I stopped into this restaurant today (2/17/26) for breakfast before an 8 AM appointment. Although I had never been there before, it had an immediate feeling of familiarity. Growing up as a Baby Boomer, before every reasonably priced restaurant was a McDonald's, Starbucks or TGI Fridays clone, family restaurants looked like this-a lunch counter and rows of booths. However, this restaurant was certainly modern. Everything appeared to be clean and in good physical condition. Arriving just before 7 AM, I was seated and given a menu immediately, and coffee and water quickly thereafter. The menu offered a broad selection: eggs, omelettes, home fries, grits, breakfast sandwiches, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, and various breads and muffins, among other things. I ordered an egg, white vegetarian omelette with grits, wheat, toast, and coffee. The service was quick - which might be expected in such a restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. For me, an omelette has to pass the "no ketchup" test. If I am not forced to bury an omelette under ketchup and wash it down with a gallon of coffee, then it's at least acceptable. This omelette more than passed the test. It was a nice size omelette, and it was moist, which doesn't always happen with egg white omelettes. The grits, toast, and coffee completed the meal very well. The service was quick, pleasant and unobtrusive. I was able to enjoy the meal and to leave well before 8 AM. The entire meal, plus a very generous tip, was under $20. The restaurant opens at 5 AM every day except for Sunday (7 AM) and closes at 3 PM every day except for Saturday and Sunday, when it closes at 2 PM. For the lunch crowd, the restaurant serves steak sandwiches, burgers, hoagies-as well as salads and wraps. One warning-parking! The Spring Garden area is doing very well commercially, and has been blessed with the growth of a number of apartment buildings. While the growth of apartments helps the merchants surrounding them in one sense, it has made parking very difficult. Apartment planners had assumed that planning for each apartment unit would require one parking space. They were wrong. When I arrived, I parked in the parking lot of one of the nearby commercial establishments. I was very quickly corrected by the staff, who informed me that, when the establishments open, they would call in the parking authority and those cars parked improperly would be ticketed and sometimes even immobilized. The restaurant apparently has an understanding with a nearby food market that allows people to park in that market's lot during the time when they are in the restaurant - but no longer. Even my waitress, who clearly had been there for a long time and who would've been known by the people in all of the surrounding stores thought she had to leave the restaurant and move her car to a on street parking space before 8 AM in order to avoid a very expensive ticket. If I lived in that neighborhood, I would probably be eating at that restaurant several times a week. The food is good. The service is nice - and I wouldn't have to give up my parking space! read more

Staff are friendly, new owners have modernized their POS systems looks like they've done some cleanup as well to the facility.

Quick, affordable, and I appreciate that they were open so early (especially after a delayed greyhound bus). The food wasn't anything out of this world but it was still really good and reasonably priced! To note, they have a 3% credit card fee so it's better if you have cash! read more

Spring Garden Restaurant - Turkey bacon and egg on wheat toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It's just not a clean place. Then I read about the recent health inspections. Not good. Stay away. read more

Spring Garden Restaurant - Pic of the recent health violations. Eww! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This place is a living time capsule and uniquely Philadelphian. Imagine a place where you can go for breakfast and see the old timers, reading the Daily News and debating about the latest game. If the phrase "These guys are bums" was a tangible structure it would be here. This place is a no non-sense, no frills restaurant. Its one of my favorite greasy spoons in the city. If you're looking for an elegant dining experience, this isn't your place. Old timey waitresses, plastic cups, paper menus and.....DELICIOUS food. I'm partial to the chicken and waffles, great every time. Also, I swear the prices haven't changed in twenty years. Parking can be a bit of a nightmare, be warned. Make sure to drop in and get yourself a real taste of Philly read more

I had been wanting to try this place for a long time now and we finally did. It's what you might call a hole-in-the-wall, but the food was so good. The turkey bacon was unlike any turkey bacon I had ever seen. They were thick and wide strips that you would think is pork. The grits were very good too. I will definitely be here again. When you pick up your toast to put jelly on it, be warned that it is already buttered underneath. read more

