Gave this place a try based on a recommendation from a local. Was told this place was nothing fancy just inexpensive comfort food. From the moment we walked in we were warmly welcomed by both waitresses. The one directed us to a chalkboard menu on the wall for the specials of the day. With it being our first time there we opted to have a seat with menus. Service right from the get go was warm, friendly, accommodating, and informative. I can see why this is a local favorite. Great spot to get some home styled comfort food on a budget. Would recommend giving the meatloaf a try. I especially appreciated being offered to have my sweet tea refilled to go. read more

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This was an absolutely horrible experience. The restaurant has no ambience whatsoever. We ordered our food and it took an hour and ten minutes to reach our table with NO explanation or apology for the wait. And the food, don't get me started, my burger was so spicy with pepper that I almost spit it out. The only thing that chef can cook well is scalloped potatoes. And I'm sure he just microwaves them from a can like he cooks everything else at that restaurant. What a disappointing evening out on the town of Dayton! read more

Cafeteria-style diner serving great Southern food. The country-fried steak is mouth-watering! So delicious.

The Thomas House is what our community is all about.....good food, good folks, good family atmosphere. This is my wife's favorite little spot. One of the few genuine spots left in the valley. If you want to eat at a place where the folks that own the place also work there this is your place. read more

I can only address Breakfast. The place was busy, 7 tickets in front of us. We sat at the counter, service was fast. Watching the grill-man, he was fast, too. The pancakes are large. No human ought to be polishing off a 2 stack. Inhad it w/ 2 over easy eggs. My wife enjoyed Ham & Eggs. Nice friendly folks, reasonable prices, good food. read more

Good ole comfort food with lots of gravy smothered in top. It's a taste of the old fashion, served fast, cafeteria-style, in old school plates, cups and trays . Meatloaf is everything you want. Beef veggie soup brings you back. This place is a gem. read more

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Great home cooked meals every time I have been for breakfast and lunch. Very attentive wait staff. Great prices for the portion and it being cooked from scratch. Excellent desserts as well. Great ambiance with a home town country vibe as it is in such a tiny town on the outskirts of Harrisonburg. I highly recommend over the chain restaurants with similar prices but none of the quality read more

Great locals spot Pick your meal they are all good. Took my 80 year old parents they loved it. Great service great home style food Re several times never disappointed read more

Meatloaf mushy & too much ketchup. Yukon gold potatoes creamy. Shoulda had the hamburger steak!!! -thed

The Thomas House has some of the best breakfast in the area with the nicest staff around! Highly recommend!

Kim is a great server. Great homemade breakfast! Eggs to order and potatoes like your mom used to make them. Highly recommended!

Walk in,and walked out! Rude waitress! Dirty tables sitting everywhere! Will never step foot in this place again!!

This is a good basic place to get food. Nothing remarkable, but everything is served hot and fairly promptly. Good place to grab a hamburger. read more

Have been eating here on and off for years, but recently, the food has really gone down hill and the prices are steadily rising. Ordered baked cat fish, mashed potatoes and green beans, The fish was cold and oily, potatoes were discolored and tasted sour, the green beans were hot but too much grease in them. 3 people cost $40 and not worth it to me. read more

Would like to warn people that many of the positive reviews are before a management change. Our experience recently was very bad. Long waits in a dirty environment for completely inedible food. Do yourself a favor and steer clear. read more

If you're passing through this is one of the local spots you can easily pass by, but if you like diners and the places all the locals go, you shouldn't. Breakfast is very good, standard fare with specials like blueberry and cinnamon apple waffles and pancakes on the weekends. The lunch and dinner menu is varied through the week with probably eight to ten entrees each day. The pulled pork and meatloaf are as good as you'll find anywhere and the long list of sides can make choosing difficult. And the staff! All are friendly and willing to go out of their way for you. It's a place that'll make you feel at home! read more

Brenda and Jack are wonderful Restaurant owners of Thomas House! Love their home cooked food!

Nasty cold dried out food like it sat all day waiting for someone to eat it. I got fish and it was terrible I can't believe I ate it I was just that hungry. New waitress she was ok. Not her fault the food was like left too long buffet crap. Will be last time going here.... read more

Pretty mediocre . Limited options to choose from . Had the chicken salad, scalloped potatoes, and fresh fruit bowl. Chicken salad was everyday chicken salad , nothing special . The fruit was warm and sour . Was $11 for one person and the food wasn't even worth it . The atmosphere was okay , a little diner . read more

Great home cooking! We always stop here on our vacation to Massanutten, worth the drive. We had meatloaf that was cooked just right. My husband had brown beans and baked apples and I had green beans and broccoli salad as my sides. All sides were tasty. The cornbread was very good and right out of the oven. They have a limited menu that can change from day to day. Wait staff was friendly and efficient. I would go here again and recommend to others. read more

Thomas House is about as authentic and as real as it gets. If you're looking for locally owned, homemade cooking with southern hospitality, this is the place for you. It is the definition of comfort food. Thomas House is a traditional "meat and two" where you choose the meat (which may sell out depending on how popular it is that night) two sides (there are about 25 to choose from) and your choice of a roll or cornbread. I would highly recommend the cornbread. Most importantly, get the peanut-butter pie! It is excellent! Overall, the food is good (nothing fancy) but the atmosphere and prices really make Thomas House great. Breakfast is average diner style breakfast, Lunch is cafeteria style, but dinner is served. The prices are excellent, and the food always tastes fresh. The service is always wonderful (if you're lucky you might get a nice Old Order Mennonite girl as your waitress). The Shenandoah Valley and Thomas House should go hand in hand. read more

