A1 Diner

I have special dietary needs, and except for Sundays they always have a choice of 4 different soups. They often have a soft brunch item on Sundays too. Their Chili Con Carne has a delicious beefy flavor.

Food is good, but too pricey and the service isn’t always friendly.

I have lived in the area for about 25 years and visit A1 Diner occasionally. I always walk away with a full belly and feel good about the food. This isn’t your momma’s diner! They have some really great «other than diner food» and I LOVE what they do with lamb. Don’t be fooled, they do a great job with regular diner food too! EVERYTHING IS MADE FRESH/​HOMEMADE!
Don’t forget to buy their cookbook and/​or coffee cup!
A1 Diner was featured on Food Networks «Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives» and got a wonderful review from Guy Fieri.
The only reason I didn’t give a 5-​Star rating is because they could do a little more renovating of the diner itself. I know it’s old and has been through a lot, but polishing up the chrome would be really good for this place.

Old fashion dining car type diner. Reasonable prices and good food. Typical New England diner menu with burgers, homemade soup, seafood, varied salad and vegetable, homemade coleslaw, etc.
Seafood plate was oysters, fish, french fries and home made cole slaw. Not the typical fish, clams, shrimp and/​or scallops with fries and slaw.

Excellent food in an old sky high diner. The food was fantastic and some of the best I have eaten in a while. The Maine Alagash white beer was light and smooth. The Hungarian mushroom soup was the best I have ever eaten followed by the potato soup from the A1 diner. The flavor in both soups was enormous. The waitress named off all the ingredients before we ordered, actually of everything we ordered. I wish more places could do that. The rolls were hot and flaky. The small green salads were huge with all fresh ingredients, no brown lettuce here. The black bean quesadilla was great and homemade with all local fresh ingredients. It came as a burrito, but just as good. The chocolate chip bread pudding was outstanding. It was like pudding with quality chocolate chips served chilled with whipped cream. The diner itself is cute and authentic. The restaurant was featured on Diners, Drive-​ins and Dives on the food network. This a must visit place.

The A-​1 Diner is a unique place with good food, great looking desserts and a a real diner feel. I’d like to give this place 4 stars, but my fish tacos weren’t great. I tried my husband’s lamb burger and that was delicious — flavorful and juicy. Had we both gotten lamb burgers, I probably would be giving A-​1 an additional star.
The diner was busy, which meant the service was too. There were only 2 people manning the front of the restaurant and they did a good job trying to keep up. If I was in the area again, I’d stop back, try a dessert and hope it wasn’t too busy.

On our quest to hit as many Triple D sites as possible, we went to the A1 Diner in Gardiner Maine last weekend. It was terrific! Had the hot meatloaf with gravy sandwich on rye and the roast beef, cheddar and horseradish cream sandwich on a pretzel bun. Both were very flavorful and beautifully executed. Don’t let the aging façade fool you — this place has great quality, great service and is spotlessly clean inside! Will definitely go again. Great job guys!

This is my favorite restaurant of all time. The ambiance is cozy and the waitstaff are attentive. Every meal I’ve had there has been excellent. I love the breakfast protein bowl made with salsa verde, quinoa, and black beans. My partner raves about the «Asian street sandwich” – who would guess that a little diner in Central Maine serves banh mi?

Great food, served by people who are proud of what they do. Homemade onion rings, homemade vinaigrette, homemade soup, outstanding range of specials. Everything from the bread choices on sandwiches to the freshness of the salad greens spoke of pride. No bagged Cisco products going from the freezer to the fryer here! Desserts sounded more appetizing than they looked, but were clearly home made. Great coffee.
The diner certainly shows its years, but it was clean and the staff provided great service.

Just finished a nice breakfast with the family. A1 is a small 40’s style diner with a stone counter and about 10 booths. It appears that they have many regulars that come back again and again for the good food and great service! Be prepared to wait at certain times of the rush.
The menu has a page of specials which are different than what you’d see elsewhere. I had an omelet with zucchini and mint! The potatoes were crisped, the toast dry like I wanted it. Also got a side of bacon.
Rest of the family got some really good waffles, blueberry pancakes, very tasty eggs, and the wife and dad said the coffee was great! My OJ tasted as if it were a mix, which probably was the only thing that was not that great.
As I said before, the waitress was awesome and was never resting… until she found a small window to go to the bathroom which she wanted to do 20 minutes earlier. She was very friendly and helpful.
Street parking if you can find it! It was interesting to see that it was on at least a 29′ slope which had a «ruler» to show the 100 year flood mark.
$ 50 for 5 people, not including tip.

Excellent food and fare. Recommended ! The staff are friendly and genuine. I thought the food pricing was slightly expensive but nevertheless worth it !

