4 star rating for this place.. WOW. People in Durham must have no taste buds. This place has always been SO mediocre. Everything tastes like it was microwaved and/or frozen. I'm sure it was. Milkshakes pretty good And the only real sit down diner in a good location I know of in Durham But, be prepared to be dissapointed in the food, just not very good I know so many locals that hate this place. read more

This has become one of our favorite brunch spots! Never more than a 5-10 minute wait even when they looked slammed busy. We always get good service and the food is always delicious. They serve fairly big portions for a great price. read more

I ordered the hummus. It was good, not the best but good. The service was very good and the coffee was exceptional.

Middle of the road diner food. Fairly disappointing given the reputation. Home fries are not very crispy even though they are deep fried. Sunny side up eggs were a little under cooked. Sausage heavy was overly congealed. Only the plus side the biscuit was fluffy and not bad. read more

I love this diner. Has that hometown feel with locals and your fresh cup of coffee, however with top class food! Very reasonably priced with friendly staff. Perfect spot for me and my wife to stop in on our way to VA. read more

Not sure what the draw is here...yes it's kinda homey, yes the servers are pleasant, yes there's generally a wait and yes, parking is terrible in an uneven gravel lot pock-marked with holes. But it's basic food with no outstanding attributes. Average, with a history...guess that's what helps others. Call it provenance. read more

Great diner atmosphere, great price for the volume of food! You should try the special pancakes that are topped with cranberry, granola, apple, and pecans. The pancakes and waffles are very large! I can see why it has won best breakfast in Durham the past two years. read more

Food is so-so. Too bland for my preferences. The staff is very accommodating especially if you have kids.

Great food great service great atmosphere. Went for dinner on a rainy night, this was the perfect place to get some yummy traditional comfort food! Recommend the pumpkin pancakes for the fall season! All the staff was willing to help serve us and get our table what we needed. Also great music choices! The food is well priced. Bang for your buck. Highly recommend ! read more

Had a date night here and it was excellent. I love it when a diner has a great breakfast, that's not extremely fancy. Just the good ol basics. I see myself coming back soon. read more

The food was pretty good. It wasn't anything life changing but there were some pretty good highlights. The biscuits were great, the eggs were cooked perfectly (that is more difficult than it sounds), and the service was great. These rest of my meal (Salmon Cake breakfast) was pretty hit or miss though. I would return and order something different as I strongly believe my husband and I just ordered the wrong things. The omelets came out looking SO good! read more

Basic and delicious! Service was quick and there was a wonder man at another table who welcomed and complimented other customers. He seem to be a regular. We will definitely be back next time we are in town read more

We popped in here on Christmas Eve morning! So quick! So delicious! Go!!

Elmo's is my Cheers! The waiters and waitresses are quite friendly and manyt know me and my family. The restaurant is family friendly with many families and groups eating here often. The food is quite good- omelets, Rueben sandwiches, carrot ginger soup/Brunswick stew/whitebean soup, chicken salad or tuna salad plate, spaghetti, salads, iced tea- satisfying and quite good! We go there often! read more

Traditional diner menu. Service is good with quick delivery of our drinks and food. We both enjoyed the turkey dinner with all the works. Not too bad if you seeking basic comfort food. read more

They make good comfort diner food at a reasonable price. If that's what your looking for this is the place. Although I've never had a bad entrée I gave it three stars because sometimes it takes a little while to get your food. I've had a few times where the food has been served cold. Overall I enjoyed the food and staff here but sometimes it's a little lacking. read more

Super friendly staff and convenient curbside pickup! The breakfast is phenomenal, so is the Greek grilled cheese!

Really great diner! There's usually a wait, but that just shows how good everything is. Breakfast is superb, but the whole menu is great too

The service wasn't bad at all, and the place was all over very clean. But the food is where everything went wrong. My husband ordered the meatloaf and it didn't even look appetizing. He said "it tasted like a hamburger that was too well done with spaghetti sauce on top. The mashed potatoes were cold. The only thing hot was the Mac n cheese. I ordered the burger and to be honest, I've had more flavor at steak and shake. My son ordered fries and they came out cold as well. I was very disappointed because for the most part the reviews for this place are good. Maybe we came on an off night, but I was very dissatisfied. read more

Elmo's homemade apple pie was baked with love - as if your own grandma handpicked the apples from the grove, and birds chirped a morning song as she set the pie on the window sill. No ice cream was needed - the sweet cinnamon apples tinged with tartness perfectly complimented the light fluffy crust. read more

Elmo's holds a special place in my heart, having gone to NCSSM right down the street and shared so many memories in this place (including breakfast the morning of graduation). The food is generally speaking very good, with decent portions and a good selection. The biscuits are not my favorite as they're thick, crumbly biscuits and not the lighter, flaky variety which I prefer (Rise biscuit really excels at the latter!). Other than the biscuits, I really haven't had anything that I disliked at Elmo's. It can be difficult to get a table during peak hours (think brunch on the weekend), but that's typical considering Durham had a lot of brunch-loving foodies in town. I've tried both the Carroboro & Durham locations and I have to say that Durham's location and atmosphere are my favorite, all other things being similar. read more

Awesome food and service! Pretty easy on the wallet too! I will definitely come here again the next time I'm in town.

