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We ate here for Sunday morning brunch and by 4 pm I was still full from the morning. I ordered the bacon omelette with cheddar cheese potatoes and a biscuit. Boy was that omelette cheesy! I had to pull off a lot of the cheese because it was way too much. My boyfriend ordered the biscuits and gravy which we found that the gravy didn't have a great flavor and the biscuits were pretty soggy even though it was supposed to be grilled.
Like others have stated the portions here are HUGE! Next time I would share a plate because there was no way I could finish the beginner's size of my omelette which is supposed to be the smaller portion for a $1 less. I've heard a lot of people talk about how great the food here, I am not sure if I just didn't order the right thing but I wasn't wowed by the food, I'll come back once more before I make my final decision.
I've learned over time to share a plate (like an omelet plate) with at least one other person every time I come here. The portions are huge and tend to be mid-west style with hearty dense helpings and greasy. Sharing a plate also helps with the price which are like $9-$13 dollars for a breakfast omelet plate.
However, the food is very tasty and I've always enjoyed it. The environment is what I'd think of in the older days in a diner and it's never been overly crowded when I've been there. The food doesn't take too long to come out from the kitchen.
Breakfast is as breakfast does.
I didn't think anything particularly stood out all that much, but the portions were large (me and my girlfriend split the Slam Bam or whatever the hell it's called and were both left stuffed)
Hit a bit of a snag waiting for our table. Granted we were a party of 8, but they claimed no tables were set up. The place was practically empty around 9am and everything was set up in the back. Didn't quite understand the wait
Also, they were out of orange juice. How the hell does a big breakfast run out of orange juice?
If you want to eat a HUGE meal, this is your place. They'll give you more than you can handle, no choice.
So really, the food isn't going to blow your mind. Its dinner food, but hands down better than a Denny's.
Love their shakes. 1 order gives you 3 full cups (to the brim).
BUT, if you're a college kid in the area, I don't understand how you could NOT come here. You could easily split one meal up into 3. Talk about a good bang for your buck.
Hey man, Margie's is just straight up diner fare in big portions that are fulfilling and good to your plain ol' taste buds.
The breakfast food to get: Any omelet with button mushrooms, those lil buttered babies are bomb!! Okay, I wish they had other potato options like hash browns, but the breakfast potatoes are okay, nothing special. But never order the fresh-squeezed orange juice, because though good, the glass is smaller than a kid-sized cuppie and there are no refills. I was pretty mad about that one.
The chicken fried steak is alright as well. Big biscuits.
The lunch: Burgers aren't anything special but pretty standard. How about getting the mushroom burger.....with those yummy button mushrooms that you can never have enough of!??? Okay maybe that's just me. The fries and onion rings are both good.
Buying a meal here is like buying 2 meals because there will always be leftovers, so you can count on that. It's also a great place to just call in your order and pick up in 15 minutes, for some above-par food that you can eat in the comfort of your own home.
How hungry are you? No really, ask yourself this question before exiting 101 and doing the loopty loop over here. Are you "eh I could eat something" hungry or "I am a bottomless pit that needs to be filled!" hungry? Are you a fan of leftovers? Are you broke, want to treat yourself to breakfast and need an "investment meal"? Or do you need one more big meal before the weigh in of a weight loss competition? If you answered yes, get your stretchy comfy pants on and go to Margie's!
The wait for a weekend breakfast can rival that of many other pricier nearby establishments but if you are hungry hungry hippo famished, it IS your best bet outside of a pricey treat yourself buffet near the coast. At any other hour though the wait is pretty much non existent. One step inside is a jump into the way back machine to the '70's. I forget her name but one of the ladies who works here gets herself decked out once a month with fabulous weaves, wigs and color streaks complete with coordinated decked out nails to go with the seasons/holidays. She is fabulous in many senses of the world.
But back to the food. It's super sized American comfort food. Chances are your entree will be buried by a side dish. Think heaping helpings of home potatoes at breakfast, fries at lunch, mashed potatoes with gravy at dinner-yeah can you feel your waist expanding. Almost everything comes with a token chunk of fruit which can almost fool you into thinking you're eating healthy. A halfway point on the way down from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. Greasy but good. Worth your money's worth particularly if you are on a budget. I raise a coffee mug to you Margie's.
