Holly molly, the chef makes fabulous soups- chicken n rice, vegetable beef soups, milkshakes, burgers, sandwiches, tasty breakfasts and they only make a vodka bloody mary, mimosas, beer/wine bar counter. Nice portions of food were you can take home. Since I was hungry and my boyfriend had already eaten, we decided to share the 1/2 sandwich and their soup of the day-a bowl of chicken n rice, DELICIOUS. Wonderful friendly helpful waitresses, who are attentive, great customer service, inside and outside seating-weather permitting. Right of Fwy 99 and Main St., in Turlock. Opens at 6:00 am and closes at 3 pm everyday- its a diner, and casual atmosphere! I would highly recommend my family, friends, and new comers. The waitresses are so friendly in Turlock and the cook is so cool. They are all off of Fwy 99 in Hilmar, Ceres and Turlock off of Main St nearby the freeway and and you will see McDonald's on your right side and Hot Rod on your left side facing the freeway. ENJOY! UPDATE: Went again a week ago, and yes the soup was delicious! We learned today that they have a variety of soups of the day. Even the lentil soup was delicious that we decided to take a bowl home to share or not. read more

Hot Rod Diner - Chicken n Rice soup and half of a grilled cheese sandwich I shared with my boyfriend. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California

We've eaten at the Hot Rod Diner in Ceres and were very impressed with this place. So after church today we decided to try the one in Turlock, thinking we'd experience the same quality food and service. We were sadly mistaken. Entering the restaurant, the first thing that caught our attention was the dirty floor, littered with food and paper products throughout the restaurant. Coffee and water came out quickly but never had a refill on the coffee until I had finished my meal. Not because I didn't want any, but our server was busy with other tables and didn't get to us until we were almost done. My wife's meal was mostly ok, but the English Muffin was hard enough to use as hockey pucks. My chicken fried steak had a weird flavor and not sure if it was on the gravy or the seasoning used on the meat. But it was just so-so, nothing to write home about. Best thing was the eggs, done perfectly and hashbrowns were pretty decent. Biggest complaint was the slow service, probably due to it being grad weekend and they were pretty busy with families (according to the cashier), and the extremely dirty place. The bathroom was also dirty, obviously nobody had cleaned it for quite a while. I blame management for not planning ahead and having at least 1 or 2 extra servers/busboys on hand to handle the larger crowd. We decided to return to the Ceres location and call that our home for Hod Rod Diner food. As another recommendation, I suggest taking the carpet out and just having a plain floor; much easier to keep clean than a carpet. read more

Stopped in for a small breakfast. I really don't mind paying whatever it is for a decent meal but really dislike when they purposely mislead with the wording. The "wake up little suzie" says eggs hash browns or potatoes and a side" sounds good. However when you order and say what you want as your side they say "and a side" means toast. When you bring it to their attention that the wording is misleading you get the old "I'm sorry about that" I will absolutely NOT be returning. I refuse to be okay with someone sneakily ripping off just to be greedy. read more

Brought my son here for some brunch on a Saturday. I have driven past this place multiple times and have wanted to stop in but never found a chance until now. I honestly didn't know it was a restaurant for awhile because it is in a awkward area, right next to a auto body shop or something, but with the name hot rod I would assume it was part of the shop. Anyways walking in I will say it was a little eerie because it was very gloomy outside and inside the restaurant was pretty dark. It can use some brightening up. And also we were coming in from the cold hoping for some warmth but the restaurant itself was cold inside. The servers were attentive and very nice. They had a lot more stuff on the menu than I expected. The food was ok, very basic home style cooking. Prices were not bad so overall it was an okay place to eat at. Will I go back, mmm maybe if my son really wants to go. read more

Hot Rod Diner - Corn beef hash with hash browns and eggs - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California

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A friend and I needed a coffee shop for a lunch meeting and Hot Rod Diner was nearby. I am glad we stopped in. I hadn't been here since it was a Cindy's and my last moments were when we came in to eat and saw one of the employees faint behind the counter. That was then, this is now. Our meals today were good, the service was VERY good, and the decor was an eyegasm for any classic car enthusiast. Parking was easy and all was in order from beginning to end for both of us. They offered cocktails I noticed. I give it a solid 4 outta 5 and reserve my final star for my next visit. read more

