Back in the 60s I was in the hospitality, food and beverage industry at an old-style Holiday Inn motel. Our corporate office was extremely dialed-in to making sure every visitor's experience was the best possible and would secretly send "inspectors" throughout the country to ensure the thousands of locations were following Holiday Inn guidelines. So, knowing this, the employees were always kept on their toes to prevent a poor inspection and possible dismissal. I learned how to make a customer's visit enjoyable for not only the customer, but for the establishment's staff as well. I've always found that the Golden Rule works very well at restaurants, too. My wife and I often eat at this specific Dot's Diner location in River Ridge. So often that we feel treated almost like family. We particularly love the retro 50s diner interior AND exterior design at this location, which we personally find most similar to those we remember from our childhood. We've never had a bad experience here. We're joyfully greeted every time we visit and we, in turn, greet the staff. ALL of the personnel are consistently pleasant and interested in making our meal the best possible. All of the breakfast, lunch or dinner selections we've ever ordered have been GREAT. The DAILY SPECIAL meals are served in generous portions and are absolutely delicious. BURGERS ARE GREAT, TOO! After visiting DOT's DINER you'll find yourself wondering why anyone would go to swanky restaurants or "fast food" chains. read more

Definitely your mom/pop diner with that home cooked feeling. Food was great and the atmosphere was good. Food came out quick and service was good. If you are looking for a good breakfast spot in NOLA this place is it. read more

After leaving the airport, we were hungry. I wanted breakfast selections, and everyone else wanted lunch. I jumped on Yelp! and found Dots Diner in the search. We arrived and were greeted warmly by our server, and escorted to a table. We were provided cutlery and menus after we were seated, and our beverage order was taken. I ordered a breakfast plate - 2 pancakes, scrambled eggs, 2 crispy strips of bacon, 2 sausage patties, hash browns, biscuit and grits....WHEW, that's a load of food! Yes, I shared! The rest of the party had shrimp po-boys - one fully dressed and with sautéed onions, and the other dressed less mayonnaise and onions. One ordered sweet corn and received fries instead (NOTE: the waitress fixed it and acknowledged the error.), and the other ordered Mac-n-cheese. My breakfast plate was excellent, with the exception of the grits that were lumpy and lacked taste. The significant problem was the tails were still on the shrimp. That should never be the case on a sandwich. As a result, they spent time removing the tails before they could eat their po-boys, which meant their po-boys were lukewarm by the time they started eating. The Mac-n-cheese did not receive good comments. I did not try it because I was too busy enjoying my breakfast. The mistakes were unfortunate because I enjoyed the diner. The decor was cool, the server was friendly, and the restaurant was very clean and comfortable. I wish I could give 3.5 stars because my experience was better than a 3, but not as solid as a 4 connotes. Would I come again? Yes. I would replace the grits with something else, and I would specifically request the shrimp tails be removed before cooking them and placing them on the po-boy. read more

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I met a coworker for breakfast during the week. A spinach omelette was delicious. I couldn't even finish. They gave me so much food. Perfect spot for an amazing start to your day read more

Okay, don't underestimate why only 4 stores, this is one of the best diners I've been to. Cynthia took such good care of us! The food is OMG good. read more

Dots Diner - River Ridge - Biscuits and gravy and an order of grits - Diners Near Me - River Ridge, Louisiana

I don't know where to start. My parents came to visit me, they flew in from CA. My mom really wanted breakfast, so we all decided on Dot's. We got our drinks quickly and though our server didn't really seem into serving I'm not gonna take away any stars for it. She's human and wasn't rude, just wasn't really smiley or chatty. And that's fine. She was respectful and took down our orders correctly. My dad was admiring the mug he was served coffee in and we asked another gal named Cheryl (I might of misspelled that) if they sold that mug. They did, but in another color. She grabbed it for my dad to show him and he liked it so he decided to go ahead and buy it. She was very nice and indulged my dad who loves talking to people. I can't speak for my parents, but I'm pretty sure they enjoyed their food. My food was delicious. I think it was called the Crawfish Creole Queen and holy moly! It was so good. The flavors, textures (I have a thing about textures with my food), the temperature. Everything surpassed my expectations. My parents tried some of my food and they even commented on how delicious it was. Cheryl even recommended a place on the North shore to try because we all loved the dish and if we liked the Crawfish Creole Queen we would like the place she suggested in Mandeville. I appreciate someone who doesn't gatekeep! We will definitely be coming back. If you want delicious food, friendly people, a relaxed environment and not break the bank. Go to Dot's Diner! read more