Spring Garden Restaurant - Turkey bacon, eggs over easy, and grits - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Used to be my fave hole-in-the-wall. Then prices started to skyrocket and place just got dirtier. I don't mind the charm of a greasy spoon, but do mind when the place is just not clean. read more

Ms Pearl is waiting on me today, such a sweet lady.. she came right over and cleaned the table off gave me a menu and went to get my coffee, even brought me a water with lemon without me having to ask for it. Keeping it simple today just getting a vegetarian omelette with home fries. I like coming here cause it's laid back not super busy at least not the time I come. Always street parking nearby. Relaxed atmosphere. My egg white omelette was a little over cooked (brown) but I ate it. Also the silverware is dated and cheap .. gonna start bringing my own to restaurants but nevertheless everything was good. read more

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This place has no order/ structure. No clue who's running this place but they need to appoint a team lead or something. The guy at the front desk is busy doing take out orders but since you're the first face that people see you should acknowledge them or grab someone who can give us instructions. I knew it would be a mess once they told us to pick a table. This place needs some serious leadership. read more

Just walked out of this place since they clearly did not want my business. Stood at the front for ten minutes. Neither the cashier nor any server acknowledged me or made eye contact. I thought maybe I should just sit down at the counter. Same thing. Could not get anyone's attention. After another 10 minutes, I left. Went someplace else. Do not go here if you want to be treated as a human being. read more

We knew we didn't have our invisibility cloaks on when the woman working there told us to sit anywhere. Unfortunately, we must have picked the table that wasn't supposed to get service because we never did. We finally walked out after watching people walking in and getting taken care of. If the food is good, I'll never know. The service is lousy read more

I ordered a cheese steak omelet the blond hair wItess said it would cost the same as other omelets, but it was 19.50 and nasty. I left it along witth the coffee. I will not go there again. read more

My family and I stopped here for a quick breakfast. I ordered the chicken and waffles, my husband had Scrapple, grits and eggs, my daughter had egg and bacon sandwich. My chicken and waffles were good. Their waffles is not your typical tasting waffle. The winggetts were tasty, had them before. I took a quarter of the waffle home, when I re heated it, my house was smelling like freshly made waffle cones, and it still taste good. read more

This was my first time eating at the Spring Garden restaurant. The customer service was very nice. I had the veggie omelet with rye toast witch was really good. Very reasonable 3 of us ate breakfast for under 25 dollars. I definitely recommend this place. Diner laid back atmosphere. Go check them out you won't be disappointed. read more

Spring Garden Restaurant - This is the restaurant entrance. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I have been going to this restaurant for 10+ years. Their food used to be good and cheap. The last visit I had was sadly probably my last. I ordered a breakfast platter, omelet, waffle, and a side of sausage. They gave me and my gf old chewy homefries when we saw them making fresh ones since we were sitting at the bar. The waffle tasted different from years past. The sausage was also old and they didn't have enough staff to make new ones? Not sure what their reasoning was. Omelet didn't come with cheese and was overall not good tasting like usual. bottom line is I come here for the homefries. I can cook eggs, sausage, toast at home? Homefries take time to prep and cook. They are now too cheap to give me fresh homefries?? Paid $40+ for a meal that tasted like 3 day old food. This is goodbye to one of my old favorites. RIP read more

Solid fare, fast people, nice service. A lot of regulars go here. Good portions that will fill you up. read more

Great Family Owned Restaurant that has been serving great food for too many years to remember

I got the Spring Garden cheesesteak. It is usually a chicken cheesesteak but I asked the nice man if you could make it a beef Cheesesteak and he said yes. Peppers and garlic are what make it a spring garden cheesesteak. This was a well-made cheesesteak. I did not like the $8.10 price tag. At $8.10 it needed more of everything. I would have loved this Cheesesteak at $6. Good overall experience. read more

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Just a good old fashioned diner. Good portions and reasonable prices. Give them a try! read more