This is a fun diner with the staff to match. Great people. Breakfast was good.
When my friend wanted to take some food home, and forgot to ask for the doggie bag, the busser had already tossed the food.
The hostess, possibly manager, came out with a fresh whole new meal to go. I have never seen that happen.
My friend's mouth is still open in shock, and you might see her on the flight Thursday, still amazed!
Check it out!
The more the merrier! The portions are HUGE, I'm not one to complain about getting too much food but dang this is a whole lotta food. I had the Chili Cheese Omelette, I think it was made with like 5 eggs. Came with delicious herby potatoes, a slice of watermelon, a slice of orange, and a choice of toast, biscuits, or english muffins. Even though the portions are huge they do not skimp out on flavor. $11 for all this, not bad.
One star down for the long wait for the food, but I guess it takes a while to cook a meal the size of a whale.
Come here if you haven't eaten for a week. Again, THE PORTIONS ARE HUGE!
Live, Laugh, and Lunch
Patty
Great place to stop over and eat during our roadtrip to San Fran. Known for their huge portions I had a lovely grilled cheese sandwich. They give you tons of fries.
I used to come here for breakfast when I was starving from hang overs, back in those college days. They're well known for their big portions. Not only for 2 people, but up to 3 or 4 people per entrees. They offer breakfast, lunch, dinner. Typical American diner w/ typical menu meals, but tons of variation and choices. Price is very decent, since you'll be eating your left over anyways for your next meal. Service is usually very friendly. They do have short wait for smaller party. They are quite popular for big parties during breakfast, so come early. Food is very decently good. Portions are very generous.
I never felt fat here just because many people who ate here were a lot BIGGER than I was. Another reason which makes SLO unique.
My husband and I came here once for lunch when I was hungry for a burger.
The burgers and fries were OK. Definitely did not leave hungry.
Old diner fashioned, but I think they could clean the place a bit. I was very surprised at how expensive the menu is for the food, but they have very large portions, so it works out. I didn't think it was anything special.
Margie's is straight up old school diner...food, atmosphere, waitstaff. When you go in you get the feeling like you're on a cross country drive and are in the middle of nowhere USA and have stopped at the only place to eat for miles- I don't say this in a bad way at all. The food is good (breakfast is the best by far). Portions, Jesus H Christ - saying they're large is a major understatement - they are fucking enormous (you get 2-3 meals) even though some are iffy about the prices. Shakes/root beer floats = awesomeness. You will never leave hungry. Service is good too - never had a problem with cranky/rude servers.
Breakfast here is good, but I feel like checking my pulse on the way out to make sure my heart is still beating. HUGE portions, so you can definitely split something.
The food here is quite bad I have to say. They give you HUGE portions (I mean ridiculously huge) which is nice but the quality is so bad it doesn't matter much.
It is open late which is nice.
I drive past this place everytime I'm on the 101 and I always remind myself how I need to stop. The BF and I finally did this past weekend and boy were we pleased. We came on a Sunday afternoon, just before dinner. There weren't many people there (maybe about 5 booths filled), so our service was fast and pleasant.
I ordered a side salad (was pretty good, but ordinary) and BF got the soup of the day...something about Mexican meatballs and veggies. He said it was really good. We both got hamburgers because we figured it was the way to go with this place. He got the bacon cheeseburger, I got the mushroom burger.
Both our burgers were HUGE. Mine however, kinda shocked me...in a good way. My ENTIRE plate, I kid you not was filled with sauteed mushrooms! Full, button-size mushrooms! Wow...I didn't know how to even begin to eat the frickin thing! I ended up cutting up a lot of them and putting them on the burger, had about 3/4 of them left on my plate when we were through.
About half-way through the burgers we decided to get a plate of fries thinking between the two of us, we could finish it--no problem. WRONG! The ENTIRE plate of fries was piled high...yummy, crunchy, and perfect. Oh my gosh.
Margie's is definitely worth a stop if you're a local or just passing by!
