Breakfast club
If it makes you want to light up a cig and order some bacon from the waitress that calls you honey...it's legit. Breakfast specials in the morning, typical offerings. The biscuits are made in house and the goetta is delish. Service was great and food was served up hot and fast. Perfecto for our diner breakfast club adventures!
It's like Cracker Barrel with more grease and smoking. When its down home, stick to your ribs kinda food you need, Pepper Pod will hit the spot. The clientele is a mix of Newport's finest and not so fine, especially depending on the time you are there. From goetta slabs to all kinds of fried concoctions, you will not eat healthy, but you will enjoy the food and possibly encounter some hilarious near table entertainment.
With 24 hour dining and the ability to eat at tables that serve everyone from strippers to lawyers, how can you go wrong?
Stepping into the Pepper Pod, I half-thought I was walking into Mel's Diner from the classic tv show, Alice (for those of you old enough to remember "Kiss my grits!"). Â Just as everyone has noted, this is the true classic diner experience.
We sat down a few minutes before the top of the hour and were greeted by a rooster crowing. Yes, a rooster. It was the clock on the wall. After we finished laughing hysterically, a very hospitable gentleman greeted us just like we were guests in his home. The staff here are very welcoming and very attentive.
Make no mistake, this is a greasy spoon in all of its glory. My visit was for breakfast. If you are ultra health-conscious or not into trans fats, this is probably not the place for you. There was even a layer of grease on our menus.
Check out the specials which take up the majority of the wall in the front room. There's even one named a "slab of goetta," and it's a breakfast platter with just that. Â The menu is quite extensive and I got overwhelmed by all the choices, surprisingly. Â I settled for the classic 2 eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns. It was good, but nothing terribly special. The hash browns were tasty but were swimming in grease, which didn't sit well on my tummy later. Some of my companions substituted biscuits for the toast and were very pleased, even though they weren't made on site. The hot sauce, however, is made on site, if you're so inclined.
Of course, this is KY so there's smoking galore. As we were seated at a long table in the back room and not the counter area, we didn't have to endure the smoke. Pepper Pod is open 24 hours a day so if you've been imbibing and in need of some greasy eats, this place fits the bill.
Under normal conditions, this place would NEVER get 3 stars. But, similar to the Denny's nearby my undergrad campus, it's actually not that bad at 3 AM and they have little to no competition at that time of night. If you're hopping the bars in Newport, I'd recommend parking near Pepper Pod and calling in an order while you're walking back to your car. That way, you can just grab the food to go and bring it back home to soak up some of the alcohol in your system - and hopefully help you not be a zombie the following morning/afternoon. I would not recommend eating in, unless you enjoy the taste of ashtray with your chicken fingers. On that note, they're moving down to 2 stars. It's still worth visiting under the previously outlined conditions.
Review Source:Alright let's get down to brass tax...Let's call a spade a spade...This place is a greasy spoon at it's best. Do not go in with any expectations. I came here after a night at the theatre. I know classy right? But I had heard so many wonderful things about this lil' mom and pop.
Lets start off with the decor, you walk in and feel like you have yellow goggles on. Everything is YELLOW! Or maybe faded beige? Either way nothing fancy. Old school booths with funny little jukeboxes from the 50's. The menu is very extensive which I thought was kind of odd. They also have specials up on the wall that are hand written on pieces of computer paper.
So what to order off this crazy list of breakfast served all day, lunch, dinner, famous chili? So our group of five orders an array of different dive foods. One of us got chocolate milk and tator tots, school lunch memories? I think so. My boyfriend got the Fat Eddie Special. A huge double greasy burg served with tots on the side. (My favorite item of the night, actually I kinda stole his at traded him my chicken sandwich which was just okay). Another ordered the loaded hashbrowns which how can you go wrong with hashbrowns at a greasy spoon? The answer is you cannot! Hashbrowns for the win! And I got the chili cheese fries which the city was way heartier than I expected but still had good flavor and the fries were crispy.