This is not the same restaurant it was when I first started working across the street. The original owners were great. Bill and Helen were always pleasant and took the time to know their customers. The new owner has run this restaurant into the ground. The husband is rude and his wife seems to be all about taking your money. The food is not the same read more

Salmon cakes is the best .. my favorite every-time I've had other foods they are delicious, great service also read more

Spring Garden Restaurant - Salmon cakes is the best .. my favorite every-time I go , great service also - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Spring Garden Restaurant at the corner of N. 4th and Spring Garden Street in Northern Liberties, Philly, is an old school urban diner. There is a dining area to one side and a ten stool counter overlooking the grill on the other. The menu is traditional Americana breakfast and lunch, with prices the remind of the earlier years of the century. Nice to have lower rents. On arrival it was a full house, but for a couple of spinners. When none of the earlier people waiting for tables wanted them, we accepted with gratitude. Not sure about the tables, but we felt lucky to be able to watch the show from our orchestra seats. Our black shirt server came over promptly for drink requests, and kept her poise and humor despite the beehive of activity around her. The Bunn-O-Matic java was average, but it did provide a buzz and washed down our meal, which we thoroughly enjoyed. My better half went with a beef sausage, egg and cheese on kaiser, while I asked for french toast and bacon. Both were very good. The sammy was a two egger on a fresh and tasty roll. The frenchie had a great vanilla/sugar/cinnamon egg mix that saturated the three bread slices to the core leading to strong texture and taste. The crisp caramelized edges were aces. Melted butter and Kraft syrup pour and I was a happy man. Maple syrup would have made this dish perfect. All the while we watched the chef (he was so much more than a short order cook) move through the orders without wasted motion. Grasping eggs with one hand, cracking them into a stainless bowl, and whipping them with a fork with the other; then pouring them onto the hot steel while shaping and flipping them with spatchula, before sliding the finished omelet or over easys, smoothly onto a plate. He then quickly scraped away the residue on the grill into the trough while he moved the plate to the counter to be retrieved for serving. His efficiency was astonishing. He was intense and focused, and when a server expressed impatience waiting for her order despite his masterly effort, he reminded her with rich irony that he only had two hands. Two?! It looked like four from where we sat. Can't ask for more than a solid breakfast and great floorshow. They should charge a premium for those counter seats. read more

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I need to go back to this spot. Great breakfast food at a good price. Very low key and never that busy.

My boyfriend and I stopped here on Saturday for breakfast around 11. It is an unassuming place with diner food. Prices are cheap and the food was really good! We had the cinnamon bun French toast, the G&B special (essentially a hashbrown skillet with eggs, sausage, peppers and onions), a short stack of pancakes, and a sausage egg cheese bagel. The only downside was the food took a bit long to come out (maybe 30 min) and the place was a little dirty, but not unexpected for a busy Saturday. We would come back! read more

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Great food and great service. Me and my girlfriend were there for dinner and we went to the club afterwards. We had a great time.

My partner and I absolutely love this diner! It's such a staple of the local area. Great food and great prices.

This place is simply the best bang for you buck for breakfast anywhere in the city. Their food has always been great. Normally I get the eggs benedict, scrapple egg and cheese sandwich with pancakes or french toast. Their best sweet option is cinnamon bun french toast.... You heard that right, CINNAMON BUN FRENCH TOAST. They also have a full menu of diner lunch classics such as burgers, fries, cheesesteaks and sandwiches. Most options range from $5 to $8. You and someone you know, can stuff yourself for $20. Check them out. read more

