Don't you love it when you stumble upon a FANTASTIC place by accident?!??
I was meeting a colleague at Leo's nearby, but sadly they were closed. Begrudgingly, I set out in search of breakfast elsewhere. I didn't care where. I whipped out my iphone and clicked open the YELP app (of course) and POOF!! Yelp brought me to Dottie's Diner where I fell in into a little time warp and ended up back in the 50's. The counters and booths are adorable in their 50's blue speckled and chromed out charm. The doo-wop music playing and the gossiping waitresses set the atmosphere. The coffee was delicious. The pancakes were loaded with blueberries and the bacon was cooked just right. The waitresses offered me coffee so many times I couldn't tell if they were joking or just adament about keeping my cup full!
Apparently, these folks are famous for their DONUTS. Their donut t-shirts lined the wall above the separate little donut counter. You can grab-n-go yourself the cutest pink box with a handle, loaded with their fresh baked goodies. Couldn't help but think of what a great gift that would be. Maybe that's just the foodie in me :)
We love this place for breakfast. Â There is usually a line, but, if you're really hungry you can order a coffee and grab a donut or pastry from the person at the register. Â The food is always good here, as is the coffee. I typically order eggs or pancakes (or both). Â my husband usually orders an omelette. Â The portions are decent and the prices are right. Â The diner has a fun '50s theme. Â The seating is first-come, first-serve - so pay attention to who comes in after you so there is no confusion. Â It's never been a problem, but, you will most likely have to wait on the weekends.
Review Source:Came here for dinner - yes they serve dinner now. Â I think they started serving dinner very recently.
I think they are still learning or something because clearly something was wrong when I came here.
I had the turkey dinner - aka the Cape Codder (basically turkey, mashed potato, etc.). The portions were so small, it was comical. Â One person I was with couldn't believe it because when they came here a few weeks earlier, their portions were huge. I guess they were running low on turkey dinners that night. I am talking three pecies of turkey that looked like it came from a deli - paper thin. Â Mashed potatoes probably could fit half a coffee cup. Â One other guest had a different dinner and their portions were also severely limited. Â I am talking such small portions that we had to eat another dinner at home afterwards.
The waiter then said our entrees didn't come with soup or salad (although previously they did). I am looking at their menu and it says all come with soup or salad, so clearly something was up that night.
Very odd for a diner to mess up the portions like this. On top of it all, the price was out of line for what we got - $12 for the turkey dinner.
Food itself? Nothing great. Â First thing that came to mind was a TV dinner.
Maybe breakfast is better (never tried it), but for dinner it was a mess.
I have no intention or interest in ever going back to this place, especially with other options on the same street.
We ate here on the recommendation (many years old) from Jane & Michael Stern's Roadfood website. This place is outstanding. Great food, great service, friendly smiling employees, great atmosphere. Sometimes there is a short line to get in so one must be patient. They have great looking baked goods, and of course I tried the freshly made donuts which are awesome and authentic, nothing like what one gets at big chains. We ate here a year ago and I didn't review it, and then ate again here last weekend. We had healthy vegetarian omelettes with potato on the side, and everything was delicious and hot. Wait staff comes around pouring coffee which I appreciate.
Review Source:my go-to spot for brunch on weekends! Â I have either brought or sent many friends here for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Â It amazes me that people who are from the area don't know about this fun diner! Â it's great for singles, duos, families, and groups of friends. Â there is something on the menu for everyone! Â
i always have to finish with either the bread pudding or a spice donut!
the retro decor is cute as well and the staff is always friendly. Â i've never had to wait more than 5 min. Â must have been lucky with the turnover of tables!
So, want to know how good Dottie's is? Â They serve potato chips with their sandwiches, and the chips are homemade! Â Soups are homemade. Â Chili (including a fabulous chicken chili) is homemade. Â Onion rings are homemade. Â BLTs have Nodine's locally smoked gourmet bacon. Â Fuhgeddaboutit! Â Dottie's is actually a terrific American restaurant masquerading as a diner.