As they tout "Real Food" - and lots of it. Old fashioned breakfast diner menu and they deliver on that. Massive breakfast meals and ...they taste pretty good too.
BEWARE: If you are a health freak, this is not a diner for you. This place is not for weak arteries. The portions here are epic. I mean epic.
My gf and I split a plate and we're were stuffed.
You will get the felling you are in a 50's diner. The service is very friendly.
Went in here Saturday morning and when we were finished, had enough leftover for breakfast SUNDAY morning! The portions are fucking awesome!!!
I ordered the avocado, mushroom, omelette. The mushrooms are whole and mini sized. They also serve it with fruit and TONS of home fries. WOOT!
I needed something for the sweet tooth and ordered a JR. sized french toast plate.
I love real diner food in general, so I was really feeling this place. The total amount was about 40 but since we had plenty leftover for the next day--it was a steal of a deal!!!
I shall return!!!!
Hustle & bustle equates a thumbs up in my book, especially when patrons are mostly locals. Service is attentive and quick despite pushing max occupancy. Platters are humongous and the food does not disappoint. A single egg from Margie's would be like three large scrambled eggs from your grocery store--no joke. Sit at the bar and you'll be tempted to order much more, including ice-cream stuffed shakes.
This is definitely THE place to be on a Sunday morning.
I've been here twice within the past month and lemme tell you, the portions are fit for Paul Bunyan. The quality was pretty good for the price and obviously the portion of each dish makes up for what the quality may lack. I would recommend dining here if you're really craving some hearty breakfast or just craving a lot of FOOD.
Margie's is a Central Coast mini-chain that currently stretches from Salinas down to San Luis Obispo. It's a proud-to-be-a-greasy-spoon kind of establishment, with silly notes throughout the menu attesting to as much. Other notations point out how they proudly serve fresh food made on the premises. Portions are generally huge, messy, and guaranteed to make you wish you hadn't eaten so much unhealthily tasty food.
The building this location occupies seems to have been home to greasy spoons for many years--perhaps this is a one-time Sambo's? The woodwork, the carpeting, the brown light-up number panel--all make you feel like you've taken a trip in the Way-Back Machine, all the way to at least the Godforsaken Seventies. It's okay--my problem was with the audio--country radio conflicts with my digestion.
Let's get down to it, though--the experience was good! Prompt, friendly and attentive service, and the food was beautifull prepared, made to order and served hot. The Kid proclaimed his french fries the "best non-fast food fries" he's ever had. They WERE good! And OMG--what a huge MOUND comes along with the sandwich.
The only food issue was the half-orange served as a garnish on each plate was so dried out as to be inedible. It'd be nice if the cook would pay attention to such details, even if I'm one of probably only a few people who would actually eat the orange.
This Margie's location is visible from the freeway, but a little difficult to find once you're off the road. It's tucked away near a dead end, but worth the effort if you're really hungry, and up for some belly-bustin' comfort food.
I was taken to Margie's by a sober friend because I was hungry and intoxicated...Ew. I wanted a burger and I got a compressed beef patty piece of garbage. It wasn't all that warm and they took forever to bring the food to our table. The fries were decent but the burger was such a huge letdown...How is a burger a letdown when you're drunk???? Ah well, the portions were pretty big, but the meal so was disappointing I didn't even bother to get a doggie bag or anything.
What a great place to step back in time. This is a diner that specializes in home cooked food with very large portions. We went for breakfast and I wanted to order healthy. I ordered the oatmeal plate. Well, it came with a nice bowl oat meal, a cut bananna, melon, orange, grapes, raisins and a toasted muffin. Wow, a whole plate of food. Delicious. The coffee was even good. I am going back. The service is also excellent and the decor is typical diner. Enjoy!
This one of the best places in SLO to get breakfast. They are huge and definitely can be shared!