Food was discussing and manager was so rude will never return to this location server was out front on bench smoking and came in took our order and didn't even wash her hands read more

This is the best Dot's in the metro area. There are a few things you must know about me before I begin this review. 1. I am a ridiculous human being 2. I love divey diner type restaurants. 3. I like breakfast for lunch. So knowing these things, my next statement may make sense. I decided I was going to try every Dot's Diner and figure out which one was the best. I decided to embark on this adventure after eating at this Dot's based on the recommendation of a buddy from work. After eating at every location, I do declare this is the winner. Here's how I came to that conclusion. This location is located along Jefferson Highway in River Ridge. I hadn't been to RR since high school so I was not familiar with the area. This appeared to be a purpose built Dot's and it exudes the old school diner look outside and in. Service has been consistently good. On each visit I was greeted as if I was a long time regular. That's the kind of service I expect at a diner so I was not disappointed. Since I was conducting a highly scientific experiment I always ordered the same thing at each location. The Atkins Special, aka B10, is three scrambled eggs with cheese and three strips of bacon, sausage patties, and link sausages. It's a lot of food, but costs way less than you would expect. Of all the Dot's this was the one with the best version of B10. The eggs must contain cream or something else because they're incredibly good. They're also unable to replicated by me despite numerous attempts. So if you ant breakfast for breakfast, breakfast for lunch, or even breakfast for dinner, Dot's in River Ridge should be on your list. read more

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I woke up hungry so I was about to drive to Mc Donald's when I saw dots diner on the way and I said hmm? Some breakfast sounds good ! I walk in and there's a lady ahead placing an order so one of the servers sees me line up behind her and began to ask me what I needed and I said I'm not sure yet , I would like eggs, grits bacon hash browns and she cut me off and said oh you want a B1, It comes with toast though or a Buscuit so I said sounds fine I want Sausage too , she never mentioned big Dot breakfast but pulled out the menu and pointed me directly to the B1 and said you can add hasbrowns ? And could I have one of those eggs scrambled and the other over medium and she said it was up to me , anywho Thinking this was my only option since she hasn't yet offered me to look through the menu .. instead i felt rushed i noticed she didn't give me bacon and sausage so i asked the girl who is ringing me up that I wanted both . So my total comes out to over $17 mind you the B1 menu item she pointed too was 5.49 I'm thinking Damn that's a lot for some breakfast .. I go look up dots diner on google find the menu and realize I ordered a 10.50 menu item on line called a big dot It comes with two eggs , 2 sausages , 2 bacon, has brown and grits plus PANCAKES everything I ordered plus pancakes for $7 less then I paid . I felt Jipped and upset that the waitress didn't tell me this ... I'm a waitress and have been for 14 years at busy well rated highly on yelp and I always help my guest find what's best pocket and belly wise ... not set them up ! That's bad taste and shady So mind you I wasn't mad or mean , I simply went up to the girl who rang me up and said could you add pancakes or something .. Bc I paid way more than I should have ? So I grabbed a menu and sat down and realized man I'm still getting jipped I still paid 7$ more for a meal that cost $10.49 $12 in the inside menu . The waitress sees me looking at the menu so I tell her how I feel . And that maybe I could have so coffee or something ? And she automatically is like I can't just give you stuff you can talk to my boss. Whom barely wanted to talk to me and was defensive about the whole thing and kept bringing up that I'm getting an extra piece of meat with what I've ordered . Like that's besides the point? He then tells me I should have looked at the menu .. Look I know I should have told her that I wanted to look through the menu first but I trusted that the waitress was guiding me In the right direction . Anyway they begin talking about me loudly in the kitchen to where everyone there could hear and were now looking at me . Very unprofessional and distasteful . They're missing the bigger picture here I'm a customer and I'm also bringing up a valid point no matter how it was rang up , I'm paying more than I should be Granted they come bring me my order and of course they didn't give me a coffee oh well by that point I was over the whole situation I almost decided to leave without my food and just take the $17 loss by this point I get home open the plates and realize I didn't get both my eggs 1 scrambled one over medium . I only have one scrambled no over medium egg. So just to prove my point on their behavior I called them and the first person hung up the call the 2nd time the waitress who took my order answered and I told her who I was and that they forgot my egg . She sarcastically answers saying well you can come back and talk to my boss , he'll gladly give you another egg .. No apologies nothing! Of course I'm not driving back to get that egg . It's the principal . You were so appalled by me asking for a coffee that you never gave me and STILL managed to mess up my $17 order . This place is a mess ! I SHOULD HAVE JUST WENT TO MCDONALDS!!! I've never written I bad review about anyplace including when I've had bad service but the attitudes here were worth my time writing this ! read more