Review Source:Had to wait 15 -20 minutes to get seated on Saturday around noonish. Â Nice booths, great retro decor without going too far. Â Waitstaff was friendly, but a tad sluggish. Â Food came quickly and was worth the wait. Â Eggs Benedict done beautifully, with nice, tender ham and perfect eggs. Â My kids loved the eggs and potatoes, my brother (who is a chef, btw) was pleased overall (pretty high praise!) and his friend was happy with her food too. Â Why don't they have the doughnuts featured on the menu??? Â Eggs, meat and doughnut combo...sweet God, I'm drooling. Â The cinnamon sugar doughnuts were warm and orgasmic. Â The staff wears shirts about the doughnuts, they won awards...why aren't they focusing on doughnuts? Â
Go. Â Eat doughnuts (and other good stuff). Â Be happy.
I have eaten here twice for lunch on the weekends. Â Although everything on the menu sounds great, and the pies and donuts look DELICIOUS, I always order the Dottie's chicken pot pie (has vegetables, they also offer a pot pie that has only chicken). Â The crust is so buttery-tasting and flaky, the filling is yummy - I wish I could try other things, but this is so good I can't pass it up! Â Service is good and prices are reasonable. Â Once again, if I lived closer to this diner, I would certainly be eating here OFTEN!!
Review Source:After visiting Woodbury I was surprised by the quality food and modern decor (despite the amount of antique shops). Â Dottie's Diner is a good place to get breakfast, and the lunch menu isn't to bad either. Â The food gets about 3 stars but the service bumps it up to a 4 for me. Â Our waitress was very nice and looked great in yoga pants!
Review Source:I love diners. The more old-fashioned and quaint the better. So Dottie's is right up my alley.
I ordered my typical diner breakfast of an omelet with feta, tomatoes, and spinach with wheat toast, home fries, and an orange juice. I don't know why I continue to order eggs because they kinda gross me out. But this omelet was perfectly cooked so there was no runny part. The home fries are cooked with peppers and onions and are perfectly spicy. The toast was actually quite sweet but having a major sweet tooth, I enjoyed it. The best part of the whole meal though was the peach pie. I'd never had peach pie before and now I'm addicted. It was homemade with fresh peaches in a flakey crust. My mom and I were both amazed at how freakin' delicious this pie was! My nanny (see: what people from Connecticut call their grandma's) ordered the chocolate cream pie and said it was so good that she refused to share. She kept her word and unfortunately I never got to try that chocolate cream pie.
The service is excellent. Our waitress was so cute and bubbly. I like people who genuinely enjoy what they're doing. She was also very attentive without being annoying.
I've only been to Dottie's twice but each time has been great. Everyone seems to know everyone else and it's just a feel good kind of place.
Best homemade donuts around. On Sunday mornings its hard to find a parking spot. Had breakast there once or twice but been back for donuts many times. Can't compare Dunkin Donuts or any other 'retail' donuts to Dotties. These donuts rock.
People drive for an hour or more just to buy a dozen. Check it out.
Somewhat small, retro feel diner with a classic coffee counter and decent food, with an emphasis on breakfast. Very good pot pies, though selection is somewhat limited. A true destination for donuts, and a decent breakfast or lunch if you find yourself in the area. Prices are reasonable.
Review Source:Went there today for breakfast- had a special omelette roll up with veggies etc. There wasnt much egg in the roll up at all, rather it had mostly potatoes in it. A disappointment for sure. Also, the pancake that I ordered was very undercooked. Usually better, but lately hit or miss and not cheap at all. There are better choices.
Review Source:We visited the Woodbury area for a family gathering. Prior to our stay I checked Yelp and read a few reviews including Dottie's. I didn't make any notes because we prefer to wander and find what we find. As we were headed out for breakfast my girlfriend said she spotted a dinner the night before and we should go there. What we found inside was straight out of the 50's. We felt like we traveled back in time and loved it! I ordered 3 Scrambled, sausage and Well Done home fries (my standard breakfast fare) She ordered a egg white omelet special. My GF raved about her omelet and said it was "The Best she ever had!" She even made an effort to have the server tell the chef. Â My eggs were great also; the sausage was just Brown and Serve so that was a bit of a disappointment. The hash browns were a bit different than we are used to. They were not slices of seasoned potatoes left on the flattop all morning to get "Golden Brown and Delicious", they were whole quarters of red new potatoes that were warm but not grilled. This was also a disappointment. Â My Well Done potatoes were indeed well done but it looked like they were dropped in the Fryolater and not done on the flattop, which deserves an A for effort but lacks in execution. Service was great, but another Yelper noted that the staff should smile, and I have to say that I agree as I think back to our experience. As we were getting ready to leave I became aware of the beautiful donuts for sale and instantly recalled the earlier yelp reviews and the raves about the "Best Donuts Ever" I told my GF we had to get a box to-go and the raves were well deserved. Those were the best donuts I ever ate! Needless to say they didn't make back over the Ct. state line.
