Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Sara's Diner

    3.7 (70 reviews)
    Closed 6:00 am - 2:30 pm

    Sara's Diner Photos

    Business Info

    SARA'S DINER ATMOSPHERE

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

    You might also consider

    More like Sara's Diner

    Recommended Reviews - Sara's Diner

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Chicken and Waffles w/ side of hash browns and eggs over hard
    Bonnie B.

    IM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS PLACE! Reviewing from out of town. We had just seen the manatee and decided to catch some breakfast. It was DELICIOUS! Everything down to the the customers was impeccable. And might I just add that it's not everywhere that you get homemade cathead biscuits and bright red ripe tomatoes to go with your breakfast. Born in Mississippi and raised in the panhandle I'm telling you, They're doing country cooking right.

    Patty melt w/ stale fries
    Jackson B.

    Everything about this place is just "meh ‍." The food was meh. Now, for the prices ($10 for a meal), you can't beat it. However, the food itself is nothing special. Actually, really stale. The service was also Meh. Sure, she was nice, but she never came over once to ask if we needed anything or any refills. While the location of this restaurant is prime - its in the center of town - it feels like it's trying to be something that it's not. The restaurant just felt... tired. The inside looked like it should have gotten a renovation years ago, but it didn't. Anyways, this place is just meh. Wouldn't really come back.

    Leslie V.

    Stopped by here to grab a bite to go and sat at the counter. The servers could not have been nicer and brought me a soda while I waited for my food, but didn't want to pour my husbands since he was waiting in the car so it didn't get watered down - SO thoughtful! The food coming out of the window looks amazing with the most gigantic homemade biscuits! Kinda wishing I would've ordered that!! The sides are posted on a board and today they have broccoli, corn, peas & carrots, green beans, turnip greens, okra, beets, cole slaw, potato salad and sliced tomatoes! A true diner!! I saw a salad come out of the window and was shocked to see how large it was, also! Not that I'm even considering a salad with the goodies on the menu like meatloaf, smoked sausage, etc. Now for the REALLY good stuff, not to disappoint, they make their own ice cream... No wonder this place is hopping and the servers must get their 10,000 steps in without a doubt in the first hour of their shift! Don't miss Sara's Diner if you're driving through Crystal River - it's a MUST!! Mmmmmmm!

    Western omelette with sliced tomatoes and spinach added
    Josh L.

    This place is top notch!! I've traveled all over Florida eating breakfast in various locations always ordering the same thing. Western omelette with sliced tomatoes and rye toast. The servers here are all very long term, loyal and friendly staff. Pros as you would say. Helen, Betty, Suzie, and I'm sure I'm missing some. The kitchen staff is wonderful and you see it on the plates. Do yourself a favor and stop at Saras family diner and try and prove me wrong. My only concern is the consistency of the toast quality. Keep up the great work!!

    Fried Mushrooms
    Cheryl P.