What a pleasant surprise! It was like going back in time to the 50 s! The décor was authentic and the place was spotless. The soups were right out of grandmas kitchen, the biscuits were right out of the oven, and the salad was as fresh as can be. The brownie dessert was obviously homemade. At the end I left a large tip since the service was friendly and informative. As I was walking away, thinking I was going to have to add this place to my list of must do again in my travel notebook, I heard the friendly waiter calling to me and running up the street waving my forgotten credit card in his hand. Definitely going back to this very special experience.

Stopped by for lunch after seeing this place featured on food channel (DDD). It was raining, so it wasn’t crowded and the service was great.
Grilled blueberry muffin was moist, and you can actually taste the blueberries. Having it grilled gives it that browned buttery crust.
Cornbeef hash was disappointing. It was mostly potatoes, herbs and celery and hardly any meat.
Crab Benedict was spectacular with plenty of fresh crab, perfectly cooked egg and hollandaise sauce on top of a nicely toasted English muffin.
Orange walnut French toast was also very good, except the nuts should have been toasted for additional flavor. In all a nice time and I will return.

You approach a diner, alongside a bridge, elevated on stilts. Don’t judge, because it’s not your typical greasy spoon. They have a beer and wine selection and their menu is above average for what you’d expect from a diner. However, their prices are totally reasonable. We had the goat cheese and arugula salad and a red onion chutney and cheddar panini, together that was under $ 20.
My rule is that you can tell the quality of a place by its salads, and A1 lives up to its name.
For desert, we shared a slice of Lemon coconut pie, and we were not disappointed.
Definitely a place I’d strongly recommend to any diner lover, or anyone passing through the area.

This place is not your ordinary diner. The menu is quite extensive and features great local fare. Also they’ve got a fun selection of local beers. I’ve had both lunch and breakfast here and been thoroughly impressed. Even the bread is fantastic! Don’t hesitate to stop in at this fun local spot.

Their food is top-​notch. Whenever I want brunch, but don’t feel like cooking it, I come here. If you get a chance to try the garlic-​infused maple syrup, I highly recommend. What I do not recommend is coming when it’s totally packed at the last hour before brunch ends (unless you’re alone and/​or don’t mind sitting at the bar).
Their dinner menu always has intriguing options and the few times I’ve eaten there for dinner it’s always been delicious.

Great combo of traditional diner foods with some really different and special twists. Had the st. Paddy’s corned beef hash special for breakfast. It was the BEST corned beef hash I have ever had! No canned stuff here! Homemade and delicious!

It’s been years since I last dined at A1 Diner, long before Unilocal.
Gardiner is a place that gets bypassed by Interstate travelers hurrying and scurrying north and south. However, it’s worth slowing down for, especially for a trip to a historic diner, like the A1.
Built by the Worcester Lunch Car Company, Worcester Lunch Car #790 still sits on the location where it first arrived in Gardiner, back in 1946 when it was named Heald’s Diner. It’s been called a host of other names, but was renamed by the current owners in 1988.
The A1 Diner offers classic, American diner fare, with an update, and awareness of 21^st century food trends. Having said that this is still classic comfort fare and well worth a visit.
I went with the Blue Cheese and Bacon Soup to start with. Creamy, with ample slices of bacon, this was perfect for taking away the chill brought on by the blustery day outside and my walk down the hill where I’d parked.
There are a host of specials, and since Fish Tacos were on the board that was an easy choice for me, Mr. Fish Taco. Three tacos, on soft tortillas. The A1 cubes the fish, which was probably cod, and then pan-​blackens it. The medley of cilantro, cabbage, tomatoes, etc. was perfectly seasoned, and each taco had a dollop of sour cream. The plate had a red hot pepper sauces drizzled around the edges. For $ 12.95, this was an ample main course.
The A1 has home cooked pies, cookies, and other desserts. I somehow managed to pass.
In a town with limited dining options, the A1 is still a solid choice, and worth making a trip for. When in Gardiner, visit downtown, although it can be a little sleepy on weekends.

After living in Gardiner for years I finally went to the A1 diner for breakfast. I had the orange poppyseed waffle and boy was it delicious! I love the feel of walking into this cozy diner, and being warmly greeted by the employees!

I hate giving bad reviews but the waffles are terrible!
I ordered the multi grain waffles and I kid you not… I tore into it to find out that they are, no kidding, multi grain. To me it seemed as though they made their batter and threw in a cup full of bird seed. I ate two bites… two bites and I almost cracked my tooth eating seeds! It was very dry that I poured so much syrup on them, it still didn’t make a difference. I had such a bad experience that I won’t go again, sorry.