Review Source:I went to Dottie's Diner on 12/18/11, Sunday morning, for breakfast, with my wife. We picked Dotties because we heard good things and it was Zagat rated. We sat in the middle if the restaurant and noticed right away that the restaurant was freezing cold. Everytime someone opened the door, which was often, a blast of cold air would come in. I suggest to either sit in the back or over dress if you're going on a cold day.  I started with a donut and coffee, both were good. I ordered the eggs benedict and my wife had the egg wrap. I cut into my egg and saw that they were over cooked. The eggs in eggs benedict are suppose to be very runny, these were not. I tasted the holandaise sauce and it was ice cold. The meal was  unedible. I told my waiter that the eggs were overcooked, and the sauce was cold. He took my plate away and came back a couple minutes later. He told me that the cook did not know how to make the sauce warmer and that it was suppose to be served at room temperature. Really? You don't know how to make the sauce warmer? How about putting it on the stove? I am 40 years old and have had eggs benedict many times, please don't insult my intelligence. By the way, room temperature in Dotties diner is freezing cold so the sauce was definitely room temperature. I then had to order something else because the cook couldn't warm up the sauce and couldn't make the eggs properly. I ordered ham and eggs instead. When I got that, the potatoes were undercooked. Even if they were cooked properly it wouldn't have been any good. At this point my wife had finished her meal, which was not that good either. I went out for breakfast to get something I don't cook for myself at home, eggs benedict. Instead, I was forced to get ham and eggs, something I can cook at anytime at home. The only thing Dotties did that was right was not charge me for my breakfast which is what they should do anyway. Zagat rated means nothing to me anymore as I have had numerous bad eating experiences in Zagat rated restaurants. Please learn how to cook eggs benedict or don't put it on the menu.
Review Source:WHOA!!!! Â
READ ON - ONLY DONUTS GET 5 STARS
ALL ELSE IS 2 Â STARS
Hard to give this a well rounded review since the food has enormous extremes. Â
THE DONUTS ARE FANTASTIC!! Â We've been here almost six years now and all of our friends , from all around the country, make donut requests, even before they arrive for their visit. Â Also, my husband works in NYC and his staff regularly ask him to bring donuts from Dottie's. Â
What makes the donuts so good? Â Â They're super crispy on the outside and moist /cakey on the inside, all without any inkllng of oil. Â These donuts are not just sweet - they have wonderful flavor. Â
As far as the other food, I can only attest to breakfast - and oh! Â what a disappointment. Â We've tried three - maybe four times and each time the white of the eggs have not been thoroughly cooked; Â the hashbrowns are greasy and colored red from an untasty seasoning; and my husband finds the corned beef hash inedible (we were surprised when the waitress said, Â "well, yes, our customers either really love it or really hate it". (Guess he was definitely in the 'hate it' camp). Â And finally, I don't understand it, but same place that makes the most delicious donuts I've ever tasted, makes pancakes that are 1 inch thick - sticky and gooey in the center. Â
I don't like giving a bad review, but at Dottie's I sadly recommend steering clear of anything but the donuts.
Donuts are very good, especially the plain with chocolate. Â If you really want to go crazy, they make an awesome cinnamon donut bread pudding topped with creme anglais and fresh strawberries. Â I've had generally good breakfasts. Â The huevos rancheros black bean sauce is great, although the tortilla is usually a little dried out underneath. Â The chicken chili (a seasonal special?) is excellent. Â Nice heat, tender crisp peppers and carrots in the rich chili sauce, served with a sizeable square of home-made corn bread. Â My favorite sandwich is a grilled chicken, pesto, sun-dried tomato and fresh mozzarella on a croissant. Â Dinner is good, they offer the regular lunch menu plus a few specials, which can be a bit pricey sometimes. Â
The reason for my 3 star rating is based on the service that is rarely friendly. Â They are generally competent but the staff never smiles or actually appears to enjoy what they are doing. Â A few years ago there were a couple of great servers who weren't afraid to smile but they are since gone. Â And it may seem small, but is annoying - soda refills are consistently ignored. Â At first we thought it was just our particular server, but it happens every time, so I guess it must be one of Dottie's unwritten rules. Â I did notice that the menu states one free refill with soda - LOL, Â but even that is rarely offered. Â With more friendly, fun service would surely rate 4 stars.
