The Harbour Diner

Harbour Diner Disappointment

Turkey dinner meat was good but roasted potatoe wedges were not all cooked and stuffing was partially raw - nothing was done to alleviate this; water service was poor; pies were good but could not get simple orders correct and were all mixed up; chocolate pear dessert was soggy; fish and chips not battered so more like poached fish and fish and chip salad was very spicy and not a 'green' salad so not sure what was eaten; Prime rib was good and generous portion; broccoli was hard. Probably won't go again, may give breakfast a try sometime but in no hurry. Building not easily accessible, nor are washrooms. Leftovers are wrapped in fun foil shapes for patrons to take home.

TODAY WAS OUR FIRST VISIT & OUR LAST VISIT!

My husband & I visited the Harbor Diner this evening for dinner, after reviewing their on-line menu. I ordered a Rueben Sandwich - came toasted with Coleslaw/pickle. My husband ordered Rigatoni - came with side of bread. As we were waiting for our meals, the man seated at the table next to us pulled a nice long hair (6" at least) out of his entree!! My "toasted" Rueben was as wet as any dish rag (I could not eat the bread only the inside). To make matters worse, the coleslaw was actually warm - yuk. My husband's Rigatoni had what appeared to be a whole jar of green whole olives throughout the dish. He was not impressed by this. Needless to say....we will not be returning.

Down hill big time

Having dined there about a dozen times since they opened but not for about a year, I was anxious to take a friend (a chef) from Toronto to a place I had loved. Horrors to say the least. The wonderfully fragrant, deliciously tasty, vibrantly flavoured fare previously here is no more. Since Chris, the owner/chef, left to open another establishment, the above qualities have gone with him. My meal (escargot, roasted chicken pasta dish) was bland beyond description. My friend's nachos app. was excellent but the lamb shank was unsavory, the vegetables tasteless. When faced with our criticism, our server who was friendly and efficient acknowledged that "different chefs...etc." The prices are still low for the menu items offered but the quality has suffered to the point that this restaurant is a faint shadow of its tasty self. Pity.

If you like good food, GO ELSEWHERE!!!

So I had the lobster mac & cheese, it was DISGUSTING!!!! Tasted as if they use kraft dinner mix or something, not to mention the crab and lobster tasted as if it was frozen then thawed then frozen again, etc. They say that they use "fresh and local ingredients" HA I highly doubt that. Even if I were paid to return I wouldn't.

Best Breakfast in the City!

Excellent food, every time. The breakfast specials on the weekend are always excellent. Why yes I would love some lobster on my eggs benedict! Even the standard menu items are awesome. Great homefries, perfectly done eggs, cute kitschy atmosphere. Complimentary coffee/hot cider when there's a wait is also a great bonus Keep it up!

Disappointing

My husband and I dined at the Harbour Diner after a friend highly recommended it. We arrived on a Saturday evening around 5pm and the place was empty so we were thinking we'd be served fairly quickly and we'd beat the dinner rush that we'd been told about. We were told to seat ourselves and about 20 minutes later the server came over and asked if we wanted anything from the bar and she didn't have menus for us. We had to ask for menus and the server told us she'd bring them and we didn't see them until she brought our drinks. It took another 20 minutes to for her to come back and take our order and I could understand this if the place was packed but there were twelve people in the place at the time we were there. It felt like they were dragging service so we'd run a big bar bill. When we finally were able to order we started with the Escargot Appetizer, my husband had a burger and I ordered the lobster macaroni and cheese. Everything was a huge disappointment. The escargot were clearly overcooked and rubbery in texture. The broth tasted better than the escargot and we did like the bread that came with them. Next was the main course. My husband's burger was dry and still pink inside and both of us are professional chefs so we know better than to serve a pink burger even if we know it's fully cooked. He was put off by the pink and decided to share my mac and cheese. It was a huge portion of mac and cheese that looked and smelled amazing. The best part of it was the garlic bread slices that came with it. The sauce was not "fresh made" and I don't want to even think about what was in it. When our server asked how we were enjoying our meal we told her the truth and her response was to say that "no one else complained about it" and nothing was done to compensate us for our experience. My husband and I are both chefs and would never let a diner walk out of either of our restaurants as unhappy as we left the Harbour Diner without doing something for them. To give a diner a rain check or a meal check for a meal not enjoyed is good customer service, something the Harbour Diner needs to learn. Maybe their take it or leave it attitude works in Hamilton but in Toronto it wouldn't work. I will try them again but if my next experience is like this one, they are off my list permanently.