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I really wanted to like The Hot Rod in turlock but the food portions were a letdown. My BLT came with the tiniest slice of bacon I've ever seen!!!definitely not enough to call it a BLT. My son's All American plate wasn't any better; it only had one sad looking small slice of bacon on the side. At the very least, that plate should come with two slices, and the BLT should have a decent amount. For what we paid, the portions felt stingy. I won't be going back. read more

In Turlock California is the Hot Rod Diner, with there nostalgic food menu item names that are oldies but goodies. It's a small restaurant with limited seating but ample parking out front and in the back area. The prices are fair for Turlock. The service was good for a Monday they forgot to give me my pink lemonade at first. Earlier it was busy and took some patience and time to place and receive my order. I enjoy seeing the classic records and music selection. I ordered the Love me tender item on the menu. I enjoyed eating my delectable breakfast. I highly recommend when you are in Turlock to stop by The Hot Rod Diner either with your friends, family or close ones. See the photos attached to this review. read more

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Good service , good food. Great stop for us on our way to Lake Tahoe. Also good menu selections.

Favorite breakfast spot right now. Keep wanting to try lunch. But I'm hooked on the omelettes. Portions are huge. Service is good.

( For the people who are going to complain about this review being way too rude, that's what Yelp is for. I still left a tip & tried to finish food that I knew i was gonna pay for. If you are in a please customer business take criticism and make things better for future clients.) How to describe this restaurant with out sounding so rude. This place is a complete joke. I have yet to have another dinning experience quiet like this one ( that isn't a good thing.) we came for breakfast this morning since Black bear was super busy and seeing that the reviews had 4 stars we decided to give it a go. Wow what a mistake. Let's start with the restaurant it's self. I understand that COVID restrictions have been lifted but let's be honest we're still not 100% in the clear, you think they would take that into consideration when jamming the room full of people and having so many open tables that the table next to you is back to back. Yea I would much prefer to pull my chair out with out having to squeeze next to the table and feeling like your on top of each other. I quickly asked to move to a booth which thankfully they were more than happy to accommodate for us. No staff is wearing a mask or evening trying to distance. No hand sanitizer and tables only being wiped with rags from other tables with out re dipped into a solution. Leaving the front doors of the restaurant open is by far the worst mistake any restaurant can make especially when there is no air fan by the front door to keep flys out. They are located in The Valley so flys are everywhere but me having to shoo flys away from my food is so horrible and annoying. All the servers were friendly but everyone looks so rushed that you start realizing food safe habits fly right out the door. Having the waitress hair look like it's flying all over the place isn't the best. Having them constantly touching there face(scratching there itchy noses) , fixing hair out their face or scratching there heads and going directly to grabbing toast with there bare hands (Brooke/ waitress) pop it in the toaster and once it's done grab it with the same grimy hands and plate it. Thank goodness no one at the table ordered toast. Having back of house come from behind the counter with an apron on and directly to the restroom with out removing it is gross. I really hope the health code rating to this location get reevaluate ASAP. Let talk food. Wow. What a disappointment. A huge disappointment. I really don't understand why this location is so highly rated. It's either the people who have visited this location are locals and have absolutely no tastebuds or they haven't had a good breakfast ever. We ordered multiple items off the menu. Hot rod omelette with sliced potatoes and pancakes. Waffle with bacon (asked for sausage tho) w/hash browns. Waffle with bacon eggs and American cheese(just slapped on there with no effort) French toast combo with eggs and sausage. Egg combo with pancakes sausage and hash brown. All the eggs were over cooked and flat as can be. Talk about watering down the eggs way too much. All the food that was served was cold. Pancakes were chewy and not tasty, McDonald's has better pancakes. I'm a pancake girl and for me to leave my pancakes tell you a lot of the type of establishment and the type of food there are bringing out. The sliced potatoes were oily. Waffles were cold that butter didn't even melt on them when placed. Almost 6.00$ for a cup of juice that isn't even filled, Really? Joke I tell you. Will we be returning to this establishment? Yea how about no. Not giving them another try they have been there along time they should know better. If employees don't care service is always gonna be shit. So my take away is go to McDonald's or wait for black bear. read more

