South side gives me 50's vibes. I love the posters on the walls. The music is fantastic. The servers are very patient and efficient. This is definitely the place to go for weekend breakfast-the pancakes are marvelous, and the bacon is very crispy. The menu has many options. The lunch is good, too. The service is quick. Definitely recommend! read more

I have very fond memories here with my grandfather ,who passed in 2015, and just love the place. There is very little wait and good food. Definitely recommend this amazing establishment read more

I'm assuming that you understand when giving stars to a restaurant it doesn't mean that out of ALL the restaurants you've ever been in, this one ranks 4 stars. No. Not how it works. It means that out of all the restaurants of this type, it gets four stars. There's no way this would rank a four against Pok Pok out in Portland or Wasabi in Seattle, two of my favorite restaurants. But, when you're talking about a small town in Ohio that tends to lean towards home cooking, then this restaurant is a four. The place is uber kitschy. Games and toys and posters and media from long ago times. I felt like playing a hardcore game of Twister after eating here. The food was good, the kraut salad reeeeaaally good. Comfort food, no frills (at all), old booths, ample portions, and nice staff. On the menu: jello salads. Yes, jello salads. Several kinds. So old fashioned it was endearing. Our server was just brimming with excitement that it was our first time there. She really believes in this little restaurant. No joke. The folks of Mt.Vernon like it too. I can see why. Eating here made me feel good about small town living. Plus, they have a whole hallway of old time (and current) candy. How can you miss? Update: If you go for breakfast get a slice of the LA Cinnamon Bread and a cup of coffee or a big glass of milk. It's more satisfying than sucking your thumb and holding a blankie. Not that I do that... read more

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We love Southside Diner. I try something different every time I'm there and it's all delicious. Last night I had the Euro Steak Burger and curly fries. Definitely my new favorite!! Best burger I've had in a long time! read more

Southside Diner MTV - It's named after the guy who invented it lol - Diners Near Me - Mt Vernon, Ohio

Best nostalgic decor award! Lots of toys from your childhood to look at while you wait (it won't be long,) If you leave hungry it's your own fault. Everything is on the menu! If they have the Greek wedding soup, get that! (soups change daily) The pork chops are smoke slabs of ham and there are two of them! (Half orders available.) Fresh salads but could use different lettuces to more healthy conscious people. There are many, many daily specials like ham loaf, chicken and noodles, stuffed cabbage and liver and onions. Those change on a daily basis but are on a routine basis. Monday - Friday specials are the same. Try banana salad. MMMMM! If you still have room (HA!) there is an extensive dessert menu with Velvet Ice Cream. There is also a HUGE candy selection with vintage candies you may have forgotten and Amish baked goods for sale. FUN place! Excellent service, quick kitchen, good food!!! read more

Wow! An awesome combination of nostalgia and great eats! Good prices too! Hallelujah for this places existence! Don't forget a piece of peanut butter pie!!! No matter what meal it is! read more

Food was the traditional diner food. Waitress was nice and friendly. Only thing is that the waitress was a bit too friendly and she took a while to get our check because she sat down at another table to talk to other guests read more

Best breakfast in town service is pretty good even during breakfast crowd They have a great candy rack all the candy you had when you were a kid read more

5-stars if you like cheap comfort food and a good hometown atmosphere. I'm not going to lie and say everything here is gourmet and 5-star plates. It's cheap, a great environment, and almost always a good meal. read more

Fun atmosphere, good staff and food! Lots of menu options and comfort food. Breakfast is always a win in my book too! Would recommend for something outside your basic fast food options! read more

Stopped here for breakfast again this past Friday. Ordered the stuffed French toast and Ribeye steak and eggs with hash brown casserole. Service was quick and the food here is great. read more

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Decent food, good prices, generous portions. Came here once for dinner, and I got the apple/walnut/blue cheese salad. The apples were in large slices, not bite size pieces so that was a little strange. My daughter liked her lasagna, and my husband said his ribs were good. Service was excellent. Our party of 12 came here 45 minutes before closing (we didn't realize they closed so early), and the waitresses took great care of us. They were obviously tired from I'm sure a long day, but they still took great care of us, and did it with a smile. 5 stars for that! read more

Nice, unique little diner. I've always have gotten a good meal at a reasonable price. Definitely recommend.

Stopped here for breakfast and was not disappointed. Had blue plate special... hash brown casserole was good, bacon, eggs and gravy too. Free coffee was a nice touch, service was fabulous. We will be back ! read more

Food is excellent with large portions and affordable. This is my second time eating here and the service is great.

Fabulous! Server was so friendly. Checked back frequently but not so often to be a bother. Large portions, served hot! Delicious pie options for dessert. Would be quite appreciated if there were two women's bathroom stalls. Line was continuous. read more

Always good! Love the community feel of this diner. Food is yummy and service is top notch! We will be back!

