- Charming 50's style diner decor
- Friendly service
- Food is made from scratch
- Dining area is small which means wait times can be long
- Lacking a wide variety of menu items
- The Arcade has the feel of a retro diner.
- The walls are decked out with local artwork and photography.
- There is a National Register of Historic Places plaque outside the front door.
We were attended to immediately by a friendly and efficient server. All of the restaurant's staff seemed equally on task, bustling about as they cooked and served the food, refilled soft drinks, and cleaned tables as they were vacated.
The menu offered basically four choices: breakfast, sandwiches, salads, and pizza. While the breakfast fare seemed pretty basic (eggs, pancakes, grits, etc.), there were other more imaginative choices such as the Downtowner Pizza with garlic, ricotta, tomatoes, pesto, arichoke hearts, onions, and calamata olives; or the South Main Sandwich with smoked ham, brie, sliced pear, creole mustard, and pesto aioli. Additionally, you can order hand-dipped shakes and sundaes, as is fitting for a diner of its type.
In spite of its apparent lack of imagination, I ordered a breakfast combo that came with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns. As ordinary as it may sound, it was actually wonderful. The pancakes tasted like the ones Mom used to make (seriously!) and the eggs were cooked to perfection.
If you're downtown anyway, consider a trip to the Arcade. The food is decent, the atmosphere is fun, and the price is right.
