Great food choices if you're into diner food. The bacon is wonderful but I always ask for extra crispy.

I may be done with Studio Diner. I've been a regular here for years. Since before COVID, before 2018, back when they had the cards for the regulars and most of the staff had my name and email memorized. I was one of the first customers to come back after they reopened and were struggling under new management. It was one of my third places. I'd only ever had one issue until today. That was an incident with bad staff shortly after the post COVID reopening. They let me sit for 30 minutes while they watched TV until I got frustrated and left. Today, apparently "the cooks were behind" so rather than letting me just cop a squat at the bar like usual, I was asked to wait in the waiting area, despite there being open seats at the bar. The new management is apparently just that. They've made several bad policy decisions (like a two hour table limit when it's busy, or attempting to cut their most popular dish). I tolerated the reformat into this bizarre 1950s styling they took on to get away from Segal Studios designs. Cool whatever. But telling people that are going to have to wait anyways that they need to wait where they're going to be uncomfortable instead of where there's open seating? And reaffirming that you're "giving away" seats at the bar is just bad service. read more

A group of us get together quarterly, studio diner is able to meet the diverse food we all feel like having. The wait staff is so nice and we all have fun. read more

Beatriz was amazing last week when we came! She was funny engaging & just overall a great server. The food was great. We literally came for the good company & enjoyed our not so bottomless mimosas ( make sure they give you the flask thing) wish I could do two reviews but I'm not even in the mood, she's so great probably the only reason I come back! Unfortunately Andrea who is also a server today has been our server 2 times kinda rude, doesn't seem to want to be here. The Tuesday we came to check out the tacos she was pretty annoyed we were waiting for someone as long as we were ... she had the same attitude today & We came for bottomless mimosas & she apparently doesn't know how her company policy works. Maybe customer service isn't your thing. If you are able to not sit in her section I wouldn't. Ask for Beatriz anyone else really. read more

Not bad. Not great for the price. Reallly cool exterior. The chowder and the burger were decent.

We had a large group of 12 and had outstanding service by Jacinda. The eggs Benedict Brisket was excellent. The service was definitely the best part. read more

Ambiance was typical lunch crowd. Food was good but my husband had an issue that was not handled well. He ordered the pulled pork sliders. First bite he burned his lip on the BBQ sauce, yes it was that hot. His lip blistered and is worse today then it was yesterday when it happened. While I realize food should be hot, burning ones lip to the point of blistering is unacceptable. We took the sliders home and he ate them for dinner. They were good and he would order them again. The issue is the waitress, while she did apologize, told us she orders this meal often and knows to wait until the sauce cools. It would have been helpful had she told us that when she brought the food. read more

Five years ago I went to this diner on a date.... And received the worst side of Mac N Cheese to ever Grace the face of the earth. I'm still mad about it, so I'm leaving this review now. To the server who recommended the side in all seriousness, while knowing we would get mushy pasta with COLD shredded cheese on top, I still remember your face... shame on you! SHAME *ding ding* read more

Visited diner two nights in a row it was sooooo good. Great omelets , salads, reubens and wonderful lice tea.

I've been to Studio Diner many times & once just last month. The food is always excellent. I went last night & the food I ordered was very disappointing. I got the grilled cheese with tomato & avocado. There was 2 little slices of tomato, 1 small slice of flavorless cheese that did not cover all the bread & 1 tiny slice of avocado. There was supposed to be 2 kinds of cheese but I only saw 1 & it didn't even melt. On a positive note, I really enjoyed the coleslaw. It was delicious. My hubby had fish & chips & said they were good. The fries looked like they were from frozen potatoes but he liked them. I don't know what the problem is with the food now. It could be staffing issues. However, for the time being I will go somewhere else for dinner. I will go try again in a few months. read more

I was planning on writing a full review but it's unnecessary, as these two (Darlene G. of Lawndale, CA on 10/26/2022 and Shasta K. of San Diego, CA on 10/23/2022) one-star reviews say it all. The pre-pandemic version of my beloved Studio Diner was far better than this imposter. The food now is inferior and overpriced, the service is mediocre, and the whole experience is disappointing, especially compared to the old Studio Diner. My gut feeling is that it's a case of poor management, and I'll bet the workers could tell some horror stories if they felt they could do so safely. I used to tell friends about the enormous and delicious BLT sandwich but now it's about half the size and the mac & cheese I had on the side was nothing like the old mac & cheese. Did they think I wouldn't notice? My coffee today was cold and tasted old, the pancakes were tough, the over-medium eggs were fine on top and nearly raw on the bottom, and the busboy walked by nearly a dozen times, mainly to watch the football game, since there was nothing to bus back there. My first visit to the Studio Diner was nineteen years ago, and it's been an important part of my life since then. I won't stop going, but I won't be recommending it anymore unless I see a lot of improvement. read more

Classic diner food, a bit pricy for what we had. Surprised to see it was on Triple D a while back. Would go back.