Best diner I've ever been to, by a long shot. Not only were my eggs and toast and (Nodines!) bacon perfect in every way, but they were dirt cheap as well! The service was great, the interior is perfect, with a great 50s vibe without overdoing it, just feels natural. The donuts were incredible, no doubt about that.
So lets see, three donuts, a full on egg breakfast, and a free book about the town of Woodbury came in below $10. Best anything ever, A+++++++++ will be back.
Decided to go to Dottie's for breakfast after church last Sunday and was glad I went - first time there and left quite happy. Â I had one of their specials - it was a 3-egg omelet loaded with awesome veggies (asparagus, zucchini come to mind - it was awesome). Â Potatoes were perfect and rye toast was fine. Â I normally can't finish that much food, but I ate every single bit of my breakfast. Â Delicious! Â Coffee was very good, too. Â I would absolutely eat here again - loved the decor. Â
My only criticism was something I didn't realize until my wife mentioned it. Â Then it became quite obvious... Â GIRLS: PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE! Â Don't get me wrong - everyone in the place was courteous. Â But not a single person was smiling. Â Wow. Â Considering I was quite happy with my meal, with the service, everything - don't you think the staff should have SOMETHING to smile about? Â It was quite busy and it was clear that everyone was hustling to get the job done. Â Still...
I tipped generously, so I hope my waitress was at least able to smile about that.
Looking forward to returning.
PERSONAL TIP: DONUTS=YAY! , FOOD=NAY -_-
eyyy... i dont know .... i usually go on my fellow yelpers expertise and suggestions as to guide me to my new sunday breakfast but this one just was a big let down and not cracked up to the stars that i expected to experience. Â
I got my regular egg white omelet with veggies and rye toast with whatever side is given as a choice. They just so happened to have home fries...except they just kinda failed at making them. I HATE when its just giant chunks of potatoes that have bearly been cooked and its like biting into a raw potato AND thats exactly what i got plopped next to my egg. Â
NEXT my egg white wasnt so much an egg white but more a pretend egg white, which was a super incredibly spongy fluffy mess w/ grease. i wasnt into it.
I do back their donuts though, i ordered one of these since the reviews are great on them and i didnt want my breakfast to be completly ruined so i saved it slightly and brought it back up with a donut.
All in all I did not really enjoy my time here as was shown by the food that was left on  my plate....which i dont do on a regular basis usually ever unless something just isnt working for me which was the case.
The donuts are not Philips quality. That Gourmet and Stern reviews go back to Philips time. The lightness balanced by the great crust is gone.
The "famous" chicken pot pie is a disaster. The crust is soggy and the
insides were miserable pieces of gristly chicken. They changed the recipe (though they don't admit it), Sorry folks, we been Philips fans since they were in a caboose in the 60's . Dottie's is the only diner in town and riding on Philip's nostalgia.
"Got Donuts?" says their awesome Tiffany-turquoise house t-shirts. Why yes, yes they do. I tried their acclaimed cinnamon-sugar, classic jelly, and chocolate dipped varieties-- all of them supremely yummy. I took three more cinnamon sugar donuts to go. At 80 cents a pop, I couldn't really resist.
I also had an egg, perfectly poached, wheat toast, homefries, and a side of bacon (which easily passed my standards of bacon snobbery). The cost of this breakfast? A mere $4.50, and totally worth it.
Extra points because even on a busy Sunday morning, they still somehow managed to accommodate all eleven of us, unannounced, within about 15 minutes. And to boot, the servers were all peaches about the whole situation. Â
My only regret is that I was so consumed with my own breakfast, I forgot to steal nearby bites of the blueberry waffles, omelets, and breakfast wraps from my friends' plates.
An excellent breakfast/brunch option if you find yourself in the area.