I came here for the first time this week with my boyfriend. As a vegetarian, there weren't as many options for me as I thought, but I asked for no chicken in my alfredo and got a dollar off. All the food was slightly on the bland side and needed a lot of seasoning, but my oreo milkshake was WONDERFUL! I loved the atmosphere and the staff, but the food was just okay. I'm not sure if i'll come back. read more

What a great place to eat. The food is incredible, and the service was impeccable. Be sure to ask for Cheyanna to be your server, she is Awesome. read more

Southside Diner MTV - Me and the boys having lunch. - Diners Near Me - Mt Vernon, Ohio

This was the first place we ate when moving into town over 16 years ago and since then my wife and I have eaten here numerous times. It's not always been perfect but we've enjoyed it and always came back. Yet with literally hundreds of options for eating out within 30 minutes, it sometimes takes the little things to really turn you off. Tonight we ordered the meatloaf special and decided to split it between us. We each had the wedding soup (loved it) and ordered green beans to go with the standard mashed potatoes. Then my wife had a craving for apple sauce and asked the waitress for a side. At the end we decided to order a piece of pie to go. The meal was what we expected - diner food and we were fine with that. Then the bill came - over $28! For a split meal at a diner! OK, so I've become immune to $1.99 drinks everyone charges now (or more) but what caught my eye was $2.49 for a saucer of apple sauce. Yes, $2.49 for a few tablespoons of apple sauce from a can. Like, REALLY? Give me a break, this was just blatant spit in your eye greed. Making it worse, when I mentioned it while checking out all I got was a shrug and a, "Yeah, that's the price." OK then, maybe we'll make more use of those hundreds of options in the future. read more

Our first time here and a perfectly-cooked breakfast for four of us, especially my crispy-dry bacon. Chrisy, our 17-year veteran server, did a fine job. Maybe next time we'll try lunch and hope for just as good an experience. read more

I stopped here for lunch and ordered their strawberry pecan chicken salad. It came with a complimentary large piece of pumpkin bread and everything was fresh and tasted good. I like the feel of these older diners and the service was good. My check was $10.00 I will repeat. read more

I stopped in after a visit to MVNU with two teenage athletes. Its a little confusing on where to go for seating, but we were directed in the right place. After we were seated, we were greeted by our server and told the specials. I ordered the Philly Cheese steak, my son ordered the Chicken Parm and his friend ordered the special (Spaghetti and Meatballs). The food was fantastic. After the lunch, one boy ordered a peanut butter milkshake and the other a piece of cheesecake. They were huge and just enough for a couple teenage boys. read more

I've never understood the appeal of South Side Diner. But everyone, and I mean everyone in this town loves it. If I had to rate this place on the food alone, I would have to give it a 3. There is really nothing spectacular on the menu. It is really just old fashion home cooking. So if that's what you're into, you're in luck. And the products they do try to branch out with "anything including egg plant" steer clear from. Just greasy and unappetizing. The price however keeps me going back because it's a very affordable place to go. I must warn any out of towner, if you want to eat here, Avoid Sunday, avoid this place like the plague on Sunday. It's packed to the max because I guess all the older people don't know that there are other restaurants in town they can go to after church. I've never had poor service here, the staff has always been friendly, I guess that's small town charm. If you do find yourself eating at this establishment, try the pie. It's excellent. The peanut butter is my favorite, and I truly don't like pie all that much. read more

My dad and I stumbled into this place on a country drive from Columbus. I ordered the roast beef with stuffing, macaroni salad and French fries. My dad ordered the lake perch with coleslaw and fries. The initial service was a little slow, but it seemed to fit the pace of the town, so no qualms. Water service was lacking but the food made up for it. The potroast was delectable, moist, fresh, as was the stuffing. The fish was fresh and crisp, very tasty. Fries were nothing extraordinary. The macaroni salad and coleslaw tasted exactly as they should. For desert, we had a piece of strawberry pie, scratch made by an Amish baker. It was unbelievably good. Light cream topping, fresh strawberries, not too surgery, with a light flakey crust. The pie alone was worth the experience. read more

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I've loved south side for years! Nothing better than the blue plate special! So much food, and such an affordable price!