I drove down to Santa Barbara to pack up my girls and bring them home from their first year away at college, and to keep from doing the total 10 hr drive in one day, I drove to SLO the night before, slept over then got up early to drive the last 2 hrs. At 7:15AM on a Sunday morning, I walk into Margies to get a bite before hitting the road. I figure their omelettes are probably the best bet, then I notice a disclaimer on the menu, that they tend to be huge. So, I order the "beginner" version of a sausage, swiss cheese and mushroom omelette. Tina, the server is quite attentive, and soon brings me the "beginner" version, which is still too much food for a normal person. I love home fries, but not half a plate full. I also hate wasting food, but I did leave some behind...5 hrs later, I still felt full. One small smile at the end was on the bill, she called it a "baby" not a "beginner" omelette...or was it "bubba"...??
We have eaten at this Margie's at least 25 times over the last 12 years or so. We always stop here when we stay in SLO.
(I hadn't reviewed it before since I hadn't been here for over a year).
The food is not haute cuisine but it is tastier than Denny's and the portions are MASSIVE! I got the "small" veggie omelet (Still huge) and it came with a mound of home fries and a huge biscuit (you can also get toast or English Muffin). Hubby got the oatmeal, toast and fruit special (1 whole banana, a huge cluster of grapes, 2-3 slices of melons). Teen son got the 2 egg scrambled breakfast with home fries and toast. They say they use extra large eggs but the chickens must be Guinness Book of World Records size! We got a fresh orange juice and a large strawberry shake (me and my son shared it) made with real ice cream and lots of whipped cream. Total with 20% tip was about $27.00! What a deal!
The first time we ate here we went here for dinner. I got a grilled cheese, young son then got a child's plate and hubby got a vegetable platter with a mammoth heap of vegetables, a baked potato, a salad, rolls and God knows what else.,,,,we got a doggy bag and still had to roll each other back to the motel.
NOTE: Dinners can easily be shared. If you order French Fries you'll get about 2 large potatoes worth--I'm not kidding.
If you're a teen or college student you'll have a field day. If you are younger or older you'll need help in finishing your meal.
Food is good not outstanding, but like Mom makes when she is trying to fatten you up!
Breakfast and lunch are usually under $10 but some dishes cost a bit more.
Dinners are more in the $12-$20 range but they are large enough to be shared.
Check out their website:
http://www.margiesdine.../
Oh Margie's ...
I so wish that I could give you a 5. Everything I have ever had here is a delicious as diner food could be. How could you not love a fluffy short stack of pancakes the size of a dinner plate? Yummy bacon and sausage. Even oatmeal for those of you being health conscious. But alas .. those are all the things of gluten-y goodness that I will miss. For those of you that have no dietary restrictions against various grains I say, lucky you, enjoy, and have at it.
As some one who must avoid wheat, barley and rye, I must say that there are still a lot of things to enjoy about this place. The ambiance, the friendly waitstaff ... especially the woman who has hair pieces and crazy ghetto nails to match the colors of whatever the nearest holiday happens to be. Easter, pastels - St. Patrick's Day, green ... you name it. and you still have omelets. Mmmm ... how could I forget an omelet big enough to share with a hungry boy, real eggs (prolly from Poly) oozing with Swiss cheese and real mushrooms. None of this nasty canned junk. And avocado. Yum. Yes I will admit that even if you are conscious enough to ask that no toast touch your eggy cheesy meal ... this place is probably a cross-contamination nightmare. But you can always ask that they scrape the grill well after the last batch of pancakes and hope for the best. I mean, face it, you were probably going to end up with a tummy ache anyway, but it was worth it.
One morning I woke up face down on the beach.. with no blankets and a mouth full of sand...
I love 4th of July!
Anyways.. so after I rinsed my mouth out.. we headed to Margies for Breakfast.. they're orange juice was hella fresh the food was awesome for a truck stop style dinner! I would definitely stop here again!
This place is a guaranteed way to hurt yourself, try finishing off your meal in one sitting. Order one delicious milkshake, and end up getting two!!
Onion rings are huge!!!! massive!!!! probably GMO
Mashed potato volcano!
8 egg omellete!!
this place puts Denny's to shame.
Menu is of decent quality, huge quantity, and above average price.
stop by if you're driving thru.
I went here on a sunday morning with a group of 6. we managed to slip in ahead of a party of 40 college kids... but this place is larger than it looks from the outside so no problems. and it's amazingly quiet for the number of people in the building...
