Inconvenient to have to decide what to order while standing in the lobby looking at an extensive menu, especially if there are a lot of other people in the way. The blue cheese burger was very good, juicy, large, & flavorful. But the fries were ordinary & not near as good as The Pantry's crinkle fries. The ketchup bottle the server brought was two squirts from being empty & she never showed up again so had to go in search of another ketchup bottle on my own. When I go back I will expect better service. read more

I came to this restaurant because of Yelp reviews. I had seen that they had "the best fried chicken in Nebraska". My server was incredibly short and to the point with me-- it was like she couldn't wait to get out of my presence. I asked about the possibility of getting fried chicken with a waffle and she said they could definitely do that. My plate came back with a Belgian waffle and three chicken strips. I apologized to the waitress and explained that I was actually expecting fried chicken, like the off-the-bone kind. She went to her manager to "see what he wanted to do". The manager came over and and in the most politely condescending manner informed me that they've never had fried chicken and more than once informed me that there was "no way" I could have seen that they did on the Internet. I ate the meal which was mediocre, just a Belgian waffle and freezer chicken strips... The service was horrendous. I was able to get one refill and like I said, my server was constantly trying to get away-- I even had to even stop her from leaving my table to order onion rings. She didn't clear one item from my table (to be fair, another friendlier waitress saw and removed my plates at one point) It should be noted that the onion rings were good. That is only the reason why I felt 1 star was merited for this establishment. This was my first experience at the Eatery and I will definitely not be coming back. Maybe it was because I was alone and not as important as a bigger party... Or maybe they just treat everyone like this. It definitely wasn't crowded tonight. Who knows, I'm not going to come back to find out. Definitely going to tell my school friends and encourage people to stay away read more

II like a good old fashion greasy spoon diner for my comfort food. This is a busy place but we did not have to wait very long. This is a great place to come and enjoy some good old fashion grinds. They have all the breakfast favorites and lunch fare you could ask for and more. The staff was nice and the prices are certainly not going to break the bank for good food. The atmosphere is a little weathered but I can overlook that as long as they treat me like family. read more

We just moved to Lincoln a few weeks ago and have been trying out the local faire around our new neighborhood. We tried the Eatery for lunch today, and it will be a regular visit for us. It has traditional American comfort foods, like burgers, breakfast all day, quiche, a nice fresh salad bar, and desserts. I got the soup & salad combo, choosing the tomato bisque, which was good. The salad bar was fresh, and had several types of greens, as well as, 3 bean, broccoli, & potato salad. My hubby got the quiche and eat every crumb. I watched the food go by to those around us, and it all looked delicious, with generous portions. They have several kinds of burgers with at least quarter pound patties. They also offered a portobello mushroom burger for vegetarians, along with several items for sugar free, gluten free, and other special requests. They also offer cocktails. We'll be going back. read more

My family and I have been here on several occasions and we love it. Outstanding food with exceptional service. Ordering as you first walk in can be a bit overwhelming and you might seemed rushed but you can take some menus to your table and decide there like we do. You have to give this place a try, you won't be disappointed. FYI: their midwestern burger and the fish tacos are amazing . read more

I've been here numerous times and I have yet to be disappointed. The staff is friendly, the restaurant looks great and the food is spectacular. If you're a fan of burgers, then you can't go wrong with the Black and Blue burger! Ordering at the counter can be overwhelming at first, but you're always welcome to take a seat in the dining room while you look over the menu. Definitely worth trying if you haven't already! read more

I've been to every restaurant in Lincoln, the Eatery has some of the best food in the city. The services is always phenomenal!!

This was one of my worst dining experiences. The service was extremely poor- likely due to management. Most tables appeared to be waiting excessively long-- to be seated, to order drinks, to get drinks... The couple who sat next to us complained to management. Because of this, their service was prioritized and their meals were free. However, this meant that even though they came in after us, they were "prioritized" before us in all aspects of service. And-- after excessive waiting... The food was not hot (except for the appetizer - which came after our entres) and lacked in flavor. read more

