Elmo's Diner Reviews

Can't go wrong with your typical American brunch place

Great diner in Carrboro and Durham! Has all the basics and some vegetarian/ gluten free choices!

I had to wait FOREVER to be seated. It is ridiculous that they don t take reservations. No respect for people s time whatsoever.

Hot and fast. This place is always packed, but the service is on top of their game.

Fabulous as usual! Heather (our server) was phenomenal. Can't wait to go back.

A great college town diner. Enjoyed it all. The only crowded place on the street and you will know why.

It's okay but entirely unremarkable. Good service but the menu is overly broad and ho hum

Elmo's is a Durham staple. Really good food for the price and the staff is always friendly. You can't go wrong getting all day breakfast, lunch, or dinner here. Parking can be a pain but that's just Durham lately.

Great place. Food & prices were good. Service was good.

Any place full of locals and good-old-boys is a must. In a gentrifying neighborhood Elmo's is an institution.

Food is always good, staff is always courteous and hospitable.

Great spot with atmosphere. Burgers and breakfast foods usually very good. Reasonable prices. Ample parking. Two thumbs up!

Great menu, nice atmosphere, reasonable prices, free parking.

Always the best comfort food and excellent service!

Definitely the best diner around! I'd recommend going when Duke isn't in school though. Duke students love Elmo's lol

Food and pick up service was great, I can't wait until these useless social distancing mumbo jumbo ends...
Needing a mask to enter restaurants is ridiculous!

Great food at great prices. Excellent service. Full diner experience. Love this place!

Great food and a warm inviting atmosphere. Family friendly although you will most likely be waiting about 20mins every time (that's how you know it's good food). Had a really great experience and would definitely mark this as one of my favorite places to eat.

Nice local place. Tons of items to choose from. Great quality food

Food tasted like oil and nothing. Spices exist for a reason guys. Go here if you like super bland food.

The food was amazing!! The service was outstanding!! The environment was so awesome!! It just made me feel like I was in a retro-style diner! Super cute!!

Suck service, very friendly staff, and you can buy an Elmo's shirt!!!

Great little place. Service was good, food was tasty, price was good. Clean and happy environment.

Great food, great atmosphere, great service. I definitely will be back for more.

A real diner with amazing food. Though the parking is difficult and there is usually a line, it is worth it!

Great food and great service with affordable prices and short waits. Great variety of options including vegetarian

B+ | Excellent customer service and great quality food at this location. It's the premier breakfast spot for this part of town

Great local find! Recommended by hotel. It did not disappoint! Almost everything made on site. Minestrone soup was fabulous. I was able to get breakfast for dinner. Service was stellar.

Staff isn t all that friendly and there are bugs EVERYWHERE. ESPECIALLY GNATS. Our food was kind of spoiled and they gave us the wrong salad dressing a couple times. I do not recommend this diner

Great lunch spot or indeed anytime. Attentive service, good food, reasonable prices, clean. Definitely a good choice

Huevos rancheros, French toast and vegetarian chilaquiles are all tops.

Elmo's diner is homey, food is always great and reliable and don't ever forget to order a shake there as well

People rave about this place locally, and it has won tons of Indy awards. It is often very crowded. There is a big, unavoidable pothole right when you enter that will damage most cars, and parking is very limited. If you don't like fancy food, look elsewhere. This place is not a diner, so much as a brunch stop for millennials.

In terms of diners, this is one of the best. Elmo's preserves the family feel without the seediness of side of the road places. I went here last right before a year away from Durham and it was the first place I headed to when we returned. The chilaquiles are amazing, I get them every time. Service is always great as well and the wait staff really seems to enjoy what they do and the happiness is passed on to customers.

Always a good experience when we go here. Love that the coffee refills are always prompt and that the menu is broad enough to be able to fit a variety of taste pallets.

Try the quiches!!!

After we finished eating, the waitress ordered us to put our masks back on. I was still drinking my coffee. Ridiculous treatment of customers by overly sensitive workers. This used to be one of my favorite places. Just terrible now.