Mmmm! Studio Diner never fails to disappoint. This time I tried the "improv" omelet, where you choose any four ingredients. Although turkey isn't listed as a choice, I figured I'd ask since they do have turkey for the chef salad and they were happy to accommodate. I chose turkey, cheddar, tomatoes and black olives and it was so good! The omelet is also served with a side of hash browns and choice of toast. Plenty of food for a meal and I had enough leftover for the next day. read more

Studio Diner - Create your own omelet - American Near Me - San Diego, California

We loved this place and the food pre-pandemic, but ever since it reopened it has been terrible. We have tried now three separate times since reopening hoping for the quality of food that once was. As I'm typing this, I'm looking at two black and blue salads that are pitiful: lots of romaine lettuce and 4 small chunks of a questionable meat shoved to the side. Presentation was terrible, but the meat was worse. It was not only hard as a rock, but also soured. I'm appalled that they charged us $20 for each of these salads. The salmon Caesar wasn't much better; it was overdone, but not spoiled at least. Low standards. Overall, the meal was disgusting, way overpriced, and would likely make us sick had we not have tossed the meat as soon as we took a spoiled, chewy bite. read more

I have been coming to this diner for many years. As everyone else seems to realize the quality has gone way down with the new owners. Some people just want quantity and that's okay. But there are others, including me, that like a little quality with our meals. I have seen the last of this place. There are other far better options not too far away and I will be taking my business elsewhere from now on. Sometimes that is the only thing that makes management realize they either need to do a better job or just give someone else a chance. I drive by here often. There never used to be a parking place anywhere close. Now, I routinely see 3 or maybe 4 cars total. The word is out. Stay away. read more

Awesome menu, tons of options. Loved the Brisket Benny n Joon (with poached eggs). Great waitstaff too, it's a real deal old-school type diner. read more

Minus 1 STAR for nickel and diming. This place has always had the only Monte cristo sandwich I've ever liked and it's delicious and it even reheats very well if you cut it in half before you stick it in the oven, but after I spent over 21 DOLLARS!! on a SINGLE sandwich, they wanted me to pay an extra 75 cents - Almost another dollar - for an extra two tablespoons of jam???!!! BULL! I don't even use a ton with everybody, but they literally only give you half as much as you need in the first place. SCAM BEHAVIOR! read more

Great home cooking. The service was amiable and swift. Quite a number of good choices on the menu.

I don't know what happened, but this is not the place it used to be. We used to eat here often and loved this place so much. The food was awful... tiny portions, we were both still hungry and I am only 100lb person, and it didn't taste good. Honestly, Dennys has better breakfast for a lot cheaper than we had at studio today. The service was mediocre at best. It seemed like no one working in there even wants to be there. It's a shame this place changed because it used to be such a good spot to eat with great service. Yea read more

Perhaps an unfair review, given that I showed up within half an hour of closing time. However, there were a lot of problems - the waitress seated us outside per my request but then kind of forgot about us, even though she chose to put us just outside the door. The lights kept turning off and we had to run to the other side of the patio to activate the motion lights. The food was rather cold/undercooked and uninspired. I ordered the Sam's Son because it looked good on TV, but it was rather chewy and greasy. I suspect it was reheated. Maybe during the day it is better (didn't this restaurant use to be open 24 hours??) but this time it was a bid of a dud. read more