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Great atmosphere. Nothing like waking up to some oldies music and coffee. I recommend the Impala 65 Omelet. It's like a taco truck Carne asada burrito wrapped in egg instead of a tortilla. It's big. Generous portions for the price. read more

Hot Rod Diner - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California

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The service was good even though it was busy and the food was much better than expected. Far better than places like Denny's. Update: I've been a couple more times and the food recently has been quite good. Full of flavor, fresh and hot. This place is working it's way up my list of favorite breakfast places. I've never tried anything but breakfast. read more

Hot Rod Diner - Special skillet - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California

Awesome food, great service. Super consistent and go to for great breakfast!! Even when it's busy, this place still rocks. Never a long wait, and their bloody Mary's are bueno! read more

Went to breakfast on a Monday morning a little after 8:30am. Still had a good crowd but we were seated right away. Staff is very friendly and attentive. Food was delicious and was exactly what I envisioned for biscuits and gravy. A HUGE fluffy biscuit smothered in hot, white, pepper gravy hit the spot. And asked for a side of linguica instead of the sausage or bacon option (definitely worth the upgrade). Our coffee was always full- Hot Rod does not disappoint! read more

Hot Rod Diner - Linguica & Sunny Side Up Eggs - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California

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***breakfast served 6AM-3PM at a car lover's diner near Highway 99*** McDreamee was ready to leave when a waitress finally came by to give us some menus and take our drink order. By that time we had already perused the Yelp app and examined some menu photos so we could order ASAP. But she came back and left as soon as she could set the drinks down. We waited and waited again. Finally a really nice young lady, Anastasia, took our order and from that moment on checked on us frequently. Some of the items on the menu left a lot to be desired... namely the biscuits that came with country-style gravy. The gravy was good, but those biscuits had a strange aftertaste and were cold, thus hard and not easy to chew. Whatever butter they used that day was not good either. Good thing I tried it beforehand... I recommend the "Waffle World" ($5.99) with strawberries. On the side, I asked for a couple of sausage links. The option for 2 is not listed on the menu, but it's $1.50. All 12 and under meals are $5.49 and include a beverage. Great deal! TIP - pick up a copy of "Old Cars & Motorsports"... it's a free newspaper by the front entrance: http://www.oldcarandmotorsports.org read more

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Great food! A little crowded and you have to wait a bit but it's so worth it. Parking a bit tight, but plenty in back. Really one in a few old school diners left that still has that 1950s vibe. Kids loved the delicious shakes. My family and I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. Go early or an hour before closing. To get a seat especially if you have a big party. Closes at 3PM. read more

By far the worst breakfast steak I've ever had. Couldn't have been any worse. I lost my appetite after tasting it. I put two stars cause the service was good but it'll be a few years before I come back to this place. read more

Hot Rod Diner - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California

Just stopped in traveling from Tracy and I must say, I am IMPRESSED! Placed my order for take out 10 minutes up the freeway and it was hot and ready when I got there. Staff was friendly, called me by name, and the food, YUM! Definitely my new spot to try their entire menu and can't wait to come back for dine in. Thank you guys! read more

Great find on our way to the Bay for a baseball game. Friendly staff, great service and a true American diner setting and values. The biscuits are a must try! read more

Hot Rod Diner - a television showing a news program - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California

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I enjoy coming here for breakfast or brunch. Food is made fresh and delicious. Prices are affordable for the family. All the staff is always friendly and available for any of your needs. Overall great good, clean restaurant and great service! read more

just had the 99er steak sandwich. gross fatty no flavor at all . The cook with the raider hat cant make a decent steak sandwich.breakfast is good. i will not nor do I recommend the steak sandwich!!! read more

