Nancy’s East End Diner is a traditional diner located in Wilkinsburg. I went to the diner on January 28, and it was quite busy for being one of the few restaurants in the town. The diner is exactly how a diner is imagined: booth and counter seating, a window to the kitchen, and a bell for when the food is ready. The menu had traditional diner options, too. The diner had a strong community vibe, with pictures of past patrons hanging on the walls; the diner seemed to be a keystone of the community.
The strong community vibe was easy to see in the diner. Pictures of past patrons were hung on all of the walls.
I arrived at Nancy’s at 9:42 and our order was taken at 9:50; although it took a while to get our order taken (it seemed as though our waitress forgot), we got our food 10 minutes after placing it. We left around 10:30, so service moved quickly as people shuffled in and out. The waitstaff was extremely kind and took great care of us while we were there. They checked in on us multiple times once we had our food and were quick to solve any problems.
This was our breakfast set up – lots of classic homestyle food.
The menu had classic American diner options, including grits, pancakes, and omelettes. The menu was not very adaptable to different diets, however, but there were breakfast options for those with gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian diets, such as egg breakfasts. However, they didn’t have pancake or french toast options for those different diets. To drink, I had a coffee- a classic in any diner. The taste was classic, and one plus was free refills on the coffee and cream. For my starter, I had a pancake, which was done perfectly. It had a great flavor that was not too sweet. The crunchy ring on the outside was contrasted by the fluffy, soft center on the inside. The pancake was perfect for any toppings, like syrup or jam. My mother had the challah french toast, which was done in a similar fashion to my pancake. It had a crunchy outside but then a fluffy, soft inside. It didn’t get soggy after putting syrup on it; overall it had a classic taste and was done to perfection.
The menu had traditional options, but it did have some surprises, like the main dish I got. I ordered the grilled havarti and apple breakfast sandwich, which is not something that is typically on small town diner menus. The sandwich was loaded with havarti cheese, apples, and apple butter, but no flavor was too powerful or overwhelming. It was served on Mancini’s raisin bread- a local favorite. The sandwich was toasty at the beginning but got slightly soggy toward the end and the cheese was more toward the middle of the sandwich, so the corners missed out on all the sandwich had to offer. However, the flavor was unique and the dish diversified the menu. For my mother’s main dish, she got the smoked gouda and ham omelette. The taste was great with the smokey flavor of the cheese contrasted by the ham. The omelette was quite large as the portions were very generous. The dish came with toast, making it even harder to finish it all! However, the gouda did not get the chance to melt in the omelette, so there were only slices of ham and gouda; some parts of the omelette didn’t have any ham or gouda, which was disappointing because the taste was great. My mother also got a side of grits, which far exceeded our expectations. The grits were smooth and not runny. They had a classic flavor that allowed anything to be out on them, from syrup to jam to butter. The presentations of all the dishes was very clean and classic, but nothing special- the main focus was on the food.
Nanacy’s East End Diner is located in Wilkinsburg, which is located east of Pittsburgh. The neighborhood of Wilkinsburg used to be very popular and busy; however, today, there are very few restaurants and shops around Nancy’s East End Diner. Wilkinsburg is in need of some love and a great way to give some love is to support local businesses. I would recommend Nancy’s Diner to anyone who is looking for a classic, homestyle meal and a great community and family vibe.
Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Location: 616 South Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15221
Telephone: (412) 242-3447
Hours: 7:30am – 2:30pm (Mon-Fri), 8am – 2:30pm (Sat), 9am – 2pm (Sun)
Accepts: Credit Card, Cash
Parking: Private lot and street
Pricing: $
Steel City Bites 