Great place! The menu is big and the food is tasty. Something for everyone on the menu. Service was fantastic. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner all day long. There is even a nice selection of local craft beers! The onion rings are delicious. The old 'Kings' recipe (local reference). The fried mac-n-cheese is a must try. The rueben sandwich was good also. Breakfast burrito was big enough for two! Save some room for dessert. The malts were delicious and my daughter made short order of the blondie. Banana cream pie was pretty good too. Definitely stop by. We'll be going back - the manager said "You gotta try the burgers". read more

1st time here , i will definitely come back again. Staff was great , clean place. Got the biscuits and gravy and eggs Benedict and they where on point! read more

Had a delicious bacon cheeseburger, nicely seasoned french fries, and a local beer. Service was fantastic (thanks, Kelsey!). Atmosphere is equivalent to Village Inn or Perkins. read more

Prett average food quality however the menu consists of every American food youcanthink of so that's a plus. Great burgers.

We had a terrible eating experience here. Maybe it was a fluke-- a one time thing. Maybe not, but we won't be going back. My husband actually jokes about it as we drive by. It was SO loud in there, we couldn't hear each other. The place was packed, which was part of the noise problem, but the kitchen staff had a stereo blasting that was loud out in the eating area. We couldn't talk to each other without yelling. Then the food was crazy overpriced for what it was. I ordered yogurt and granola. They brought me a nature's valley brand granola bar that had been smashed into chunks in a bowl, a side of vanilla yogurt, and some slimy, wrinkled blueberries. It was $7. My husband ordered a meal and said the eggs were undercooked and nothing tasted very good. When we were ready to go, the waiter left the check then disappeared for 20 minutes. There are so many good reviews on here that we want to believe it was a one-time thing, but we won't be going back to find out. We don't want a repeat of the last visit. read more

We were seated right away, beverages service quickly. Good service and great food, very clean place.

Portabella fried mushrooms freaking delicious. Fast service. Friendly wait staff. We will be back.

Great food. Great service. The portions were larger than what one would expect for the price everything was great.

If you looked up "average" in the dictionary, you may find this place listed as an example. No outstanding complaints but no big compliments either. read more

My daughter and I eat here a lot, and we both are happy. Great, friendly service. Decent food. The kids meals are a little pricey, but not awful. The cheesy veggie soup rocks! I get it every time! read more

The staff was friendly. Ordering is very awkward. I was looking forward to the salad bar and was sadly disappointed. The other salad such as macaroni and potato salad didn't appear very fresh. The garlic cheese bread was ok. My husband had the burger and fries and was mediocre at best. I think they have a great idea of being the local neighborhood restaurant but I won't be going back. The ordering and menu is all over the place. read more

They have A LOT to choose from. Always trouble making up my mind. A lot of what I've eaten here has been, "what do you recommend" from the server. Good atmosphere, average prices. Been back a couple times, will continue to go back until I've had it all. Which could be a while. read more

I've been hearing lots of great things about this place so i decided to take my mom, who is from out of town, here for lunch. We both had an wonderful meals. They have a delicious salad bar and the best chicken fried steak i've ever had! The service was great as well. I will highly recommend this place to anyone! read more

No no no. Onion rings to die for with hummus sauce??? Seriously i think the onion rings are actually going to kill me. Not ready for prime time. :( dont punish yourself just go to mcdonalds. read more

A good place to get a wide variety. Good salad bar and pie. A little expensive for what it is in my opinion though. It's may to-go for a picky group because there something everyone will like. read more

They get two stars because our waitress was nice. Started with the chicken nacho app; absolutely gross. The chips were burnt, melted shredded cheese, and bland chicken breast sliced on top. Kids had pasta that was dry, pancakes that my son who loves pancakes wouldn't even touch. The kids pancake meal came with sliced fruit per menu; in reality it had two brown banana slices and one tiny mandarin orange. I had the salmon patties, rice and a loaded baked potato, to say the least I always finish a plate and I left with 75% still on plate. Only person who enjoyed their meal my fiancé had the club and fries ( the fries were the best thing). $67 later I'm feeding my kids a second meal at home as we speak. read more