Food was great! Nice portions for the price! Help was ok. First gal sat us under a vent blowing cold air onto the table which would have made our food cold. I mentioned that to her and she clumsily laughed and said "Yeah, everyone says that and they end up moving to another table." Okaaaaaay, so then maybe you just don't sit ANYONE there anymore, at all?! So then we didn't have silverware so we flagged down the girl who was in a convo with another customer she seemed to know so getting her to pay attention was basically a task. We had to ask another girl and finally received our silverware. Nothing spectacular. Will go back but not within my first 5 choices read more

We can all agree that this place is very friendly yea I understand that sometimes the staff can be mean but idk everytime I come I always see the same kid he's always super friendly and kind but in the other hand the servers that old lady with glasses is super rude. But last time I came our food was a little cold so the kid asked us if we wanted to microwave it we said that it was fine then the other waitress wasn't the best because we tried calling her a few times but she ignored us but in all that great service they (the kid) lol was very patient and helpful definely coming back!!! And also I would appreciate if you ask your waitresses to be a little more nice and don't call me names in front of my wife thanks! read more

We love coming to Hot Rod Diner when we are in the area. Today the woman helping us brought out cups of ranch that really are so small, it's what I would use as a nurse to give someone cough medicine. We asked for a bigger cup of ranch and she brought the same ones. She then sent a young man to get our check and ask for payment..... as we are still eating. Never have I had someone want payment for food while I'm mid meal. I'm disappointed in the service completely. I won't be back here. read more

Meeting up with family for breakfast and we thought of trying a different place. Yelp brought us to this place. The place isn't too easy to find. And upon getting there, it look like a hole in a wall type of place. I didnt think that they will be packed but they were even until the time we left. We got there at around 9am and needed seating for 5. They told us it would be a 15 min wait but it was actually longer. We didnt want to wait anymore so we told the servers that we were okay with sitting in a smaller table. We got seated and got our orders in. It was a good 15 min wait for our food. We got waffles with strawberry and banana. And my boyfriend ordered the usual American breakfast which had extra crispy hasbrowns, scrambled eggs, buttermilk pancakes, 2 pieces of bacon and 2 pieces of sausage. My order was good except the strawberries were not fresh. They were strawberry jam. My boyfriend's order was good according to him. I had to deduct a star because the staff need to pay more attention to orders. One of our party is a vegetarian and his order came with bacon even if he clearly stated NO BACON. They then offered to replace it for him but still it had a piece of ham in it. The price is actually reasonable and service is good. If eating here in the winter, make sure to wear a thick jacket. read more

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TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE : let me start off saying that I use to frequent this place after my graveyard shift with my coworker often. Today I decided to finally take my husband and my toddler (I figured they would enjoy it, as much as I did.) We saw that there were no booths open and noticed the patio was open as we asked if we could sit out there and if it was okay to have a high chair. ( we figured that it was the best placement for a high chair since all the tables are very crowded inside and there were no available booths inside yet.) When we walked out there, I saw the table was filthy and the chair had a dead cockroach So we decided to walk back in and attempted to sit at an open table. As we sat. I saw a booth open up, I asked the waitress if we can switch to that table since I know it would be easier with my toddler. Unfortunately she said it was being reserved for someone else. About 5 minutes later we saw another booth open up, and asked her if we could switched to that one, she proceeded to tell us that the rules of the restaurant is that we cannot switch tables. I was very disappointed because we had not order any food. At that point, we just left. I was very disappointed with their customer service. We will never be going there again and I will definitely make sure none of my friends or coworkers go there again read more

The food was ok, it was very busy when we stopped, but it was at the end of the morning crowd. We were seated outside where it was already hot, the waitress took a very long time to come out and take our orders bring us water and the food took even longer to come. read more

Opted to try this fairly standard diner in the Central Valley. Seat yourself when you walk in. Service was good too. The guacamole/jack burger wasn't bad but wasn't great either. I expected to have some real guacamole and jack cheese slices but I think they were mixed together? Fries were fine. It was just okay for me. read more

To be totally honest, I did not have high hopes for this place nor anywhere else in Turlock. There are a lot of less than stellar places in the Central Valley and we were delighted to find one of the gems. The food was great and the service was excellent. We will definitely be back!! read more