Key points worth mentioning:
+THIS PLACE IS OPEN 24/7! Maybe if I was coming here at 3 am my review would be slightly different.
+Best Coffee I have ever tasted straight up. Weird, I know, but it was darn good!
- This place allows smoking, and not just like one cig, or a puff. This place holds nothing back this is a smokers paradise, I had a headache the entire time. Is it worth it to you when you are desperate and need hangover food? I don't know, your call.
Overall a very interesting place, my advice is come here tipsy and have a free for all of greasy spoon deliciousness.
This place is as authentic as it gets.
And by "authentic," I mean "waitress-might-have-a-black-eye-and-may-ash-her-Âcigarette-into-your-eggs." Of course I've never experienced a waitress ashing into any of the food - I don't want to libel the place.
But this place is great - especially if you're looks for some cheap, greasy food (I can't get enough of the stuff). Are you going to get the five star treatment? Of course not. But that's not why you go to the Pepper Pod. You go to the Pepper Pod because you're drunk. Or stoned. Or you have an ugly date but you want that person to be the one to break off communication. Or because you're really in the mood for some classic American cuisine.
I had the bacon cheeseburger with hash browns. Both items were very standard, but very tasty. My boo ordered an omelet and cole slaw, which he enjoyed very much. You really can't go wrong here.
The waitresses are nice (enough). You try working with drunk people every weekend and see what it does for your view of humanity. They're very good at their job. This is a total dive, so don't expect anything more than you pay for. That's a large part of this place's allure.
Note: Don't look at the ceiling. Several decades of smoking has turned certain areas a particularly foul shade of gray.
Cheap greasy food. What else could you ask for. Their breakfasts are cheap and fast, their omelettes are LOADED (I'm serious here) with cheese. I ordered a sausage, bacon, & cheese omelette and about died eating it, it was so good! Their sausage gravy is very bland, so avoid that at all costs. Servers are amazing. Always very friendly, personable, and on top of your drinks & coffee.
Review Source:Fantastic food, waitresses that treat you like a family member and prices that are a sin they are so low. Â And it's open all night which is great for folks who work night jobs or students.
I can highly recommend their breakfast menu which is wonderful.
It's not big, it's not fancy but this diner is a must for your go-to list!
Gotta love my Pepper Pod fries!!!!! No matter the time of day or nite...even tho they really hit the spot at..lets say 230am... :).....service is always fast and speedy even during bar rush......also LOVE the cheesecake!!!! Oh and if you want some good homemade soups this is the spot to try!!!! Yuuuummmmmm........off to Pepper Pod I go!!!! :op
Review Source:I didn't realize this place was one of the late night hole in the wall places when we stepped through it's doors during the light of day. But the charm oozed out as we walked inside and I knew this was our lunch choice of the day.
The waitress told us to sit wherever we'd like and she was a spunky little thing. She was nice although the place was pretty busy and she was crammed with customers. I'm pretty sure she was the only one working.. so service was slow, but it was no biggie since we were enjoying ourselves. It seemed like a few of the customers gave her a hard time and that ticked me off.. (I've been a server before in a very busy dining room, and it's no easy task.) There were other employees there, but nobody offered to help her with anything so it was a bit hectic.
When we walked in we had drinks with us from walking up and down the block, and instead of telling us to throw them away like many restaurants would have.. she asked to put them in the fridge for us. After she took our order we played with the mini jukeboxes that they had at each table.. bonus!
I ordered the goetta omelet and hasbrowns and it was pretty good, and the slice of goetta was the largest portion I've ever been served in a restaurant. Prices were great, and the food was good, but I could have poured myself a cup of grease from what was left on my plate.. haha I know to expect that at a little place like this though. We will definitely go back at some point, but it'll be awhile in our rotation of new places to try.