What a cool place. I have only been to Ohio twice and each time I have eaten at this diner. The first time by chance, the second time by design. It is fun to look around and check out all of the cool memorabilia that is scattered throughout. You are bound to recognize a toy/game/etc that you may have had when you were younger. You also can't resist to pick out a few pieces of there immense collection of candies. On to the food: They really have a large selection of items. It is a diner so don't expect gourmet dishes but you can expect what you get to be good. This last time, our table ordered: A burger with bleu cheese, a taco salad, a Greek salad, and a hamburger kids meal. The price was fair. The portions were huge. The taste was top notch. What you would expect from a mid-west (is Ohio considered mid-west) restaurant. We finished off our dinner with a shared slice of peanut butter pie. Delicious. You could also walk across the parking lot to the ice cream shop. Don't forget to order the root beer to drink. It is some special local(?) brand that isn't bad at all. I only knocked a star because we had to wait a while for our bill. The weren't very busy and the food was brought to the table quickly so I am not sure why there was a delay. This won't stop me from going there again though. read more

Recently moved to Mt Vernon & was recommended. I've ate there 3 times but don't think again. The mashed potatoes are bland and don't taste like Real mashed potatoes.I've seen other reviews saying they serve ARTIFICIAL mashed potaotoes- that's NOT GOOD! they do NOT taste good and don't expect that from a restaurant-that's enough to not back- The chicken dinner is over $10 which I feel is high , especially for a diner. You do get 4 pieces of chicken- yet both times I tried it- one of the 'wings didn't have ''any meat to it- just deep fried skin- I tried the stuffed pepper- doesn't come with baked cheese on top- I also came for a take out for their Pie to take it home to find it froze in the center- Last visit I tried the ribs- BARELY any meat on the bone and appears someone just poured a lot of bbq sauce over them before serving- VERY disappointed-in the ribs I will agree the staff has been great- just one waitress forgot to bring something I had asked for and had to remind her but didn't get with my dinner- I don't find the food GREAT or really good- its OK-- i'm looking for somewhere else , especially that serves its customers REAL mashed potatoes and gravy that don't taste like it came from a can- so Who makes HOMEMADE food in this town? read more

I love south Side Diner! My late husband and I used to go there at least 2 to 3 times a week, or sometimes more! He had dementia and loved to talk to the people there. the owners and staff were always so wonderful to him. I am introducing my friends to love South Side now. It is a warm atmosphere and you just feel so much at home there. The food is always so good and the service quick and friendly. If someone asks me, where is the best place to eat, I tell them South Side Diner. read more

Excellent home town spot with a TON of selection. The old candy selection is perfect for dessert and the bottled root beer is great. Every day, there are 15-20 specials and their lunch specials are always less than $7.00. They recently added a few salads that are incredible. My favorite was the barbecue chicken salad with onion petals. Servers are great for how busy they can get. Great Mount Vernon community vibes while I was there. read more

Food was good service was horrible. I understand if a place is short staffed but it's no reason for servers to be rude.

Southside always serves fresh, hot food! I've had the breakfast once or twice and it was good, but the thing I have always raced about is their hamloaf! It's better than my grandma's (which is hard to do), and their sauce is outstanding! Other things that I love are their curly fries with beef gravy and their hash brown casserole! Everything is scrumptious here! read more

Great place for breakfast. Typical diner atmosphere and service was great! It was super crowded but didn't have to wait to be seated.

Bang for your buck: 6.5/10 Quality:5/10 Service: 5/10 Ambiance/Location: 5/10 Overall: 4.5/10 read more

We went here for breakfast. I got the banana and nuts pancakes. The toppings were just thrown on top of the pancakes where I expected everything to be cooked in together. The water cups were super small and the service was okay. The reason I gave it two stars as opposed to one is that the place is huge and has a cool atmosphere. There is a lot of stuff on the walls and to look at. read more

Southside Diner MTV - Diners Near Me - Mt Vernon, Ohio

If you're looking for fresh, this isn't your place. But then again, there aren't really many fresh options in Mount Vernon! I've been here several times with my family. Generally speaking the waitstaff does a fair job (minus one awful waitress). I would never go for anything other than breakfast. You just have to go expecting greasy diner food. I didn't get to try it, but two family members ordered the Southside omelette recently, and it looked like a good choice! read more

Great food and service at an old-fashioned all-American diner. Great value for money. Desserts are superb. One of the best around!

Although the interior decor could be updated just a bit, it's nice to look at memorabilia from years past while you converse and wait on your food. They serve mostly comfort food but also have a fabulous variety of desserts. What my favorite part of the place is the amazing, large candy selection that it is widely known for. The peanut butter cup pie rocks btw. SOOO good! read more

Probably one of the best diners in the area. The food is on point exception and the service is amazing. They close early but are worth the wait. Prices very inexpensive. These cooks love what they do, you can taste it in the food. Worth the drive. read more

The green beans they give you are out of a can. Not very tasty. Mashed potatoes taste as if they're mixed with some artificial butter/vegetable oil. Turkey and stuffing was okay. Nothing special. read more