Spring Garden Restaurant - Scrapple egg and cheese on a bagel with grits. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The ONLY good thing about this place was the wait staff and those three woman are the only reason I keep choking down this swamp food . The racist cook behind the counter shouldn't be allowed to be seen. He screams at staff and customers alike. The Korean owner just stands there looking at what's going on with his tale behind his legs when it's a customer and when it's other staff he will join in. The owner screams at the wait staff for even trying to speak with him. It's really unbelievable when you see it. He will chat away with the cooks but the girls who wait on the tables get told to "shut up" and "don't talk back". I've also seen him make the girls pay for walk out and broken dishes and sometimes I don't even understand what they are being charged for since I'm usually at the counter and sometimes it's very loud in there almost like being in a club. Now to the food. Ive gotten food poisoning multiple times from this place. I'll have the waffle and before I'm done work I'm running away from my desk trying to make it to the rest room. I dont bother with any egg platters anymore since they did away with free coffee because who wants to pay $15 for a two egg omelette that comes with some old burnt home fries and bacon that's been sitting in a warmer since the cooked it at 3am. The Salmon cakes are okay depending on the day and I've only had one crab cake one time, well I should say one bite of what was supposed to be a crab cake. My waitress did try to warn me not to have it since she said they were made fresh and frozen months ago but alas they were out of all other seafood that day so I took a chance. For the $6 it was a nice size but it was all breading and the taste was like a spicy milk that's been sitting out in the hot sun for days. They also do not have soup even though it's on the menu. The only time I will order anything but pancakes now is when this guy Kenny is on the grill because the racist cook is not good and the owner is even worse. On top of the owner not being able to cook an egg properly he also only cooks one item per check at a time. The grill seems large enough to me to be able to cook 100 eggs at a time but alas what do I know I only sit behind a desk all day. Maybe it's normal to have an entire restaurant to wait on their eggs for over thirty minutes when there are only four tables of customers. If you ask the waitress to check on the food the get very nervous to go ask and since I've witnessed the owner telling them off every time I come in I understand. I've even overheard the owner tell them it's their job to tell the customer that it is impossible to tell how long an order will take or that they should talk the customer out of sending back cold or under prepared food. It's no surprise to me that they go through new wait staff every few days. There are three very nice hard working women who see it through for some reason that's not my business but everyone else is gone within a few days. The woman who works the counter is the rudest one of all. She constantly complains about how she is sore and does too much work. She hangs up on customers trying to place a to go order constantly and talks badly about everyone else she works with to the customers. When someone comes in to place an order or pick one up she makes it seem like they are ruining her whole day by being there. read more

Been going here for decades. the best hole in the wall. Food is so consistently good.

Tried this place based on Yelp reviews. I'm kind of limited where I can go for lunch because we are on special assignment for the DNC. I don't regret it. Wish I had known about it before! Yesterday, I had a turkey burger. It was very filling. Didn't get any fries since I'm sitting all day at the moment. . Today, I had a turkey bacon blt on rye bread that was delish. Their prices can't be beat and the food I've had was great. They serve breakfast all day but are only open 5am to 330pm during the week and til 2pm on the weekend. Probably a good brunch spot as well. Cashier was very friendly. Said hello and thanked me for coming in. I can't stand going places where they just look at you and don't greet you or even say thank you, so that is a definite plus. Both times I went to pick up my food, there was a nice crowd eating and picking up orders. Both good signs. Will definitely be back while I'm in the area and maybe for brunch in the near future. read more

Spring Garden Restaurant - Just part of their menu - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Solid diner food. I really appreciate that a lot of their offerings are clearly homemade. Examples would be the roasted turkey breast for the sandwiches, the daily soup and lunch special entrees. Nothing gourmet here, but everything is always fresh. They are generally really busy, which accounts for the fresh-ness factor, but the waitresses can get a bit harried at times. The lunch specials can't be beat though if you're starving for a reasonable, hot meal midday. I strongly recommend calling ahead if you want take-out. read more

This is always a great spot to go to eat a quick and tasty breakfast. The service is good, the waiters are pleasant and it's always busy. I especially appreciate any place that has turkey scrapple (you just have to request it to be cooked on the grill and not deep fried) Whenever we want to enjoy our breakfast, this is our choice! read more

Spring Garden Restaurant - Grits, eggs over easy & turkey scrapple - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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do not eat at this restaurant!!!!!! do not pay with a card they will charge you 4% in addition to your order. dirty/unprofessional staff/owners!!!! not covid safe!!!!!!!!! read more