The other reviewers summed up the charm and feel of this place adequately. It's never a surprise to see the Pepper Pod Packed at 3AM on a Saturday night. The 24 hour crowd certainly loves this place after a drunken night of fun at the bars.
I was torn between a 3 star and a 4 star review. The food is mediocre, but at least the price is right. The service is quick, and you can be sure the basics will be ordered with precision. 2 eggs over easy and a skirt steak will be less than a $10 spot, and when smothered in A1, will be totally adequate.
I guess the final push that moved me over the tip of the 3 star review and into 4 star territority is the character. The night security guard is like a charicature of Rocky V. The waitresses are endearing, and the brazen drunk conversations going on throughout the restaurant will have you laughing for days. For the drunk, hungry, and local to Newport, I highly recommend it (at 3AM)
First off, this diner has NEVER been known to me as the Pepper Pod. It is, and will always be "The Pepper Poo". Why is that? Well, take a look at their sign the same way as I did when we moved here seven years ago and tell me it doesn't says 'poo' rather than 'pod'. I actually said to my wife "Why on earth would any restaurant call itself The Pepper Poo?"
Poo or Pod we simply had to try it, drawn in by what appeared to be good prices twinned with a, let's just say, 'eclectic' clientele. True it was at about midnight on a Saturday when alcohol had control over our senses but the experience was nevertheless instantly memorable.
Our 2004 server was unflatteringly under dressed, dolled up in low cut hipster jeans and a tight, but too short t-shirt. In terms of 'culinary attractiveness' try and imagine whatever the opposite of Hooters might be. At one point she reached up to scratch the top of her head with her pencil, an act which revealed her muffin-top and a - how can I say this discreetly? - "certain level of hirsuteness" which presumably extended down to her nether regions. If I hadn't have been quite so alcoholically- challenged' it would have been enough to have sent me on a diet and order no food.
However, the bourbon spoke for me and it drunkenly mumbled "You need the Country Fried Steak" which was swiftly delivered and thoroughly enjoyed.
In the years following "The Poo" has become our favorite greasy spoon... and not just when under the influence. Indeed, when we have visitors from overseas we proudly take them there and present the place as "an  old-fashioned American diner", complete with melamine tables, booths, jukeboxes, friendly service and country cooking.
I have grown to really like their Liver & Onions - my only reservation being the gravy which can sometimes be a little overwhelming - but almost everything on their extensive menu comes out fresh, hot and very tasty indeed. The Poo will not win many 'dietary concern' awards or be on any cardiologist's 'must-do' lists but it does dish up some mightily flavorsome goodies.
It remains the one - and only - restaurant in NKY where I will endure the oft-punguent smell of smoke (yes, it still allows smoking) and this is because the crowd is usually fantastically diverse and fascinating to spend time with, from wizened old dudes sat at the counter, the occasional loudmouthed jock, all the way to *ahem* 'celebrities' from the local titty bars.
The Poo is Monmouth Street's jewel in the crown, a shining example of how these kinds of diners should cater for the populace. It's open 24 hours a day - closing on just a handful of days in the year - the staff are always friendly and helpful, the prices keen, the environment only sullied by the smoking policy. You want cheap and cheerful?... this is your place!
Thank you Pepper Pod for finally providing me the greasy spoon experience I've been searching for in Cincinnati! I spent a few years in Chicago and came to love and adore many of their 24-hour diners, but hadn't been able to find the same experience back home...until now!
I wanted to try and save this tid-bit for the end of the review, but I can't contain my excitment....FRIED PICKLES!!!! Pepper Pod has some of the best I've ever eaten. I've made several trips exclusively for the fried pickles. In fact...I know I've had other food items there, but the fried pickles are the only thing that REALLY sticks out in my mind (though I'm sure everything was tasty...it was just overshadowed by the battered and deep fried delicacy).
Pepper Pod has the down-home family run feel that makes a diner a special experience. The waitresses all call you "hun" and everyone is extremely personable.