Dots Diner - River Ridge - Diners Near Me - River Ridge, Louisiana

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Great food. Called in order. Ready when we got there. Cheese fries and Who Dat burgers! Hit the spot!

Dude I'm literally geeked and this food sucked. Biscuit was literally falling apart, gravy wasn't hot and the only HOT thing I had was the fried steak and that was still mid af. read more

Wondering if Dots changed ownership. The burger was tasteless, and both the bacon and the fries were undercooked. They usually have good burgers, so I was just wondering if something had changed. We didn't see any of the usual staff as well, so I was just wondering. read more

Fantastic dinner with lots of food! Service was amazing & staff friendly. Highly recommend crawfish creole queen read more

Dots Diner - River Ridge - Crawfish creole queen - Diners Near Me - River Ridge, Louisiana

First time here in about 7 years, I even told the lady at the counter that, but I also still remembered my go to order: lumberjack, add gravy, short stack on the side. I used to tear up the dots in Metairie back in the day, and finding myself close to one for breakfast time made me come back. Lady at the counter is all smiles and she goes "alright baby that'll be $20" I'm like wow that's steep, but I know I know, inflation and everything. I get the check for me to sign and it's $26. At this point I'm thinking to myself "wow some hash browns and pancakes are kind of expensive, wonder how it's all broken down". Like any normal person, I sign the top receipt, tear it off the stack, and look for my own personal itemized receipt. Before I can even find the itemized I am screamed at by this lady at the counter "CAN YOU NOT RIP THAT WE NEED IT FOR THE LINE".... Then why did you hand it to me? At this point the lady that was nice to me had turned sour because I had just wanted to see my itemized receipt. With a death in the family causing this early breakfast, I hate to admit but I wasn't having it this morning and I did chirp back at her. It's employees like this who can ruin a whole restaurant's experience, and it's sad. To the lady working the counter this morning: get a different job. Anyways, I like to be fair in my reviews, let's talk about the food. So the circumstances of this morning stung, price of this really stung, and the service ESPECIALLY stung. But I was adamant in hoping that my $26 hash browns would live up to their price point. The verdict? Meh. I would have given it a 4.5/10 because the line cook did try his hardest and I saw him make it in front of me; quite quickly might I add! And then the pancakes: it's not often I eat breakfast, much less pancakes. While I appreciate the effort, the pancakes were a bit overdone but I'd give them a 5/10. Granted, all of these carry the weight of a $26 breakfast, so they are hindered greatly. To wrap it up: on my way here I told my buddy, who was a first timer, "this place is like Waffle House if Waffle House's service didn't suck". Now, whenever I go to Waffle House again, I'm sure I'll think to myself "this place if like Dot's Diner if it didn't suck". Sad visit, disappointed I had to write a review like this for somewhere I used to love. read more

I've never had a bad experience with Dots. I find that the food to be okay-I would still prefer Waffle House for my diner choice. I ordered the club sandwich that left me underwhelmed. The ham tasted old and the fries were decent at most. You do get a great portion but I definitely don't feel like it was worth the $10 I paid. read more

Dots Diner - River Ridge - Diners Near Me - River Ridge, Louisiana

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Old fashioned diner food and ambiance fast service, meals cooked fresh, reliable quality.

Always smiling faces when you enter this location in River Ridge. You are greeted soon as you enter. Food is always fresh and tasty. Been here for breakfast and lunch and can honestly say we've always had a pleasant experience. Always clean, employees always friendly and courteous. Great meals served here daily, for a very reasonable price. Definitely a regular stop for us. read more

They won't let you down here! This dots never fails to provide fast service and fresh food!