    This restaurant was once AJ's diner. It was sold and became Sara's diner with the same menu. My husband and I used to come here when it was AJ's and were happy with the food, service was as could be expected in a little diner establishment- okay. Since being bought out, the food is just okay at best and the service needs some work. This is a little Mom and Pop style diner that is only open for breakfast and lunch. To be honest- the menu has more choices for breakfast than they do for lunch , so if breakfast is your favorite meal- you should be happy. Since I prefer lunch I found the choices somewhat limited and routine- nothing really unique or eye catching. With that being said- we started with an appetizer. Fried mushrooms. Nothing to complain about but nothing spectacular either. Premade, frozen, all ready breaded mushrooms just dropped in the deep fryer served with a side of ranch dressing. They did come to the table hot which was nice. This was the highlight of my meal. I like a little hot sauce mixed with my ranch and when I could get the attention of our server I asked for a bottle and received a bottle with (if I was lucky) a half teaspoon left in the bottle! My husband had a good laugh over that one but I used all of it nonetheless! My husband ordered their chopped steak, mashed potatoes and gravy and a side vegetable which was red beets. No dinner roll with butter. My husband was disappointed that there wasn't a dinner roll with his meal. He thought as well as did I- it was common practice! I ordered a salad plate that I ordered many times when it was AJ's diner that I enjoyed immensely. This time however, I was dissatisfied with my meal. The salad platter gives you a choice of a scoop of three different salads. My choices were chicken salad, coleslaw and potato salad on a bed of lettuce with tomato wedges, hard boiled egg. The chicken salad and coleslaw were dry and lacked flavor. They needed salt also. I understand the no salt part because of the high percentage of elderly customers and their salt restrictions but flavor could be added with other spices. The potato salad was the best out of the three different salads. Served with a handleful of various wrapped crackers that were stale- I felt it wasn't worth the price I paid. The inside needs a good clean up. Under the seats at the counter, it was filthy and needed a good sweep and mop. My side of our table was a sticky mess - I'm guessing a leftover of a pancake breakfast. I cleaned it myself with an antibacterial wipe that I keep in my purse because I could not flag down our server. All this place needs is a good amount of elbow grease and problem solved. The servers are typically what you would expect in a diner. I would have preferred a little more attention to our needs like my husband waiting for his gravy that he requested when he ordered and refilling our drinks before we had to wait awhile. Two of my biggest peeves when it comes to service- I noticed here. Cell phones sticking out of pants pockets, waitresses checking their phones and wait staff counting their tips in front of customers especially when my glass is empty and I'm thirsty! All in all- not the worst place I've eaten at and not by a long shot the best but if you're not as finicky as I am or if this stuff doesn't matter than go ahead and try it! I guess I want as much bang for my buck that I can get!

    John K.

    We stopped back by again for breakfast and boy how this place has changed. It took a few minutes to be seated and that's a good sign it's a good place. They took our order quickly. It took longer than normal to get our order but that's a good sign it's cooked to order. When we got our order we wasn't impressed. My biscuits and gravy was luke warm I had time to eat one before it was cold. The table next to us sent there food back to be reheated. I got sweet tea with very little ice in it. I think the tea was warmer than the gravy. We was never offered any service after the food hit the table. We never got a refill offer on our drinks. The food was just ok.

    Short Stack of pancakes

    See all

    Photo of Sheri G.
    302
    38
    17

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    27 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Dianna B.
    1253
    3839
    5361

    1 year ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Lori W.
    35
    18
    1

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Nancy L.
    129
    24
    27

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Stacy N.
    324
    114
    218

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    As reasonable as you're going to find, and consistent quality, portions, and friendly service.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Dave H.
    0
    90
    10

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Robert M.
    0
    193
    10

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Sara's Diner

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for American 333 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    The Biscuit Barn

    The Biscuit Barn

    4.6
    (213 reviews)
    1.8 mi
    $

    Amazing. Spectacular. We've been talking about this place the entire weekend…read more We stumbled across Biscuit barn as hungry tourist. We were immediately greeted with a warm "hello" by a lovely waitress who put us on a 15 minute waitlist. About 10ish minutes goes by and my name was called, the place was very busy and the staff appear very attentive like they were pros at handling a little chaos. My boyfriend ordered the chicken co-op and I ordered the country eggs Benedict. These were some of the best biscuits we've ever had. This is a no frills kinda place but delicious. For 2 extremely full breakfast, a side of corn beef hash and 2 iced coffees (they even put ice on the side for us) with tip the meal was $43 and we took home half of our plates.

    We were visiting Crystal River for the weekend, and wanted breakfast/brunch food before heading…read moreout. We had a short wait and were seated in about 10 minutes. The Biscuit Barn delivered! The grits and biscuits were delicious. The biscuits were golden brown, soft on the inside, and perfectly paired with the sausage gravy. The grits were also very well made, and perfect in the bowl! Three complaints: (1) parking was limited but definitely of size for the seats available in the restaurant; (2) the coffee was WAY too strong, bitter, and lacking normal coffee notes; and (3) they added a restaurant fee on the ticket. Still, we'd go again!

