Marcy’s Diner

Best known for a viral Facebook thread with the owner and a customer with a screaming child, Marcy’s Diner in Portland Maine should be known for their incredible food with unbelievable prices. In all our travels, this place takes podium position for “best value” breakfast. Anywhere. Ever.

Skeptical at first, due to the mixed reviews and curious façade of the old building and it being cash only, we nearly didn’t go in. It was a very hot day, and even though it was 8 in the morning the place was almost unbearably hot. The staff was extremely attentive and directed us to sit in two particular chairs, at the bar, that would prove to be the coolest in the restaurant.

From the moment we arrived at Marcy’s, the staff was friendly, helpful and very entertaining. But not in an over the top way.

There are a lot of good menu options, from pancakes to omelettes, and a great selection of eggs with sides. The two items you should not overlook on the menu are the homemade muffin, best served grilled, and the hobo hash. Both are what they are known for. However, the regular hash browns were extremely crispy and delicious.

We both ordered the bacon and eggs and shared a grilled muffin. The eggs come with hash browns and two pieces of toast.  I had a coffee, which for a diner was surprisingly good. I’ve paid double for a coffee that is half as good and doesn’t have refills. When we went to leave, they even filled a 16oz to-go cup for me!

When our food came out, they informed us we would be getting some more eggs because they didn’t feel like it was enough. Sure enough, a few minutes later some additional scrambled eggs arrived. Where does that happen?

Everything tasted great, and if you like crispy bacon and hash browns you’ll love it too. If you don’t, well there could be something wrong with your taste in breakfast and you should avoid Marcy’s Diner. Also, if you have a problem with very heavy metal, you will want to avoid Marcy’s Diner.

The best part of it all was the price. We got all of this for under $23, and we were in and out in under 20 minutes.  Plenty of time to spare before our Trolley Tour of Portland.