Rick's Diner & Catering

Would love to give a higher rating but when your waitress asks 15 minutes after sitting down for your drink order, and when she gets mad if you ask can you give her your whole order at that time, then never comes back to the table to give some tea or water or anything it's hard to. although the kicker was 30 minutes in, after 4 tables that came in after us had food, and we ask can she check on it? and get the response "Let me check on that SIR" in a pretty rude tone herself, 15 minutes after that she sends the other waitress to tell you she "forgot" to put your order in, it's a hard pill to swallow.

When I walked back over I was told we were rude to ask her to take the whole order AND it was rude to ask her about it because they were swamped. We left. I give the one star for the Host, who was the only one to bring us a refill on tea and water and tried his best to help. He was wonderful! Too bad Grumpy ruined the rating.

So today my family and I decided to go here for brunch. This would have my third time going because I enjoyed it so much the first 2 times. Well this 3rd time was a little different. I had family from out of town so excited to go to this amazing breakfast spot and they treated us like complete trash. We were a party of 5 there were at least 3 waitresses.

We were seated and just left there. No one came over to great us or take our drink orders until we asked. Then when we did ask she seamed bothered. Not once were we rude. We sat there very patiently waiting. Once we flagged her over to take our drink order, she goes to the from with the other waitresses and they all stared and whispered but we still did not receive our drinks.

They actually assisted the gentleman beside us that had come in after us. I'm not really sure where the disconnect was but I would really hate to think it was because we were black. And after we kept watching each waitress walk by and roll their eyes like we had done something wrong, we decided to leave. We ended up at First Watch on 15501 and had a totally different experience and the best waitress ever and we were asked what we would like to drink soon after we were seated with a smile. Things could be so simple but people and their issues make them hard.

It's not hard to be nice. I will never recommend or go to the establishment ever again. It was actually very embarrassing to recommend this place to my out of town guest then to be treated like we didn't matter.

I like the vibe of this place and it wasn't too crowded. I'll certainly be coming back because it's got inexpensive prices for a Sunday morning breakfast with the kids. The food quality was a bit lower than expected but for the price it's great. The odd thing was that we got syrup and ketchup in packets and it just seemed odd to get condiment packets in a sit down Passaic American diner. Why not a bottle of ketchup and a classic syrup container?

Delicious food with a huge selection of vegetables and at very reasonable prices. They don't skimp on the portions either--you definitely get your money's worth. The service is excellent too. This is one of the best places I've eaten at in a long time.

I took a friend here for his 72nd birthday brunch last week. He does not eat fish or meat. The vegetable plat was perfect for him as was my omelette. This was my 2nd visit within the last 30 days and as previously noted service was good and the food was great.

I'm so disappointed in the service on Mother's Day. I wanted their banana pancakes with eggs and bacon for breakfast. We order online as we've done in the past. They gave us regular pancakes instead of banana pancakes, egg beaters instead of shelled eggs and the gravy was poured over the biscuits instead of on the side in a container as usual. Disgusting.

The biscuits are soggy and not edible. My poor husband called twice to be put on hold and disconnected. I can't send him back there. We are never going back. I'm making my own Mother's Day breakfast now.

I can't believe I've never heard of this place before! Despite being very busy for mother's day, breakfast was amazing, and the service was great. The pancakes are outstanding. I had a taste of my wife's quiche, and it was heavenly. Definitely will be back!

The prime rib was delicious and the meal overall was good. However the waitress was courteous but not friendly, I did not feel welcome here and the service bordered on rude. It seemed we were being rushed to leave although the place was not completely filled. Our plates were abruptly snatched and our bill brought to us before we even thought about leaving.

The patronage did not seem ethnically diverse and we were not made to feel that our business was particularly wanted. However if you would like decent prime rib then you would not go wrong with this place.

The meatloaf was okay; the gravy helped the taste. The macaroni and cheese tasted as if it was cooked in buttermilk. The cornbread dressing was cut into square shapes and was hard; it had no chicken or celery flavor whatsoever. The turkey tasted as if it came out a package; it is not real turkey. The rice and broccoli casserole tasted as if it had been sitting out for days.

The turnip greens came out of a can heated then served. The carrot souffle was okay. The only good thing was the service and cornbread. That $36 I spent I could have cooked the food myself.

Wonderful food. Good service. Reasonable price. Popular cafe. I had an awesome clubhouse sandwich and fried okra. Perfection my friends!

Will be going back! Very clean chic look, very good food. We got the blackened shrimp and scallops with scalloped potatoes and friend green tomatoes. Exceeded my expectations and the prices were good!

This spot has always been a favorite, but the recent floor to ceiling update makes it even better. Fantastic new bar seating! And the owners are so nice. Still A+ at this great hidden gem.

HBD was clean and bright. My breakfast was awesome. The service was attentive to our needs. The prices were reasonable. The lunch specials and cakes looked yummy. I wish I could have eaten more!