This place is disgusting for one major reason. Staff was doing prep work on the bar top where customers are supposed to sit and at the other end of the bar the dirty dishes were stack as high as they could go They lady said they don't have the room on the line which is no excuse. I told her it was against the law and she told me I was being rude Anyway I decided not to eat but they still charged me 3bucks for a tea The rudeness was the server who just wanted to argue about the situation Also I sat in syrup on the chair and it stains my expensive jeans. Eat at your own risk read more

I have ordered from this place almost daily & I have enjoyed it until now I ordered delivery over the weekend & both my scrambled eggs & my husband's omelet had egg shells in it I ordered my burger the next day giving them the benefit of the doubt unfortunately the burger was tasteless & the bun was burned if this is from a change in cooks it wasn't a good 1 read more

Dot's is a really cool place. A diner with an "old timey" 50's kind of feel complete with kitsch adorning the walls. We walked in and decided to sit in a booth. The waitress was very friendly and told us to take our time as we decided what we wanted to order. They have pretty much everything here from breakfast combos to sandwiches and when you are as hungry as I was, everything sounds amazing. I was feeling adventurous, so I decided to get the Big Dot breakfast. This comes with two pancakes, two sausage patties, two pieces of bacon, grits, two eggs and hash browns. Yeah, it's a lot of food. It came quickly and while I didn't finish ALL of the food, I made a pretty good dent in it and only left the pancakes and toast. I guess that I wasn't in much of a "carb" mood. The food was okay, but nothing spectacular. All of the food here is made to order, so it's fresh and you can actually see the woman cooking the stuff on the griddle. Honestly, this is a good breakfast spot if you are in the area, but it's not worth going out of your way or anything like that. I would say that it is only slightly better than IHOP. Dot's is open 24/7, so it's perfect if you need a late night meal. If I were to go back, I think I would probably try the club sandwich because I'm a sucker for a club. read more

Dots Diner - River Ridge - Big Dot breakfast. Toast, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, bacon, sausage, grits, coronary. - Diners Near Me - River Ridge, Louisiana

Went to Dots River Ridge tonight 2/1/23 and it was one of the worst experience my wife and i have in a long time. First the place was filthy. The person sweeping the floor was using a shovel to try to pick up the filth he said they did not have a dust pan .chairs were very dirty. My wife got French toast and it was very dark and wet. The texture was like pudding. She only ate one piece and stopped.. I tried a piece and spit it out. .My All American meal was sup par also Hash brown Potato way over cooked..i told them my wife could not eat her French Toast thinking they would take it off the bill..They did not. Then had to wait to pay bill the system was down..Had to go to a Atm down the street. I am mad at myself for paying for my wifes meal. Dirty Place,,very chaotic,,Not good at all..I AM DONE read more

Imagine...it's 1959, you have a hankerin' for a good burger, fries and an ice cold coke. OR it's 2am and you're craving a short stack....What do you do?? Go to a diner....Dot's Diner. It looks like it fell out of the 50's with the chrome accents and vintage ambiance. There's counter and table seating. The coffee is always fresh and short order is the way to go! This is going to be our breakfast place from now on! It is just around the corner and all over the area. Sooo much better quality than IHOP or Denny's. The people that work there know the regulars and treat you like family. Dot's does not get 5 stars...BECAUSE the first time we went there...we were unimpressed. They have actually earned 2 stars since the last time we went. read more

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We came by Dot's Diner for one main reason: True Detective. Fans of the show know there is a scene where Marty and another detective meet there, and we wanted to see what it was all about. Who knew that the milkshakes and patty melts were a MUCH better reason to visit? The place was empty as we came at an odd time (4 p.m. on a Sunday) but the friendly staff visited with us and made some top notch milkshakes. I got the chocolate malt which is made the right way; vanilla ice cream, Hershey's syrup and hand spun. My brother got the patty melt and onion rings and it was fantastic. I love small diners like these, usually for the friendly service and Dot's did not disappoint. It's certainly off the beaten path for those staying in New Orleans city proper, but if you find yourself around it, go and check it out. They'll even sit you in the exact same seats as the True Detective crew. read more

What a great little place! Hubby had the burger which was really good! I had been craving catfish and Dot's hit the spot! We will be back! Friendly staff! read more

We were in town for a few days, from South Florida. The outside looked too cute not to stop in for breakfast at least once. The food was ok, the server was attentive and the old diner style decor inside is lovely. read more

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Very nice, homey, comfortable experience. Hubby and I have been to breakfast there a few times. The staff is great, very attentive and we felt very welcome. Great breakfast food. They offer scrambled egg whites and hash browns with onions. And Community coffee, our favorite. We will be back. read more

