Our visit to The Nest vintage Diner in Mattapoisett MA couldn’t have been more well timed for our day of adventure.
First of all I hadn’t realized that the bowling alley didn’t open ’til 1pm so we got into town with about an hour “to spare” (couldn’t resist some bowling humor there). Also we found out that the diner is only open until 2pm, so if we had waited until after bowling we would’ve — struck out -! (I promise to stop.)
I realized that this was the first time 2 of the Retro Roadkids were eating in a real diner and I was glad that it was a such a good example of the genre. The Nest Diner is an authentic 1954 Mountain View diner with the stainless steel outside, counter and booth service and original terrazzo floors.
With a kind word the gentleman seated at the counter was nice enough to move down a stool so all six of us could sit together. The kids had a blast spinning on the stools and us grown ups tried the best we could to corral them into some good behavior with the promise of a kids’ meal or pancakes.
We all ordered our meals from the menu of classic diner fare, and now came the time to look around a bit. I had eaten at the Nest eons ago (it’s been on the same site for over 40 years), when the place was actually called the Mattapoisett Diner, It had a great sign that said diner on it twice, which was always a memorable sight. You can still see that if you look at the illustration of the diner in the lower left corner of the framed 1996 calendar of Classic Diners of Eastern Massachusetts, posted on the wall at one end of the diner.
(one thing neat to note is that 2/3 of these diners are still in operation 13 years later!)
Our food arrived quickly courtesy of our friendly waitress- who introduces herself to us but I forgot to write down her name, sorry! Even though we had just eaten donuts not too long ago we all managed to polish off our burgers, pancakes, BLTs, franks and beans, and kids meals before it was time to head out the door to the bowling alley.
One thing I love is when Retro Roadmap worthy places have some sort of token of remembrance for sale- post card, mug, calendar, what have you. The Nest has a classic diner coffee mug with their image on it for sale at the register. Do yourself and the diner a favor and pick one up on the way out- a gift for you or just in time for the holidays!
***Update 4/2010- We learned recently that the Nest has changed hands. Would like to think that they are still giving the same fine service and food that we experienced when we visited, but haven’t been there since the change. If you visit please leave a comment on this post so we know what to expect- thanks!
Add a comment