First of all, the staff had their masks under their noses. We're two years into a pandemic and you all know better, and if you don't care enough about the health of your customers, shame on you. They were very rude, forgot part of the order, and we're generally unpleasant. The portion sizes were small. Generally a waste of money and will not be going back.

Nothing is better than warm, home-cooked food on a cold day. We forgot to take a picture of our food because we ate it already! This is our go-to diner place. Update a week later: we came back and took pictures of our food this time We loved what we got last time so much, that we ended up getting it again! Also shout out to server Alex--he was very helpful/polite. The service was excellent; we were checked on frequently and taken care of. The pork chops and meatloaf are *amazing*.

We love this diner! We have been dining here for a couple of years. I couldn't decide once on my meal. I ended up getting the vegetable plate: 4 veggies of your choice & either roll or corn muffin! Topped with sweet ice tea with lemon. Wow! It was so delicious I have come back three times in 8 days, each time I've ordered the same veggie plate!

Still a bit of a secret in the growing triangle area. This has been a staple of weekend mornings. Great breakfast. I usually get the omelettes or the pancake with link sausage. Only been for supper once and I got meatloaf, which was decent. The restaurant is much stronger with its breakfast though. Never had a bad meal there

I got hooked to Hope Valley Diner because they used to cater for my old work place, and now my new job is a few buildings down. I went to dine in here for the first time last Sunday and it was a no-wait, lovely brunch. I got the fried chicken platter with green beans and mac and cheese and a roll. My girlfriend got pancakes with eggs and hashbrowns.

She dug the pancakes, the eggs were okay, but the hashbrowns were soggy. My fried chicken platter was tasty. Both plates took a long while to get to the table. A lot of the people eating there that Sunday were what you'd call "family-like" - older or "entitled" people, basically. You can kinda see that by reading through some of the lower rating reviews on here, honestly. Still, it was a decent enough time. If you go here, try the mac and cheese and the rolls. Definitely the best I've ever had (don't roast me if your mom or grandma makes it better.)

Delicious. my fiance and i try to find a new breakfast place to eat on the days we have to work, well we've eaten almost everywhere in Durham, NC so the search went longer than normal but i finally landed on this place, and we are so grateful i did. did i mention my fiance is pregnant and if she don't like it well let's just say i pay twice. lol. needless to say she was satisfied and pleased. it was very good and the service is A-1. thank you!

B+ | Nice community diner that has much history and good calibre food. Outside seating wasn't available, even due to the pandemic and we could tell chicken was going to be a mission for the staff with an hour left before closing. The steak and eggs was great as a breakfast and the hotcakes (pancakes) were more on the fluffy side. Objectively this is a cool staple for this community and gives a decent experience.

If you are black they will ignore you. Literally got fussed out for asking why I was not being responded to. Wrong orders, no refills.

Decent menu terrible service. Staff didn't seem to know who was serving who. Not very friendly.

Came here this past weekend in a group of 4. We had a good experience here and were pleasantly surprised that we were seated immediately at 10 am on a Sunday! Our service was not the best, but the food and coffee were excellent. They have a large brunch menu, but also serve lunch as soon as 10 am. I had the 1/2 stack pancake special with turkey sausage and hasbrowns.

The pancakes were probably a 6/10, sausage was 8/10 and hash browns were 7/10. The only thing I was disappointed with was that everyone's pancakes except mine came out extremely large and fluffy, but mine were half the size and didn't taste great. Maybe they do smaller pancakes for the specific special I ordered, but I was displeased after seeding how large everyone else's were.

Next time I will get something else for sure. My sister in law got the club sandwich with fries and it looked SO good and was HUGE! Might have to try lunch here sometime. Would come back here!

None of us had been there before but one in our party wanted to try it out. After looking at the reviews I was somewhat leery, either they were great or not got. We were seated promptly and service was good. Nice interior. Unusual that they have a special's board with no prices. One friend had the flounder and wondered where all the fish was b/c of the small portion although he liked the flavor.

The apple sauce and black eyed peas where both straight out of a can, commented can get the same at home. One friend had a chicken salad sandwich which was good with so-so fries. I had a Meaty omelette with hash browns and a biscuit. Biscuit cold and dry. Hash browns OK. The omelette was meh, almost flavorful but not bad. Everyone agreed that we probably wouldn't be back. Been to other diners that do better.

Came in for an early Sunday breakfast and it was overall a good experience with a few positive and negative standouts. I had the "poor man's club" which is the dish that drew me here in the first place. It's a huge sandwich with two slices of thick fried bologna, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, mayo, and mustard. I love bologna and am a fan of places that aren't too haughty to include it on their menu and was especially excited to try this wild sandwich.

It did not disappoint. Sloppy, melty, flavorful - a perfect hangover cure. I swapped the hash browns for fruit (at no extra charge) which was a good choice because the sandwich is plenty filling on its own. I will definitely get this again. Husband got the "big breakfast" as he does, which comes with a pancake, eggs, a biscuit with gravy, and a meat.

