Elmo's Diner Reviews

classic diner with great prices. huge portions and great quality. modern diner at its best

Great service and food. This was my first time and I can't wait to cone back.

OMG, if ever I have a weakness its diner food--breakfast most especially. And at Elmo's, I found a diner breakfast done right. Large portions. Fluffy pancakes that are just the right amount of sweet. Over easy eggs that are to die for and big, flavorful home-fries to soak up all the yolk. Top it off with a thick and tasty chocolate malt and I was much too full to have the peach cobbler. Oh well, I know I'm headed back again.

All you Jersey transplants. If you're missing some good diner food, this is it. Come on down!

Great service, great staff, amazing food great prices

Their Salmon Caesar salad is the absolute best! And the pumpkin pancakes make a tasty brunch.

We arrived mid-afternoon and had a very nice experience--friendly wait staff, great food, comfortable seating with a view.

Elmo's is my go-to place in Durham, for diners and in general. My family just loves eating here; the food and atmosphere is great. I've since moved away from Durham and have not found a diner that compares. I like to go there as often as possible when I'm back in Durham.

I really enjoy their stuffed French toast. I also like their options of quiche and their shrimp quiche is so amazing. Service is excellent.

Lovely pancakes, special on the menu:)
friendly staffs!

Elmo s diner is always a good place for a delicious meal. I really enjoying coming for brunch food items. The shrimp and grits are especially good but the grits could use a bit more flavor, but I generally like a spicy shrimp and grits. They accommodate well for my party of 11 on a busy Sunday lunch. Service was good considering how busy it was.

The service was exemplary. The meatloaf was not good at all.

Came to Elmo's at 10am on a Wednesday and found the place to be pretty full. I took that as a very good sign and thoroughly enjoyed my meal here.
The menu is your typical diner fare but done very well. I had their take on a turkey, bacon, ham sandwich and it was absolutely delicious. Our table also ordered pancakes and eggs which came out fluffy and wonderful.
Another plus for Elmo's is that we were seated right away and our food arrived in less than eight minutes after we ordered!

Check out Elmo's when you're Durham!

Excellent service and quiche was right out of the oven!

Service was great, food was excellent..Kinda surprise on how nice the inside was..highly recommend..

Elmo's diner has nice staff, quick service and a lot to choose from. My reason for 4 stars is the terrible connection I got there. I tried to use YouTube, and it wouldn't play anything. I tried turning wifi on and off, I tried moving my phone, nothing. If you use the internet a lot like me, I wouldn't recommend coming here.

One of our favorite places. There are two Elmos but the first one we went to is in Durham, so we like it better due to the memory. Everything is always good. Good service, food comes out hot and quickly. Breakfast is our favorite. Always had good waitresses. Parking can be tight.

Food was great especially the baked french toast. The staff was beyond friendly. The sides and salsa for my eggs was a bit pricey but I will visit again.

Family atmosphere servers,hostess all very polite. First time eating here and service was quick. First time enjoying pumpkin pancakes that was not over powdered with spices. Our server Heather was polite checked on us consistently. Being from out of town I would really recommend this spot. Thanks for an awesome experience. Sure to be back.

Food and service was really 5 star. Unfortunately a customer sitting next to us at the front counter spoiled our sit down breakfast because he smelled extremely bad!! Forcing us to have our food pack to go.

Fabulous wait staff. Large portions of tasty good. Good variety on the menu. Able to make healthy choices.

I enjoy the environment, the service, and the food. However, clarification that the soy sausage is not vegan would be appreciated along with some dedicated vegan items on the menu. Excellent vegetarian accommodations though!

Best hummus ever. Always friendly staff and good food. If you leave hungry it's your fault.

I ordered the Santa Fe bowl and it was delicious. So much flavor and full of healthy, fiber foods - black beans, avocados, and sweet potato. I was recommended to go to Elmo's by my daughter and get the Chile Quille. I forgot about that, I'm glad I did as this Santa Fe bowl was fantastic!

Favorite restaurant in town. This place has the best service.

Will always be my breakfast spot when we're in the area! Always busy, always worth the wait, wouldn't change it ever. Been coming here as long as I can remember. The staff are outstanding, especially the managers whom are hard to spot, they work right along side the rest of the crew.

Awesome food for a great price. The diner has a great atmosphere and the staff is very friendly.

Friendly place with good comfort food & interesting selections. Also helpful with advice on avoiding foods with dairy or gluten.

It's was a nice little place but so busy. I got there corn beef and hash. In was not impressed.