Didn't likeitq

We heard alot of good things about this place so we gave it a try. The first time we went for dinner and neither of us liked the food. The meatloaf tasted like it was made two days before and the turkey dinner was beyond dry. We gave them another chance and went for lunch one day and sadly we were not happy with our meals then either. The owner (well I think she is the owner) was very rude to her staff and we heard her on more than one occasion yell at what I think is the kitchen staff and in general her attitude was just not positive. We will not be back, there are alot of other restaurants on James North and we will be taking our business there from now on.'

Quaint little place

Came here because of a wagjag or groupon (don't remember which). Was not sure what to expect because it is very tiny, and the furniture is mismatch. The menu had a good variety, and the prices were good. Food was very good, and worth the trip. Would go back again.

Best service in Hamilton!

We love the Harbour Diner. Our handsome server was attentive and wonderful; a true delight, and full of smiles and good cheer. The food was amazing as well. Our server recommended some of the features, and we ended up ordering a few of the features as opposed to our regular meatloaf and shepherd's pie. All of the food was to die for, and the service was some of the best in the city. Even with a line of people out the door, our server remained calm and collected, and the quality of service was never compromised. You can tell when someone enjoys their work, and it is quite evident at the Harbour Diner; not just the service, but the quality of food as well. We will definitely be going back to the Harbour soon!

Got up and left

Well, where do I start. First off when we arrived Sunday morning Aug 29th @ 11:00 am there was another couple ahead of us in line. They wanted the raised window seat. They had to wait 15 mins for the waitress to clean the table. As for us, once we were seated in the seat by the door that was empty when we arrived it took an additional 5 minutes for the menu, 7 minutes after that we received our water. She said the coffee wasn't ready yet. Once it was ready 10 minutes later she was serving several people who had arrived after us. At least 3 other tables worth of customers ahead of us hadn't even been served yet and we were already at the 27 minute mark. I can understand if there was only 1 waitress, however there were 4. Apparently time management is not one of their skills. We decided to leave and go to Mrs C's Kitchen. At least there you get quick service. Less staff more efficient. Everyone gets their food 10 minutes upon arrival. I guess if you have nothing to do all day, then by all means waste your time going to The Harbour Diner. Trust me you'll be there for awhile. But if you have things to do, I strongly recommend you go elsewhere. You don't need to waste your time here.

A little disappointed

We have been to the Harbour Diner a few times. This by far was our least favorite. My husband had the feature Farmer's Skillet and enjoyed it. His eggs came as ordered, soft poached. My Eggs Benedict on the other hand was a huge disappointment. My poached eggs were " Hard ". Eggs Benedict eggs are suppose to be cooked soft boiled unless ordered otherwise. Any short order cooks knows this. I advised the waitress right away and was told they always do their Benedict eggs " medium". My eggs were " well done" and she walked away. Another patron leaned over and said his eggs came soft poached as they should be. I watched everyone around enjoying their properly cooked eggs Benedict. Another waitress stop by to see if we were enjoying our breakfast and again I advised her of my over cooked eggs. She apologized and said they usually came "soft poached". And again she just said sorry and walked away. An egg costs about 10 cents so you would think they could have cooked me 2 more properely cooked eggs. Very poor customer service.