I have found that late at night (after the bars close) this place gets PACKED! You will for sure have to wait. I've walked in and right back out a few times due to the size of the wait list. Of course this only speaks highly of the establishment and it is well worth the wait.
So in conclusion: Pepper Pod...fried pickles...YUM!
Pepper Pod: The Institution. Everyone needs to eat here after midnight at least once in their life.
Pepper Pod is a 24-hour greasy spoon restaurant that has been around forever. If you're craving a late night snack and a waitress that calls you "hun" this is the place to be.
Breakfast at any hour seems to be the popular dish at the 'Pod. Bacon n' eggs, toast, biscuits, pancakes...it's all good. Especially the coffee. I've easily consumed 5 cups in a sitting (they fill you up so often you lose count). Let's just say I was awake for awhile.
Chili cheese tots and cheese fries are my favorite comfort foods, as well as the Big Eddie: a double-decker cheeseburger with tartar sauce. My friends swear by the fried pickles and fried bologna breakfast; two dishes I have yet the interest to try. You can easily stuff yourself for under $10.
In short, go to the Pepper Pod, day or night. But especially night. It's worth the staying up late experience!
Dear Pepper Pod,
I know I have not been completely faithful to you. I will be honest and tell you that I have repeatedly visited other establishments. You probably know them, Joe's Diner and The Anchor Grill.
Now I know this may come as a shock, and for that I humbly apologize. I never meant to hurt you. Â It's just that I had never experienced greasy spoon diner food and I wanted to try everything there is to offer. I'm young, I have to try new things. Just because I started with the best doesn't meant I didn't want to try second best and even the worst. I need experiences and even though you're fantastic, I had to spread my wings.
Having said that, I have flown around. A lot. I've been around the block and sampled what is out there. It doesn't compare to you. The 24 hour diner with always hot coffee and a friendly face is rare. You have that going for you. Immeasurable opportunities to people watch is one of the main reasons I keep going back. Â You have an eclectic clientele that isn't just full of drunk college kids, but townies, hipsters, art folks, and everything in between.
You're everything I ever wanted in a diner and I'm sorry I strayed from you. Please take me back?
Love,
Christopher
Okayyyyy....so maybe I should have been drunk before wandering in here for breakfast. Â Drunk, I was not, hungover, I was. Â Thus,being hungover...I was soooo looking forward to some fast, greasy breakfast food. Â
Greasy food. Â Check. Â Fast service. Â NOPE. Â I mean, the three of us ordered breakfast fare: Â a couple egg sammies, an omelette..some tator tots..really should not have taken over an hour. Â Yup. Â Over an hour. Â Forget the fact that the waitress kept taking her smoke break 2 feet from the kitchen. Â I know that KY is soooo against being "smoke-free"...but gimme a break. Â
We kinda joked about venturing in here during the daylight..and maybe we shouldn't have. Â If I find myself drunk in Newport and my tummy is a grumbling..then maybe I'll venture to the Pepper Pod again...but definitely not for Sunday Brunch.
I have spent a lot of time here. A lot. I used to live a block or so away and now it's just a piece of nostalgia for me, that harks back to a time when I couldn't afford diner steak. Those were the halcyon days. You can get almost anything at PP. Steak, deep fried pickles, an ice cream sundae, cheeseburgers, oxycontin, cheesecake, waffles, pancakes and last but not least they will be jalapenos on anything for 85 cents. Â The charm is free.
I suggest the chili. It is similar in deliciousness to a Steak N Shake chili. I also am a fan of their breakfast platter with goetta. If you're like me then you like your goetta well done. They make a fantastic breakfast platter.
This place attracts everyone, the hip children, old folk, bikers, drug addicts, drunks, lawyers and other threads of society. Do be careful to not contract hipititus (terminal coolness) as it is rampant.
