. I mentioned the grapes to the waiter...and i also mention the drink refills. The guy says it'll be a few moments. He disappears for about 10 minutes and then he brings a bowl of grapes and leaves in a hurry (still no daggone drink refills). I happened to look at the grapes before my son pulls one off and I see that several of the grapes are covered in mold. I'm not sure how the heck the waiter didn't notice the mold. i try to flag down the waiter on his next pass, but he pretends he doesn't see me. finally another waitress sees me trying to flag him down. she comes over and asks if she can help with anything. i show her the grapes. she gasps and takes them away. a few minutes later we have better grapes.
overall the food was okay. then the bill came. my dad was surprised at the amount. the waiter had charged us almost $3 each for the chocolate milks (the menu said $1.19 each for kids drinks). i then saw the guy charged us for an extra side salad, instead of the Jr salad that was supposed to be included with my daughters kids meal.
i call the waiter over. i point out the price of the chocolate milk on the kids menu. he told me those were 'old prices' and that the menus we were given weren't up to date. i told him in no uncertain terms that he was going to fix the prices on the bill. then i told him the salad was supposed to be included with the kids meal. He responds by telling me, "well, i brought a side salad instead of the kids salad, so i charged you accordingly." at this point my head was about to explode. i then told him "the kids were actually pointing at the kids menu WHILE THEY ORDERED. why on earth would you bring an adult side salad?"
he said, "i'll see what i can do."
seriously? you're going to act like you're doing me a *favor* by only charging the prices listed on the menu?! I felt like asking if they had a pillow I could scream into. Also i'd like to note that i have NEVER BEFORE left a bad review online, as i feel it's a cheap shot against the business. but this dude's attitude was enough to push me over the edge.
Now, I love great American diner-food just as much as the next guy. Even the big chain restaurants have some shining moments. I mean, it's real hard to ruin a burger and pancake dining experience...BUT every time i think to myself, "hey, I know I've had several terrible experiences at Denny's, but maaaaaybe I'll give them another chance," it's ended badly. i'm an idiot for going back.
my two cents, unless you like moldy grapes, being charged too much for meals, and staring at a cup half-filled with slowly melting ice, stay away from this place. read more