My favourite in the whole world

I travel the world and search out the best food. Paris, London, Toronto ... and Hamilton. Harbour Diner is like a truck stop run by Gordon Ramsay -- impossible to imagine and incredibly good. Add to Gordon Ramsay, Honest Ed because the prices are ridiculous. The "killer seafood soup" is the best I've had outside of Marseilles. Benedict isn't worthy of eggs this good. On the other hand, it could use a makeover but then it wouldn't feel the same. This is a place for food, not for atmosphere. The staff have always been very friendly and so far, parking hasn't been a problem. Just don't come when I want to be there because I like to park in front.

A little Gem in the North End. My husband and I have had breakfast at the Harbour Diner a few times and it has be consistently a quality breakfast experience. I have ordered the raisin french toast and the mid ship on past visits. The scrambled eggs are egg-cellent (sorry) rich and fluffy . It is hard to find a good scrambled egg in this city. The fair trade coffee is good as well. My only advice is get there early because it will fill up fast . It has a nearly cult like following of regulars (including myself) for weekend breakfast.

Great atmosphere of mismatched chairs, floral wallpaper, and jazz. Feels like a cool, eclectic, 70's inspired kitchen. Friendly attentive service & tasty breakfasts. Would definitely visit again!

Food Heaven on James North! What a find: superb home cooked food, lovingly presented by an enthusiastic, attentive, friendly, knowledgeable staff overseen by Chef Chris (thermometer firmly in his sleeve pocket) who visited every table as diners finished. Prices are more than fair ($10 for fish and chips...no deep fryer means the fish is baked and accompanied by home-cut potato wedges, homemade coleslaw and tartare sauce)($15 for Beaujolais-marinated lamb shank on a huge bed of creamy mushroom risotto (albeit with regular not arborio rice)). Joyous fruity deserts (didn't dare try the monstrous slices of rich chocolate cake). Mismatched chairs, tables and dinnerware give a homey touch and belie a wonderful dining experience where good food always done with "a twist" (eg: turkey wings with blueberry BBQ sauce???) reigns supreme. A smallish, packed dining room can't be wrong! Go!

we go to the Harbour Diner at least once every...

we go to the Harbour Diner at least once every 2 weeks especially for a quick breakfast - you can't beat the value of their Harbour breakfast $4.00 On Saturdays Chris (owner/chef) makes up some amazing and different eggs benny. This place is one of Hamilton best known growing secrets! A must try!

Stopped in for the first time 'bout a week back...

Stopped in for the first time 'bout a week back. The crab chowder looked intriguing, but they were out of it. Tried the shepherd's pie ($8) instead. It was wonderful. Went back this past week, tried the meatloaf ($10). Again, wonderful. Two fairly substantial slabs of meat loaf on mashed potatoes, sauteed onions & mushrooms and a peppercorn gravy. Basic diner stuff, but done to a high culinary standard; and the prices are fairly reasonable, particularly considering the quality. I'm certainly going to be returning.

My husband and I are very happy that the Harbour...

My husband and I are very happy that the Harbour Diner has re-opened (although it seemed to have happened without much fanfare). The new owners have removed a dividing wall inside the diner and it really brightens the place up. But of course the food is the real draw, and it's very good. My husband had the home made blueberry waffles, and I had the spinach and wild mushroom eggs benedict. Both were very good, although the eggs on the benedict were a little over-cooked, however with the hollandaise sauce, this really wasn't a problem. There is a new evening menu as well that we can't wait to try out. The atmosphere is welcoming, the staff are very friendly, and the prices are VERY reasonable. I hope it stays in business!

Re-opened with new owners nov 3! The Harbour...

Re-opened with new owners nov 3! The Harbour Diner has a new more exciting menu with many diner classics like meatloaf, shepherd's pie and spaghetti and meatballs. The turkey wings are amazing!!! You will not go back to chicken wings after having them!! Service is great and the prices are affordable. Do yourself a favour and go to The Harbour Diner the next time you plan to go out to eat!