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    Hot Rod Diner

    3.3 (201 reviews)
    ModerateDiners
    Closed 6:00 am - 2:00 pm

    Hot Rod Diner Photos

    Business Info

    HOT ROD DINER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Hot Rod Diner

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    Reviews With Photos

    Love me tender
    Alyssa S.

    The ambiance is that of a classic American diner. You seat yourself and the server takes your order. We ordered a cup of coffee (3/5), a love me tender with hash browns and a biscuit (4/5) and the special, chilaquiles with chicken and over easy eggs (5/5). The food was great and good portion sizes! They took our order, served us promptly, and were always ready to refill my coffee. The price is just right. We'll be back.

    3 cheese omelette
    Colten G.

    Food was very good, service was fast. I definitely recommend getting the eggs Benedict. Ham was very thick and hollandaise sauce was thick . Not sure why the eggs Benedict isn't on the menu but if you ask , most likely they will serve it. Diner is very clean, quiet environment. Lots of family's together and also coworkers on lunch break. Price was reasonable, normal for what you expect now days . Thank you for the good experience hot rod

    Bonanza burger
    Adrienne N.

    Ordered the bonanza burger... Loved the burger minus the lettuce. It was too wilted from the patty. The young man that greeted us was very friendly, the waitress could have been friendlier. It was the busiest I've ever seen, but it was precious seen elderly friends enjoying a meal wearing their old Leatherman jackets. Perhaps it was a high school reunion, whatever it was... It was a joy to see them smiling and enjoy there meals together. Overall, it is always a go to for my family... If we want a delicious meal.

    Inspection report

    I would not eat here!! There is an inspection report that found rodent droppings and employees not using proper hand hygiene.

    Chicken fried steak

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    4 months ago

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    2 months ago

    Hit and miss sometimes good, other times not so good. Service is a hit and miss too. Sometimes good others no so good.

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    5 months ago

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    6 months ago

    Great food and service. No Rv parking spots though unless you park across the street

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    3 years ago

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    4 months ago

    The food's excellent and they are really respectful and honest and the waitresses are nice and they take care of their customers

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    4 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Great service and excellent quality of food !! I will definitely be back . I recommend trying the chicken fajita omelet

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    1 year ago

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    3 years ago

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    10 months ago

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    11 months ago

    1 waitress didnt bother to ask if we wanted refills on our drinks. Also we got there first and we got attended after.

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    We enjoy coming here with our family. employees are always so happy and attentive. food of course is always good never disappoints.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Good tasting food and good service. It's been around for a while. Best hot rods out of the three.

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Had two meals here - breakfast and lunch - both real good with quality foods ! Service was excellent.... Recommend!

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    3 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Food was very good. Large portions. Service was fair. The only thing is they were cleaning and not once did they wash their hands. Yuck!

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    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - Hot Rod Diner

    Review Highlights - Hot Rod Diner

    This used to be a legendary bar in Modesto, not so much anymore, but the food and restaurant are still amazing, FAST and delicious.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    Sam's Cafe

    Sam's Cafe

    4.2
    (217 reviews)
    1.8 mi
    $

    This is a gem of a breakfast spot, and we are so glad we found it on a recent trip thru the Central…read moreValley. The hospitality, service and food are all top notch. The country fried steak is amazing as are the biscuits. We recommend this place highly and can't wait to return. Well done Sam's Cafe!

    Today I had the immense pleasure of trying Sam's Cafe in Ceres for the first time. Why didn't…read moreanyone tell me about this place before? I decided to take a friend out for a Christmas lunch. She has had some serious health issues and we used to play in a couple of bands back in the day (last millennium) and always are in need to swap stories. We arrived at Sam's, found parking right outside, and entered. We were immediately seated and our drink order taken. We got coffee for her and my iced tea quite soon thereafter. I noticed that the place was both clean inside and out, a well as busy, and the staff was on keeping it so while we were there. I ordered a bowl of chili (which wasn't on the menu that I could see) just to test them a bit, and asked for the added onions be grilled and then cheese on top of that. They totally nailed it and the chili was delicious. My fellow diner was impressed with her omelette, and remarked a couple of times on the high quality of the coffee (which was refreshed often while we were there). I have to admit to a bias toward these small, mom and pop places as I like the great quality and service I find consistently at them. I highly recommend Sam's and plan to visit the next time I am in the area.

    Photos
    And the inside.
    And the inside.
    Chili Cheese Omelette with country potatoes
    Chili Cheese Omelette with country potatoes
    Sam's from the outside.

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    Sam's from the outside.
    Lucille

    Lucille

    4.8
    (339 reviews)
    2.5 mi
    $$

    ***Update*** Since I work as an Uber driver (one who…read moreattended culinary school) I always find myself eating in unfamiliar locales. Modesto is NOT close to home for me. After discovering Lucille several years ago, I will now willingly take rides far from home, although the fares sometimes dry up in the Central Valley. I have been to Lucille twice by myself. I brought my Godmother once. I recommend Lucille to everyone who I drive when they tell me that they live in or near Modesto. Today I brought my boyfriend and my dog, who lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was Saturday, super crowded and my dog was being super reactive with another dog across the way. It was super embarrassing and, although I am sure that it stressed out the staff, they were calm, kind and attentive. I was stressed and shrill, my dog was being a grade-A A-hole. I'm sorry Lucille! The beet salad at this place features fresh mint and I always get it. The chocolate cookie with flaky malden salt is very yummy. Their house coffee is very high quality and doesn't taste gross and burned. I didn't love my soup today. The bar was set pretty high with the carrot soup I had another time. Honestly, it was a small detail and this place is so much better than 90% of restaurants. They sent me another chocolate cookie. That was never necessary. I love you Lucille! Thanks for the extra care and the extra cookie! You really deserve a larger building because you are awesome!