Service was good, exept for the coffee refills, which never happened.
Please for you own good, please bring someone to share your platter of food with. I ordered the small omelete, and it was still larger than any omelete I've ever seen!
Omelet's the size of your head! Great place for breakfast-especially if your nursing a hangover.
A good remedy for a hangover, but you'll probably have to take home a doggie bag; their portions are HUGE. They're expensive for a diner and for being relatively close to a college campus. But the atmosphere is nice and the wait staff doesn't bug you. I would stop there if I was driving through, you can't help but see their neon sign screaming at you from hwy 101.
Enjoy!
Many years ago I had breakfast at a place in Susanville that claimed to serve the Biggest Pancakes on Earth. I recall that although the pancakes were so-so, they were in fact so large that they hung over the sides of the extra-large plate they were served on. Until yesterday these were the biggest pancakes I'd ever eaten. But Margie's pancakes are not only EVEN LARGER, they are among the best I've ever had, regardless of size. Not only are their pancakes HUGE, they also serve omelettes that match the size of the pancakes. We had a mushroom omelette that was filled AND COVERED with delicious fresh sauteed mushrooms and jack cheese. WOW! Great food, and the server was the nicest most efficient waitress I've had for a long time. This place gets my highest recommendation. If you're driving between SF and LA on 101 this location, or the one in King City, is a great place to stop!
This a good diner that has signature huge portions. Great for a college town. It sure does beat a place like Denny's. But besides that, there's nothing much else to this place. I do like how you get a heaping pile of mushrooms with the mushroom burger. And the salads are a sight. It's pretty much half a head of lettuce to start topped with more lettuce and all the fixings. If I had to equate this place to another restaurant I would say it's just like Mel's Diner in San Francisco but with bigger portions. It's better than any chain diner, but nothing more.
I loved it! I've been here once for breakfast, and recently went back and got to try their dinners. I was torn between ordering the Avocado Club Sandwich, the Onionette Burger, or the Meatloaf dinner. The BF insisted that the portions were huge and I should just share the Country-Fried Steak with him, but I wanted variety so I got the Avocado Club (I was also counting on having leftovers for later :). I was surprised when the food arrived and my plate had four huge slices of the sandwich and probably only three gigantic onion rings (three is all you need, they're humungo!). The club was overflowing with avocado, which I loved because you don't always get a generous serving of avocado where you'd want it. The albondigas soup was soo good, overflowed the cup, and was served with a variety of crackers- pretty cute. The waitress was constantly refilling our drinks, so yaay her, she made me happy. Bathroom was gross, but let's not get into that. I'm already craving to go back so I can try the meatloaf. Some things seem a little expensive, but I guess you can't really complain since the servings are so big.
Great little diner when you're tired of counting calories. For breakfast, lunch, or dinner, the portions are huge. Take it easy and don't try to finish your meal in one sitting. They offer the standard diner menu... the usual breakfasts, sandwiches, steaks, eggs, burgers, and the like. They country fried steak is fantastic, covered in gravy with a side of potatoes and eggs, AND fruit AND toast.....yikes! Prices are reasonable and the service is friendly and speedy when there isn't a rush. Since it is in a college town, expect a wait on saturday and sunday mornings.
Margie's Diner, nothing finer. OK, there are things finer, but Margie's is OK. I don't like this location as much as the one in Paso Robles. This one feels cramped. It's also a little overpriced.
This happens to be another one of the places where i MUST eat everytime i am in the S-L-O. The prices are reasonable, the portions are massive and the food is hella good. The place is known more for their breakfast (and justifiably so) but the non-breakfast foods specifically the french dip and fries are highly under-rated. Seriously, i don't think i've ever had a bad meal at this place. Also, from the inside it's pretty much cut off from the noise of the outside world which is pretty impressive with it being off the 101. The point is, whether your a local or just travelling through the area and decide to eat here, you will not be disapointed
AmAzing!
San Luis Obispo, CA
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San Luis Obispo, CA
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San Luis Obispo, CA
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San Luis Obispo, CA
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San Luis Obispo, CA
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