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Clean plate club award!
    Clean plate club award!
    Receipt showing restaurant fee.

    See all

    Receipt showing restaurant fee.
    Grannie's Restaurant

    Grannie's Restaurant

    4.3
    (320 reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $

    Such a fantastic restaurant, family, friendly, wonderful breakfast, and lunch options and very…read moreaffordable. Centrally easy to get to . Clara was a wonderful waitress, and we will definitely be back.

    We came to Grannie's Restaurant in Crystal River as first-timers... and accidentally got adopted…read more First -- the food: legit comfort food. The kind that makes you immediately question every life decision that didn't involve ordering biscuits earlier. You don't eat here... you enter into a long-term relationship with blueberry butter. I'm fairly certain I would now spread it on drywall if given the opportunity. But the real star of the experience was our server, Tracy. Tracy did not "serve" us. Tracy managed us. She roasted us, corrected our menu decisions, judged our drink choices, and somehow kept our coffee cups filled the entire time. At one point I'm pretty sure she made eye contact from across the room and my water refilled out of pure fear and respect. We tried to act like mature adults ordering breakfast -- Tracy immediately saw through it.She kept us laughing the entire meal and somehow ran the table like a combination of a stand-up comedian, a kindergarten teacher, and a cruise director. I'm convinced:Grannie's doesn't run on electricity.It runs on biscuits, blueberry butter, and Tracy's personality. We showed up as customers and left feeling like we just got fed at a relative's house... except the relative is hilarious and will absolutely call you out for not finishing your pancakes. 5 stars for the food. 5 stars for the atmosphere. 10 stars for Tracy. If you go to Grannie's and Tracy is your server -- don't worry... she'll take very good care of you whether you deserve it or not. We will 100% be back. Probably partially because of the food... but mostly because Tracy would be disappointed if we didn't.

    Photos
    Grannie's Restaurant
    Grannie's Restaurant
    Exterior

    See all

    Exterior
    Cattle Dog Coffee Roasters

    Cattle Dog Coffee Roasters

    4.4
    (125 reviews)
    0.5 mi

    This is our first time here. One of the best everything bagels I have ever had! And the coffee is…read morereally good and not bitter. Nice work cattle dog!

    I had a very disappointing experience at Cattle Dog Coffee Roasters and won't be returning…read more We ordered coffee and scones first. Unfortunately, the coffee was bitter and unpleasant, and the scone was incredibly dry and almost completely flavorless. That alone was disappointing. The bigger issue was the customer service. When I walked back into the building, it was 11:29 all I wanted was to order one of the pre-made breakfast bagels, it had just turned 11:30. Even though the bagel was already made and sitting there, I was told they wouldn't serve me because breakfast had ended. There was absolutely no flexibility, despite the fact that I had been at the counter just moments before. As I was leaving, frustrated, I said, "Thanks for nothing." Another employee asked what was wrong, so I explained the situation. She then said she could give me the bagel after all, but immediately followed it by saying there was "no need for the comment." By that point, the damage had already been done. Instead of acknowledging why I was upset or apologizing for the situation, I was made to feel like I was the problem. Between the poor-quality coffee, the dry and flavorless scone, and the rigid, unfriendly customer service, this was one of the worst coffee shop experiences I've had. There are plenty of places that value both good food and good customer service. I would recommend spending your money elsewhere

    Photos
    Cozy little corners
    Cozy little corners
    Farm and Sea Toast
    Farm and Sea Toast
    Hot white CD Mocha - 12 oz.

    See all

    Hot white CD Mocha - 12 oz.
    St. Johns Tavern

    St. Johns Tavern

    4.2
    (126 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    $$

    St. John's tavern is such a nice place in a cute little town right off of highway 19. I enjoy going…read morethere to meet with friends that live that way and my husband and I love to go when our favorite band, Rick Lynn is playing. Don't pass this place up, it's a great time with great food!