Food is great but service sucks I sprained my ankle the day before I went there sat in parking lot called asked for curbside because they offer it first lady said ok it will be a minute before I can get to you no problem I waited for 5 minutes no problem the kids school called so I picked phone up talked to school for 30 seconds click back over they hung up. Call spring garden back different lady answer phone ask for curbside she tells me I can come in I tell her my problem she tells me send someone else to get my order definitely not returning only because I hold grudges read more

I frequent this place a lot, because it's convenient and quick. It's what you would expect from a good diner. The place is small, but they always seems to find you seating pretty quickly. The servers are attentive. This place is a classic diner. The food is cheap, good and fast. There are really no complaints. read more

Good food, typically diner food. The waitress was friendly. There was some confusion on if we could seat ourselves or wait since there was no one at the front to great us. Be prepared to pay for metered parking, quarters only. read more

Kitten and I are regulars here because it's a no-frills Philadelphia joint with real Philly waitresses and they just happen to make great eggs benedict. Plus, they always make my home fries 'well done,' just the way I ordered them. Prices are right, too, no over-priced hipster BS here. read more

My family and I have been here a few times. It is family friendly, with the ability to eat-in or take-out. It is small inside and every space has been maximized. My favorite is their waffles with ice cream powdered sugar on top, drizzled with syrup. You can smell the vanilla and freshness of the hot waffle before you cut it and take a bite. I was super hungry so my picture doesn't give it justice. I ordered the scrapple. I wOuld not order it again. I also was able to taste my daughters salmon cake and home fries. It was good, but I'm so used to my homemade version that I don't believe they could ever measure up to the standard that I have in mind. On the other hand, my daughter loves them, so I'm sure she would order the salmon cakes again if given the chance. The wait wasn't long at all maybe 5-10mins. Our waitress was very polite, attentive and quick. I couldn't have asked for better service. They were out of ice cream but that was no deal breaker for me. My only concern was the table wasn't completely clean. It had several spots of what appeared to be stickiness that was partially dragged across the table and dried somewhat on a few spots of the table. If it weren't for the table being untidy I would have given them a 5 instead of a 4. I would give another chance because as I said we have been here before. The food and experience has been overall a good experience. read more

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Just a plain old diner in the city at the edge of Northern Liberties. Very fine, attentive service, no padding the bill. The coffee is weak, but good flavor. It could be worse, much worse. The bagels are goyishe, ya might as well just buy a bag at the saveon mart for the same quality. The food is good and cheap. I had a cheese mushroom and onion omelet, my dining companion had a vegi omelet with cheese and bacon(!) on the side. he allowed how this place does bacon very crispy like he likes it without burning it. The home fries looked good but I had my once in a while grits and they were fine. if you are in the neighborhood and want a decent breakfast this is a good choice. I did not try any lunches yet. read more

I love this place for what it is. It is a small city diner located on the outskirts of Nothern Liberties. What I love about this place is the staff. The hostess, and who I guess is the owner of the restaurant, always greet you with a smile. This place gets busy, so you may get seated right away or you should not be surprised by a 20min. wait. Whenever I go here, I almost always get seated with my favorite waitress. At first she may come off as grumpy, but that is just her demeanor, she is sweet as can be. The creamed-chipped beef here is fantastic. It is a really nice creamy consistency, and is not overly salty. The flavor is really quite exceptional. The only thing I would change would be to add more beef. It is good over toast or over a Belgian waffle. It really depends if you are in a sweet or savory kind of mood. If you're feeling adventurous also order a side of turkey bacon. The eggs and home fries here are exactly what you'd expect, regular diner food. That's not a bad thing, it's just...what can you really ask from eggs? Over-easy, scrambled, on a sandwich....it pretty much the same wherever you go. It is all properly cooked though, which I guess isn't always the case at all diners. The home fries are sliced potatoes, and when asked for well-done, are great. The food is good and very cheap, and the service is right on par. I regularly visit this place for a good cheap breakfast. read more