Dad’s Diner A Go-GO – A “must go” when in Anacortes!

Dad’s Diner was an accidental discovery that I can’t even steal all the credit for finding, but man is it a good one. There is a boat show our company started participating in a few years ago in Anacortes, Washington out of the Cap Sante Marina. Foot traffic through the show was relatively slow, so my coworkers and I decided to trade each other turns going out to lunch. Luckily the downtown area of Anacortes was walking distance, so for lunch we were able go for a nice stroll to stretch our legs and sit down at a restaurant for a break.

The first of the group to go out to lunch reported back that he found a place called “Dad’s Diner” and that the hash was amazing. To me, “Dad’s Diner” didn’t sound like an impressive name and hash didn’t sound like an impressive dish, so I was skeptical to partake. Then the next person broke off and came back raving. By the time I was up I walked around to see what I could find and eventually conceded and decided to give Dad’s a try.

The first thing I noted was that the decor was not what I expected. The name of the place gave me Denny’s vibes, but the interior had lots of quirk and character that instantly made it a lot of fun and obviously not just another a boring greasy spoon. I asked the waitress how to order and she said the menu was on the wall… she caught my attention mentioning how there was home-smoked meats and/or homemade breads incorporated in many of the dishes. The menu itself was as eclectic as the decor – there were BBQ-style items, Mexican items, Asian items, hybrid items then some more expected diner-sounding items too. Much of it sounded good, though it was all very different.

Since I was at a diner I decided to go with a more diner-style choice and did the ham and cheese melt with homemade Jo-Jos. The ham was home-smoked and so full of flavor! The bread was homemade too (another reason for my choice) and I grubbed the whole thing down. Seriously, SO GOOD. I went back and raved to everyone to the point that now my husband HAD to try, so in planning a little family vacation in the San Juan Islands we decided to make a swing through Deception Pass and ultimately Anacortes to stop at Dad’s. The second go-around I had their biscuits and gravy (same story with the fresh homemade biscuit, home-smoked and cured sausage) and it was killer. Hubby had the hash my coworkers were raving over and said it was great. My daughter enjoyed a pancake twice the size of her head, and we left stuffed to the brim!

So, if you are ever in the Anacortes area and are looking for a place to get some seriously good grub, be sure to make the stop at Dad’s Diner A Go-Go!

906 Commercial Ave, Anacortes, WA 98221

(360) 899-5269

Happy Eating!

X.O. – Abbey Co.