This place is pretty odd, in a "where did I just step into" sort of way. The exterior is quite mysterious and ivy-cloaked, suggesting perhaps a prim bed-and-breakfast, but the interior is far from it...rather, it's like a cross between a bustling cafeteria line and a cramped Denny's. As others have mentioned, the true spectacle is the atmosphere: maybe it was the heavy wood accents, but I felt like a fiddle band and foot stomping should have been in order. Feel free to take a free Christian-material cassette on the way out. read more

A local dining establishment that is as every bit as charming and quaint as downtown Dayton. You know it is good when a place is filled with locals! Simple foods for breakfast (pancakes, omelettes, chip beef gravy, etc) and quite the variety for lunch and dinner (main course and your choice of two sides- there's always 10+ to choose from!). Head to Thomas House for a home cooked meal in a family-like atmosphere. read more

Thomas House Restaurant - Counter seating - Barbeque Near Me - Dayton, Virginia

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Great tradition and interesting place, but NOT open Sundays as indicated by Yelp! I took a small geology class to Thomas's in the 1980s, when octogenarian Miss Lottie Thomas was still the cook, waitress, and manager. There were 8 of us and she did not write down a word of anyone's order. She then filled every order in reverse order. She did not make a single mistake, but the last to order was served first, and the first to order waited about 80 minutes to get his lunch. A buss-boy watched every step, but he was not allowed to do any food preparation in Miss Lottie's kitchen. read more

I was unimpressed with the food here. Our waitress was wonderful but they have a limited menu with only 5 entrees to choose from. We both ordered the chicken fried steak but they were sold out so I got the fish and chips and my husband got the meatloaf. The food came out very fast but it was microwaved. The fish was dry and hard and the breading was chewy and gummy. Fries were hard. Meatloaf was a huge portion but tasted funny. Sides included Mac and cheese which was good and broccoli slaw which was also good. Green beans are canned and mashed potatoes were bland and runny. read more

Where are the ingredients? If you want plain food with no flavor other than salt in the gravy, this is the place for you. I ordered the scallop potatoes with gravy steak $8.50. No onions, no creamy juices in the potatoes. I think people have given it good stars because of the Christian ambiance, but I am a Christian and expect more than average if you are going to use God in your decor. The watergate salad I received was just a puff of cream no nuts or fruit. The dessert, peanut butter pie, was cheap filling on an okay crust. I gave this place 2 stars because the serving staff was pleasant and working hard, too bad the food flop. But it was busy and others seemed happy enough. read more

Our first visit and it was wonderful. We had sandwiches for lunch as well as potato salad, baked beans and cucumber onion salad. It's all homemade and delicious. Topped it of with chai, spice cake and coconut cream pie. Owner and Staff were so courteous. We'll be back soon! read more

If you are looking for a very affordable home cooked meal, then this is where you want to be! Their southern themed country style dishes are all made from scratch there at the restaurant. All of the pies, cakes and other dessert items are all homemade there also. Some of the BEST baked chicken and ham pot pie I've ever had in my life!! Last time I was there they didn't take a credit/debit card so make sure you have cash on you to pay. read more

Great smoked pulled pork Mac and cheese coleslaw. Excellent old restaurant with friendly owners and staff. A lot of history that is still being preserved and southern home style cooking. Great owners and staff always fun to go to read more

What a yummy lunch! Stopped in on our way through VA and enjoyed the homemade food. Quick lunch, but still homemade. The pie selection was nice too! Delicious creamy cucumbers! read more

I like the Thomas House good enough. The home cooked comfort food is conforting. Only recommendation is to stay away from too many frozen & boxed goods. Overall, I enjoy eating at Thomas House & will be back! read more

Found this spot on Yelp as we were driving through going to a wedding and needed to go plates to hold us over. We both had the meatloaf, Mac and cheese, potatoes, and peanut butter pie. Everything was delicious. The girls behind counter who waited on us were amazing and friendly and went above and beyond. Reasonable prices and peanut butter pie was delicious! read more

Very inexpensive, but good quality comfort food. Peanut butter pie, baked chicken, and mashed potatoes were good standards. Also, the cornbread was delicious. read more

Yum! This place hits the spot when it comes to classic southern comfort food! They have added some new stuff to their menu (I got the Reuben and it was so good)! And they accept credit cards now! read more

I live in Dayton and this is one of my very favorite restaurants! Good homemade food, nothing fancy but delicious none-the-less! And very affordable! read more

Delicious country cooking! Great staff!can't wait to see how new ownership pita their own stamp on things!

If you are partial to good old-fashioned lip-smackin' plain old country cookin', you MUST treat yourself to a meal here with Charlie and his friendly staff. Their best dish? ALL OF 'EM!!! From the baked chicken that falls off the bone, to the country ham pot pie (yummmm!), to the gravy smothered tenderloin, You can't go wrong here. Add an array of country cooked vegetables, the best mac and cheese east of the Mississippi AND homemade yeast dinner rolls, you have a feast to write home about! Get there early at supper time. It's where all of us locals go! read more

This place was a great place to go for a home cooked meal while I was in college. Really good breakfast. Gets very crowded.

I wouldn't call this a barbecue place at all. Cafeteria style restaurant. Amazing value! Everything was delicious food was all home made. My meal was great. Even my super picky 9 year old cleaned her plate in here. read more

Unorthodox dining, and fantastic home-cooked foods. Their menu is posted on the wall. It's simple -- pick an entrée and two sides. Desserts are two dollars. Great way to do things. If you're in Dayton, stop by! Great for breakfast too. read more