Not that hungry? It is an EXCELLENT place to people watch late at night. I do not suggest actually making eye contact with anyone during people watching. That may result in a good ol' fashioned Toby Keith-style Boot in the Ass. After eating here I first want to dip myself in Purell and then snuggle up for a long grease-induced nap.
I recently visited the Pepper Pod Restaurant for lunch and found about what i had expected out of a local diner. Â The selection is fairly wide for a smaller diner of this type. Â The prices are decent, you can find cheaper breakfast or lunch but you won't leave here spending more than 10 bucks.
The waitstaff at the restaurant are friendly and fast enough, the food was good but not great. Â I ordered a 5-way and wasn't disappointed but next time I'll probably head to Gourmet Chili down the street. Â The restaurant is smoker friendly which is a minus for me but a plus for others. Â
They accept credit cards or cash.
Been here many more times since 2008, but always for breakfast or early lunch. Sit in the first room unless you really can't tolerate smoke...usually much quicker service.
I love this place! All the employees have been there as long as I have been eating there and I suspect many more years before that. I try a lot of menu items...today it was the vegetarian omelet and it was great!
Service is always consistent, portions are generous, prices are extremely reasonable and it's just a very  laid back place with lots of opportunity for people watching.
I saw this place in the light of day for the first time this weekend. Same as always: cheap, fast, really really smoky. Â Whoever complained about the atmosphere/decor is right, it's boring but come drunk and you won't care less. The service is attentive and the prices can't be beat. Â Goetta and eggs is hard to screw up but they do it realllll good.
In a rare deviance from normal diner fare, their coffee doesn't taste like it just came out of the oil pan under the line cook's el camino. Totally legit.
Pepper Pod is a throw-back to a time when diners ran for 24-hours, the food was fast and cheap and individual jukeboxes played on every table. It's both wonderful and greasy disgusting, and above all, fantastic.
I ran in here for some food before I was putting on a movie at The Falcon Theatre. It was about 10:30pm and I and my gal were starving. We snagged one of the plastic menus full of items like "Breakfast Anytime" and "Fried Pickles! Delicious!" and figured out what we wanted.
The one waitress in the place made her way over (she's out front and there's one cook in the back. It's pretty much all they need though). I was kind of in a hurry, because the movie couldn't start until we got back there, and I explained my situation.
"So we kind of need food fast. Can you do it?" I wondered.
"Depends on what you want," she said.
"A burger, grilled cheese and some fries?" I said.
"Give me five minutes," she said, writing down the order and bringing it to the cook.
True to her word, five minutes later, there was the food. Amazing! And it was delicious - actually, it was diner-quality delicious, which means it's greasy and kind of disgusting, but late at night it's the best damn tasting thing ever.
And cheap! It was like $7 for all of those items. Everything on the menu is low-cost and high-taste.
I'm not going out of my way for the Peper Pod, but if I'm in Newport, and I'm hungry, and it's later than late, this is my first and last stop.
I've long believed that in order for Cincinnati nightlife to cross over from solid to great, the city needs a few more quality restaurants that are open 24 hours. Â Sadly, Pepper Pod isn't the restaurant I've been hoping for, although it certainly isn't the worst option available.
Pepper Pod's food is decent and affordably priced. Â On my last trip, I had their meatloaf platter (complete with an amazing bowl of cottage cheese) for less than $10, including drink and a tip. Â Their waitresses are emotionally distant but I've never had one be flat-out rude to me.
My biggest complaint with the Pod is its lack of personality, especially in terms of decor. Â Tan walls. Â Tan tables. Â Fluorescent lighting. Â Pardon me while I grab a quick nap.
If the Pod were located in a different part of town, this review might be a little kinder. Â But when you consider that nearby Anchor Grill and Waffle House serve better food and offer a more memorable dining experience (if sometimes only for the wrong reasons), why should anyone settle for the Pepper Pod?
Went to Pepper Pod the other night after a busy evening. Â It was great, I got a Big Eddie with fries and some Mac n' Cheese. Â Everything was great, and pretty quick. Â It is always decently priced, and I got there just in time to beat the bar rush as well.