This may be a great restaurant on normal days, but do not come here for the Easter brunch. The restaurant is too small to handle large capacities of people. The food selection was a joke. The salad bar was OK but the meat and other selections were VERY limited. They advertise a buffet, but you have to wait for your server to bring you new plates, which could take ten minutes each time! The line for the buffet was another 20-25 minute wait and wrapped around the restaurant, which makes many of the guests feel uncomfortable as people are constantly standing inches from them when they are trying to eat their meal. We waited 15 minutes to get a table, then sat awkwardly for another 10 minutes for our server. We had no water and no plates. The buffet was only accessible from one side and approximately 4 feet wide. The salad bar was longer, but again, no plates were up there so we could not help ourselves. Not worth the trouble. I would suggest they stick to their regular menu and give up on their buffet efforts all together. read more

I'm giving it 4 stars because we had just been told this place was amazing but I was quite underwhelmed up until we got our food. The service is adequately good. The restaurant is clean. The bathrooms were clean. Nothing out of this world so far... But then we got our food. The food was soooooo good!!!!! My kids loved it, my husband loved it, I loved it! Nothing bad to say and will definitely go back because we all ordered something completely different and it was ALL really good! read more

I'll be honest, when I looked at the menu I didn't expect it to be that good. They serve dozens of different entrees, different types of cuisines. It's a great casual atmosphere, great servers. And here's the kicker. Everything I've had here (dined in at least 5 times now) has been very good. I especially like the Herder's Pie, their own take on Shepherd's Pie. Burgers are fantastic too. Try them out, unless you're a snob. read more

Fast friendly service food was excellent . they had a good variety on the menu. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Fast, friendly, good prices, good food. I love the club sandwich. It is like a one step better village inn but it serves beer!

Excellent food, quick service and friendly atmosphere. Only been there once, Sunday lunch, but will be back! Everything it was meant to be!

Visited The Eatery today. The waiter came to our table to take our drink orders. At the same time, he laid down a fork for each my wife and myself. No napkin, just laid on the table, which was not clean. I then ordered "breakfast" with toast. The toast was the hardest toast I had ever eaten. After bringing our meals, the waitress said I'll be right back with ketchup and jelly, which she did, but I had to spread the jelly with my fork as I was not provided a knife to do so. My wife ordered the cheddar broccoli soup which she said she could not eat. I'll eat about anything, but after tasting the soup myself, I would not have eaten it either. Not good! The waitress noticed she did not eat the soup and offered to bring another side to go with her sandwich. After my wife declined, the waitress did take the soup off the ticket. I had heard good things about this place and this was my first time here. Won't write it off until I visit again. read more

A friend and I ate at The Eatery last night for the first time. It's confusing: when you walk in the door, you face a bakery display (like Perkins), cash registers, and the salad bar. After being confused about whether we were to order at the cash register, take a menu and seat ourselves, or be seated by a hostess, we were seated at a booth. The atmosphere is very Perkins-ish. Decor was nondescript and the clientele was skewed toward the retired crowd, which was highlighted when the place cleared out by 8 p.m. Things started out great when I asked our server about the salmon special and he was clearly knowledgeable about the dish and made several suggestions. I ended up ordering the Deep Blue Platter (battered fish and breaded shrimp with garlic bread and choice of two sides) and one pass at the salad bar. My friend ordered an appetizer and a personal flatbread pizza. The server didn't tell me how the salad bar works (would he bring me a plate or are plates at the salad bar?) so I waited. I planned to get my salad when my friend's appetizer arrived. Well, the appetizer arrived with the entrees. When I said something to the server about the appetizer arriving with the entrees, he said, "Oh, I guess it did, huh? I wonder how that happened." I then had to ask for a salad plate. The food was tasty and properly cooked but nothing special. The table has a napkin dispenser and when we first sat down, the server brought each of us a fork. No table knife, no spoon, just a fork. After our food was delivered and I got my salad, I asked our server for a knife. He said he would bring one but then wandered all over the restaurant talking to different people. We asked a different server for a knife and she brought it right away. The server never asked us if we wanted one check or two (two women dining together - he should have asked) and brought us one check at the end of our meal. We asked him to split it and he did, but brought both checks back in one folder. During this last part of our interaction, the server called us "girls" three times, as in "are you girls interested in dessert?" (although he never asked us if we wanted dessert). That was sort of the cherry on top of an unsatisfactory experience for me so my friend and I left and went across the street to have pie at Village Inn. I should have spoken with the manager, I suppose, but I didn't. If the food was really great, I would go back and hope for better service, but since the food was only average, I will spend my dining-out dollars elsewhere. read more