He also added grits which turned out meh/instant. The pancake was fine. Bacon was a bit thin and crispy for my taste. The biscuit and gravy was the come-from-behind winner here. The biscuit was buttery and tender, and the gravy was flavorful and loaded with sausage. Coffee was a bit burnt but not terrible. But the price was right for a diner in this area so I can get on board.

We were not wild about the service. There are big and I mean big signs on the doors that say "Wait To Be Seated" but when we walked in and waited awkwardly by the door for a while we were instructed to just sit anywhere. The system for waiting's being assigned tables is as follows: the waiters discuss whose "turn" it is each time someone walks in.

We know this because we heard them do it every time. Our waitress was a bit rude/curt. For example, she walked away while we ordered drinks which was just bizarre. Service was prompt, however, if not friendly. Other waiters seemed fine. We did watch one couple walk out after being instructed to sit wherever and then never getting any service. Tl;dr: bologna yes, biscuit and gravy yes, grits no, service meh

Recently returned excited for another good meal, but I was sadly disappointed. I didn't ask for any changes to a simple roast beef sandwich with au jus except a loaded baked potato instead of a plain one. What I got was the sandwich without the dipping jus and a plain potato. The waiter wanted me to keep the potato and bring the loaded one and said he'd bring the au jus, but I discovered the sandwich was also missing onions and horseradish mayo as described on the menu.

I asked him to return it all and ask the chef to prepare it properly which he seemed surprised by, but did. When he brought another with the strangest looking loaded potato I'd ever seen, he said the manager was going to comp my meal and talk with me. The assistant manager came over after I received another meal to apologize and ask what I needed to make it right.

I said I already got a replacement and he kept pushing the issue and I just kept repeating what happened and how it had been handled, but he pressed on. Frustrated and just wanting to eat, I said you can go back to the kitchen and tell the chef to prepare a dish as described on the menu to avoid a situation like this and that it didn't seem like too much to ask.

He said he would. Honestly, it was all just very bizarre. They were very busy & with lots of take out orders, which I acknowledged with the assistant manager, but my menu choice wasn't rocket science! My spouse did enjoy her meal completely, but mine was an exercise in futility. I think I'll take a break before returning anytime soon.

Service was way too under staffed, portions were small (I got like 5 onion rings) and my boyfriend got a half a cup of macaroni which was way too small but the food was decent, ambiance was antique shop-ish (which was a nice change). I waited way too long to get a to go box and ketchup. See picture! (Pickle was warm which was weird)

I'll try to keep this review short, but I have so much to say about my positive experience with Hope Valley Diner. If you are in the Durham-area and you are looking for an event cater, I recommend that you look no further than Hope Valley Diner. This restaurant goes above and beyond and absolutely exceeded my expectations. We worked with Lynn Gardner to create a menu for a family BBQ and a family Banquet that would accommodate 70 people.

She was so patient and professional especially when we played with numbers to create a menu that would fit within our event budget. When it was time for our BBQ to begin, Lynn and two sous chefs arrived forty minutes before our event to set up. My family is very particular about food and they had absolutely no complaints. We had hamburgers, hotdogs, turkey burgers, turkey hotdogs, corn, baked beans, watermelon, potato salad, and cole slaw.

Everything was delicious! Throughout the BBQ, Chef Brad and Chef Andy were going around and clearing tables, interacting with my family members so pleasantly, and were actively making the BBQ a remarkable experience with their impeccable customer service. We had a second, more formal family event in the Hope Valley Diner banquet hall. I love the hallway that leads to the eloquent space.

We were able to fit 63 people in the banquet hall comfortably. Again, we were very impressed with the customer service and the delicious food. Coming from out-of-state, we were taking a chance by choosing Hope Valley Diner to cater our family event two days in a row for a BBQ and a banquet. This was one of the best experiences we have ever had with caters when it comes to customer service, food, and quality of the event hall. If I'm ever in Durham again, I know exactly where I'm going to go!

This is where you take your parents/grandparents (and that's not a bad thing). I've never had a bad experience here, but i've never been wowed either. However, the older people I know LOVE Hope Valley Diner. If i have to equate this place to somewhere it's very similar to the old Piccadilly Cafeteria at South Square when that still existed. There's a very dedicated crowd here that love it. I'd say it's probably because it's reliable what you'll get everytime and it's mostly comfort food and a very wide menu.

Upon my last visit I got the steak and cheese and onion rings. The onion rings were fantastic! The steak and cheese was fine. A little dry and I included some toppings I had specifically asked for them to leave off. The staff is always very friendly. At this point Hope Valley Diner is an establishment and someplace where you can easily take your family and everyone can get something they like to eat without there being any conflict.

I've been to this place a couple of times during my random drives back home. Each time the food has been good and I've never had to beg for a coffee refill. Average cost for two people is around $20-25. My only observation would be the improvement of service. If a customer needs something, they should be able to ask another waitress to assist or ask if they can have the original waitress come over. It's been observed that the wait staff will completely ignore a table that isn't their own. It's a small issue and I'm sure it will be improved in the future. If you ever find yourself off 15-501 or MLK, looking for a brunch spot, give this little place a try.