Cinnamon doughnuts are to die for. Â I think Gourmet Magazine rightly called them the best doughnuts in the country! Â I can't speak for the rest of the food. Â Service is always prompt and generally friendly. Â It's a busy place and I'm glad that Dottie's has kept Phillip's doughnuts.
Review Source:Fuck the haters! I love Dottie's Diner. Fantastic donuts and pies, great fish dishes, passable pulled pork sandwich (but you're in Woodbury!), good quality breakfasts too.
My only complaint is that my tortilla is always overcooked and dry in my Huevos Rancheros...but I still order it all the time anyway 'cuz the sauce is the best thing in Woodbury. Cilantro for president, y'all. Check it out!!!
I was raised in Woodbury, and Dottie's (nee Philips) Diner is a town institution--you won't find a better donut ANYWHERE in CT. Â While I have a particular weakness for the chocolate glazed, the cinnamon and cake are great too. Â I was back home for a bridal shower and brought two dozen back with me as a treat for the choir I'm in...they didn't last through rehearsal, and two weeks later I was still getting compliments. Â If you're in the area, it's definitely worth stopping.
Review Source:Do you like Donuts? Â
Dotties Diner has DONUT BREAD PUDDING and it is as good as it sounds. Â Worth a trip just for that delicious dessert, or to have their donuts or to have their somewhat donut-like french toast.
The rest of their breakfast is standard but good, and supposedly they're known for great chicken pies but it was a little to early for us to try them. Â Next time.
And if you're anywhere near Dotties, stay for dinner and check out Carole Peck's Good News Cafe. Â Woodbury is a culinary diamond in the rough. Â Shhhhhh.
I'm surprised there aren't more reviews for Dottie's on Yelp! Â Dottie's (in my hometown of Woodbury, CT) used to be owned by the Phillips family (several decades) and was always known for their stick-to-the-ribs chicken pot pie & their crazy good donuts.
2 Years ago, the diner changed hands, and Dottie (real name escapes me) spruced up the place, and kicked up the menu considerably. Dottie's continues to offer the traditional Phillips pot pie, but offers a version with chicken and veggies.....Served with mashed potatoes, julienned steamed veggies, and smothered in a basic, homey gravy. Comfort food at its best. Â Their beer-battered fish and chips are great too. Freshly battered cod with just the right crunch along with tasty (not to be left untouched on your plate) coleslaw. Chips are of the flavored variety and are also good.
Breakfast is a treat at Dottie's as well. I recommend the Huevos Rancheros (yummy black bean sauce!) and the omelets (fluffy & tasty)....
You have to try their desserts....Of course the donuts are known all over the state (if not the region) but the pies (and especially their in-house made eclairs) are to die for.
A clean, comfy, homey diner in a quintessentially New England town. If you're antique hunting, or just driving through, it's definitely worth the trip! (They are now open for dinner til 8pm Tues-Fri.
Edit - Yelp keeps insisting Dottie's is in Litchfield. Â The town is Woodbury, CT, which is well south of Litchfield and West of Waterbury. Â
Really, Yelp? Â I'm first? Â
I've been meaning to get here for a while but last week I was going to be in the area so I knew I had to go after the raves I've read elsewhere. Â
Dottie's is the bomb. Â My eating partner ordered the cheesesteak which is the sort of thing most diners of this type really do not do well but his was flavorful, well seasoned, put together correctly and was really delicious. Â Obviously someone in the kitchen really knew what they were doing. Â
I got the famous CT-style chicken pie which was essentially a tender crust stuffed full of tender, very flavorful chicken and not much else. Â Delicious. Â Mashed potatoes were also good, and the old school side of broccoli and carrots were also cooked well and nicely salted. Â Crazy good. Â
The bread pudding made with donuts was for dessert. Â Truly awesome stuff, and at $4 a steal. Â I'll head out again next time I'm in the area but if the rest of the menu is as good as what I had this time around I'd be up for 5-star consideration easily. Â
It doesn't look like they have an official website but this Roadfood listing has a lot of info -
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.roadfood.com%2FReviews%2FOverview.aspx%3FRefID%3D4215&s=0527e5e97653e899c50b485eeeb0c1f953704c06d62a13a410cf90c321c6084f" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.roadfood.com/…</a>
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