As many teenagers growing up in small towns know, late night food options aren’t all that plentiful. On late nights with my friends in Old Saybrook, we had a choice between the McDonalds drive-thru, a Dunkin’ Donuts, a gas station convenience store, and a Denny’s outside of the town lines. While Denny’s is not necessarily a local establishment, there was one item from my childhood that I wanted to review for this website. On December 26, I stopped by the Westbrook branch of Denny’s.

To begin with, I need to start with some honesty: Denny’s diners are not known for the quality of the food. They are known for having inexpensive food and being open 24/7. In fact, in 1988 when the company decided to take a day off for Christmas, locks had to be installed at over 700 locations! As they are never closed, locks were never installed in the first place.

Knowing this, my significant other and I arrived at Denny’s around 10pm for some late night snacks. I ordered the “fried cheese melt” (which I will explain shortly) and Ms. R ordered chicken strips with barbecue sauce. I also ordered a cake batter milkshake.

The fried cheese melt first debuted on Denny’s “$2/$4/$6 menu.” The fried cheese melt itself was a cheese sandwich with three mozzarella sticks on the inside. For only $4, one could order this sandwich served with fries and marinara sauce on the side. A carb-lover’s dreams, perhaps, and a damn good choice. For some reason, Denny’s stopped printing menus that listed the fried cheese melt, but people were still able to order the item.

When the food arrived, I was happy as a clam. The fried cheese melt was just as I remembered it from childhood. The sandwich was 895 calories of goodness. Unfortunately, Ms. R’s chicken strips were a disaster. They were practically swimming in BBQ sauce! We were unable to finish this dish, as they were too coated in sauce. The cake batter milkshake was to die for, but it did not make up for the awful chicken strips.

Disaster struck as we went to pay. The bill was much higher than expected! I noticed that the fried cheese melt was priced at $8.51 after tax. When I asked what happened, I was told that all of the prices went up in autumn 2017. I was outraged that the price of an unlisted menu item would be raised and customers would not be notified. I did find the honesty of another waiter refreshing, as she told me, “I wouldn’t even pay more than $6 for the fried cheese melt.”

Denny’s is a reasonable choice for people who need to eat late at night or have no other options. To be honest, I will not be ordering the fried cheese melt again unless the price is reduced back to the original $4. While the Westbrook branch has undergone some visual renovations, they are chronically understaffed. I won’t be returning here anytime soon.

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Rating:
Tasteless  |  >> Bad <<  |  Okay  |  Good  |  Tasty

Name: Denny’s
Website https://locations.dennys.com/CT/WESTBROOK/247144
Phone +1 (860) 399-6004

Credit Cards? Yes
Apple Pay ^[?]? Yes
Bathroom? Yes
Reservations?  No
Take out? Yes
Delivery? No
Wifi? Yes
Outside seating? No
Wheelchair friendly? Yes
Alcohol? No
Dogs allowed? No
Bike parking? Yes
Car parking? Yes

Date night? No
English-speaking staff? Yes
English menus? Yes
LGBTQ friendly ^[?]? Yes
Information updated on: April 10, 2018
Prices ^[?]: $ $ $ $

Hours:
Monday: 24 hours a day
Tuesday: 24 hours a day
Wednesday: 24 hours a day
Thursday: 24 hours a day
Friday: 24 hours a day
Saturday: 24 hours a day
Sunday: 24 hours a day

Address (Korean) Not available
Address (English) 28 Flat Rock Place Westbrook, CT 06498 U.S.A.