We always enjoy our breakfast at Elmo's. The portions are large, the price is reasonable and the staff is always very friendly and helpful. Seating for two is pretty easy to get right away if you're there before 930 on Sunday's, but for larger parties, there will be a wait. The food is pretty tasty.. a little bland for our taste with the grits and home fries, but everything else we've tried is solid. Definitely one of the better breakfast spots in Durham.

Though a drive for guest here in North hills this is a must in Durham amazing diner w stellar service then go explore Sarah duke gardens...

Elmo's is one of my favorite breakfast places in Durham.

The food was good and the staff were friendly. I would definitely go again. At first, my husband and I thought some funny business was going on because we were a party of 4 and we were told we had to wait 10-15 minutes, but parties of 3 were being seated immediately. However, we did get a much needed large booth and all was well. I loved the hummus platter with pita, the spinach dip was very "healthy" but good. The minestrone soup was tasty, but don't expect pasta in it. The kids loved the noodles and cheese. It's simple but effective. Finally, the corn bread wasn't bad at all and I'm picky about cornbread. The arnold palmer was delish.

Cleanliness 5/5. Tables wiped down and shiny. Bathrooms smell fresh like Pinesol. Floors free from food scraps.
Price 5/5. Fair for the filling amount of fresh food you're getting.
Service 5/5. Wonderful, hardworking servers that enjoy their job and give you a positive experience.
Quality 5/5. You'll never wanna go anywhere else again.

A real treat. First time I have ever had Sunflower toast. Yummy.

Went in here spur of the moment and had an awesome omelet, wasn't crazy about y he home fries, but I couldn't have finished them anyway since the omelet got the best of me, great omelet!

Loved this place. Huge selection of breakfast options. Delicious. Also have lunch too. Great, friendly fast service.. will definitely return.

All I can say is YUM! The wait time tells you how popular this place is-and that is because of the food! Great regular dinner breakfast/lunch items but LOTS of more unusual options. On this visit I had Chilaquiles for breakfast-saucy chips, black beans and pico with the most fluffy scrambled eggs ever. Absolutely delicious!

Wonderful Breakfast Spot
As a Duke Grad from many decades ago, I can attest that today's students are very lucky to have this place in town. Whenever we visit it's a must for breakfast, a ritual that often involves waiting in line as, like many good local places, this is not a secret. Huge portions of well cooked breakfast fare; gluten free options,...

Loved the feel of this place! The gumbo special with the cornbread (YUM) was great! They had coloring for the kids and the restaurant has a pleasant background talking noise that helped me feel comfortable being there with them.

Fantastic place to eat. Featured on Guy Frieri's Triple D show. I will be going back nightly while in town to sample the menu. Breakfast is their jam. Onion rinf dipping sauce is the bomb.

I love Elmo's - a top notch diner. I like their menu and also like how they will try new items to add to the menu. When they try new things, they ask for open feedback, which I really appreciate.

Passable food, cheap breakfasts, standard diner feel.

Reuben was fantastic! Thank you for your service for when my Dad and I were visiting after not seeing eachother for a year.

The shrimp and grits were amazing. We were super excited that we did not have a long wait.

This place is a great place to go if you have a restricted diet, because they have breakfast all day and everything is configurable. It's also great if you can eat anything you want, because the food is wonderful!

Great dinner food with a modern twist. Highly recommend

Food was good, atmosphere was classic. Definitly a busy place, so spare a bit of time for your visit. Most of the food we received was good, but the apples tasted strangely metallic, and were inedible.

Consistently excellent food as well as service. We frequent Elmo s often especially when we have appointments at either Duke or the VA. Good ole simple but great meals. Desserts are home made and very tasty.

I like the atmosphere (people and building). They cooked my over medium eggs to perfection. I would like it if they did not deep fry so much. The home fries and salmon patty should be browned on the griddle. The biscuits should not be browned on the griddle. Fresh biscuits are sooo much better just as they come out of the oven.

I would and have recommended Elmo s.

Great service, friendly and fast too. Best diner in the area. Usually has a wait though on weekends so prepare!