If you're ever in Durham and can't decide where to eat, They have about anything and everything and it's all awesome. I'm a patient at Duke Medical Center so I'm here about 8 times a year. If you get to Elmo's look on the specials menu, if you see Shrimpburger, you must eat it. It'll blow your mind, the wait staff is excellent, the only time I get upset with them is if they inform they've sold all of the Shrimpburgers for the day. But if you can't get the Shrimpburger,you'll find plenty of other food to enjoy. Plus there's breakfast all day. The only bad thing is if you go when it's busy parking is next to impossible. read more

Great breakfast! Very attentive staff and good value! Very busy place and good menu

Elmo's is my go-to spot! Good breakfast and dinner food. The salads are great. :) They are very good about modifications. I am here at least once a week. read more

3.5 stars. Elmo's Diner is a decent brunch spot with good prices but the wait can be long. The food is above average; however, I still find their brunch to be not as good as some chain restaurants such as IHOP and Cracker Barrel which is not saying much given how many great brunch spots there are in Durham. I ordered the custom omelet with 4 ingredients. The selection of ingredients are pretty wide from meats to cheeses to veggies. Their omelet was pretty plain and modest. The dish comes with 1 side and choice of bread. I also ordered a blueberry pancake which was decent but slightly burnt. One small thing that annoyed me a bit was that Elmo's charges extra for small requests like cheese on your grits or an extra slice of pickle. read more

I had the TBA (Turkey , Bacon, Avocado) with salsa mayo and a side of their green beans ... it was amazing I didn't leave a crumb on my plate. I can't wait to come and try brunch! read more

My favorite diner go to. Simple, delicious, good pricing and always great service. There is usually a wait for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, but they're efficient. There is nothing fancy about this place, but it always makes me feel at home. read more

Cute little quaint establishment on 9th street. Went in on a Sunday morning for brunch and place was a bit packed. Wait time was about 10 to 15 min. Manager and staff was super friendly. Had the egg and salmon plate with grits. Very very good food! For sure will definitely be back to ty something new. read more

Prices are good. You get a decent amount of food for your money. The pancakes are good and so are their omelets. The spaghetti is good as well. Not a bad place at all. read more

Good breakfast, I have huevos rancheros, and like other times (not here), it wasn't my best experience but at the same time not bad at all !

Have loved this place for years but it's falling off a cliff. Two visits ago I was served incorrect food and overcharged for it. And,after our last visit I can confidently say that I have never experienced worse service anywhere. Our very annoying waitress first completely forgot to enter our order. After sitting without food for half an hour we were rudely asked to confirm it and were then served uncooked food that had eggshells in it. After that outrage they finally had the decency to make our meal free but by that point my morning was ruined just the same. Just made a Yelp account to complain about what a terrible restaurant this is. Go to Watts Grocery instead! Only reason this got 1 star was because that's the minimum - wish there were negative stars. read more

Food quality= 10/10 quantity and quality for price= 10; staff efficiency, friendliness=10. As good as everyone says. We're from out of state and stopped for breakfast on a Monday morning. Nice breakfast variety but settled on banana/chic chip pancakes, banana, sweet potato (special today), plain w a baked cranberry/ pecan/ granola topping, sweet tea, turkey sausage, bacon. 0 disappointment. Liked that pancakes were a reasonable size- 7-8" and neither flat nor excessively fluffy. They didn't have combo banana/ chic chip cakes but made them as asked, no up charge or upturned nose. Staff could not have been more accommodating, friendly or attentive without intrusive. Hardwood floors, local art, sunny windows, brick walls, clean, uncluttered. read more

Elmo's Diner - A sweet potato pancake sitting happily atop a delicious banana pancake - Diners Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Very budget friendly and the food is very good. We ordered the breakfast burrito and the bacon waffle. The burrito's very loaded its very satisfying. Love it! read more

Elmo's Diner - Diners Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Love taking family and friends here on Sunday brunch. Be prepared to wait as it is super busy. Great staff and awesome food!! Keep it up Elmo's!! read more

I loveee Breakfast food, that being said, I love this place! huge portions of breakfast, tasty omelets, crispy bacon, and fluffy pancakes! I do wish there was more parking, but oh well. Great customer service and cute decor, just needs more space. read more

This place was awesome. My entire family was able to get something they loved for breakfast. Denise was fantastic dealing with our large party!! Will most definitely go here again!! read more

Food was fabulous, had a few different takes on basics that were perfect. Well worth the short wait to get in, would recommend to everyone.

I only gave two stars, because of the experience we all had, but I'll get to that in a second. We are visiting my sister & brother-in-law this week. They talked about how good the food was, and it was good food! We were seated quickly & got our drink order taken quickly. We ordered an appetizer, because we had to wait for my bro-in-law, but then the manager comes and tells us how long will it be until he arrives, we tell her, then she comes back and basically tells us we need to order now. So we did and got the food before he arrived. I've never been forced to order food; the manager was rude. Then we are told that they don't sit incomplete parties, like it was our fault we were seated early. And we were seated in a booth by the window and there were tiny ants crawling on the sill. Later at home, I found an ant in my purse. read more

I've never really had to write a bad review. At least not like this. So I ate here for the first time tonight and I went with my wife and my two year old son. I was super excited because the reviews seemed awesome. I ordered the Italian meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a roll. But I'm sad to say the meatloaf was basically a well done cooked hamburger patty with spaghetti sauce on top. The potatoes were cold. And my roll was hard as a brick. My son just got French fries which were actually cold too. I can say the service was fine. Very nice and friendly. But I am very disappointed with the food!!!! read more