    Found this spot to stop for breakfast and it was a great find! We were immediately greeted by two…read morefriendly staff. They have yummy pastries on display but the breakfast menu has tons of savory options. We ordered H Street Block which is a blueberry french toast casserole. It was the perfect size. It looks small, but it was very filling and just enough to get my day started. It's a bit pricey for the size but since that was the portion I wanted, I wasn't too disappointed. One of the workers mentioned they do have kids menu options, but they didn't have the printed kids menus available, so if you don't see them, just ask when you are ordering. The Champions Breakfast platter was a great choice for our kids to share. It was one of the better fruit bowls I've seen, with a variety of fresh berries and oranges. The place is pretty small inside, but we were there on a Thursday morning so it was no issue finding a parking spot or a table to sit. I appreciate how kid friendly they are, even bringing kid size water cups with lids, and there are even some children's books on the shelf in the back. Such a cute little spot, I would have never known about it if I wasn't looking on Yelp for breakfast places in this area.

    Photos
    Seating
    Seating
    Benny on a bun
    Benny on a bun
    A La cart items: 2 eggs, 2 pieces bacon, side of avocado

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    A La cart items: 2 eggs, 2 pieces bacon, side of avocado
    Velvet Grill & Creamery

    Velvet Grill & Creamery

    3.8
    (432 reviews)
    4.7 mi
    $$

    My boyfriend took me to eat at the Velvet Creamery for breakfast after a doctors appointment we…read morewere in town for. I had never been here before but he remembered eating here as a kid with his family and always talked about it. The parking lot was packed and there were ALOT of people inside as well as a few large parties, but we were greeted and seated as soon as we entered. Someone came over and took our drink orders while we looked at the menu, though the restaurant was busy it wasn't too loud, and we could easily have a conversation. My boyfriend ordered the Croissant Breakfast Sandwich with Hashbrowns & I ordered the Breakfast Combo #3 - their famous "baked here" French Toast, two eggs & choice of breakfast meat. I am extremely picky when it comes to French Toast, but this was really good, fluffy but crisp edges and a great flavor. Their portions were large, with very reasonable prices. They had a counter front ice cream bar that we did not partake in, however we may do so on our next trip. We will be back in the future.

    Shout out to Talya for 5 star customer service! She was so sweet and helpful! My meal today was a…read morecombo #5 with a side of soup up first. I ordered a salted caramel banana shake too. Soooo yummy! There was a short wait. I was quoted 10 minutes, but it was a lot less! In fact, I was surprised to be seated so quickly dispite how busy they were. Ambiance was somewhat loud and busy. However, it was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves on a late Sunday morning/early afternoon.

    Photos
    Velvet Grill & Creamery
    Weekday Power Low Carb Special #3
    Weekday Power Low Carb Special #3
    American food diner has feel of ole times staff seems friendly food smells good

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    American food diner has feel of ole times staff seems friendly food smells good
    Old Mill Cafe

    Old Mill Cafe

    3.9
    (323 reviews)
    2.3 mi
    $$

    We had a family get together on December 20,2025. The staff…read morewas amazing, it felt like we were greeting old friends. Ftom the moment we walked in the door to being seated and them juggling our request for multiple checks the staff was genuinely lovely. The food was wonderful. I had a Denver omelette, it was light and fluffy and cooked perfectly. And on top of that the serving sizes were large. I had a side of home fries with peppers and onions, and a biscuit (It came with sausage gravy if I wanted, but I wanted to just have it as a biscuit so I had them leave off the gravy). My daughters had soup and a sandwich, dad had pancakes, and my other daughter had eggs Benedict, and my mom got a club sandwich, I can't remember what others had but everyone raved about their food. The restaurant was decorated for Christmas and is just adorable. The diner has comfortable booths and a counter that wraps around a good part of the main room. There is also a side room ( where they seated us 11 altogether) where larger parties are accommodated. The service was pretty quick once we all ordered, maybe 10-15 min. The prices were very reasonable, my Denver omelette that I could only eat half of and the home fries and huge fluffy biscuit was about $15. I took the other half home and my hubby ate it later Definitely will go back, I live here in town which makes that easy but even if I was passing through I would go the 2 blocks or so off hwy 99 to eat here. New Christmas tradition that is gonna stick

    We stayed overnight in Modesto, CA on May. 29, 2026. We saw the breakfast options at the hotel and…read moredecided to get something better. We are so glad to find the Old Mill Cafe. Breakfast was absolutely delicious! The staff was so friendly and attentive. One of those cool local spots! Happy 70th Anniversary!

    Photos
    Inside...classic diner
    Inside...classic diner
    Old Mill Cafe
    Menu

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    Menu

    Hot Rod Diner - diners - Updated June 2026

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