Always great in the late night scene!
The Pepper Pod is another restaurant in the vein of the Anchor in that you normally wouldn't want to be caught there during the day but you can't deny its attractiveness post-midnight.
Possibly even more affordable than the Anchor, the Pepper Pod has decent tradtionally American food on the menu with good sandwiches and okay entrees.
The big downfall for a nonsmoker like me is that it's not unusual to see your waitress carrying your food in one hand and a cigarette in the other, but that's just part of the territory.
So you're sick of your commercialized evening at Newport on the Levee, it's late, maybe you're hungry and working with a budget, coffee sounds terrific but there aren't many options left at 2am. Anchor Grill is miles away and fast food just doesn't sound appealing. Newport still has a couple options for you, aren't you glad!
Down home, homemade food, hot coffee and some good old Newport vibes are just a few blocks south on Monmouth Street, my favorite dive-strip in the city (followed closely by Hamilton Ave. in Northside). Pepper Pod is a family owned spoon. I've spent several afternoons eating large greasy breakfasts, drinking coffee, chatting with the friendly women behind the counter and enjoying the company of the people with me. The service isn't always super fast but then you're dealing with cheerful servers and good food. I haven't visited the Pod during late-night hours so I don't know what the service is like during drunken 3am but every time I've bicycled past in the evening the booths are full of local patrons enjoying their dinners.
A 3am excursion in search for the closest late night pizza joint led me to this 24 hour Diner. After checking out the the place for a few minutes I was about to leave. Luckily I stuck around. While disappointed that I could not find any pizza, I was happy to find this establishment, which serves a great $8 steak(rounding up by the way). Despite the location, which is very close to the Brass Ass, the Pepper Pod is a great late night Diner and I was happy with my service.
Review Source:This greasy spoon can't be beat for after-the-bar-closes late night grub. Just blocks from Newport on the Levee, the Pepper Pod serves breakfast all day as well as comfort food staples, like Salisbury and Chicken Fried Steak. And the prices are cheap, too.
I asked the waitress for a recommendation, and she told me that if I like Frisch's Big Boy then I will love their version, called Big Eddie. When my burger arrived, I was drooling. The bread was softer and the tartar sauce tangier than a Big Boy, and overall the Big Eddie trumped Big Boy hands down.
At most of the tables fixed onto the wall are 1950's mini juke-boxes, but they don't work. However, there is a standard size juke box in the corner near the entrance with selections like the Beatles.
Service was fast, food tasted great, and the atmosphere was a testament to Americana.
It seems that many times I find myself late at night in questionable dining establishments that provide to me exactly the thing I am looking for after  a late night party boy excursion.  I want something greasy and cheap. Oh and good.
The Pepper Pod is one of the better places in Cincinnati/NKY for this. The food is always consistently good and cheap. Â The wait never seems to be that long once you've ordered, but there is a good chance you will be waiting for a table after the bars let out. Â There is a reason that this places is a packed house on weekend late nights. Â I recommend the Texas Patty Melt if you are looking for a fix of greasy beef and cheese. Â I've eaten breakfast here also, and their omelets are very respectable.
If you don't mind some grease and grit, this place is for you. Â Even if you do mind, take a chance anyway.
A late night favorite for Northern Kentucky drunks! Â
The Pepper Pod is a 24 hour diner, so the real show starts at about 2 am when the bars let out. Â You are sure to hear and see something pretty astonishing, and may possibly fear for your life. Â The waitresses are either sweet as pie or deeply cynical, but I love them either way. Â The Big Eddie (essentially a Big Boy) is good and cheap. Â Actually, almost everything is crazy-cheap. Â Plus, they have chili cheese tots (it won't be on the menu, it's on the poster board additions taped to the wall). Â I also think the coffee is pretty good, and they make a mean milk shake!
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