Every time we have company from out of town we drive from downtown New Orleans to bring them to Dot's Diner River Ridge. My brother used to live in River Ridge and still loves this Dots! The customer service is always FANTASTIC. Our friends always love it here and rave about the service. The only thing that makes me not give Dots 5 stars is I ordered the rib eye this last time and it was awful. Everything else (grits, & basted eggs) was fantastic. I will never stop visiting this Dots. read more

This place was great. Finally a diner that know what over medium eggs and crisp bacon look like. I would have preferred home fries over hash browns but not enough to reduce stars. read more

My wife and I were able to get a delcious breakfast. The staff was rushed! A good thing! Hopefully all the lock down will be over. We'll be back soon. read more

This is one of the worst diners I have ever been in. While the staff wasn't rude, their service sucked, the place was filthy, and the food was crap. I respect that I happened by on a Sunday morning and they were slammed, so my experience may not be the norm. I walked in and stood there in confusion for few minutes before I was noticed and directed to take a still dirty table someone was leaving. After someone cleared and half ass wiped the table, I sat for another several minutes until someone brought me a menu.... From a chair where some random lady had been sitting on all the menus. The menu was filthy. The floor was filthy. I had to use my napkin to finish wiping off my own table. I ordered breakfast, eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, and toast. I requested onions and cheddar on my hasbrowns. The cheese was cheap sliced processes crap cheese. The onions were near non-existent. My sausage was overcooked. My toast was burnt. And my eggs were undercooked to the point the whites were snotty. Normally, I'm a good tipper. 20% is my standard for good service, 15% for mediocre, 10% for crappy service. I left no tip. Zero. read more

You know my wife and I have visited a few Dot's in our time but the River Ridge diner is the BEST. LOVE staff. Fun,Friendly,CRAZY. GREAT PLACE. Cooks prepare what and how you order your food. Just a GREAT place. read more

Love everything about them 100 stars nice clean & reliable staff. This is a go to place for anybody in my eyes everything wAs hot clean & cool high recommend read more

Here is the deal, it's a diner. You have to understand that. Don't go in here expecting 5 star food. This place is great diner food. They have good cooks and serve breakfast all day long. They also have daily specials that include a drink for an unbeatable price. If you sign up for their newsletter you will get coupons about every 2 weeks in your email. They use Community coffee which is always a plus and have unlimited refills on that. The wait staff here is simply the best. Mrs. Betty is the best most caring waitress you will ever meet and your order will never be wrong. They have some stand out meals. Their omelets are very good and they even have a healthy one with egg whites and veggies that is shockingly good. They also have a homemade crawfish Julie sauce that is unique and worth a shot. They got rid of their sesame buns on their sandwiches which is a bummer and I hate to say it but I really dislike their grits. I think their water is "hard" so the grits are just not right. They have free Wi-Fi and between that and big cheap breakfast platters I can't complain too much The good: The service the breakfast free refills on coffee solid prices The bad: Gonna go with the grits on this one The ugly: I am not sure what it is but sometimes I get a whiff of something...Is it the guy sitting behind me? maybe. Is it the ash trays in front of the door? possibly. It's just something that every once in while creeps in my nostrils. Keep in mind I really like this place and I am here every week so it must not be too bad. read more

Just the perfect little neighborhood diner with great prices, delicious food, friendly staff and convenient location! Who could ask for anything more?!? read more

I love this dots diner. It's fairly close to my home and the staff is always sweet when I stop in at two or three in the morning. I feel the pricing is fair and food is made to order. read more

Went to this place because I was nursing a hangover and they shot a scene from True Detective here. Super nice staff, great patty melts and vanilla shakes. Great fall town find. read more

Dots Diner - River Ridge - Patty melt - Diners Near Me - River Ridge, Louisiana

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Tuesday, 10:00 AM. Quickie: + Good food + Large menu + Fun service - Cleanliness And then...? Old school diner vibe. Comfort food that hits the spot. ********** Stuffed my face in: 1. Creole scramble + Interesting take on eggs and muffin read more

Dot's is legendary. Food is great, priced fairly and the servers are like family. % my favorite retro cafe. read more

I went there for about 20 years while working nights and I was never disappointed. !!! The staff was always friendly. I still go every chance I get. read more