I m from out of town, but when I come to the Triangle I do not miss Elmo s. We stop by mid morning. I get a huge breakfast and my wife usually gets a salad. They have excellent service, the regulars are interesting and friendly and we are in a great mood for our drive home every time we visit.

Love their breakfast food! Quick and friendly service. There's generally a wait but it goes quickly.

I love this cozy and warm family restaurant. Breakfast is the highlight but they serve lunch and dinner too. Waffles, pancakes, omelettes, and even soy sausage. Spaghetti, salads, veggie burger, desserts, and much more..

Been going here for a few years and usually just got their waffles. I tried their Western omlet last time I went and goodness it was delicious! Service was good and so was the food!

Highly recommend

Was drawn in by the huge brunch crowd but found it un-amazing.

A good variety of options, good food, good prices and good service

I used to avoid going to Elmo's because their prices were so high, but since the Waffle House moved next door, they have a lot of items on the menu now that are way more reasonable

Great local dinner, great food, friendly atmosphere.

Great place to eat. Excellent Staff food selection was great ;. something for everybody and flexible. Priced are reasonable. Convenient location in Downtown Durham

Elmo's is an Durham institution. It's a great diner with fast service and delicious pancakes.

I went for breakfast and the food was great! I had pancakes and bacon and it was definitely a great start to my day.

Long wait and the food was bland. This is the truth.

My. Kids love this place and the staff are very nice and friendly. Good food too.

Always a go to for brunch and dinner. Will come here for years

Very open and sunny restaurant. Very good breakfast.

I went there with my Italian friend who was visiting for a few months. We loved the vibe in there: just like the diners we see in American movies while living abroad. It certainly had this vibe and was truly charming in a very southern way.

The pancakes and eggs are delicious and have a "home-made" character to them. My friend got pancakes with whipped cream and some kind of berry sauce on it. The variety is attractive. It is also a very affordable place in a hot location on Ninth Street.

Definitely Recommend!

The service was fantastic and the food was even better

One of our favorite places. The staff is great! Takes good care of a "special needs" friend who is a regular. The food is always great.

A family friendly restaurant with a lot of options.

I always take my parents here when they're in town. It's truly a place where everyone is happy! The coffee is good, the service is quick, and the food is excellent (also affordable). I nearly always get the breakfast burrito, but their omelettes are excellent, as well.

This place is a real diner. Big menu, breakfast all day, delicious specials, with fast and friendly service. Good for groups and families (with kids). There aren't very many true diners in the Triangle area so Elmo's is special. My family likes this place a lot and we go fairly often. Highly recommended.

Good cheap diner food. Be prepared to wait 30 minutes to be seated, on average, during peak times - but there's a reason.

Good food selection, reasonable prices. Good sit down service. University vibe.

Haven't eaten at Elmo's for about 15 years until tonight. Fast service, friendly people, horrible food. Had meatloaf with brown "gravy" which was awful. Bad seasonings, not hot. It really was bad. More like slop than gravy. Tried scraping the slop off, but the meatloaf was still really poorly seasoned. Had mashed potatoes which had a large (about the size of my thumb) piece of black, rotten, hard potato. My friend also had the meatloaf which was also bad. We both got stale dinner rolls. His french fries were the best part of the meal. We were hungry after not being able to eat most of our meal, so we ordered the brownie with ice cream and hot fudge to share. The ice cream was good. About half of the brownie was okay, but the other half was stale and dry. I remembered Elmo's as a great little diner from years ago, but the food really was bad. I won't go back.

Service gets a 5 but the food wasn't great. Mediocre at best.

I really enjoyed my food here. It was inexpensive and tasty. The waitress was so friendly too!

Elmo's was a nice treat! I love 9th street in Durham and am always wanting to try new restaurants in the area since I do not live in Durham. I went with a friend recently before a show at DPAC.

We chose to sit at the window facing 9th street which made for an ideal atmosphere. Yes, we ordered wine in a diner and it was great. Our server was ok but she seemed to not enjoy how long we were there and we felt the pressure. Perhaps they like for people to get in and out and we had some time to waste before the show.

I ordered the cheesy baked spaghetti which seemed like it would hit the spot. It came with a caesar salad. It wasn't the best spaghetti I've ever had but it did hit the spot. Friendsay got a greek grilled cheese pita that she loved!

I look forward to returning for brunch since it seems like from the other reviews that this is what Elmo's is known for.

Great family diner, kid friendly, good service, decent food and decent prices. Would recommend checking it out if you're in Durham.

Their breakfast food is fantastic! Fantastic and fast service at this location as well as the one in carboro. I highly recommend trying their milkshakes as well

Great bacon infused waffles and the ham and grits are amazing.