Soon To Be Out of Business.
Great place to watch the flies buzz if you are not especially hungry. Slow to bring menus,slow to bring drinks, the food...who knows. The place was less than half occupancy and we waited for 30 minutes, no food. Watched two other groups leave because of service. 30 minutes and our food was not on grill yet. I brought this to staffs attention and got a shrug. Stay away.    [07 Jul 2002 22:56:37]

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     ­richard   bratt259 at msn dot com

Horrible Service.
Penny's Dinner has absolutely the worst service I've ever seen. It took forever to get a cup of coffee. we were told they were out of "nearly everything". I had to request silverware twice. The waitress had a terrible attitude problem. The food when it finally arrived was cold. It should not take an hour to get 4 burgers, 5 cups of coffe and an order of scrambled eggs. The waitress spent considerable time on the phone.
As if the food and service weren't bad enough, the staff was so unfriendly that it makes me ashamed that they are Texans.    [29 Dec 2003 08:09:23]

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     ­Mike Kirby   

Disappointed
I thought part of the reason to have a penny's diner in Alpine TX., was initially for the Union Pacific Railroad Employees? To my surprise when I saw you're new menu, first I noticed the drastic price increase then the local Police Officers get a 10% discount and railroaders don't. Not to mention the service! I really don't know if you know have knowledge of our called on duty process, just in case you don't, let me enlighten you. Us Railroad employees receive a 1-1/2 hour call upon which most of us the ones that have shared our concerns about Penny's Diner take about 30 to 40 minutes to prepare for work included shower, shave, pack and getting dressed, it also takes approximately 20 mins. to get from the hotel to the train terminal or on duty location. That leaves approximately 30 minutes to eat that's if the food is ready. There is only waitress per shift sometimes one waitress that does the waitressing and cooking, so you can imagine if 2 or 3 customers show up to eat, heaven forbid a class of school goers from the nearby college decide to go have a float or burger. We railroaders most of the time have to serve our own coffee sometimes sodas. The waitresses would rather handle the excess work "I can't survive on the wages we get if they hire another waitress we have to share the tips and it's bad enough as it is".    [12 Mar 2004 12:08:38]

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     ­Anonymous   

Bring a Fly Swatter.
We have eaten at this place twice there will not be a third visit. Both times the service was slow and they were out of what we ordered. Also flies everywhere. I have been on picnics that had fewer pests! The windows were greasy and the seats were covered in crumbs. It's a great location but that's the high point. This place needs new owners and management!    [10 Jun 2004 21:22:00]

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     ­Anonymous   

We Enjoyed The Breakfast
My wife and I went on a Tuesday morning. I had pancakes bacon and coffee. Both were very good I have always liked the diner concept with the bar    [17 Apr 2008 08:09:11]

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Recommended Dishes: Pancakes and bacon

     ­rex l hutcheson   

Nice shiney diner
...on the outside. Retro 50's inside. My buddies and I were on a motorcycle trip and we stopped for breakfast. I looked forward to eating in a diner...it brought back a host of fun memories. The food was as one might expect from a diner. None of them have ever been 4 star establishments but Pennys wasnt all that bad. We sat at the bar and watched the food being cooked. Hash slinger comes to mind. The service was okay and the waitress kept the coffee cups filled. We were the only ones there (4 of us) at 6:30 AM.
Try to remember that this is a diner, a greasy spoon, not a restaruant per'se. It is what an experienced traveler would expect from a diner and not what you would see on the food channel. I'd probably stop there again, I mean it didnt make me sick or kill me!! Its just diner food!    [28 Jul 2008 16:40:13]

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Recommended Dishes: Bacon, eggs toast and coffee.

     ­Anonymous   

Fun and Delicious!
My two kids and I stopped to eat breakfast at Penny's Diner after finding out the German restaurant downtown wasn't open anymore for breakfast. Boy, we were almost glad the other restaurant hadn't been open! We were traveling through Alpine on our way home from vacation (August 2008).

We had SOOOO much fun watching our breakfast being prepared, the cook was so talented. He made an omelet that was so crazy delicious we are planning a trip back out there (we're five hours away) JUST to eat at this diner. He made Mickey Mouse pancakes for my five-year-old daughter and she was thrilled. He whipped up an equally delicious waffle for my twelve-year-old son which he said was delicious.

I can't believe all the poor reviews from earlier years. Maybe they are under new ownership??? Anyway, I recommend the place highly. And sit at the counter to watch the cook.    [04 Oct 2008 20:04:08]

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Recommended Dishes: omelets, pancakes, waffles

     ­Alice & kids   akkelly2004 at yahoo dot com