Perkins: It's Like Watching a Movie in Slow- Motion
Written: Mar 19 '01 (Updated Oct 28 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Selection is good
Cons: Atmosphere is boring
The Bottom Line: Perkins is a so-so restaurant, with good desserts and a large menu selection, but poor atmosphere and mediocre food quality overall.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Perkins Restaurant & Bakery |
Perkins is a family/diner style restaurant that features a large menu selection and a small bakery. This restaurant chain was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1958, by Matt and Ivan Perkins. Holiday Inn Corporation owned Perkins for many years, until it was sold to another company, The Restaurant Company (Now there's an original name for a corporation!), in 1985. Today, Perkins boasts a total of more than 500 restaurants, with locations in 35 states and 4 Canadian provinces.
Atmosphere:
Perkins restaurants are usually slow and quiet, and they feature an older clientele. A typical Perkins restaurant has little in the way of decorations, except for a few flower pots, and the only thing resembling entertainment is the 1930’s and 1940’s music, which is played softly in the background while you eat. The restaurants are usually a good size, with seating for 100 to 150 customers.
Menu Selection:
Perkins strongest quality is its menu. It’s especially good if you like breakfast foods, because they make up nearly half of the menu options. Perkins offers about 40 different breakfast platters, with every type of breakfast food you could ask for: pancakes, eggs, waffles, omlettes, fruit, cereal, sausage, ham, toast, etc.
For lunch and dinner, the selection is still very good. Perkins offers salads, melt sandwiches, burgers, pasta, soups, and dinner classics. It’s nice to have such a large selection, because there’s always something to suit your taste. But I have found some of the portions to be a little too scant. The sirloin steak, for example, is only about four inches in diameter, making it look more like a large hamburger than a steak.
Another good thing at Perkins is the dessert selection. Perkins takes pride in its selection of homemade pies, and many of them are very good. Some choices are apple cinnamon, chocolate silk, and lemon. If you really enjoy these desserts, you can purchase a full- size pie to go, from the Perkins bakery. These bakeries also offer cookies, muffins, and cinnamon rolls, sold to go, and are usually located right by the entrance/exit area.
Pricing:
Prices at Perkins are fair and reasonable. A family of four can dine for about $32 total, which includes the price of dinner and beverages. A typical sandwich platter sells for about $5 to $7 and the dinner platters are offered from $6 to $10 each. Beverages are bottomless, and cost about $1.00 each.
Final Thoughts:
Perkins restaurant is an ok place to dine. It’s definitely not at the top of my list of places to go, when I feel the urge to eat out. Except for the desserts, the other menu options are not that tasty or memorable. And, of course, the atmosphere is completely lacking, without any theme, any entertainment, or anything to grab your attention.
I will likely continue to eat at Perkins on an occasional basis. It’s the type of place you go when there’s nothing else available, or when you get in those rare moods when you just feel like some peace and quiet while you dine. It's usually not crowded at all, so you can count on quick seating and service.
I do like the desserts served at Perkins, and I like the menu selection, but that’s not enough to keep me coming back. It's too slow and boring for my taste.
Be Sure to Click the Links Below to Read Reviews of Other Full- Service Restaurants:
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Denny’s
Hooters
Waffle House
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Frisch’s
Max & Erma’s
Golden Corral
Shoney’s
Bob Evans
Hard Rock Cafe
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Friendly’s
Red Lobster
Texas Road House
Bill Knapp’s
Ground Round
Fricker’s
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Applebee’s
O’Charley’s
BW-3
Ponderosa
IHOP
Ruby Tuesday
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Famous Dave’s
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Cafe
Ryan’s Restaurant
Italian:
Olive Garden
Carrabba’s
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Mexican
Chi- Chi’s
Cozymel’s
Chipotle
Recommended:
No
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