So, I took my god son and his wife out here last night. The staff was great! Man, they kept our drinks full and made sure we were okay the whole time. The food was great too! I actually over-tipped them. Here's the thing... During the pandemic, we were trying to support restaurants because they were suffering. We would buy meals that weren't even that good. We over-looked the bad mistakes and still paid for it because we were trying to help folks in need. The restaurants and their staff were suffering. Those restaurants that we all helped, made a killing (which is what we wanted). There were even restaurants that were opening new locations during the pandemic. Today is different. Food prices are going up, there's inflation, I have to work more to make ends meet, gas prices are high... etc. I don't have that much money to splurge on a restaurant any more. But when there's a birthday, or something to celebrate, I want to spend my money where people work hard and deserve it. I want to spend money on places that don't half-ass the service or food. The staff at Studio Diner deserves it. They were very courteous, on point and patient. My godson can be a bit much sometimes... he kept asking about the different kinds of root beer... I'm not even going to get in to it... it's gonna make me want to tie my shoe lace around my neck and jump out the window. Anyway, the waitress was very polite and understanding. They did such a great job, that I had to take time away from shit I'm supposed to be doing right now to write this review. If the staff at Studio Diner is reading this, thank you for a great dinner! read more

Mannnnn, damn it. I decided I would go back to one of my favorite spots in the entire world...only to be disappointed. If you see my previous reviews-you'll notice they were all 5 stars. Supporting local businesses during COVID, my intentions were there...but the whole thing was a let down and now I am left with regrets. Yes I understand that it's COVID and yes I realize there are some places understaffed. I get it. I just left there about an hour ago. Let's begin with entering the restaurant. No more being greeted, in fact I was shocked that I was standing around for as long as I did. No one acknowledged us...like they used to. We stood there for about 5 min wondering if we seat ourselves or...? One important factor that I noticed...the music-what the hell happened to the music? No more oldies playing over the speakers. We finally got sat at a booth, it took awhile for anyone to approach. Turns out one of the people who did not acknowledge us at the door was our waitress. She came and took our drink orders...minutes fly by...still no drinks. She finally came after some time and gave us our drinks (coffee and a hot chocolate) and said she would be back after taking another tables' order. She takes the other tables drink orders....some time passes by and finally she comes and takes our food order. I order my improv omelette with country potatos and sourdough toast. My friend orders the 1-2-3 with an extra pancake. Time passes by-we notice the table that came in after us and had their order taken after us...receive their order before us. Some time passes by and finally our food is here. The first thing I noticed was the portion...now I didn't take a photo because I was kinda ticked off that I didn't have silverware at the table. The person who dropped the food off said-let me get you some silverware. We said cool, ok. Minutes pass by...our waitress stops by and says "oh I'll get you silverware"...more minutes pass by and the girl that dropped off our food is delivering another table's food and tells them she is going to get their silverware...we finally had to call her over and ask for silverware again. Now-if you have read any of my other reviews...you all know what a temperature whore I am. I saw steam coming off my food...but because I had to wait awhile for silverware...it was warm at best and no steam coming off my food. My friend's extra pancake was not entered by our waitress. Another table was complaining to our waitress about having no silverware and by the time he got his silverware-his food was cold. Bro, I feel you. Same here! The portion of the food was quite pathetic. Yeah yeah inflation and all that other crap. You have to understand...before COVID when I ordered a improv omelette. The omelette and hash browns were on one plate and the toast was on another plate. This time...the omelette was small and they compensated the size of the omelette by putting the omelette, potatos and toast on one plate. Where's Jim? Did someone else take over this diner? What happened? I get the old staff probably found new jobs seeming as how the restaurant was CLOSED for what...almost 2 years? But it's just not the same. The vibe this place had is...gone? The staff that would be quick and joke around? Gone. Delicious food now turned into greasy spoon mediocre food. It's sad and I am not going to be returning. The OGs of Studio Diner remember the way it was...and we want it back. The vibe...the food...the music. Yes, the music matters. Disappointing all around. Also...the extra pancake...for one pancake...it was 5 bucks. You know I can go to the outback and get a soup or side salad for 3.95...I just cannot LOL. It didn't even have strawberries or any type of fruit on it. Goodbye, studio diner. The Improv: $14.95 1-2-3: $11.95 Extra Pancake: $5.00 Coffee: $2.95 Hot Chocolate:$2.95 Total: $40.73 Was it worth it? No Will I be back? Lol...that's a no from me and my friend. read more