Service was great and quick. Big hearty plates and reasonable prices. Will be going back for sure. read more

Hot Rod Diner - Chicken fried steak never disappoints. I did request my eggs over easy and one was well done so that was a little disappointing. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California

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I decided to give this place a try after seeing lots of tasty food dishes. I really like to give 4 and 5 stars but I just couldn't do that here. The eggs had an artificial taste and texture. The potatoes were not bad but not good. They were just ok. The biscuits and gravy were amazing! The ham steak was also delicious with lots of good flavors. The large Orange Juice has generous portions! The wait staff was super friendly and professional. They always kept my coffee filled. read more

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Great staff great food great atmosphere really recommend this laid back and oversized portions. Really hope the locals apreciate what you have. Here. Close to hotel I was staying glad I came in read more

We like this place due to the diner vibe and old school feel. The ladies that work here are all very nice. They refill your coffee often and always check on you. Their bathrooms are clean considering there are only two. There is a gender neutral bathroom as well. Their prices are very reasonable. I had the hot rod's omelette. It's sooo good when you ask for pico salsa side. Their bacon is crispy and thick. Love that they have sourdough bread as well. Kids cheeseburger is huge and most of their dishes are so if you don't eat much consider sharing a plate. read more

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This place has always been my go to spot for a very long time until today. I ordered the steak and eggs and ask that my steak medium rare I cut into my steak to check the wellness and saw that it was over cooked. I did not have time to wait for them to cook another one so I left out of that as you can see I just cut it in half to check it and took a small corner to taste. The waitress did ask if I wanted another one and I said no since I was in a hurry she apologized and I said it's not your fault. When I went to go pay she charged me full price for my entire meal and I Astor you're going to charge me for a steak that I did not eat? She just looked at me and and said if you'd like I can give you your money back. I did not take my money back because at this point I was shocked that she charged me for something that she knew I did not eat and I date didn't cook correctly. read more

Hot Rod Diner - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California

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We waited 50 minutes total for our food. They didn't ask for refills one time I had to ask them for a refill after 45 minutes of waiting. And the food was just mediocre like seriously I could've made a better breakfast at home the kicker for me is when there was a huge hair in my sons food and his egg. He ordered the big daddy with over easy eggs and he pulled a whole hair out of his mouth crazy so then I looked back in the kitchen and I see no one's wearing a hairnet interesting I would not come here again I wouldn't mind a 50 minute wait if the food was worth the wait. But it just wasn't up to par. read more

Great food at a great price! I had ham and eggs over medium with pancakes even.. It was all delicious with generous servings for a fair price. I highly recommend! read more

I love(d) this place. I have been going to Hot Rod Diner in Turlock since the place opened and have most always had a good experience eating here. The servers have always been friendly. The food was a great bargain for the price. It was a win win situation. However, something is changing and not for the better. Nowadays, the staff is friendly (most of the time) and the food is good some times. In my last four trips to Hot Rod for lunch my experience has been subpar. I sent back a patty melt because the patty was the size of a silver dollar and it was nasty tasting. I had three "Love Me Tender" meals that I pushed away because the chicken fried steak was over cooked and the eggs were as running as a little child's snotty nose. The place has taken a curve downward in my opinion. I love Hot Rod Diner but I'll be traveling to Hilmar to eat the the food anymore or maybe just skip this business altogether. read more

Been coming here for many years. Food is usually good and plentiful. Unfortunately 2 TVs were on NEWSMAX, 1 on FOX and 1 a generic program. I wouldnt expect a business to have MSNBC, but a mainstream program, local news or sports would not make for feeling unwanted. With so many other options nearby I will not return agin. read more

Traveling up highway 99. We yelped best breakfast in Turlock and this was one of the choices. So glad it was and we chose to go. Right next to the freeway easy exit easy back on, great place, lots of locals, clean, friendly staff, great breakfast great value, good prices we will definitely be back! read more

Food was okay... waitress was friendly and helpful. My issue was that the avocado was advertised as fresh but honestly looked pretty old. read more

Hot Rod Diner - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Turlock, California