    My friend and I visited St. Johns Martini Bar while on vacation and had a very disappointing…read moreexperience. We went there as our first stop of the night and were served with no issue. At the end of the night as we're getting ready to go back home, we went back for one last drink. We both presented valid, unexpired South Carolina driver's licenses that were genuine and in good condition. At the door, the bouncer told us they don't typically accept South Carolina IDs, but ultimately allowed us inside. When we went to order drinks, the bartender refused to serve us, claiming our IDs had "scanned as fake." When we questioned that, we were then told they didn't actually have an ID scanner. We even offered to have local law enforcement verify that our IDs were legitimate, but they still refused to serve us. We completely understand the importance of checking IDs and appreciate that businesses have to be cautious. However, being given conflicting explanations and feeling like our valid out of state IDs were dismissed without a legitimate verification process was frustrating and embarrassing. If there is an official policy regarding South Carolina IDs, it should be clearly communicated. If there isn't, I hope management addresses this so other visitors with valid out of state identification don't have the same experience.

    Photos
    Bat
    Bat
    St. Johns Tavern
    Lemon drop Martini

    See all

    Lemon drop Martini
    Denny's

    Denny's

    3.8
    (62 reviews)
    2.1 mi
    $
    Casual dining
    Kid friendly

    Took the whole family out for a meal at Denny's because there's something for everyone's taste buds…read morein our family of six. Outside is clean but doesn't have great appeal. Plain concrete walkway to the front doubledoors that hold a arcane claw machine game and a gumball game. Inside the second set of doors is the cashier station which doubles as a hostess station. We were seated at a large table which could easily seat eight people. I was happy with the table selection because we had plenty of elbow room for three adults and three children who doesn't like to be too close to each other so they have room for their tablets. Our waitress was Karen and she was great! A friendly and attentive young lady that was very accommodating to our "hangry" kids. She served their hot cocoa with a mound of whipped cream right away which soothed their hungry souls until their plates came out. Two of the kids choose a kid's breakfast meal while the third had their adult size lunch chicken tenders plate because they were extra hungry. I chose their Country Fried Steak with two sides and unsweetened ice tea. My plate had two nice sized steaks smothered in white country gravy. Very tasty and of course even better with Tabasco sauce. Nice crispy breading on the outside and tender cube steak inside. Definitely a comfort food to this Florida girl. My two sides were a side salad with blue cheese dressing and their macaroni and cheese. Both were good choices. Salad greens were crisp and had some carrots, purple cabbage and shredded cheese along with big croutons. Macaroni and Cheese had a thick and rich cheese sauce over firm not mushy macaroni. Two solid sides. I also decided to order a side of onion rings for our table to share. Not a huge portion by any means but they were very good. Crispy not greasy and filled completely with onion. My husband had the same meal and was very pleased as well. Our daughter had a breakfast Lumberjack Grand Slam that she loved. So our party of six was divided equally - three breakfast meals and three lunch meals. Everyone ate well and were extremely happy with their meal choice. All in all a very satisfying meal experience with comfort food and great service.

    My wife loves their salmon. We eat here regularly. The food's always good. Sunday, their steak…read morenearly killed me. Never ordered steak before. Should've trusted my instincts. What arrived tasted like pre-cooked meat reheated for service--the kind of time-temperature abuse that turns beef into a bacterial culture. Two bites told me to stop. My wife took one very small bite to confirm how awful it was. Her very small taste gave her a stomach ache. My two bites put me down for a week. Five hours later my body took up the fight: day and a half of vomiting, three days of diarrhea, 102° fever, cold sweats that soaked the sheets. At 80, a week later, I'm still too weak to trust standing up. Can't prove it without the steak in a lab. But when two regular customers get sick from the same plate--one bite versus two, mild versus severe--the math writes itself. One star for the steak. We'll be back for everything else. Or not. The experience put me in the hospital where Doctor Smith told me I might die.

    Photos
    Denny's
    Denny's
    Denny's

    See all

    Sara's Diner - tradamerican - Updated August 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...