After a South Fortuna hike, this is the nearest and probably best option out there for a nice breakfast since there's nothing in Tierrasanta. It's probably been 8 years since I've been here -- and all due to the DDD/Foodnetwork fanatic that I was and still am. I had not come for breakfast though. Plus, that was a long a** time ago. *But side note, I remember the fish & chips being really good. Their breakfast menu has a good variety - cheese blintzes, biscuits & gravy, beans as a side, and mimosas! I ordered their "Improv" omelet which is a customized omelet with 4 ingredients (cheese, meat, veggie selections). I ordered a red pepper, onion, mushrooms, and avocado omelet with hash browns, along with an English muffin on the side. The portion looks like a lot, but after a 2 hour hike, that's the perfect size! Their coffee is not too dark which I like since I'm a black coffee drinker. The service we had (group of 8) was decent. He made sure we had coffee, hot sauces, and mimosas. He gave us a plate of salsa which was better than I expected! Whether or not it's homemade, it was a roasted red salsa and not the typical red salsa you would expect. I liked it. He also asked how we were paying (we were a blended group of coworkers) so it was nice that he was offering to split the bill. I haven't read why the ratings are just average, and sure, they have your average diner food and it's not "gourmet" or anything, but I would come back here after a hike at South Fortuna again. Good choice. read more

Studio Diner - Improv Omelet (red pepper, mushroom, onion, avocado) with hashbrowns - American Near Me - San Diego, California

Awesome old school diner vibes. Our family was sat in about 10 min on a Sunday. Great choices of food. I went with the Spinach Eggs Benedict. My wife got the biscuits and gravy, which she really enjoyed, and my son got the kids scramble with bacon and toast. Our order came out quick, hot, and delicious. Our servers name was Jay, I believe. She was friendly and helpful with our choice of food. read more

Studio Diner - Spinach Eggs Benedict - American Near Me - San Diego, California

We ate at Studio Diner for the first time since 2019 this past weekend. We've been missing the food and service so much. When we lived in Kearny Mesa, this was the go to spot for breakfast and lunch. Everything we've ever tried has been really good! My favorites are their monte cristo, sandwich, turkey club, all the burgers and of course their pancakes. read more

Studio Diner - Menu - American Near Me - San Diego, California

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This used to be our favorite breakfast place, but now we'll probably never go back. The breakfast menu is 1/3 of what it used to be, the food was bland and just not good. The breakfast burrito is just scrambled eggs with cheese and 1 piece of bacon wrapped in a tortilla. Chicken and waffles was dry and uneventful. Bottom line... service was very good, food was not good and over priced. I'm hoping the business is focusing on lunch and dinner because breakfast was very disappointing read more

Glad that they are open again! Came in for lunch today and my wife ordered the studio pear salad with grilled chicken. She asked the server Luis if there was anything spicy or peppers, even crushed black peppers on the salad because she's allergic. He said no and he'll tell the cooks to not add any pepper. I ordered a Reuben sandwich and I absolutely enjoyed it with onion rings. The salad arrived and there's crushed black pepper littered on it and I flagged Luis down to ask why. He took the plate back to the kitchen and he came back and informed us that the chicken is already pre marinated with the spices including the pepper (yikes). Welp that sucks, so we just ended up sharing the Reuben. Happy that they're back in business but unfortunately we won't be. read more

It is not what it used to be! It was about a month ago I looked there menu and saw "Ham Steak and Eggs" with a picture of boned in ham, actual ham. I ordered it this morning with ice tea and was shocked what I received. Two very thin sliced or pressed process meat. Had no flavor of ham and was rubbery! The waitress was fine. She said the picture they had was of the last old menu. Wonderful... I used to come here a couple of times a week before COVID. It was a great place and the help they had was very good. It will be a long time before I try it again. read more

First time there for a birthday brunch on a Sunday, place was busy and parking can be a bit of a hassle but we managed. Waited maybe 10-15 minutes and we're in! There were 6 of us and the staff was on it...drinks, orders all taken in a timely fashion. 4 of us ordered eggs benedict, 2 ordered omelets. Eggs nicely cooked, not to runny, not to hard. I was impressed. The ham And English muffins were great. The bowl of fresh fruit was a nice addition. The omelet eaters liked theirs also. I will go back again to try something different. One thing, not a complaint, but a suggestion. we were seated in the middle of the main dining room the lights were off, hard to read the menu. Crank 'em up! read more

The refill coffee was cold, i couldn't drink it. And it was definitely breakfast time they should have kept it brewing fresh. The omelet was very underwhelming, dry, not enough spinach - maybe they use chopped instead of whole leaves. Hash browns, I asked for well-done but came out just normal, a little crunchy outside and squishy inside English muffin - came out not buttered and that's fine except she didn't bring me any butter or jelly??? I'm not going back read more