My wife, son and I ate at the Eatery for the first time today. I was very impressed with our meal. Our server was polite and not too present. He watched from a distance so that we could enjoy our meal with only necessary interruption, ie: Fill our drinks and check on our first taste for approval. I had the Haystack salad with black beans. My wife had the Primavera al Pesto with Chicken. My son had Happy Face Pancakes. The entire meal was very flavorful. I can tell you that: McDonald's Always taste like McDonald's, Everything on the Chili's menu taste the same, Applebees has become extremely cookie cutter with their menu. The Eatery has variety. My meal was entirely unique from anything I have ever had. The guacamole had almost a smoky flavor. The black beans were prepared in a way that I could not have predicted. The restaurant management obviously has experience. Everything is prepared perfectly. They created their menu so that the selections can be prepared somewhat quickly, yet very perfectly with beautiful presentation. They kept a few decor items from Howard's. The stained glass ceiling feature is still there and a special private room has been dedicated to Howard. They even kept the Green River! The most important piece of advice about dining at The Eatery is, don't think you are going to Howard's Pantry. As great as Howard's was, this is not Howard's! Walk in with an open mind. Plan on eating well, the portions are generous. The staff is friendly. The flavors are unique. Some prior reviews mention ordering prior to sitting. That doesn't happen anymore. You are greeted at the door, seated, greeted again by your server, and then treated properly. Enter, eat, enjoy, and return! I know I will! read more

Best part about my experience at the eatery was the managment. Tim, the general manager is the reason i will be back time and time again. He was very polite and professional. As a manager of a restaurant, i look for professionalism. It is easy to see that this man knows what he is doing. For the most part the food was fresh and very tastey. Pancakes were best in town. Sausage gravy is amazing. I like forward to my next visit with Tim at the eatery. read more

Excellent menu choices. Quick and courteous service. Good was very tasty. Will definitely be back to try new items!

Ordered the West Coast Croissant and upgraded my side dish to "fresh fruit" for an additional $.99. The sandwich was nothing special. The "fresh fruit" was just a small bowl of Honeydew (that wasn't very ripe). If the only fruit included in the side was honeydew, then why doesn't it just say that on the menu instead of "fresh fruit"? This place did not meet my expectations, which should not have been hard to do based on how hungry I was. read more

The Eatery - "Fresh fruit" aka honeydew...ew. - American Near Me - Lincoln, Nebraska

I had the loaded chicken salad with ranch. It was very good, but there were a lot of carrots so next time I'll ask for light on the carrots. Overall great experience and good prices! :) read more

The Eatery provides a pleasant eating experience that is cost effective and tasty. There are plenty of options on the menu so chances are you'll find something that sounds good. Best of is the homestyle cooking. Just like home. Good dinning can certainly be found here. Thumbs up. read more

Since moving here from the east coast 2 years ago, my wife and I have been searching for a good breakfast spot. We have been to a few other " popular" ones in the area , Engine House , which some locals rave about, was terrible as well as a couple of others who fell into the " could have made a better breakfast at home" type places. So , this past weekend, we decided to give yet another " popular" spot a chance , and we found ourselves at The Eatery, let's just say my wife and I are still looking for that good breakfast spot. We ordered coffee to start, which I will say, was actually fine, our server was pleasant and attentive on this busy Sunday morning , he gets one of our stars for doing a great job , unfortunately the food left something to be desired. I ordered the French Toast classic, 3 soggy pieces of the thinnest bread possible , a mushy excuse for French Toast that quite frankly, was pretty sad. He eggs ( scrambled) were fine and perhaps the best part of my meal. Crispy bacon ? , nope, was also rather soggy and disappointing. My wife also got eggs and hash browns which really didn't have a lot of flavor, she also got the homemade sausage which was actually not bad. I understand coming from the east coast , we are a bit spoiled, however just simply being given " a lot of food" certainly does not make it a " good " meal . Where is the flavor in your eateries Lincoln ??? read more

Wonderful all you can eat salad bar. Great breakfast. Everything I've tried here is good. My only complaint is Alfredo on the noodles with the chicken Parmesan. I think that is weird. read more