Fifties nostalgia is partly on the menu at the All American Diner, which welcomes its guests with a vintage-looking sign, airstream facade, and statues of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. The breakfast, lunch, and dinner entrees here are of average quality but—at their best anyway—they can hit the spot. Meanwhile the retro atmosphere and warm, friendly service are the real stars of the show.
The centerpiece of the All American Diner dining experience could be considered the well-stocked breakfast bar, which caters to those hungry sorts going for an all-you-can-eat buffet to kick off their day. Pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, chicken patties, biscuits and gravy, grits, and quite the spread of fruit are part of the smorgasbord.
But you can instead opt to order straight off the breakfast menu, which includes such items as steak and eggs, breakfast sandwiches, waffles, pancakes, and several omelet options named for some ‘50s icons (the Marilyn, the Elvis, the Dean, the Bogart).
Available for breakfast or a later meal, meanwhile, the All American Diner offers big appetites the Lumberback Potatoes, which come with ham, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and two kinds of cheeses, plus Texas toast.
Lunch and dinner plates include a variety of sandwiches, including grilled cheese, BLT, ham and Swiss, club, open-faced roast beef, and a fish sandwich served in a hoagie roll. It wouldn’t be a diner without some burgers, of course, though you can also go for hot dogs, chili dogs, or chili cheese dogs. There are also various meat-and-veggies entrees—pork chops, ribeyes, T-bones, fried fish, country-fried steak, etc.—plus soups and salads.
The All American Diner serves a kids menu for the littler crowd: corn dog nuggets with fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, a waffle with bacon or sausage, cereal, chicken tenders, and the like.
Dessert here also takes classic form: banana splits, sundaes, straight ice cream, pies, and cakes.
As far as wetting your whistle, you’ll naturally find coffee a “hot” item here, plus tea, soda, juice (including Florida orange and grapefruit juices), milkshakes, malts, and floats.
Here are a few specific menu items at the All American Diner worth considering:
Biscuits
The All American Diner biscuits are among the more reliably satisfying items available In the breakfast buffet.
Grits
So too are the grits: usually pretty solid, though (here again) not necessarily award-winning.
Milkshakes
On a hot afternoon or evening in Panama City Beach, one of the All American Diner’s milkshakes—chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry—tastes pretty darn good.
Don’t come to the All American Diner expecting gourmet-quality cuisine, and in point of fact, the fare’s not necessarily up to the standards of many an old-school diner—including some joints that charge less for their food. But it’s a convenient location (right next to Gulf World Marine Park), and the cheery service and ‘50s vibes appeal to many, no question!
Insider Tip:
– Seating for larger parties at the All American Diner is limited, so this isn’t necessarily a great place to go with a big group—unless you’re cool dividing up across a few booths.