DIFFERENCE MAKER This is a legit diner in every which way on the property fringes of an active movie studio. Always for breakfast for at least a half dozen times for us. A hearty breakfast that we split. Blue berry pancakes are most exceptional. Thick, moist, chewy, and soaked in maple syrup. Their omelets are both fluffy and filling. But, what makes the breakfast more special is our server Luis. He's jovially blessed in demeanor with a canny memory. That's a rare commodity especially as a server with English as a second language during breakfast time. Yes. service does make difference. read more

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When you advertise that you close at three, does that mean you stop cooking at three or you start taking customers until you can cook until three or do you take customers thru your door or wrapping around your building up to three ???? Please make it clear when you arrive at 2:40 , that when you stand in line for 20 minutes that you're going to actually be seated and served???? I have been a loyal customer for more than 10 years good times , bad times ,hard times ,tried to come and support, disappointment to have stand in line and then been turned away, courtesy would've been "sorry we're not taking any more in line"! Then STOP YOUR LINE! Love you, always have, but my time is as irreplaceable and important as yours. Sorry, disappointment with the consideration. Signed That was then, this is now Loyal Customer read more

Been here only once. Had the patty melt - was good, but not great. I would go back to try other things. Service was good.

Food was incredible. Service was amazing. Lots of movie memorabilia settings beautiful view out back.

Amazing service we received from our server Kelly!! We definitely will be back just to see her. She's very personable. Ask for her if you want outstanding service! read more

Studio Diner - American Near Me - San Diego, California

My wife & I were very excited to finally here there, however we were very disappointed. We saw it on Diners Drive Ins & Dives & couldn't wait to go there. I had the Samson's steak sandwich which Guy Fieri had recommended. It said it was a prime rib sandwich, but it did not taste like prime rib at all, it looked like some imitation meat that had no taste. Not only was the taste bland, but it cost $18.00! Ripoff. My wife had the Patty melt & she said it wasn't that good either, she was disappointed as well. Lunch ended up costing $50.00! If we end up going back we will be sure to try breakfast food instead. overall we were very disappointed! The best part of the experience was the waitres, she was bubbly & very friendly & attentive. read more

Amazing service, food was top quality, quick, server was so efficient and checked on us throughout our time there, she was quick with refills and making sure we had everything. Will be going back for their patio happy hour with our friends! This time we took our kids, and they were very kid friendly :) read more

Studio Diner - Eggs Benedict, and the count of monte Cristo! - American Near Me - San Diego, California

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first of all if I could give a "0" i would. I have gone to Studio Diner for many yrs before the pandemic and couldn't wait for them to reopen. wellllllllllll I went Sunday night 5pm was seated with my adult son. it took awhile for the server to come to our table and then to get us our drink order. I ordered my favorite fish and chips my son beef sliders. after his order sitting for at least 10 minutes it was finally brought to the table...without the carmillized onions in it! after waiting for about 40 minutes i finally received my fish and chips...or should i say potatoe wedges! I took one bite and had my son try it and said...this is AWEFUL!! my son walked out and I told my server after about another 10 minutes of sitting there to just take it off my bill! which she did...paid my bill and left...NEVER to return again!!! soooo disappointed in about everything there. read more

Studio Diner - fish and chips - American Near Me - San Diego, California

3.5 stars overall. Cute little diner with lots of personality and pretty good food. I ordered the beef hot dog, topped with brisket chili and cheese, with mac and cheese as my side dish (I know, I know... no nutritional value at all. Shame on me.) They forgot to put the cheese on top of my chili dog, but there was plenty on my mac and cheese so I wasn't complaining. The chili dog was really tasty. The mac and cheese was penne pasta in a yummy cheese sauce, topped with another sprinkling of cheese. Mmmm...cheese. The service was great. Maria was an absolute sweetheart and made sure we had everything we needed. read more

Studio Diner - Best. Menu item. Ever. Hungry? - American Near Me - San Diego, California

I ordered take out. Like 10 minutes ago. I got soup and fried pickles. The pickles are smushed together. Like to took them rolled them in a ball and put it in the box. Inedible. The soup was on the side so it spilled all over y the bag. Not to mention when I walked in three servers stared at me with no hello how can I help you nothing. read more

Studio Diner - Fried pickles - American Near Me - San Diego, California